Occasionally, it was obvious who the father of a particular cat or kitten was (as with BBC and Raven), and in our minds it was clear that Sherpa was Thundercat’s son.

Sherpa’s story was that he and his littermates had been brought to the garden from the fields by their mother Dawn, at around three weeks old. Sadly, Sherpa was the only one to survive and, as Dawn was not caring properly for Sherpa, he was placed with Cheese who became his adoptive mother.

Thundercat passed through the garden nearly every day and quite often ate with the Garden Family; maybe he felt at home in the garden since that was where he had first come with Ghost and BBC.

And so, with both Thundercat and Sherpa close by at feeding times, it was easy to spot the similarities between them. When I chose these photos, I had to double-check who was who – take a look, and you will see what I mean!

Firstly, Thundercat…

…and then Sherpa. Their markings were a little different, but at first glance there was definitely a familial resemblance.

Thundercat again, looking a little more mature…

…and Sherpa, growing into a young adult, leaving his kitten days behind.

Thundercat never particularly acknowledged Sherpa, but on the other hand, Thundercat was very tolerant of all the kittens. On the other hand, Sherpa, as you can see from the header photo, would stare quizzically at Thundercat as though there was something familiar about him that he just couldn’t work out – maybe he felt there was a bond between them.