Sooty was a little black cat who reached the grand old age of 21. She was very beautiful, a bit eccentric and liked to jump and land in the middle of dinner plates. This is where her deafness came in handy.

She was tiny, pure magic, my best mate and inspiration for the Sooty and Sam Products, along with Sam, a very large, friendly black cat who was a rather handsome boy. I think he likened himself to a 1960s feline film star but he was really more like Bagpuss than Baghera. No one told him that though.

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