Boll and her friend Jess spent today in the garden. More precisely, they spent it on the new garden furniture, which meant I had to sit on the doorstep during my breaks from painting the house.

Bollinger spent today familiarising herself with the new garden furniture.

Bolly and I had a visit yesterday - from Pixie the Papillon. Boll normally gets on well with dogs, but she seemed utterly mystified by Pixie and just watched her from a safe distance.

My theory is that Boll thought Pixie was a cat in disguise. They're both about the same size and Pixie isn't conspicuously dog-like. It's difficult to imagine her, say, cast as the Hound of the Baskervilles, looming out of the mists of Dartmoor, howling and baring her teeth.

a nice stretch in the sun

a touch of light floristry

a snooze on the duvet

Today's cat appears to be disguising himself as a chicken.

Today's extremely silly-looking cat is from Japan.

Today's cat is wearing a mystical golden hat.

Introducing an exciting new feature. The Daily Cat in a Hat. Inspired by Bolly's fetching 1951 station master's cap, the feature will continue until I run out of cats. If the Daily Cat in a Hat proves popular, it may very well be replaced by another species in a hat - termite in a trilby, bee in a bonnet, beaver in a beret, binturong in a bowler, hoopoe in a helmet - or whatever.

Boll didn't want to be outdone by her Japanese lookalike Tama, so has donned a 1951 station master's hat and is rumoured to be taking over at Hertford North.

My friend Ding the horse has just moved house to a new yard quite near to Hertford. He seems to be settling in very well and did a Hello-style photoshoot yesterday with his human Henrietta.

Hello from deepest Essex, where I'm cat-sitting for a few days. My three adorable fluffy hosts are Dexter the chocolate Persian, Alexis the silver Persian and Maud the mini-moglet. Boll is being expertly cat-sat by friends in Hertford.

Dex and Lex (impersonating a snowy owl)

Dex and Maud

Maud, auditioning to be an extra on Dr Who

Alexis - insisting I should have yet another screen break

Echo - a golden retriever from Cheshire - was in the news today for adopting a bunch of orphaned kittens. She now looks after them along with her puppies and doesn't seem to care what species they are.

Boll spent this afternoon sunbathing and grooming herself on a beach towel in the garden.

Boll poses for the paparazzi on the window sill

Meanwhile, Jess agrees to a photoshoot with Ian's new heather plants

Jess seems fine after last week's drama. He's been in the garden most days this week and popped into the house this morning to visit Bollinger. I was worried he'd associate me with his hostage crisis, as I was virtually the only person he saw during it, but he doesn't seem remotely bothered.

Jess is still in the house. He was sitting on the sofa and looking very much at home when I peeped through the front window this morning. I could then hear enthusiastic crunching noises when I posted his breakfast through the door.

There was a dramatic breakthrough yesterday, when he cleverly managed to nudge some letters on the hallway table, so my neighbour's full name and phone details were clearly visible through the letterbox. But an internet search produced no mobile numbers or useful details.

Meanwhile, my other neighbours explored the idea of breaking in. They climbed a ladder to see whether the bedroom windows might be easier than downstairs. But they were securely locked, so we're going to wait till this afternoon before trying anything more drastic (such as removing a window pane to get in).

It's snowing outside, but these houses are pretty warm in cold weather and he's quite furry, so I'm not too bothered about the temperature.

Hopefully the neighbour who's unwittingly imprisoning him will get back soon.

Thanks for the messages. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for your messages of concern.

The home-alone cat is fine this morning. He's still in the house (neighbour definitely away) but he seems very perky and wolfed the dry cat food which I popped through the letterbox at 9am. I then posted a clean, wet sponge for him to lick if he gets thirsty.

The RSPCA said he should be fine for a day or two. Cats are better at coping with such crises than dogs. And my neighbour will almost certainly be back early tomorrow afternoon, to find the house full of cat food, sponges and whatever presents the cat decides to leave for her.

It's 9pm and the cat's still in there. My neighbour seems to have disappeared. The RSPCA say he'll be OK overnight and I've put some dry cat food through the letterbox for his supper. He seems very active and quite jolly, considering.

If my neighbour's not back by late morning Saturday, there may be a rescue attempt. Watch this space.

Breaking Mews.

It all started this morning, when I heard distant, spectral miaowing. It sounded like Boll's friend Jess the black cat, but he was nowhere to be seen.

I was worried he might be in the shed or stuck behind a wall and searched the entire garden. No sign. But the distant yowling continued.

In the end, I decided I was imagining it. I even started to think, somewhat morbidly, that he might have died and his ghost was haunting us. His cries were oddly distant and muffled.

