It did not take long for the humans to realise that planting expensive plants and looking after feral cats were two activities which did not go together well.

After Tiger decimated a pricey ornamental shrub which looked lovely next to the front door, we decided that we had no longer had any control over what grew and what didn’t and, so long as the cats were happy and healthy, the plants would have to take second place.

One of The Cat’s favourite places for a summer siesta was a stone pedestal birdbath in the driveway. Next to the birdbath (but a ground level) was a large plant pot which had optimistically contained a chilli plant; this was Ana Half-Tail’s favourite spot, and met with his mother’s approval, as she was considerably higher than he was, and therefore much superior.

When kittens took over plant pots, it was a foregone conclusion that any damage to the plant would be instantly forgiven. Kiwi loved sitting in the plant pots in the drive, and she passed this love down to her kittens, Stardust and Ariel, who found the soft, cool leaves of the flowering succulents just irresistible.

And, honestly – who could be annoyed on opening the front door to see the bedding plants replaced by Roma and her kittens Kushti and Savvy? They hugely improved the pot, and the yucca tree in the middle wasn’t complaining. Nothing could have made a cat-lover smile more than to see that.

And lastly, Phantom’s son Tuxedo Joe and his sister Braveheart going for the double in the drive. These pots only contained soil as they were awaiting planting, but of course we left them exactly as they were so the cats could continue to use them.

So, basically, the cats napped where they liked; sometimes the plants recovered, sometimes they didn’t. In the end, a large proportion of pots contained soil but no plants, but that didn’t matter – we could always plant more cuttings for the cats lie on.

The header photo shows Pascha in one of the troughs in the garden which had been planted with succulents and geraniums.