Last week, Brandy came back to the clinic because he was scratching himself – he was obviously tremendously uncomfortable.

Brandy is a long-haired, black and white, well-mannered, enormous neutered male cat with a large round face and two big brown eyes.

Brandy is adored and taken good care of by his owner.

The last time I had seen Brandy was late last August. His owner had gone on holiday and left him at a friend’s house, but when he returned he found Brandy had become very weak.

He was infested with fleas – one of the worst cases I’d seen recently. There were hundreds of them, and his long coat didn’t help matters at all.

Brandy’s gums were as white as snow, which explained his lethargy.

He was anaemic, meaning the haemoglobin in his blood was very low – the cumulative effect of so many fleas feasting on his blood.

Of course, we treated Brandy with an effective flea repellent, put him on a good diet and gave him vitamins and iron to replace what he had lost.

His owner called me a few days later to let me know Brandy was recovering well.

As it turns out, last week’s visit was related to the cat’s experience last summer.

Whenever I am asked about leaving pets behind while on holiday, the advice I give is that, whenever possible, dogs should go to kennels but cats should remain at home.

Cats do not take kindly to moving house (remember that as far as they are concerned, it is more their house than yours) so it would be better for them if a friend or relative could pop by your house once a day to feed your cat and take care of its litter. Dogs, meanwhile, are best left at professional kennels or with dog carers. In both cases, make sure you leave your pets with a person who loves and understands animals and who would be prepared to take your pets to the vet if they were taken ill.

Dr Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.

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