Last week, I was in Aberdeen for my sister’s graduation, which meant that Athena had to spend her first ever day away from me. My mum came over to stay at my flat while I was in Aberdeen, and was left with a long list of instructions about how to attend to Lady Athena in the style to which Athena has been accustomed to.

Here are some of the things Athena got up to while being looked after by her granny . . .

• Athena stole her granny’s toothbrush, taking it into the bath to play with it. She has never stolen a toothbrush before.
• While granny slept, Athena sat on the ottomon beside the bed and watched . . .
• When granny was working, Athena got so annoyed she deliberately pushed all of granny’s papers off the table.
• Then lay on her laptop
• Athena got lots of treats.

So this week, Athena has been quite affectionate in her own way, as talkative as ever, wanting to be beside me (if not actually wanting to sit on me – my Theenie is not a lap cat, despite a promising start as a kitten), and generally looking terribly cute and behaving like a terribly spoiled princess. I have a cold which has made me lose my voice, which means she is immune to being told off, because apparently I’m not at all intimidating when croaking.