My family decided that my youngest son should have a cat, against my better instincts. A very pretty cat was rescued from the local cats home, she totally ignored us and tried to run away on numerous occasions before finally deciding that we were possibly acceptable. Having a cat wandering around a foody pub is always suspect, she very quickly learned that the kitchen bar and restaurant were all off limits, which was a great relief to me. She would stretch out in front of the fire and the customers would make a fuss over her, until she got fed up and then went outside or upstairs.

One very busy evening the bar was packed the restaurant full, we were all running at full stretch. One of the girls came in and said that the cat had just ripped a chunk out of a customers fur coat in the restaurant and taken off. It was a lady’s birthday and she had a fur coat over the back of  her chair with a big tear in the arm, she was not a happy customer. I apologised profusely and asked what sort of fur was it, she replied saying that it was Coni (Rabbit). My wife then explained that the cat had been costantly  bitten and kicked by a tame rabbit in the cattery. Bumble was the cats name and she obviously saw this as an opportunity for revenge. I said we would sort out compensation, phoned the insurance company in the morning, who said their policy did not cover marauding cats. I got stroppy and threatened to cancel all our policies and they agreed to a £300 ex gratia pay out. I then asked the lady with the coat how much would she like as compensation, she said £150 and was delighted, I bought Bumble a tin of luxury cat food, not rabbit. (JCG)