When my ex-wife & I went looking for a kitten (singular), we phoned the Cats Protection League and asked whether they had one looking for a home. "Oh yes," they said, "we have a beautiful tabby."

When we got there, the beautiful tabby was, in fact, two beautiful tabbies. I am a grown man. Yet I actually fell for the line "Aww, just look at them playing together" ...

So we ended up with two, Zebby and Dougal. Zebby came with me when I got divorced.

Zebby never really ceased being kitten-like. It was only in the last few months that he slowed down.

He died peacefully on my lap at the impressive age of 19.