We All Need Our Own Patch

It was a sunny weekend afternoon, a short time after Bob and I had moved into our new house, in the Surrey suburbs. I’d come downstairs to find Bob wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Instinctively I went out into the small garden where, in the past few days, he had begun to explore his new surroundings, sniffing the grass and the plants and watching the birds in the trees overhead. Sure enough, I glimpsed his distinctive ginger coat disappearing over the garden fence, backing on to some open ground beyond.

I was surprised. Bob wasn’t a cat that wandered particularly. He liked to stay close to home. So whilst I was concerned, I didn’t panic immediately.

After a couple of hours, however, I began to grow more nervous. Evening was closing in and I didn’t want him to be out overnight. So I returned to the garden and started shouting for him. There was no sign of him.

I was just about to head back into the house when I heard noises. I recognised the sound instantly: it was two cats confronting each other.

I found Bob and a large, black cat a few feet apart on the fence alongside the house. The instant he saw me, Bob leapt off and literally jumped into my arms. It was as if we’d been separated for years – not a few hours.

It was obvious what had been going on. He had been doing what everyone needs to do to a greater or lesser extent when they move home, getting to know the lie of the land, marking out his own patch. Satisfied that he’d done that, he had run for home. He hasn’t strayed from the garden since.