My cat, Kerwyn, has become a doorbell. Or possibly, he's just a butler for the dog. I'm not sure. See, Kerwyn's a bit of a flake, the sort of housecat that takes two years to discover the possibilities of a warm lap.

He's not very talkative either, which is why it surprised me that two months ago, every evening at nine, he began meowing and leading me to the back door. Coincidentally, the dog was at the back door every time. Hmm... So, I let Rikki in, and the cat ignores us both, just sitting there licking his paws.

After several days of this, it finally clicked. When the dog comes in at night, I give the dog a treat. And when the dog gets a treat, of course Kerwyn gets a treat, too. After all, it's his house. Somewhere in that sweet, convoluted brain of his, point A connected to points B and C. 'Make her let the dog in, and I get a treat.'

So you know the truth: I CAN be trained!

Jeanette