What is it about domestic animals that makes them so alluring and makes us go weak at the knees? I really don’t understand it.

Take our two cats please. I think of them as illegal immigrants.

They both arrived some years ago, uninvited and just took up residence. In all the years since they have not provided a single penny towards the household budget and have not done a day’s work either but they have been in receipt of all the benefits on offer, such as housing, home care, medical, free food and entertainment (yes, they both watch TV, particularly the wildlife documentaries).

In return for all this cossetting what do we get in return? They treat us like dirt. They come and go as they please, only show affection when it’s feeding time and consider us as “their people” rather than the other way around.

In spite of all this we couldn’t and wouldn’t do without them.

I know that, in this household, I come way down the pecking order in my wife’s eyes. After the cats it’s her indoor tennis, then the washing machine and tumble drier, etc.

I think I figure at about number eight. This was borne out this morning morning when I took her a cup of tea in bed.

As I left the room she said: “You look very handsome today, just like an Adonis”. “Thanks.” I replied, “I do like to make an effort”.

“Not you”, she said. “I’m talking to the cat”, who by that time had arrived in the bedroom.

Dogs are different in that they know and accept that you are the boss. They are enormously affectionate if treated well, are good companions and can be a life saver for disabled people.

No household is complete without a pet and, in my view, children should be brought up with animals so that they learn to respect and love them and are taught how to handle them from an early age.

There is no excuse for animal cruelty. If you don’t like them, don’t have them.

If you do like them they are a wonderful worthwhile addition to the household – even cats.

John Morris Seaview Road