Sometimes you see a perfect gift when you’re not even looking for one.

And you have to get it because it’s sooo absolutely right, because the recipient will know it’s right exactly just as you did when you saw it. And even though it’s not his birthday or Christmas or any other holiday that might occasion it, you have to get it.

So you do. And you send it to England.

You send it Air Mail to England because the USPS does not believe in sea mail anymore. And sending it air mail means that it costs 6 times as much to send it as the gift itself.

But it’s perfect. So that makes it all right.

It just so happens that the gift is for a cat.

Not just any cat, though. Sid.

Sir Sidney, ACOSB — A Cat Of Superior Breeding — who lives with Kate Walker and keeps things running on the far side of the pond.

Sid and I go back a long way. He was scarcely more than a teenager when I first met him — not quite a full-fledged feline romantic hero. But he definitely had Potential.

He grew into his potential — and then some. He became a charmer. An alpha cat. With just a hint of bad boy in him. So that when I saw the dish with its motto — Bad to the Bone — I knew it had to be Sid’s.

Not just because of the motto, but because Sid believes in food. He relishes it. Adores it. Delights in it. Consumes it. A cat who feels that strongly about his nutrition should have a bowl that speaks both to his passion and his nature.

Hence, the perfect gift.

He has written me two thank you notes so far. He’s had his picture taken with it eight times. He has chased Flora the Floozie away from it — allowing her a few Greenies (sent along to Sid and his housemates Flora and Dyl the Vil because all cats love Greenies.) but not allowing her the use of his bowl.

So, Sid, I’m delighted you are enjoying your new china — and the Greenies that came with it. I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

ps: this is the sort of thing writers do when plots are eluding them.