Two would accept only one specific brand of dry catfood. Okay, I understand that. My herd too has a preferred brand and flavour. Hers, however, refused to come into the kitchen to eat, waiting for her on their perches in the guestroom. They wouldn't eat off a plate either, although she did have to bring them their food on a plate. Then she had to take four or five pieces from the plate and place them in front of each cat. When these were eaten, she would put another four or five pieces in front of them.

If she deviated from this procedure, if, for example, she didn't bring them food to them on a plate but simply in her hand, they wouldn't eat.

After I read the e-mail, I chuckled to myself. "I will never let my cats dominate me like that," I thought. "Mine will eat normally off a plate, or they'll starve."

But that e-mail comes back to haunt me every time I feed Malee, my shy Siamese.

Now the oldest of my cat herd, Malee may or may not take normal catfood at mealtimes. Even if she nibbles at it, she prefers glop, a mixture of chicken, chicken liver and rice that I make for her and for my boy Pan-Pan to reduce their fat and sodium intake. This glop is good for her, but she won't take it on a plate.

She'll only take it when I put a spoonful directly on a wooden stool, where she perches patiently. She nibbles daintily at the spoonful I give her and then jumps down.

During the day, if she's hungry, she'll jump up on the stool and wait quietly until I notice and give her another spoonful.

I've tried serving the glop to her on a plate, but she's just not interested. Nor will she take it on the floor. The spoonful of glop must be placed on the stool.

Malee didn't wake up suddenly one morning and decide to torture me. The process was gradual, starting around two years ago, when she became seriously ill.

Her temperature was high, and she stopped eating completely. Even after a course of antibiotics brought her temperature back to normal, her appetite was poor. A small cat, she continued losing weight.

It was then that I started feeding her by hand, rubbing the glop across her lips. Although she would swallow it, she has always been a cat who doesn't appreciate being forced to do what she herself hasn't decided to do.

Fortunately, this cat is extremely intelligent, or at least astute enough to work out a compromise. I would place a drop of the glop on the stool, and she would lick it up.

Eventually, she came to enjoy the attention, as well as the personal space.

Today, despite some kidney problems, she's healthy and at a normal weight.

She just doesn't do plates.

Questions about your pets? Fax (02) 751 4446 or e-mail laurie@nationgroup.com.

By Laurie Rosenthal