My Pet: Meet Todd, the shy rescue kitten who grew into the top cat of the neighbourhood!

Todd was a surprise for our daughter, Layla, as a special present for her seventh birthday. We hid him until the early morning, when our curious little girl made her way down to the living room. We had left a trail of cat toys and foods all the way down the stairs for her to follow — she told us later on that she’d thought they meant we were going to mind someone else’s cat.

When we crept into the room, Todd was hiding under the table and took some encouragement to come out. He was really shy at first, but soon turned into a furry ball of energy, darting here and there — loud meows, ginger hairs and paws everywhere!

He quickly found a place in all of our hearts, becoming a treasured member of our family. His adoration of Layla, in particular, has grown enormously over the years. After his breakfast each day, he makes his way up to her attic room and settles down in her bed — usually perched on her neck or head — loudly purring his satisfaction of being with his favourite person in the world.

Todd is intelligent, gentle, playful and adorable. He likes nothing more than to be petted and cuddled. When the sun comes out, he adores lying on his back on the grass in the garden, soaking up the rays.

When Todd first arrived, we bought him a cat bed designed like a tiger, which he settled into very quickly. A few years ago, we decided that he deserved an upgrade, so bought a top-of-the-range, super-soft, premium cat bed. However, when we proudly presented it to him, the response was a very disdainful stare. He wouldn’t even step into it, and instead curled up beside it as if to say, ‘Anything is better than that!’ We quickly reinstated the old bed, which he happily snoozes in again.

He’s a true gentleman of a cat, although we suspect that he may be the Don of the neighbourhood’s feline fraternity!