All about the world of the home’s best friend

Press, 26 May 1979, Page 13

All about the world of the home’s best friend

“Cats’ House” is a short, colour documentary about cats, written and produced by Catherine de la Roche, of Wellington, which will show on TVI on Sunday, June 3, in the afternoon.

Mrs de la Roche writes about this production:

Domestic cats seem to be happiest in a home with a garden, where they can shelter indoors and be free in at least part of what Don Marquis has called “the great open spaces where cats are cats” — where they can roam, climb, play, dig, hunt, hide from danger or withdraw into privacy. Most cats like the company of people, provided their understanding of cats is not smaller than a cat’s understanding of a human being.

Cats need understanding perhaps more than other domestic animals. Worldwide, animal-lovers are a minority and among them, it has been estimated, doglovers outnumber cat-lovers four to one. Most feline stereotyping is derogatory. This has long been reflected in sayings, myths, lyrics and so on. To be “catty” means being spiteful. Songs like “But the cat came back” often mock the animal.

Unlike dogs, who enjoy

outings or even travel, cats dread leaving their ground. They lose confidence, character and quality when deprived of freedom or pulled about. Like dogs they pine for their friends.

I believe it is true that for a cat there is no place like home and that it can be an ordeal to be boarded out. The best solution when their people go away is, I think, some arrangement like meals-on-wheels for cats to be fed at home. When this isn’t possible, the next best thing is some kind of home-from-home. Realising this I have long wanted to establish a model cats’ home designed for their needs and temperaments as best I could interpret these from lifelong observation.

My chance came some eight years ago when I was building a summerhouse and was able to partition off six cubicles, two double four single, and to add a decent size adjoining wire mesh enclosure. I hope it is an example of fitness for purpose. The size, though determined by the location on a steep hillside and the limitation of my means, seems to be right. Were I able to expand, I would not set up a larger home but would develop a complex of similar intimate units.