Prior to the auction, auctioneers estimated the drawings would fetch between £3,000 and £5,000.

They sold for £3,000, excluding the buyer’s premium, at the auction company’s Cirencester saleroom.

Science fiction writer HG Wells said Wain “made the cat his own”.

“He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world.

“English cats that do not look or live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves,” he added.