Stardust was Kiwi’s son, born in the fields after The Cat chased Kiwi out of the garden when Kiwi went into labour. Stardust and his sister Ariel were brought to the drive for weaning but sadly Ariel was not strong, and she only lived a few months.

Stardust and Ariel had been closely bonded, and Stardust was devastated at the loss of his sister. He became so morose and withdrawn that we feared he would fade away and join Ariel, so we took the chance on taking him into the garden, hoping that The Cat would not take against him as she had against Kiwi.

And Stardust slowly settled into life in the garden. He was the sort of cat who needed companionship, who thrived on activity. He was the same age as Whitefur, Greyfur and Blackfur, The Cat’s offspring, and had no problems at all fitting into the Garden Family. They were growing up and maturing together, but, while other young males were out in the fields making a name for themselves and working their way up the hierarchy, Stardust was in the garden dispensing love and cuddles to anyone and everyone. It was just the sort of cat he was.

First off, Stardust allied himself to Visitor Cat who had brought her kitten, Tiger, into the garden after losing his sister in the fields. As soon as Tiger was weaned, Visitor returned to the fields, leaving Tiger with the Garden Family. Stardust took on the role of Tiger’s protector and they were often spotted napping together in the garden.

Stardust’s way of thanking The Cat’s family for accepting him was to repay them in snuggles. Greyfur was not a cat who sought out cuddle-buddies, but it seemed he could not resist Stardust when it came to sharing a nap under the trees.

And even Blackfur who, like his brother, was an independent young cat, was more than happy to share his nap with Stardust. Blackfur was never spotted napping like this with another cat either before or after – Stardust really was special.

It was particularly noticeable as Stardust was male; sometimes you would see sisters or mothers and daughters napping together, but not the younger generation of males. In this respect, Stardust was unique; there were plenty of affectionate cats before and after him, but never one like Stardust.