Back at my computer after a three-year absence from these pages it feels as though I’ve not been away.

For those of you with good memories I was the ‘veterinary columnist’ for the Echo on Saturdays for a number of years; last time I wrote I was about to go on maternity leave for the third time. Our third son Max was born in September 2007 and life has been pretty busy since then. When I last wrote I used to regularly mention our large ginger cat called Orlando and in this respect my return to writing is tinged with sadness as since I last wrote Orlando has passed away.

Orlando was a rescue cat that I took on when I graduated from vet school in 1997. At that time we estimated his age to be about four years old (estimating the age of an adult cat is never easy or very accurate – you cannot do it by teeth like they do in horses). So by the winter before last he was approximately 15 years old. His health deteriorated throughout the Christmas period and into January and finally kidney failure took over (as is the case in so many older cats).

I always knew that I wanted him to be as comfortable and unstressed as possible in his final hours so the most logical thing was for me to put him to sleep at home where he was happiest. Even though I knew this was the right thing to do it did not make it any easier. I put him to sleep peacefully on my lap after the boys had gone to bed. I cried and cried that night and then the next morning the boys and I buried him in the garden.

I never underestimate how difficult it is for people to lose a beloved pet.

* Alice Moore is a vet at The Southfield Veterinary Centre, South Walks, Dorchester. Tel: 01305 262913. The surgery is open for consultations between 8am and 6.30pm. Please contact the surgery if you have any questions about this week’s article or other veterinary matters.