The confession of an accidental catnapper

WE BECAME concerned with the plight of a small, scruffy ginger cat who had appeared in our neighbourhood and was sitting on the wall across the road.

We nicknamed him henry. he was dishevelled with a white belly, blackened with grime, but had the brightest green eyes. he made eye contact while meowing loudly to anyone who walked past. It was obvious that this poor feline was asking for help. My wife and I decided we would come to his rescue, but the next day he was gone. I kept an eye out for weeks, but to no avail. We had missed our chance. then on the eve of our holiday to Italy, henry was back on the wall. We took him for a once-over by the local vet, who informed us henry was an old boy in reasonable health, but was not microchipped. As none of the shelters had room for him, we booked henry into the luxury cattery in Surrey where our two cats,

Oscar and duffy Junior, were spending their holiday. he had his own suite and would be very comfortable while we were in Italy.

On day five, my mobile phone pinged with a WhatsApp picture from a family friend. It was a poster that said: ‘have you seen Sir Percy? Please call harry if you have.’

We analysed the photograph of the cat — it was henry!

I made the call and told harry that Sir Percy was in Surrey, but we were in Italy. he told me that he was long retired, Sir Percy had been his companion for years — and they lived across the road. We had kidnapped Sir Percy from his own garden wall! the happy reunion between these two splendid old gentlemen took place as soon as we returned. the friendship between us, harry and Sir Percy lasted for years.