When I was in primary school I, like most girls, had a mortal enemy. A rival in every element of life, real or imagined. In my case, let�s call her Crooke. My long rivalry with Crooke was not born of any particular incident, but simply developed over time. And finally ended with me loosing my temper and slapping her across the face to the cheers of the rest of the class (or at least some of the rest of the class - there were definitely cheers, though I concede that the past 20 years may have exaggerated the number in my mind).

During those years, the most frustrating part of it all was when my mother would advise me � or, worse, mention to her friends � that the whole reason for the rivalry was that Crooke and I were too alike. My enemy and I alike? I don�t think so.

Well, I didn�t think so then. Now I can see the similarities. Strong willed, smart, confident, over-achieving, with underlying insecurities. Yep, all there.

My reason for bringing this up, you ask? Cats.

I have mentioned before that I am an anti-cat person. And I listed plenty of reasons why.

But yesterday afternoon it occurred to me that the real reason may well be that I am actually a cat person. I may hate cats because I am too much like them and can see all the flaws in my personality reflected back at me from each sneeze-inducing feline that crosses my path.

This occurred to me as I discovered one of the great pleasures of my new apartment. In the mornings the sun streams in through the windows of my kitchen, bathroom and study. The couch in my study is therefore perfect for sitting on, reading a book or the paper with a cup of tea on weekend mornings, soaking up the sun. In the afternoons the sun floods my bedroom and living room. While that will be a problem during the peak of Summer, at the moment in the early Spring, it is perfect.

Which is how I found myself lying on my living room floor yesterday afternoon � after a substantial yum cha lunch with friends � reading a book and then dozing happily in the large patch of sun cast through the window and on to the carpet. As I stretched and rolled over, almost but not quite fully asleep, I suddenly found myself contemplating the similarities between me and cats. Then I rolled over to keep moving with the sun spot, and went back to sleep.

Let�s run off a list. Cats are solitary, selfish, lazy, likely to snap for no apparent reason, capable of great affection but only when it suits them, and fond of sleeping in sun patches for hours at a time.

I am, well, all of the above.

Now sure, I don�t have hair balls (though my hair will occasionally clog the shower drain), and I don�t vomit in random corners (though I have been known to throw-up inappropriately when drinking too much), and I definitely don�t lick myself clean (though�nope, no �though� there, thank goodness). But it does seem to me that felines and I have a lot in common. Perhaps too much.

Which is not going to make me like them, though I am likely to view them with a combination of new found respect and increased distain. And hold on to the one substantial difference between us � I don�t make people sneeze.

Hmm, I wonder what Crooke�s up to these days?