We can be reasonably certain that Dinky was dumped in the fields, although the reason why remains a mystery.

He was more accustomed to humans than to feral cats – something that was completely at odds with the Garden Family and Visiting Cats – and his lack of the expected feral social graces might account for the frosty reception which he was given by The Cat (and Mr Grey, who was in residence at the time).

During the time which Dinky spent in the fields, doubtless hungry and without the home comforts to which he was used, he latched on to Mystery who was a particularly shy, feral cat. Dinky followed her around, wailing loudly (probably due to hunger), and followed her to the drive in search of food.

This is one of the first photos of Dinky, huddled on the roof of a farmer’s store in the fields.

Once he had discovered the food bowls in the drive, he became more settled. He was very hungry and it wasn’t long before both paws were in the bowl.

Within a few days, he had made his way into the garden where The Cat instantly chased him out. And his second visit didn’t last a lot longer as he received a similar welcome from Mr Grey. As can be seen from this stand-off with Mr Grey in the garden, Dinky was ill-advised to be so relaxed – he just didn’t understand Mr Grey’s intentions.

Luckily, the penny dropped and it wasn’t long before Dinky was hiding behind the plastic crates. Moments later, he ran up the tree and back into the drive to escape Mr Grey – it was one of Dinky’s best decisions so far.

But he was persistent and, within a week, had plucked up the courage to try again. Dinky sneaked back into the garden where he ate under the feeding station at the foot of the olive tree (convenient in case he needed to make a rapid exit back to the drive – lessons had been learnt).

As was The Cat’s way, having made her feelings known and made sure the impertinent newcomer knew that she was in charge, she mellowed and it wasn’t long before Dinky felt confident enough to survey the garden from the top of the water tank under the olive tree, albeit it cautiously.

Dinky had a lot to learn about his new circumstances. He may have had the same feline instincts as any other cat, but he had certainly never had to rely on them before. And because of that, he remained one of the more easy-going members of the Garden Family, unbothered by ambition and the desire to pick fights; he was definitely a lover and not a fighter.