[color:"orange"]and only keeps one (1) savefile[/color]
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />
Before entering the castle by invitation, did you toss a teleporter stone past the guards to get in and talk to Janus? If so, that will break the quest to find the cat, and you will need to start over (since you can not reload a save before entering and talking to Janus for the first time).
If that wasn't it, did you try going back and talking to Janus, and then heading south towards the kitchen?