Cats Who Eat Runner Bean Plants

Google has rarely let me down. A few weeks ago I used it to successfully diagnose a neurological condition in a friend which was of such rarity that the senior neurological consultant in Nottingham had only seen it twice before in his career. And I am not a doctor.

Google is silent however on the matter of cats who eat runner bean leaves. Either Ernest (pictured) is unique in this respect or nobody else has thought to document this remarkable phenomenon. I'm therefore committing this information to the blogosphere, partly as a service to other bewildered cat-owners (you are not alone) and partly to see how quick Google is to pick it up.

Every year I grow runner beans in some pots in the back yard and every year the young plants are systematically murdered by our supposedly carnivorous friend. At first I suspected slugs or some exotic pest of the insect tribe but Ernest is now exposed as a secret vegetarian.

He doesn't just nibble the leaves round the edges - he is quite capable of taking nine or a dozen whole, fully formed, leaves at a sitting and polishing off the lot. I have never seen him take an interest in any other plant in the garden.

I am now seeking an exceptionally fast growing variety of runner bean which, if it can raise its main leaves to 24" off the ground (Ernest's height at a full stretch) in a single day, may stand a chance of survival and a fruitful life.