A FEW weeks ago, you may remember I mentioned that a small ginger cat had taken to dropping by on a fairly regular basis. A sociable little chap, sometimes calling once, sometimes twice a day, but invariably at meal times.

At first, I noticed that he was wearing a very old looking, faded blue collar, but then one day the collar disappeared.

This made him look even more destitute, as it left a worn, balding patch around his neck which, as far as I was concerned, shouted very loudly "homeless kitty".

As the nights grew colder and the wet weather arrived, I couldn’t help but worry about my little friend’s sleeping arrangements.

I couldn’t bring him inside the house as my dogs would not have been at all impressed, so I prepared a cosy box for him in the garage and lined it with a thick, fluffy blanket.

Of course, I ensured that the garage door was propped slightly ajar each night, for ease of access.

Although I never saw evidence that the box had actually been slept in at night, at least it made me feel better about the situation in general, until one evening about a week before Christmas.

Down the garden path he strolled, but something was sparkling around his neck. Something was catching the light from the kitchen window. It was, in fact, a brand new, glittery, red and rather fetching, Christmas collar.

Effortlessly, "Ginge" jumped up on top of the ferret hutch and sat himself down neatly and expectantly waiting for his tea, quite oblivious to the fact that his double life had been revealed.

"And how many dinners have you had this evening?" I asked. His reply was a nonchalant, but none the less endearing, silent "Miaow", reminding me, quite vividly, of a story that my children used to enjoy when they were young, called "Six Dinner Sid". Who knows, maybe it was written about one of his forebears?

Christmas seems a long time ago now that I have finished packing away the decorations, but for my cats, the packing away bit is just as exciting as the putting them up bit. So many bags to hide in, boxes to jump on and ribbons to chase.

In fact, one of these years I am sure that Teddi is going to end up in a box in the loft. The cats, I must say, did quite well at Christmas this year, with no less than three stuffed mice and some turkey on New Year’s Day.

Pandora, as expected, was seemingly unimpressed with the mice, only mildly interested in the decorations, but she did quite enjoy the turkey.

Miss Teddi, on the other hand had more than enough enthusiasm for them both, leaping out from behind the sofa to kill the grey furry mouse – again.

Rolling across the floor with mousey grasped firmly between her paws, driving us mad with the incessant life-like squeak that it produced every time that she bit it.

Over the holiday period in general though, I think the one thing that this young lady has enjoyed most has been accompanying myself and the Cavaliers on our daily walks.

This, I hasten to add, is not something that I actively encourage as it always worries me in case we meet a non-cat friendly dog in the middle of the field, but this little madam has a seemingly inbuilt clock.

She knows the daily routine better than I do and at the appropriate time, is invariably found waiting by the hedge, eager to lead the way, onward and upward.

So on that note, as the gang are now waiting for their last walk of the day I had best finish, by wishing you and all your four-legged friends a bright, beautiful and blissfully Happy New Year.