I’ve taken a few more Smudge pictures to even the balance a little. Timid little cat!

So timid, that much of the time he won’t talk to us. He runs out of any room we see him in. I find myself singing Black to him – “No need to run / And hide”

He’s not that bright either, so the standard place for him to run to is the fish tank where he spends hours trying to catch the little fish, and clawing the polystyrene tiles out from under the tank. He’s so dim, he reminds us of the puppet playing Matt Damon in Team America.

After dark, however, and upstairs, on the bed, he becomes a whole other cat. But only then and only there. Suddenly he demands affection, purrs his little head off, headbutts you to make sure you don’t forget him, tramps up and down your body under the duvet, before finally settling down and purring some more.

For hours before bedtime, he hovers in the doorway of the bedroom, waiting for someone to go to bed. Every time anyone goes near, he jumps on the bed and starts the motorbike purr in anticipation of the rest of us turning on.