I'm pleased to report that Mickey has settled down a great deal.

He was always a "special needs" cat. Very, very nervous, hated being picked up, refused to sit next to you and was generally not a person puss.

In the past week and a bit he has averaged 5-6 pouches of food a day plus cat biscuits plus treats plus bits of chicken and smoked salmon.

He "talked" incessantly for 5 days but has quietened down a bit now. He still makes his presence felt in the early hours of the morning though, ensuring we are awake when he comes in.

At present he is curled up next to the radiator with a full tum as both my wife and I fed him when we got up.