The Cat’s facial markings were not unusual in tortoiseshell cats, with all three colours of her coat being represented. One eye looked out of browny-black fur, the other out of a soft ginger. The end of her nose and her muzzle were white, as were her whiskers, as can be seen from the header photo.

Over the years, four calico (similar to tortoiseshell but more predominantly white) kittens of The Cat had facial markings which echoed those of their mother; Splodge, Drip, Ratchet and Flora all had their own distinctive facial fur pattern, some with black around their left eye, some their right – but in a general sense, their faces were split three ways, as was The Cat’s.

Splodge’s black patch was on the right, just like her mother’s.

Drip’s black patch was on the left, a faithful mirror-image of the shape of her mother’s as it curved in the middle of her forehead.

Ratchet had one-and-a-half black eye-patches.

Like Drip, Flora’s patch was on the left.

The Cat had other tortoiseshell and calico daughters, but their facial fur patterns did not follow the same pattern as their mother’s, and, however many daughters The Cat might have had, there would definitely never have been two identical.