Father Plunkett had moved into an apartment and had to send Sooty to a new home at Downside.

Five-year-old Sooty evidently missed Father Plunkett so much that he walked for a month to get back to Estella, where he finally found him.

The picture of Father Plunkett with Sooty said it all. The companionship and loyalty of a cat can bring great pleasure to the cat’s owner.

A similar picture accompanied a Huffington Post internet story about a 102-year-old woman whose cat had recently died.

She was taken to a local animal shelter and a lovely cat immediately snuggled up to her.

"To me, an animal gives you life, that a person can't, or material things can't," the co-ordinator of the animal shelter said. 

"You come home from a stressful day, and (the cat) just makes everything bad go away.”

Then there was the story from Russia about the “stray cat” that saved an abandoned baby.

Pictures showed it was not a stray, but a beautiful fat tabby.

It had found an abandoned two month old child in a box at the bottom of a stairwell, when the temperature, even indoors, was minus four degrees.

This lovely mother cat climbed into the box to keep the child warm, and “meowed” until help came.

The cat’s owner said that stories about the cat chasing the ambulance as it drove away were true. The pussy was then ready for pictures and plenty of attention from the Russian media.

Perhaps more important is the effect a cat can have on a child. A book published last year entitled When Fraser Met Billy by Louise Booth details a mother’s anguished journey with an autistic child.

Fraser, her son, met Billy the cat, at an animal rescue centre. The cat’s effect on Fraser was dramatic. Shown two cats, Billy led his mum inside the pen. 

“Fraser immediately sat on the floor. Before I knew it, Billy had strolled straight over and plonked himself on top of him, landing on his chest. Normally, I would have expected a bellowing scream. There was no noise, no bad reaction ... (Billy) then extended his neck as far it could go so that he could nuzzle his head close to Fraser's. The pair then sat there, cuddling each other quietly ...” Louise said.

Fraser has had Billy for three years now. Billy is Fraser’s constant companion as his behaviour matures.

If you missed Fraser’s story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Google When Fraser Met Billy. The book is available through Wagga booksellers.

If you have missed the joy that a cat can bring to your life, there are 10 waiting at the Wagga Animal Shelter right now.