hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn November 2014 | Page 16

Confessions of a Cat Sitter
Chris Pascoe is the author of A Cat Called Birmingham & You Can Take the Cat
Out of Slough, and a columnist for various UK & international magazines.
He’s also a cat sitter…
I read a piece in the paper recently, about a US
tabby named Sal being summoned for Jury Service.
Sal’s owner Anna was quick to respond to the
Court’s mistaken request (probably originating
from Sal’s entry under ‘Pets’ on a Census form),
explaining that Sal would be unable to participate in
any trials, on account of her being a cat. Anna also
added, tongue-in-cheek, that she didn’t think Sal’s
grasp of the English language would be quite up to
it. However, somebody in the halls of power didn’t
read Anna’s reply very carefully, because a second
letter duly arrived, insisting that Sal’s reasons for
abstention were inadequate and that she UT