Amber alert for cat that never grew up

Amber, bless her still-feral little heart, is a work in progress as a house cat. We have accepted that she will never be quite "normal," or at least normal for a domestic cat.

Her near-death experience and horrific injuries when she begged us for help, seem to have left her confused as to her age - she still behaves more like a kitten, with as little control as a kitten, though she is now in her early teens. And she appears to believe that we are all, whether dog, human or cat, the same species.

We no longer squeal or squeak when she hides round corners or behind furniture crouched like a tiger, ready to pounce on our tender feet. She can't help it, but her nails, unable to retract fully, dig in like needles piercing tender skin.

We don't worry when she attempts to scrape up the floor while she tries to hide anything she thinks needs hiding or at least concealing. We automatically grab cushions or blankets to protect our tender flesh when she tries to make herself comfortable by kneading with her claws to give herself comfort.

Jade, older and with all the attributes of a normal cat, was taught at a young age not to catch birds, bats or frogs, although we never managed to teach her to leave snakes alone. So, Jade never tries catching mice.

Amber, however, happily hunts the pesky little varmints down, but plays with them, as she no longer needs them as food. Somehow, she has recently learned to not only catch mice, but now brings it to the nearest human.

Four times now, she has brought a tiny field mouse to me, waited while I get a box, then released it, still alive, into the box when I say "drop." This is dog behavior, not cat, but who am I to argue, as it means I can take the tiny rodent well away, to release it into the wild.

As a young cat, we couldn't touch Amber without her automatic reaction being to attack back with teeth and claws, as if fighting for her life. These days she has mellowed, she curls up as close as possible to her humans, and even allows us to stroke her for at least 30 seconds before she goes into fight mode. Almost a normal house cat.

Georgina Noyce is an equestrian judge, and has a menagerie of adopted four-legged waifs and strays