Cat sitting

My neighbour asked me to feed her cat while she was away. Biscuits in the morning, a pouch in the evening, keep the water topped up. She left a long note. At the end it said: Don't worry if you don't see him. He hides from strangers.

I never saw him. But every morning the bowl was empty, and the water had gone down, and there were little dents in the cushion on the sofa where something had been curled up.

When she got back I said he must be very shy. She looked at me strangely.

"Oh," she said. "Didn't I put it in the note? Biscuit died in August. I just like to keep feeding him. It seems to help."

That was two weeks ago. Since then, something has been eating the food I leave out for my own cat.

And my own cat has stopped coming downstairs.