Thought I´d add: the cats did not live in the house with us! They were about 90% wild, even though it seemed normal, at the time, for the mothers to give birth in a cardboard box on the terace. In fact, they damn near demanded this service.
One little incident remains in memory: we used to have a large alsabrador which was inclined to spend time during summer asleep, just inside the french windows to said terrace. In order to keep the cats out of the place, we would errect a large fireguard across the open part of the doorway. One day, the ´senior´ mother, whom we called Sid Vicious on account of her instant and deadly response to any challenges, took it upon herself to take a graceful leap over the fireguard, only to land on the poor old pooch on the other side of it. We could see disaster happening, and the mutual surprise of both animals was something to behold. Quite surprising that the cat hadn´t mapped the exact whereabouts of the sleeping dog.
I lost a little confidence that day about the magical powers of beasts to sense danger etc.
Rob C
