Some of the alpha-male cats had favourite females – or was it the females who favoured certain males? Whichever way around, there were two female Visiting Cats who were very obviously favoured by NVQ, and they were Twilight and Phantom. His attitude with them was different from with the other cats as he deferred more to them – probably because he knew this would give him a better chance of producing more offspring.
Here’s NVQ with Twilight, guarding her while she ate in the drive…
…and NVQ with Phantom, also in the drive.
Twilight lived in the fields at the side of the drive (which stretched to the culvert and then through some more fields to the next village) and it was in these fields that NVQ was spotted kitten-sitting one of Twilight’s earlier litters.
Logically, this should have implied that they were related i.e. that he was their father, but their colours were grey, brindle tortoiseshell, calico, grey-and-white and white-and-grey, and not a single black-and-white kitten among them.
Phantom, on the other hand, lived in the fields opposite and, as she matured, she struck up a relationship with NVQ which lasted for some time, and it was more than likely (judging by appearance) that Braveheart was his daughter; here she is pictured in the front path.
Paradoxically, the other male cat who Phantom favoured was Syllabub, who was Twilight’s son. Of course it’s possible that Syllabub was also NVQ’s son, although he was not black-and-white, which might have explained why Phantom found him attractive, and also why NVQ did not chase him off as he would certainly have done with other males.
Here, Phantom and Syllabub are sitting in the drive with NVQ at the food bowl.
The header photo shows NVQ perched precariously on a plant pot while Phantom looks up at him with a long-suffering expression.
