PERHAPS Popsy the cat (April 26) likes to be first in the pecking order. In a smaller way, so does my cat, Zak, who took over here two weeks before being joined by his feline companion, Pearl.

Such an overwhelming desire to be cock-of-the-walk is understandable in the wild animal kingdom. After all, isn't nature red in tooth and claw with the law of the jungle concealed just below the surface in domestic pets?

Pity, though, that this need to be perceived as King Kong - in some cases with a veneer of slick sophistication - is so prevalent among humans.

Margaret Lawson,

Aldborough House,

The Groves, York.

Updated: 10:23 Thursday, May 03, 2001