Cats.

The smiling cat - El Grande.

We are, unashamedly, lovers of cats. We love their habits, their games and their funny little ways.

We know some people don't like them and prefer dogs as the dogs seem more dependent on them and the cat is independent but that's what we like about them.

Stroking a cat, as you watch television, is said to be good for your blood pressure but the love and pleasure you get from them can make you very happy – and when you lose them they break your heart – just as when you lose a dog.

Of course, some people don't like cats or dogs or any animals even though they give us more than we ever give them – there's something the matter with you if you don't like animals at all and people who are cruel to animals certainly have something wrong with them.

We have had dogs too and dogs at the same time as the cats; one dog we had would let one of the cats sleep on his head – not whilst he was lying down but as he sat up; I can still see him sitting there frightened to move in case the cat fell off.

But I have had cats all my life; when a child I had a kitten called Elvis who suddenly didn't come back one day; he was a black cat with a white breast and I was sure that somebody had taken him till my mother told me that he had been killed on the main road.

That is the problem when you let your cat out – they don't know the highway code and they run in front of cars and lorries.

When we lived in the country we had a dog, and at least 3 cats that were run over, but then went through a good patch when we had 5 at the same time; their names were Graymalkin, Biddy, Biggun, Lamb Chop (or Fluff) and Gizmo.

When we went to the vets they would say 'you're the family with the funny cat's names' – I got the name Graymalkin from the cat that's mentioned in Macbeth!!!

But as I said when you lose one they break your heart.

Our cat – El Grande – died yesterday; he seemed to be as fit as a fiddle 6 weeks ago, jumping over the furniture and the bannisters but suddenly he started falling over, it got so bad that he couldn't walk or even stand; all in 6 weeks.

The vet said it was probably a brain tumour so he was put to sleep.

He came with us from America and only managed to spend 3 months in his new house so now when we come in there is no cat to say hello as we walk through the door.

There he is above - smiling.