At 22 Thumper, a large tabby with white patches whines loudly when he sees me approaching. Until now he has been sleeping peacefully, curled up on the cushion of a huge circular, yellow, sixties armchair, looking like a character in a James Bond film. His meows escalates in volume and urgency as I gather him into my arms for a cuddle, he rests two massive paws on my shoulder and meows loudly into my ear. The meows continue as I spill some cat soup into a bowl, then he scram