Garden Adventures

Happy Caturday…

The cats have been venturing into the garden every day since we started letting them out a few months ago. We had building work next door for the best part of a year when they first arrived and then winter came along and we felt it was better to let them out in warmer weather, in the spring. They took their first steps outside in March and since then have been enjoying their forays into the ‘wild’.

They are quite well behaved hunters, and we haven’t had any presents yet. Although I have seen Marmalade – our timid anxious ginger boy – trying his best to capture a bird or two. Chocolat is no less a hunter but she seems to favour flies and other insects, even though she can become hyper-focused on birds flying around.

I had a scare about a week ago when there was this beautiful fox in the garden. The cats were both out there but Marmalade didn’t seem bothered. Looking it up, it seems as if foxes and cats generally stay out of each other’s way – they tolerate each other and won’t go out of their way to have an encounter. Cat claws can be lethal and they are similar sizes. It didn’t stop me worrying but I haven’t spotted the fox since. It looked unusually lustrous with a beautiful bushy tail.

I’ve managed to document a few of their adventures in the garden, even a few photos of the fox (using a long lens).

My only regret is that Chocolat chased Bob, the neighbour’s three legged cat out of the garden when he tried to come and visit a few weeks ago. He was lovely when Flossie died, visiting the garden, but I haven’t seen him for a long time. It is normal cat behaviour though, defending their territory (!) and it is good to know that they both love it out there.

‘Cats do not go for a walk to get somewhere but to explore.’ – Sidney Denham.