The house now has one more mammal dwelling therein. On Saturday we drove to Corley Service Station north of Coventry and met up with Clare from Telford. Clare was giving up one of her Ragdoll cats which wasn't coping with the other cats in the household. It had become reclusive, hiding away in kitchen cupboards. And the ragdoll rehoming group had offered it to Virginia and me as we were quiet people with a quiet house.

So we returned home, and set down the carrying basket in the kitchen. Opened it and the cat (which we've renamed Tabitha though I doubt if the cat really knows) got out. Wandered around like a prisoner at Colditz checking out the escape routes. And vanished under the kitchen cupboards.

She wasn't really seen for two days. Food disappeared. The litter trays needed cleaning. But the cat itself had disappeared even better than the Cheshire Cat. Yesterday she did emerge, and slowly gained confidence in us. As a lap cat she is a little boisterous. All the toys Virginia got aren't attracting a lot of interest - the crinkly tunnel seems to frighten her. Someone coming downstairs will send her fleeing towards the safety of the kitchen and its recesses.

Tabitha is a vocal feline. She makes a very odd deep growling noise (apparently when she's happy.) At 6.30am this morning she was making plaintive miaows outside the bedroom door (as a guess because she was out of food.) But it is impossible to work out what she means some of the time.

Toys ready for Tabitha to play with

The cat herself

One of the facts of life with having an indoor cat

Virginia holding the feline in question