My eye. Boo hoo.

"So Bertie, what's all this about then?" asked Gail, waving her mobile phone in my face in a slightly confrontational manner when she arrived home from work at the usual time last night.

Apparently she had received a text message from my dog walkers earlier in the day.

Hi Gail. I tried calling you but as there was no answer I am texting to say that Bertie got a small scratch today when George had him out. As they turned a corner a cat darted out and before George could do anything the two made contact. The result was a small scratch above the eye. George used an antiseptic wipe to clean it. When George took Bertie back to the house the bleeding had stopped but you might want to check it out yourself. I thought it best to explain this on the phone rather than a note. If you want to phone me you can get me on this number. Regards, Elizabeth.

You would think, wouldn't you, that someone who loved and cared for their pet, on hearing this news would have immediately rushed back to check up on his wellbeing, if necessary abandoning important business, and spending the rest of the day administering comforting cuddles and plentiful treats.

Not so Gail.

No, with her it's all a brusque and unsympathetic "let's have a look at the eye, there now it seems fine to me, really Bertie I hope this will teach you a lesson not to get into scraps with cats, you should know by now that they always win in the end, you simply must be more sensible in future."

I am still sulking.

PS from Gail - I did in fact take Bertie to be examined by the vet this morning and he confirmed that no serious damage had been done. Except possibly to Bertie's self esteem.