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Lara and Jasmine looked down at Star. She was purring blissfully to herself as Jasmine stroked her, in just the right itchy spot down her spine. She looked up at them, then nudged Jasmine’s chin lovingly. Lara and Jasmine both sighed. Who wouldn’t want such a gorgeous cat?

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Over the next week, Jasmine wondered if Star had been listening to what she and Lara had said. She seemed to be doing everything she could to charm Jasmine’s parents. Perhaps it was because Star felt lonely while Jasmine was at school, or perhaps it was just that she was a natural people-cat, but she put on her best manners.

On Monday afternoon, Jasmine rushed home from school and let herself in, eager to see Star. But today Star didn’t come to say hello. After looking in the kitchen and her bedroom, Jasmine went to her mum’s office to see if she knew where the cat was. She put her head round the office door and found Star and her mum, watching the gleams of rainbow light from the glass prism her mum had hanging in the window. Her mum was laughing as Star leaped around the room, chasing the coloured flashes on the wall.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” she asked her mum sternly.

Mum looked guilty.“Yes. But Star came in, and she seemed to want making a fuss of. She’s so funny, Jasmine – and so athletic. Look at her jumping!”

Star looked up at Jasmine lovingly, and then mewed hopefully at Jasmine’s mum.

“Oh, do you want me to swing it for you again, hmm?” Mum reached up to tap the prism, sending the rainbows all round the wall again, and Star was off in a mad cat dance, leaping and patting at the pretty lights.

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Jasmine huffed and went to get herself a drink. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her mum getting on with Star – after all, it was exactly what she’d wanted! But Jasmine did feel a tiny bit jealous.She played with Star. She and Lara had nipped into the pet shop on the way home, and she’d bought a jingly ball for her. But Mum’s rainbow lights looked much more exciting!

Dad took a bit longer to fall for Star. He didn’t really spend much time with her, and he got very ratty when he discovered she’d slept on his favourite jumper and left it covered in brown hairs. But on Sunday morning, Jasmine came downstairs and found Dad reading the newspaper, and Star sitting on the kitchen table (which she wasn’t allowed to do). She was batting at the back of the paper. Every time she did it, Dad would twitch the paper straight, and Star would wait a few seconds and whack it again with her paw.

Jasmine watched her do it three more times before Dad snorted with laughter and folded up the paper. Star jumped delicately on to his lap and gazed up at him with big green eyes. Jasmine’s dad looked down at her, as though he wasn’t sure quite what he was supposed to do now. He put out a cautious hand and stroked her, very lightly down her back. Then he looked up at Jasmine, as if he thought she might tell him he’d done it wrong.

Jasmine sighed and shook her head, smiling. Star had managed it again. She’d even won Dad over!

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Dad stroked Star again, more confidently this time.“This cat,” he told Jasmine, as she fetched herself a bowl of cornflakes, “has got a real sense of humour.” He reached over and grabbed a packet of cat treats that had been left on the counter. Star sat up on his lap, her tail twitching eagerly, and he fed her three, one after the other. She crunched them up quickly, with her eyes closed in delight.

“Not too many, Dad.” Jasmine pointed at him with her cereal spoon. “She’ll get fat. In fact…” Jasmine looked worriedly at Star’s silky tummy. Was it her imagination, or was it rather larger than before? “She’s getting really podgy, Dad, now that I look at her! I bet Mum’s been feeding her loads of treats while I’m at school.”

Jasmine didn’t mention the number of times she’d saved a little bit of chicken or sausage from tea to feed to Star as an extra-special treat, but she couldn’t help feeling rather guilty. She’d just wanted to make Star happy – and it was so sweet the way she nibbled the scraps off her fingers.

Jasmine’s mum came downstairs and frowned when Jasmine asked her about the treats. “Well, I have given her the odd one. But not that many, Jasmine. I wouldn’t have thought it would be enough to fatten her up.” She eyed Star thoughtfully, as she sat on Dad’s lap and washed her ears. “Hmmm. She is looking a bit fatter, you’re right. Oh dear. I don’t know much about cats, but I’m sure it isn’t healthy for her to be fat. She could get ill.”

“I’ll try and get her to do a bit more running around,” Jasmine said, wondering what the Murrays would say if they came home and found they had a fat cat.

Star seemed to be able to tell that Jasmine was worried. She stopped washing and gazed lovingly at her from Dad’s lap. Then she sat up on her hind legs with her front paws in the air, as though she was begging to be picked up. It was so funny Jasmine choked on her mouthful of cornflakes.