The Cat had made her point and, with kittens to keep her busy, Dinky inveigled his way back into the garden where life settled down. But only a couple of months later, history was to repeat itself with the arrival of Lightning, a young, lone kitten.

The humans had hoped that they could lure the tiny kitten away from the roadside where he was hiding behind a plantpot, and into the safety of the garden. But The Cat had other ideas and, as soon as she set eyes on Lightning, she made her feelings known, chasing him straight back out of the garden. Dinky, who thought this looked like a fun game, joined The Cat, chasing after her as she snapped at the heels of Lightning who shot up the driveway and back to the safety of his plantpot at the side of the road.

So it was necessary to have words with Dinky and explain things to him (he was an intelligent cat who understood things) and the following morning, the humans, accompanied by a contrite Dinky who was mewing softly, tempted Lightning back into the garden with a bowl of food, quickly closing the gate after him.

Lightning hid behind a water tank for a week. You can just see him here, lying behind the blue pail next to the water tank – close enough to run quickly and hide if the need arose.

He came out at dawn and dusk and probably during the night, exploring cautiously and getting the feel for his surroundings.

He learnt to scramble up the olive tree and would lie on the top corner of the wall, staring out over the fields, as though he was looking for where he had come from so he could one day find his way home.

There was a limit to how long we could keep stuffing little foil containers of wet food behind the tank for him, and (as Nature intended), Lightning was growing and there was very little space behind the water tank. So after a week, he plucked up the courage to come out and eat in the open. He was a resourceful and determined little thing.

Thankfully once again The Cat felt her point had been made, and Dinky (who, as a hyper-active Bengal needed a lot of stimulation and exercise) was delighted to discover a new playmate in Lightning. Within a few months, they were inseperable.

Their friendship lasted until Lightning left the garden after six months. He strode out into the fields and disappeared, returning just once over a year later, for long enough to let us know that all was well and he had found his home.