They don't realise that they're not going back to the flat. They're going to a small townhouse - a whole new world.

Before we even arrive at the new place, they've begun to suspect something's up. The more intelligent cats have stopped yelling, waiting to find out what will happen next. By the time I bring the cats inside the townhouse, each in his or her own carrier, they are all silent.

I open the carriers, and feline noses appear. Three cats glance briefly around, leap out of their carriers, and race up the stairs. Cats, when they sense danger, are genetically programmed to head upwards, and Susu, Angel and Pan-Pan do just that.

Pan-Pan, however, is not so successful with upwards locomotion. Always flabby, he has lost muscle tone during his month at the vet's, and his hindquarters slip and slide on the stairs. He finally stops half-way up, then turns and yells at me, as in: "What's going on?"

Malee, who never follows the herd, has recognised her old friend, the sofa, which is right by the carriers. She dives underneath, and for the rest of the day, I hear her cry out periodically, as in: "What have you done to me."

Yoyo heads half-way up the stairs and then turns to look at me. "I'm stressed out," I think he says. "I need a hug." He races back down the stairs, leaps into my arms and clutches a shoulder, which he begins kneading, as if he were back in his early kittenhood.

Susu has climbed ever upwards and discovered a hiding place on the third floor.

When I find her several hours later, she shrinks from me, avoiding my touch.

As the hours pass, the cats begin to relax. Malee finds my bed on the second floor and claims a pillow. Yoyo begins exploring but gives himself a scare when he forgets how to get down from the third floor. Angel, the most pragmatic of the felines, finally curls up and goes to sleep on the sofa. Pan-Pan curls up under the computer, his paws wrapped around my feet.

For dinner, only three cats show up, and no one eats very much, not even food-loving Pan-Pan. They're all still rather stressed. It will take time for them to get used to their new home - but how much time? I ask myself. Days? Weeks?

I get my answer at two in the morning. Suddenly I'm awakened when Susu, who's come down from her third-floor hiding place, touches noses with me, then curls up by my feet. Pan-Pan is lying by my side. Malee has claimed the other pillow, and Yoyo is sleeping near her, while Angel watches me from a table nearby.

With a smile, I go back to sleep, only to be re-awakened an hour later, when Yoyo again gets lost on the third floor and needs help finding his way down.

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