Calling all cat lovers.

I'm house-sitting for a friend at the moment, and have been asked to feed his elderly cat (I shall refrain from the obvious 'pussy' joke. Damn.)

Now, I know bugger all about cats. Pets in my childhood never used to last very long living, as we did, next to a major road: "Hello Mother, where's Rover?" (screeeeech) (splat) "Tiddles?" (screeeeech) (splat) "Rufus the goldfish?" (screeeeech) (splat) - seriously, every domesticated animal with which I ever tried to forge a relationship ended up smeared over at least two, and sometimes three lanes of traffic.

But, as usual, I digress.

At 4am this morning, I was awoken by the sound of someone throwing up. At first I wondered if it was me (my pursuit of hedonism consisted of drinking 8 pints of Belgian beer last night followed by cocktails. No joy on the hedonism front, but if I were you I'd be buying shares in aspirin manufacturers) until I saw a ball of fur beside the bed emptying itself onto the carpet.

Now, is this normal behaviour for a cat? A sign of affection perhaps?

Still, wielding the carpet cleaner at 4 in the morning will stand me in good stead for the debauchery to come.

Thats my story, and I'm sticking to it.