Mr Grey was a neighbourhood cat whose devotion towards The Cat went far beyond the usual seasonal rituals of feline courtship.

In the early days, he would sit on the wall in the drive, waiting for The Cat to return from the fields, hoping to catch a glimpse of her; he would sniff the wall, the stones and the branches of the trees in the hope of picking up the intoxicating scent of his beloved.

This was more that the usual ‘alpha-male seeks beautiful lady for naps, snacks and romance’; Mr Grey had a particularly obsessive personality, and The Cat was his focus.

He progressed to lying on the windowcill, staring dreamily through the glass into the garden where The Cat would be having her dinner, washing and relaxing,

And eventually he started following her into the garden where he would stare with lovelorn eyes at her.

But staring was obviously not all that was on Mr Grey’s mind. He was a big alpha-male, and he had plans. Firstly, he wished to oust The Cat’s son Ana Half-Tail, and then take over the garden and claim The Cat as his own. This led to many bitter fights between Mr Grey and Ana in the garden and the drive. They were well-matched and both determined but, tiring of the constant battles and with neither of them triumphing over the other, they made their exits in different directions, making way for a new alpha-male to move into the area.

The new cat was Saturday, a powerful alpha-male who, The Cat was delighted to note, was orange. But more of him tomorrow…