Are you allergic to cats? I've got friends who are, and have witnessed their health deteriorate markedly the moment they come near a puddy tat. One of my friends came to visit me in Streatham, where there were two cats, and we had to sit outside since the cat fumes were overpowering her. Needless to say, the cats came outside and sat next to her.

Well, now nature's got its own back. Meet Cyril.

Cyril is one of my friend Ceri's two new cats, and Cyril is asthmatic. Not only that, but Cyril has his own little inhaler. Ceri explains:

"He has an inhaler - two actually - and a little spacer for it, like they give to young children. But the inhalers are the same as the ones my mum uses. He has to have two puffs, twice a day. He's all wheezy!"

And here is Cyril's inhaler in action:

Ceri points out Cyril doesn't suffer too much at the hands of the inhaler:

"He's not in distress, he is not being roughly handled, and if he gets upset, we let him go. The whole business lasts 10 seconds at a time and he gets lots of treats afterwards too."

And what more appropriate name can you think of for an asthmatic cat than Cyril? At seven years old Cyril is joined in Ceri's family by his brother, Amber, who is a fine looking specimen of a cat. Cyril must wish cat-curses upon him twenty-four hours a day. Then again Cyril may take some comfort from the fact his brother has a name like a thousand female American porn stars. That probably keeps Cyril going.

Ceri, who it is safe to say adores cats, suggests you look at these videos of cute kittens if you like this kind of thing.