When it came to the long, hot summers, the cats knew that shade was at a premium. And, although there was plenty of shade under the trees in the garden, they would have to keep moving to stay one step ahead of the sun.

The terrace, however, with its balustrades and stone walls, provided shade for a longer continuous period which was just what the cats needed, and so the terrace became the favourite of some for their afternoon naps, whatever the weather.

So, to finish our tour of the cats’ different areas, here are some photos of the cats taking their siestas on the terrace.

Firstly, The Cat with Whitefur, Greyfur and Blackfur, making the most of the shade; the upstand provided continous shade for a couple of hours and in the summer, the cats generally chose to lie directly on the tiles. As the matriarch, The Cat of course had the best spot.

If the weather wasn’t too hot, the cats liked the comfort of the folded shade cloth, weighted down with stones to prevent it from blowing away in the wind (nicely demonstrated here by a soundly sleeping Clover).

Any prunings from the olive tree had to be removed to the garden below immediately, otherwise the cats requisitioned them. Here, Whitefur and Longtail are taking their siesta at the side of the terrace.

Blackfur stretched out in the shade of the clothes horses and washing which provided additional shade on the terrace; the cats enjoyed the draught that came from the clothes blowing in the wind.

Dinky suffered in the hot, summer months; he didn’t like water – we never once saw him drink – so he would easily overheat, his gums red, his tongue hanging out, panting, so it was a good move on his part to make the most of a ventilated vegetable box in the shade of the clothes horse.

We also pegged towels over a chair (see header photo), and made a tent of towels draped over two clothes horses in an attempt to keep Dinky cool. The only way we could encourage him to take any fluids was to pour the gravy off tins of salmon cat food into a bowl, which he would drink. He wasn’t spoilt, he was just different from the other cats.