Then I recalled his alarming habit of following people silently into the house in the dark. And I had a flashback to hearing my next door neighbour setting off extremely early this morning.

So I peeped through the letterbox. There he was, peeping out.

I couldn't get hold of my neighbour, so I propped open the letterbox with a copy of The Times to let some extra air in.

I also phoned the police for advice. They kindly offered to kick the front door in. But I decided that may not go down too well.

So we now have to stay calm and wait till about 7pm. I've stuck a note on the door to warn my neighbour, just in case Jess hurtles howling out of the door in a frenzied flurry of fur.

As you might expect, Boll has shown very little interest in the unfolding drama.

This is a premonition of me in a few years' time. The kindly madwoman in this clip rescues strays and has 130 Moscow moggies in her small flat. They look pretty happy and healthy to me, despite the slight overcrowding issue. I've not been able to verify whether it's real or not, but I have seen this VT played on what appears to be a genuine Russian news programme.

Introducing the lovely Dolly from Ware. Dolly lives with her friend Iain and likes to gaze affectionately at him through her picture window. Her flatmates include a penguin fish, a very fetching molly and a small, slightly nervous neon tetra. Dolly's beautifully appointed and deceptively spacious waterside apartment is in a sought-after location in the lounge and has many state-of-the-art features, including pink flowers and a statue of Hollywood heart-throb Nemo.

I'm dreaming of a white Easter - just like the ones we used to know.

Boll has spent most of today asleep on the duvet.

I noticed the cover of Nintendo Cats and Dogs today in a shop and was struck by the astounding similarity between the Nintendo cat and Bolly (pictured right - as a kitten). Clearly she's been modelling behind my back to fund her Whiskas habit.

Boll surfaced this afternoon and went to the vets for her manicure (or is it pedicure?) She's normally very cute and adorable at the vets, but she wasn't in the mood today and hissed throughout her beauty treatment like some crazed diva. Thankfully she's calmed down now and is being cherubic again.

Boll at my parents' house last week

Every time someone sees Bolly at the moment, they either say she's lost or put on weight. I've no idea. As I see her every day, her various rotundity adjustments aren't noticeable.

Today I decided to take her to the vets for a manicure and shut the bedroom door to stop her hiding in one of her nooks. Being Bollinger, she instantly knew there was something up, charged upstairs, hurled herself at the door like a fluffy battering ram, managed to open it and shot under the bed where she's now lurking in an inaccessible corner.

Meanwhile, Jess the black cat contuinues to visit us most days. Boll gave him an Eskimo (Inuit?) Kiss yesterday, which looked very sweet.

Monty was a real sweety and one of my all-time favourite cats. He lived in Cambridge and then Norfolk and spent his holidays in Impington. I'll always have very fond memories of him and I'm very glad I visited him in 2006 when he was quite elderly but clearly extremely happy. Bless him. We'll all miss him very much.

This week's pin-up is a squirrel, eating nuts outside my bedroom window this week.

This week's pin-up is the long-eared jerboa. It lives in the Gobi Desert, has cute furry feet, hops like a kangaroo and has just been filmed for the first time ever. The video really is worth watching if you like sweet and eccentric animals.

This week's topical pin-ups are four orphaned baby hedgehogs (aka 'hedgehoglets' according to the OED) who decided to adopt a garden brush as their mummy. Baby hedgehogs are having a bad winter because the chaotic weather has made them too weak to hibernate. If you find one, don't give it milk and water. Much better to give it cat or dog food. And - if your hedgehoglet's looking very thin or ill - inform your local hedgehog centre or the RSPCA.

baby hedgehog on the mend at Tiggywinkles Hospital

This week's pin-up is a baby tapir. Tapirs are shy and solitary creatures. They like wallowing in mud and have very flexible snouts which can move in all directions. In the mythology of Japanese Anime and Manga cartoons, they can eat dreams.

I left a Nike shoebox in the lounge last week and Bolly's decided it's a cat sofa. Despite all the nice soft carpeting which surrounds it, she now sits, sleeps and generally hangs out on the shoebox for a large part of the day. I've asked her to explain why, but she remains enigmatic.

Bollinger having a lie-in this morning

Bolly and I are feeling both snug and smug this morning. Having deliberately left the heating on last night, it's warm as toast in the house despite the frost. Boll briefly surfaced for breakfast but has now gone back to bed to have a sleep on my jumper.

This week's pin-up is the lovely Monty from Inverness. Monty's a Japanese Spitz. His favourite hobby is having his tummy tickled.

