Horace the top cat is feline spoilt

Even for some of today's most spoilt celebrities, lounging around all day on £500-a-metre silk would be a bit excessive. But for one London pet his tastes have seen him crowned Britain's most pampered cat.

One-year-old Horace, who has a penchant for designer goods - particularly his favourite Marcel Breuer chair - has beaten thousands of entries in the Gourmet Five Star Feeline competition, winning his owner, Christina Bennett, a £20,000 diamond pendant.

Mrs Bennett, 26, from Brixton, who allows her cat to help himself to food at all hours and painstakingly brushes his fur every morning, said: "To me Horace is a very special cat. He is the biggest diva I know - but he's so charismatic and charming with it.

"I love nothing more than to spoil him. I recently bought him a bed from Harrods but he prefers to use the sofa. And I buy him lots of toys. But he has a tendency to destroy them very quickly, so I always have to replenish them."

Mrs Bennett said she can't bear to be parted from her Maine coon cat so usually takes him with her to the designer clothes store, Antonia Pugh-Thomas, in Fulham, where she works as head of production.

He chooses the most expensive silk materials to lounge on and spends his days admiring himself in the shop's full-length mirror, while being fussed over by clients.

Among the 11 runners up in the competition were Willow and Titus, both also from London. Willow refuses to eat unless the plate is held to her mouth and, like diva Mariah Carey, will only drink water at room temperature. And Titus's owner bought a £500 king-sized bed so there was enough room for her, her partner and the cat to all sleep peacefully.

Horace and all the spoiled 11 runners-up received a year's supply of Gourmet cat food and each of their owners were given a £1,000 pendant.