The prosecution: James

double quotation mark It’s unhygienic. The cat will jump out of her litter box and on to the surface where we prepare food

I’ve been married to Tony for 10 years. We understand each other’s quirks, but he is a very intense person with many passions, and one of his passions is cats.

We have three cats, adopted from Brazil. Growing up, I was a dog person, but I also used to rescue stray cats, so I love them too. But Tony is obsessed.

We also had a dog, Jamie, but he died recently. He developed a digestive problem, aged 14, because he over-ate. He often ate the cats’ food, so we moved the cats’ bowls up on to the counter next to the kitchen sink to stop this. One cat, Juçara, got particularly used to eating and drinking up there.

Now the dog isn’t around, but Tony will still leave the water bowl on the kitchen counter. I find it unhygienic. Juçara will jump straight out of her litter box and on to the surface where we prepare food.…