Cats

Cats have always been part of our lives here. They are the custodians of the gardens from the earliest days of walking the bounds with us each morning to assisting us with planting (and sometimes un-planting!) and providing valuable pest control by keeping rabbits, rats and the occasional squirrel at bay.

Our first cats, Rudge & Macavity, moved with us from Eastbourne when we were all young whippersnappers. They got to know the land by walking the boundaries with us each morning and they negotiated their way through six months of building works while the house was extended, often hiding in the attic and occasionally appearing at the loft hatch to frighten a workman.
Both cats were ever-present as we laid out the gardens. Macavity liked to sit on my back when I was weeding and when we opened to garden visitors Rudge took on the role of Garden Guide.
Rudge also liked to join us when we ran courses and was popular with course participants until he disgraced himself during a Wildlife Gardening course by throwing up. A kind of “Here’s one I ate earlier” moment!

Calico & Rafferty joined the family in 2005 and for a while we had four cats, all managing the gardens - and us - in their different ways.

Orlando, Ozzy & Barnaby are our current custodians. All three were rescue cats - Ozzy & Barnaby were kittens from the same litter and Orlando had been living in an alleyway after, we assume, being abandoned by his previous owner - and all three have grown into loving and generally very satisfying feline companions!