The rescue cat nativity

[Elanrode]

Seven years ago I got my cat from a rescue centre in Manchester. He'd been there 18 months. I was ringing round rescue centres wondering if they had kittens but when they said they had an old man who needed a home I could not resist.

As its turned out the one thing that's been consistent in seven years is him. He purrs like an engine by my side. He eats too much. In winter he loves huddling on fleece blankets with me and in summer everyone laughs at him sunbathing (I live opposite a railway station and he always makes the commuters smile.) He even brings happiness to random people by walking up to them purring.

Like all cats he is very annoying but I love him and I believe I didn't save him he saved me

How lovely. He sounds very lucky, well, you too

Well done. How old is he now?

Old! I think he may be about 15 but he could be 16 or even 17

A youth then.

A mere slip of a kitten! Sunbathing to adoring crowds too. Any name? Any visual evidence? You know we need it :)

7kg of tabby rescue purring on me right now. Farting Sheba and dribbling. This furry whoopee cushion is my life.

His name is Nicholas and he's a large ginger thing

That's lovely! I have a mid-life crisis cat, who is a purry furry thing, then strikes like a rattle-snake. Probably because he won't listen to me when I try to explain our budget doesn't enable him to cruise about in a red Porsche, sniffing cocaine off the dashboard.

I seem to recall that Seniorboy was 16 when I had to pull him down from the top of a door.

That was a while back!

Mr C goes all kitteny on me in bed at night, most acceptable. He lies on his back with begging paws, round fluffy tum up - I know what to do, he does grunty purring until we fall asleep. Or my hand drops off.

At other times he is Rough Tough Alley Cat, Fearsome Defender of the Jungle (the balcony). This is basically when he is menacing a visiting workman for their packed lunch.

King of the Beasts also surfaces if we are subject to the impertinence of a passing pigeon who dares to alight on a ledge. He gets really piqued. Yes, he has killed one. He shot off the sofa, grabbed the pigeon in his paws, broke its neck, and dropped it onto the balcony below. All this through pigeon mesh, too.