Our Ollie (ginger, about 11, with an odd curly tail like a husky) has suddenly started demanding far more food than ever before. This typically means stomping all over us before dawn to inform us that a food bowl is running low; for the last couple of years his normal routine has been to disappear almost all day, hardly eat at all, and just come back to sleep. His mum Marblecake, who hardly goes out, hasn't changed her eating habits at all. So my guess is he'd found a soft touch neighbour who has just moved away.

We once had it the other way round. There was a big old grey and white tomcat who had founded a dynasty of grey and white offspring and was the undisputed Top Cat of the neighbourhood. But he got caught outside on the coldest night the village had seen for decades. He obviously knew about our catflap and jumped in to try and keep warm - only to walk into a stakeout by the team of six cats we had then (who operated with military discipline at times). He fled almost immediately. I'd have happily taken the poor old guy in for the night and shut him in the bathroom, but ours weren't having it.