Our house hasn’t been the same this week.

It feels different, empty, lacking in something. It isn’t the same home at all – and that is because we no longer have our beloved pet cat.

The worst thing about owning a pet is the impact it has upon you when it dies, as we are experiencing since losing our ginger tom, Gordon.

We knew it would happen – first kidney problems were diagnosed, then a dodgy thyroid. Getting him to take his pills was a nightmare. Even finely chopped and mixed with food, he would manage to sniff them out and I would find little white crumbs in his empty bowl.

We tried it the hard way, wrapping him in a towel to keep his claws at bay and prising apart his jaw, but he would thrash about – it was like trying to feed a rabid lion.

We’d been given Gordon while holidaying in Sandsend, near Whitby. A stray for at least a year beforehand, he settled in immediately and loved his home comforts.

Pets quickly become part of your routine – or rather, with cats, you fit into theirs. They pester you for meals – Gordon would sit on top of my husband and tap his face until he got up and served breakfast; they decide which chair they want to sit on, and, if you let them, they take over most of your bed on a night.

Cats are well known for being more independent than dogs and, yes, they are probably not as devoted – our cat had three ‘owners’, regularly visiting our neighbours’ homes – but they all endear themselves to you with their different personalities.

And above all, whether cat, dog, rabbit or guinea pig, they become a big part of the family.

For the past week, out of habit, I have left doors open for Gordon, I have walked to the cat food aisle in the supermarket and I have slowed down in the car as I approach our drive, where he used to sit waiting. I keep finding his hairs and the odd whisker in places he used to settle.

Having been with them for most of their lives, his death has hit my daughters hard. He used to lie with them on the rug in the garden, and when they were growing up and did their paper rounds, he would accompany them.

Anyone who has lost a much-loved pet will know the heartache you feel. Some people feel they want a break before getting another pet, but we are eager to give another feline who is down on his luck a home.

And, on a happy note, our pet lives on – Gordon won a competition a couple of years ago and is immortalised in a statue on the famous Cat Trail in York.