Another gag inspired by a photo in the Day by Day cat calendar — this one a backview of some kittens with their tails handing over the edge.

I was fascinated by Newton’s Cradles when I was a kid. I never had one but if you were in a shop in Tunbridge Wells in the 1970s and could hear a ‘Click click click’ sound coming from the gift section, you could pretty well guess that’s where I was.

This is an example of why cheating at artwork doesn’t work. The idea was that the gag would be helped if the cats stayed in exactly the same position in each frame and only the tails moved, so I drew one frame and then photocopied it another seven times. The result is, frankly, lifeless – compare it with ‘Tail Jive’ two weeks ago, where every iteration of Smith was drawn individually and it looks much better.