WE GOT A BIGGER BED SO HE COULD SLEEP WITH US

AMAndA MAnSFIeld, 52, is a midwife and lives in derbyshire with her husband Julian, 49, a development manager. They have four children between them, as well as five cats, including an F2 Savannah, Stanley. She says: WE JOKE that Stanley is my husband’s mid-life crisis. He fell in love with Savannahs after seeing some when we got our last Bengal cat from a breeder two years ago.

As he told me at the time: ‘It’s cheaper than a Harley-Davidson!’ Still, Stanley was expensive when we got him as a kitten a year ago.

Their personalities are more akin to dogs and they crave company. You couldn’t leave a Savannah at home all day.

Now 15 months old, Stanley weighs 19 lb, is 22 in tall and won’t be fully grown till he’s three. He can jump two metres in the air — including the top of the highest kitchen cupboards — and loves to climb trees.

We walk him twice a day on a harness around our small town. We get lots of inquisitive looks and comments such as, ‘I’ve never seen a cat so big!’ But although he’s taller than most small dogs, he gets nervous and will lean into our legs for reassurance.

Stanley’s too boisterous for our other cats, who are all a bit lazy and disinterested in him, so we’re considering buying another Savannah as a playmate for him.

At home, he has his own armchair and likes to watch TV. If he spots another cat on the screen, he goes to stroke it with his paw.

When he fancies a walk, he whines very loudly by the front door, and he often leaps on to my back when he wants my attention. It makes me jump but he never uses his claws.

Stanley even sleeps with my husband and me. We had to buy a 6 ftwide super-kingsize bed to accommodate him!

We are about to build a large enclosure in the garden for Stanley to play in. This will enable him to climb and scratch, which is good for his claws — and will stop him sharpening them on the furniture and wallpaper.