There were different varieties of fruit trees in the garden; of course, the cats were unaware of which was which, but somehow they knew which were best for shade, which were best for relaxing, and which were best for playing.

On the whole, the cats didn’t climb the citrus trees. Maybe it was because the foliage was quite dense, or because there were too many smaller branches. But, for exactly those reasons, citrus trees provided good shade and were popular for napping underneath.

The olive tree was the equivalent of a main arterial route, taking the cats from the garden to the top of the high wall from where they could jump down into the drive or the fields; the olive tree was also perfect to access the water tank which was shaded by the branches and leaves above.

Soft fruit trees were generally not popular for climbing as the branches were not as strong, although some smaller cats were occasionally spotted in them.

The most popular trees were the apple and plum trees, and one old dead tree which, for some reason, was the most popular tree in the entire garden. In these trees, games were played, kittens learnt to climb, naps were had, and many washes were made.

These photos are a brief guide to the cats’ favourite garden trees for climbing.

Whitefur considering an ascent into an old apple tree…

Satsuma thought the dead tree was a good place for thinking…

Kitten playtime in an apple tree (Swift, Buffy and Checkers)…

Raven and Moonstruck in the dead tree…

Sherpa calculating his jump out of one of the apple trees…

‘Are you sure this is a real tree?’
Stardust testing out the replacement tree (a fencepost which replaced a dead tree and became a scratching post for the cats)…

And finally, the header photo shows Swift negotiating her way around one of the apple trees.