This week's pin-ups are the lovely Jasper and Pebble Fink from London.

Jasper

Pebble

This week's pin-up is the beautiful Beegee Bijou from north London. A Singapura cat, she lives with her daughter Solitaire and their pet human Lynne. Beegee Bijou's hobbies include running up and down the stairs with Solitaire. Thanks to Amina for the fab photos.

Jess has now started talking to Boll through the bedroom window by climbing up the tiles like Romeo. Boll has ignored his serenades so far. I'll keep you posted if there are any developments.

Bolly spent this morning lounging around watching her favourite video - Cool for Cats - which features various scuttling rodents and fidgeting fowls. She just sat there most of the time, but occasionally leapt up to claw the screen. Her favourite bit at the moment is the bluetit sequence.

This week's pin-ups are the lovely Alfie and Molly - Jack Russells from Banbury and Oxford. Alfie's the one in the rather fetching hoody. Molly's the fluffier one. They both get on very well and are famous for their habit of 'turbo' charging up and down the house.

In fact, the first ever officially-recognised Jack Russell was from Oxford. He was called Trump and was owned by the Reverend John Russell (born 1795) - hence the name.

This week's hunky pin-up is dishy Dennis from Knebworth, who lives with Joe and Chris.

Henrietta and Frank's rabbit Martha was a lovely bunny and great friend to Humphrey.

This week's pin-up is a ferret.

This week's pin-up is a dogsbane beetle.

Boll, having a siesta on her favourite garden chair this afternoon

Jess managed to get onto the roof this evening, which confused Bollinger. Boll isn't much of a climber thanks to her gravitational challenges and looked astonished that he'd managed to get up there.

I've no idea what I was supposed to do today or whether I did it.

This is because my entire schedule was on my whiteboard and Bollinger knocked it over, sat on it and fidgeted around. Being somewhat rotund and exceedingly fluffy, she managed to act as a giant board eraser.

Jess and Boll had a relatively amicable chat tonight, with only the occasional threatening howl. At one point, Jess ran into the house, grabbed the tail of Boll's favourite brown mouse and skidaddled out with it in his mouth. I apprehended him as Boll looked on in shock. They then got bored with each other and Boll pottered back into the house. It's all very dramatic stuff. I fear they may be turning into emos.

This week's pin-up is a ring-tailed lemur.

Ring-tailed lemurs (named after the 13 rings on their tails) are from Madagascar. They live till they're about 27. Lemur groups are ruled by the females who always win in fights. Lemur mums keep their babies in their mouths until they're big enough to sit on their backs. They always keep their tails up as a sort of signpost to keep their group together. And they enjoy eating flowers and sunbathing.

Jess

The Jane Austen (sorry - Pawsten) romance continues between Bollinger and Jess.

Jess darted into the house last night and sprinted comically all over the living room then upstairs, before settling down for a snooze in the olive tree pot. Boll just looked bemused. At least she's stopped hissing at him now. I'll keep you posted.

Bollinger posing this morning

I slept very badly last night and was lying awake at 2am feeling peeved about my shoulder which was aching after I pulled it at the gym.

Suddenly - a gentle scratch on the door. It was Boll.

I let her in and she leapt straight up onto the bed, snuggled up to the precise point where my shoulder was hurting and stayed there for several hours till it was better.

Bollinger has been assisting me over the last few days as I've been dubbing some of my video archive onto DVD. Here she is in the gallery, guarding a DVC tape.

This week's pin-up is a baby chipmunk.

This week's pin-up Louise kindly agreed to do a photoshoot yesterday in the grounds of Hertford Castle. James was the art director and official stick thrower. Louise was accompanied by her friend Nancy the labrador.

This week's pin-up is the lovely Louise from Hertford. Louise is James's cuddly canine companion. She enjoys food, strolling through town and sitting in the car (with her seatbelt on) chatting to James who is her best friend.

Introducing Jess, who lives nearby in a wooden house and visits Boll most evenings for a chat. It's been a bit on-off. At first, Boll hissed and growled at him. But she's mellowed and they now sit near each other in the garden and exchange smalltalk and pleasantries. However - I feel that Percy the Persian, who lives in a cottage by the river, may be a more Bollinger-friendly match. Percy has blue eyes and looks like a cross between a lion and a poodle. I'll keep you posted.

Boll enjoys her daily grooming routine and often leaves her tongue sticking out afterwards by mistake. This is a pic of her grooming today.

Bollinger spent today planting some cornflowers and French lavender, then impersonating a tiger in the bushes, then having a nice rest.

This week's pin-up is an opposum.

