This evening I took Smallcat to her new owners. She is five years old, and I have got very used to having her around in those five years. When I came back, the first thing I did when I got in my front door was start heading over to the back door to let the cat in. I was halfway there before I came to my senses. It will also feel very strange tomorrow morning when I don't get woken up by a nose in the face demanding breakfast.

On Feb 3 I am going to the USA for an indefinite time -- most likely a year or two -- and kitty does not travel well. She literally almost dies of terror during a four minute car trip, so I couldn't be so inhumane as to subject her to a couple of days in a cargo hold, followed by weeks or months in quarantine.

Her new owners adore cats and will look after her well. Once she settles in, she will probably have a lot more fun roaming their huge, tangled-up garden and woods than in the tiny little flat and backyard I've been living in for the past year or so. I'm not worried about how she will get along, but it's still hard to say goodbye.

Especially knowing that cats only have a few months of memory space, and by the time I get back, she won't even recognise me.