The cat sat on my lap

'Panda' is sitting on my lap, as I type, or TRY to type, as I keep stopping to hold her body with my left hand, and stroke her with my right hand. I can understand why it is therapeutic to have an animaml in your life. She belongs to my next door neighbours, Karen and Patrick, and I often open my door to Panda. Last night, my friend Matt, left my flat after we watched episode 2 of True Detective Series Two - excellent by the way - and a few seconds after he left, he rang my buzzer. I thought he'd forgotten something, but he had let Panda in through the entrance door to my block.

Much as I love Panda, she also intimidates me. I just jerked my hand away when I went to stroke her and she popped her head up. Sometimes, she will 'nip' at me, and sometimes she will 'claw' me. I don't mind if she uses my carpet but I do mind if she uses my leg. She slept on my bed last night, the only female I have ever shared my bed with, well, the only one who stayed for more than five minutes anyway.

I can tell she's content because I can hear her 'purr.' It's a strange sound which reminds me of cicadas.  Karen and Patrick are moving soon, and I don't know how far away they will go, which means I may have to live without Panda. My Serbian friend Alex comes back from Belgrade around the time that Karen and Patrick and Panda will be leaving, so perhaps Alex and I will 'share' a dog. We've been talking about doing this for a while. She lives around the corner from me, and whenever one is away, the other can look after 'Jack' (or 'Jackie.) A dog would be good for both of us.