The Cat’s kittens usually arrived during the last few days of March or the first days of April, so by the time we got to September, her family would be around six months old, fully weaned and able to come and go as they pleased.

One noteable exception is the first photo shown here of kitten Fickle, which is very unusual inasmuch as this litter of The Cat’s must have been born in June or July – Fickle must have been hoping for a sneaky feed while mamma was asleep.

The Cat was very tolerant of her older offspring and would happily continue to groom them right into adulthood, when allogrooming (or mutual grooming) became an enjoyable pastime and important bonding experience for everyone concerned. Pedal and Sprocket were almost six months old when this photo was taken.

So, for the most part, September photos of The Cat and her family show her with older kittens who were not dependent on her, although they still had a strong bond and gravitated towards her when she was there, as in this photo of The Cat taking her siesta on the terrace with Blackfur, Greyfur and Whitefur.

And the header photo shows The Cat with her daughter Big Bang who was very much a ‘mother’s girl’ and loved nothing more than to be close to The Cat. Sneaking a feed was out of the question by now, but just being close enough to touch was enough for Big Bang.