Before, when it rained, everyone would simply curl up and wait for the thunder to stop. Now, however, as soon as it thunders and rains heavily, the cats freeze, then head for the second floor.

Thanks to the 12-centimetre flooding that occurred on the first floor three months ago, they've learned that rain is no longer a harmless inconvenience but a menace to their comfort and security.

My big boy Pan-Pan suffered the most. When the flood began rising on the first floor, he hid in a pan under the stove. The pan could not protect him, though. As the water flowed into it, he had the chance to leap out and head for the stairs.

Instead, he remained where he was. Unable to sit up, he was forced to hunker down. He ended up wet to his neck.

He has never forgotten the fear and discomfort of his ordeal - I think.

After I wrote about this experience, one reader admonished me for splashing through the water to rescue the cat. "Don't you realise you could have been electrocuted?" he asked, pointing out that water and electrical outlets can produce a lethal combination, if there isn't a blowout first.

He needn't have worried. Before I moved into the townhouse, I specified that every electrical outlet in the place had to be at least one metre above the floor. I wasn't thinking about floods but about cats who enjoy pulling out wiring.

Well, my concern provided unexpected additional protection, except for some computer connections. When I returned that night and found the flood, I also found a "splitter" floating in the water. That little piece of equipment that enables you to connect the modem and the telephone at the same time would split no more.

I guess Pan-Pan had jumped on top of the computer when the water started rising and then lost his footing, inadvertently pulling the wires and the splitter off the table with him as he fell into the water. He's never been the most graceful of cats, nor one with much common sense. The stove-pan must have seemed the most accessible of sanctuaries, even though the stairs were nearby.

Although I stopped counting my home's flooding incidents after Flood Number Four, I live in hope, except for one point. The three-month-old pup I once owned in that long-ago village instinctively knew to clamber onto a chair during a flood.

Today in the townhouse, as soon as it thunders, the cats move towards higher ground. Even without Pan-Pan's terrible experience, they know precisely what to do.

Some people have told me (with great assurance), "All cats are much more intelligent than dogs", but they haven't met my big boy, have they?

Amidst the thunder, lightning and pounding rain outside, he lowers his tail and head and skitters towards his old but faithless friend, that pan under the stove.

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

By Laurie Rosenthal