Tuxedo Joe was born to Phantom in the fields on the opposite side of the road. As far as we know, he was the only boy of the litter and, from an early age, took on the mantle of protector of his mother and sisters.

Having been to eat with Phantom, the kittens would be taken back home and settled down for a sleep. Phantom would then return to the path to eat again and have a few hours to herself and, quite often, Tuxedo Joe would return with his mother, lying nearby while she recharged her batteries. Lying as they did here meant that we had to walk very cautiously past Tuxedo Joe and his slumbering mother to get to the front door, but that proximity to humans was a price that a brave young cat was willing to pay in order to protect his mamma.

Tuxedo Joe’s littermates were quite feral and would only eat when there were no humans around, but Tuxedo Joe seemed to understand that humans were necessary for the provision of food (and thus a good thing), so he was more inclined to be tolerant. Although he was not friendly, neither was he scared.

In these chronological photos you can see how Tuxedo Joe matured from a wary kitten in the first photo, through his junior days, to become a confident young cat. He formed bonds with other, older cats such as Tumbleweed with whom he is sharing a bowl in this photo.

And, as his mother became once more independent with her kittens growing up, Tuxedo Joe did the same for his sister Braveheart as he had for his mother, protecting them while they slept.