Rosemary's Cattery

When she came to dinner on Thursday evening, Rosemary told us about the cattery on the farm where she, her husband and family live in Melbourne. With a liking for dogs but a special affinity for cats, Rosemary visited several other catteries before designing her own.

Each cat is housed in a two storied compartment with a carpeted ramp, on which claws can be sharpened, connecting the two. The upper compartment has a window, the lower is darker but from it a cat flap leads to an outside enclosure. Cats usually take a day to settle in. After that they appear very content.

Rosemary restricts the number of residents she accepts, making sure her charges are eating the food their owners recommend. Two cats were left with her for two-and-a-half years while their owners were in Japan. Four was the largest number left by one person. Melbourne has very strict cat control laws and to keep four cats a permit is needed.

Before you rush out to build your own cattery, let me warn you of what can happen to raise your adrenalin to pathological levels. Cats are not usually regarded as burrowing animals and I was amazed when Rosemary told us that two cats had succeeded in burrowing out of their enclosure. Several times she and her son, Lorcan, vainly searched the farm and checked the family's garden, but it was only when the returned owner was furiously berating Rosemary that the wily creatures, miaouing innocently, betrayed their presence.

I don't know which is worse, one of your charges disappearing or having it die. While in her care two cats died. The owners of one of the deceased were in new Zealand at the time and, not wishing to spoil their holiday, Rosemary consulted their solicitor. He wisely recommended a postmortem which revealed the cause of the sudden death as a brain tumour.