Sadly, Arthur passed away during the night of October 31 2007 at the age of 17. He was the longest resident here apart from me, and I'll miss him terribly. Here's his story:

Here's Arthur lounging around

Arthur was eldest and cuddliest of my bunch, and for a long time he was the biggest, although age is catching up with him now and he's no longer the monster he once was. He has an unusual kinked tail (just like a Japanese bobtail) and the softest coat I've ever felt on a long-haired cat.

I first met him when he was a tiny kitten, about three weeks old. He picked me out as his person very quickly by biting my finger and then climbing up onto my shoulder and going to sleep.

He was a regular shoulder-sitter until he couldn't fit up there any more, and every now and then he still has a go at climbing up. Now he knows he needs my whole back to sit on, not just one shoulder. He follows me around the garden while I'm working, and will jump up on my back when I bend over to pull weeds. He'll happily ride up there for as long as I can stay bent over!

Same cat, same ladder, different location

He never, ever, ever turns down food. I once accidentally shut him in the cupboard where I kept the cat food. He sneaked in while my back was turned. I never heard a single meow out of him, and he was in there for a good few hours. When I opened the door all that was left were the well-torn remnants of a bag of kibble, and Arthur rolled out like a big black bowling bowl.

Arthur sitting on the path under the fig tree during his last week. He was very frail by the time this picture was taken, but he was still able to wander around the garden under his own steam. You can still see his intense interest in what's going on around him.

A last picture of Arthur trotting towards me. RIP mate - you were one of a kind.