Tom, I can certainly recommend the 14-42 mm. It is a solidly made lens and very compact. I have published two photo books of India solely using this lens and the EP-l I owned at the time. It is so good it allowed me to crop quite severely to close in on several images. It’s a great little lens which I still own.
At present I use the Panasonic 45-150mm another cheapie which I cannot fault and use on subject matter similar to you.
Have a look at my post in “Requisite cat“ posts for my latest image to see how it performs.
I also use this as a walkabout.
I hope this helps to narrow down your decision.
Ben