No I didn’t know there was one either till the other day. So I will take a break from horticultural posts and postpone my fermenting rant and celebrate the joy that Mia brings us. She has been with us for just over six years now and is still as demanding, lovely and full of character as ever.

And of course there is Tom. Tom is the stray that arrived for food about two years ago. He spent more and more time here but kept being attacked and was in a state. We finally caught him (he bit me on my first attempt and ran off) and we had him ‘done’ and his wounds treated and he got to the stage where we could stroke him, then pick him up and stroke him and now he demands fusses and rarely leaves the garden.

He took up home in the summer house which is now his base. Mia was curious at first but now she just tolerates him. He has learned not to be playful with her and just keep his distance.

They will lay together in the garden, a few feet apart, but she does not like him being too close – she is pedigree after all. Tom is not allowed in the house – though he does sometimes have a look round – it is Mia’s home and safe place. But Tom is a sweet and lovely boy, though his front claws are needle-sharp and when he makes biscuits my arm is always dotted with blood. But he does not mean any harm. And the delight of his loud purr is more than compensation. He often sticks out his tongue and he has split in it somehow as it has a notch out of it, like his ear – who knows what sort of early life he had.

Now he knows he has lots of love and he trusts us and is a real fuss pot. He loves company and always sits near us when we are working in the garden, hoping we will leave the weeds and give him a cuddle.

cats, mia, Savannah cats