BEACHCOMBER 108 YEARS OLD AND FASCINATED BY FELINE FINANCES..

PRAWNS can lead to fascinating conversations, as I discovered, to my surprise, when I offered Squiggly, my feline companion, a taste of a prawn cocktail I had purchased at Waitrose.

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I had fished, or to be more accurate shellfished, a prawn from the dish, cut it into small pieces and given it to Squiggly.

He sniffed at it approvingly, then slurped a little before suddenly stopping and looking directly at me. “Did you buy this item at a reduced price?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, “but it’s still fresh and within its sell-by period. Does it taste off?”

“Not at all,” the cat said. “It’s delicious. As you have presumably noticed, I enjoy items from the human seafood section of Waitrose, but you only rarely buy them for me. I assume that is because they are far more expensive than cat food.”