I am deeply in love with my cat right now.

Jemima is a sweet little thing, but the sweet is mixed with a liberal dash of crazy. That crazy has in the past led her to traumatise herself, and to leave me scarred (quite literally), but these days it seems to be making her utterly, pathetically, endearingly devoted to me.

Since we moved, she has hardly dared set foot outside. When we leave the doors to the garden open, she sits on the doorstep and looks out with big, round eyes at the strange new world out there. But she doesn't dare actually cross the threshold. Once or twice she has - very bravely - ventured out, but she keeps a close eye on the door, and if a person should make the tiniest move towards it, she shoots inside as fast as she can. (Running, on one occasion, straight into the glass door, bouncing off (ouch! forehead!), and circling back without slowing down.) Because clearly we are doing our damndest to trick her into going outside, so that we can lock her out and abandon her FOREVER.

Silly muppet.

This is, of course, the same cat who used to go stir crazy if locked inside for more than 12 hours; the same cat who occasionally disappeared for 24 hours or more at a stretch, causing extreme anxiety in housesitters. But that was before. Now, we've moved, and everything's different. Did I mentioned she traumatised herself, back in her yoof? Yes. The crazy is coming back to haunt her.

Anyway, so besides her sudden fear of the great outdoors, she's also developed an enormous crush on me. Bad things will happen if I am ever in a room without Jemima in it! Ever! So she follows me around, making tiny little birdlike noises, and once she's established what it is that I'm doing and how long I'm likely to be there, settling down to purr wherever she can make herself comfortable.

Like, you know. The handbasin.

Yes, I know she always did like the basin. But then, it was about finding a comfy spot to be alone in. Now, it's about protecting me while I brush my teeth. The second the toothpaste comes out, there she is. Purr, purr, purr. Curling up in a way you'd swear wasn't possible on a hard surface. Purrrrrrr.

Crazy.