Bolly, looking regal

This week's pin-up is Bug the Parrot

Bollinger had her tail between her legs this morning - literally. See pic.

A French friend emailed me regarding last week's pin-up (a cat grooming a guinea pig).

Her comment -

'Mmmm. Wonder what it would taste like lightly sauteed in garlic with a herb butter dressing.'

I emailed back to say this confirmed my suspicion that the French ate cats, but she denied this, saying she was referring to the guinea pig. She clearly felt this was more acceptable.

Thank goodness for the English Channel.

A cat and guinea pig who are best friends

A pensive vole

the cube thing in the living room

my garden chair

the ironing cupboard

I saw and heard a cuckoo in the garden this morning. My first ever sighting. It was like encountering a mythical creature from a medieval bestiary and cheered me up enormously. It was quite scraggy-looking but had a beautiful voice. A perfect metaphor for a radio presenter.

This week's pin-up is the lovely Bollinger. I took these pix of her at the weekend.

A Mini Schnauzer Puppy

Persephone

More Persephone Pix

Here are some pix taken today of Bolly's morning routine...

Introducing the delightful Daisy from Wiltshire

Boll, trying to open a birthday present intended for her friend James. She eventually did open it and got inside the bag.

Thank you to this week's Herts Mercury for catapulting Bollinger to even dizzier heights of feline fame.

Boll was joined in the Mercury by her friend Shirley Basset, who used to live next door. I spotted Shirley modelling in an article about Pet Week at Photography by Louise on St Andrew Street.

Bollinger will be appearing alongside Lenny Henry, an amazing family from Norwich, a [male] cat called Daisy, a forgetful curate, an ugly dog and - um - me, in a Comic Relief real-life story today (Thursday 15th March) at 10.03pm on BBC Radio 2. It's called It Could Be You.

Boll appears in the programme because Daisy was rather taciturn and I needed some cat sound effects to boost his presence.

Below is an exclusive excerpt from Bollinger's cameo. I feel she deserves an Oscar for Best Supporting Pet.

Bolly's BBC Appearance

Having been an indoor cat for quite a while, Boll is now spending some supervised time in the garden which is enclosed and cat-friendly. She spent her first few trips sitting on the doorstep happily eating plants. But this morning, she was alarmed to find a duck sitting on the wall. She wasn't sure what it was, so she ran indoors and hid under the coffee table.

Bollinger is sooooo useful sometimes.

The new DVD player has arrived and has been officially inspected by Boll.

The Amazing Alfie from Banbury - photos by Matt (whose nose remains intact)

A kitten sticking its tongue out

Bollinger was grooming herself this morning. Then she stopped. But she left her tongue sticking out. Just the tip. Why?

I suspect she'd just forgotten it was out. But one theory is that it's a sign of affection and indicates that your cat's totally relaxed with you.

Animal Planet discussion of the cat tongue question

Apparently, dog owners are healthier than cat owners, because they walk more and because dogs are more easy-going.

I've always had cats, but I'm neither a cat person nor a dog person. I like both. And I think they're much more similar than most people think.

Boll is very affectionate and sociable, like a dog. So she's very relaxing to be with. This could be because she was partly brought up by an extremely friendly dog - Charlie.

But I also think it's about your approach. If you treat a cat like a stereotypical cat, it becomes one. If you show it affection, it returns it.

Bolly celebrating Christmas in her inimitable style

Bolly on my parents' sofa

Bolly's at my parents' house for Christmas. She went up early as I was supposed to be moving house today and I didn't want to ruffle her. But I'm now moving in the first week of January - I think. Mum phoned tonight to say Boll was watching a documentary about lion cubs and was trying to get inside the TV to play with them.

Bollinger of Cricklewood

Bollinger has a namesake in London. The 'other' Bollinger is a 14-year-old Abyssinian who also likes snoozing upside down and gets on well with dogs. He even has his own Blog. Thank you to his human for getting in touch.

Bollinger's had a very odd week. She sprained her elbow on Monday and had to have an anti-inflammatory injection.

The injection then made her sick. So she had to go on a 24-hour starvation diet.

Now she's on a chicken-only diet for a day or two. She's still limping slightly, but seems perfectly happy now she can eat again.

I put a box file on my bed earlier while I was tidying my bedroom. And where did Bollinger decide to have a nap? On the nice cosy duvet? No. On the box file.

Mouse, impersonating a nun in the Sound of Music

Breaking News. There are new photos of Mouse on Fran's website.

Alfie the Jack Russell lives with Matt and Jaime in Banbury and runs his own website which also features his friend Molly from Oxford.

Alfie, celebrating Halloween