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Published on August 18, 2007

"We'd like to drop by," the wife told me before they showed up, "but my husband doesn't really like animals." Thus poor Wan-Wan the poodle pup is locked away in her cage, where she's curled up in a corner unhappily.

Without incarceration she would be jumping around, pawing lightly at each person. At three kilos, she couldn't do much harm to anyone, but a non-dog-person wouldn't find her amusing.

The cats, I think, are upstairs. They have a very sensitive enjoyment quotient.

When a guest doesn't offer much in the way of amusement, they simply disappear.

Suddenly, the man freezes. His wife looks at me accusingly. Off to the side, I see Yoyo approaching. This cat believes that humans exist as his personal playthings.

From anyone, he expects at least a scratch between his ears.

He sees the man; the man sees him. They stare at each other silently. The cat is entranced, especially when the man shrinks. I watch in surprise. Yoyo is smiling, making himself as charming as he can. I imagine that he wants to rub himself against the man's legs, a feline greeting and also a way for him to lay down some scent to claim his new - and now motionless - friend as territory.

A few readers have mentioned the story that international news services carried a few weeks ago about a cat who lives in a nursing home in the US. The staff noticed that two-year-old Oscar, rescued from an animal shelter, seems to "know" when one of the residents is close to death.

For 25 times, he has curled up on the bed of the soon-to-be-departed a few hours beforehand, purring, wrapping his arms around a leg or simply sleeping until the end. Then he leaves.

Sometimes not even the doctors or nurses know how close to death the patient is, but Oscar's presence alerts them.

How does the cat know? Some animal behaviourists suspect that Oscar recognises a particular odour that signals death is near. Others think the cat is trying to mimic the care he sees the staff administering to terminal patients.

It's possible. My cat herd know when I'm sick and try to comfort me. They also know when one of their cat-friends is near death and wait quietly close by.

My guest, however, is not dying, but in his antipathy to felines, his motionlessness is probably making things worse for him. Yoyo is obviously attracted to this paralysed person. The more the man freezes up, the closer Yoyo wants to get to him.

We'll never know the cat's intentions, though. Gently, the wife reminds me of my insensitivity. "My husband really doesn't like cats," she says. "Please take this one away."

Yoyo ends up in the cage with Wan. With her best friend so near, the dog brightens up and jumps on him. Two extremely happy animals demonstrate that being in motion also has a high entertainment quotient too.

Bundles of energy

These two-month-old sisters, shih-tzu and terrier mixes, were rescued by Tharinee "Carrie" Wipuchanin, who believes the pups will not grow very large. Their mama is only four kilos.

Carrie hopes one home will adopt all three, after all they are small. If you're interested, call Carrie on (089) 669 1690 or (081) 451 2233.