STOMPer Shawn once tried to walk his cats Dustball and Peter with harnessses but they were so scared, they tried to scurry home. That was when he realised his cats were too home loving for the outdoors.

The STOMPer said in an email (June 14):

"Dustball, a 5 year-old American Shorthair was given his name because he has patches of different colouring on his face. The coloring makes him look 'dusty'- like he had rolled around in dirt.

"Peter, a 5 year-old American Shorthair as well, was initially named Penelope- the pet shop we got him from told us he was a girl. For the longest time we thought he was female until one fine day we realised that he is actually a male, so we renamed him Peter.

"Dustball loves bags and boxes- plastic bags, luggage bags, paper boxes, plastic boxes. Whatever the size of the bags or boxes, he would try to fit himself in even if he is too big for them. He sleeps on his back with his belly facing up just like a human, and loves the smell of strawberries. He would nose around in our grocery bags when he smells them and try to break open the box.

"Peter, the black and white cat, follows my wife into the bathroom every time just to be near her. He is also has two thumbs on his left paw so it looks like he has a boxing glove on since the paw is so big. Peter loves drinking from running water- we would leave our tap dripping so that he can drink directly from them.

"We tried to walk our cats when they were in the U.S. We bought cat harnesses and brought them out to the open area in our apartment. Dustball froze and could not move because he was so scared. Peter practically wanted to fly back into the apartment because he was terrified as well.

"So much for walking our cats. They are just too domesticated to like to be outdoors."