For The Cat, the events documented in yesterday’s post marked the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with the humans. Life slowly improved (although it took a long time for her to learn to trust the humans), but merely a regular supply of fresh food and water would have made a difference, irrespective of whether she was friendly or not.

Pea Cat did not stay in the garden for very long; he and Ana were both aspiring alpha-males and there was only room for one of them. In the end, Pea Cat moved on to pastures new leaving Ana to make the garden his domain for the next few years.

Having seen early photos of The Cat, Ana and Pea Cat yesterday, today here are corresponding photos from late in their time in the garden.

Ana disappeared after just a few years while he was in his alpha-male prime, presumably to set up his own colony in a different area where he did not have to deal with Mr Grey’s aggression on a daily basis. This is one of the last photos we have of Ana.

The Cat and he had remained close and, when he returned to the garden (which was getting less frequent), they spent time together.

Pea Cat’s photo was taken only a few months after the one shown yesterday, as he did not stay for long. He was not the last black-and-white kitten to be born to The Cat – more were to come.

For The Cat, her latest photos were taken some ten years later; she was elderly but active, and still the matriarch. She had certain health issues, some which were more to do with the natural process of aging than with anything else, but she was still generally well. She had not had any more kittens for quite some time, but she still liked to be in the middle of everything. She had never been a demonstrative or overtly friendly cat, but she didn’t like not knowing what was going on in the garden.

This photo was taken at the end of a feeding time and The Cat is pictured at the bottom of the photo with (clockwise from her left) Thundercat, The Cat’s grand-daughter Souci, BBC (Big Black Cat), and The Cat’s daughter (and Souci’s mother), Flora.