Straits Times, 28 July 2001, By THERESA TAN Madam Yoong, who suffers the pangs of loneliness which she described as intensely uncomfortable, says Rafe, a five-year-old tom, has brought her relief. Living with her son and daughter, she is usually home alone while her children are at work. So on most weekdays, she visits the NorthEast Community Development Council-St Luke's Elder-Care Centre at Lorong Ah Soo, a day-care and rehabilitative centre for the elderly. And for a long time, this pet-lover has not felt this excited until Rafe, which has white fur with grey patches and green eyes, came into her life earlier this month. The cat takes away my loneliness; it gives me companionship, I feel very good and relaxed when I cuddle it, the retired seamstress said in Mandarin. Madam Yoong is one of the elderly participating in the pet-therapy programme introduced by the NorthEast CDC and the Cat Welfare Society this month. Once a month, members of the society take their cats to the centre and let groups of old folks cuddle them. The hope is that this will help them get over the sense of loneliness that can come with old age and the loss of one's mobility and independence, said Mrs Helen Ko, chief executive officer of St Luke's ElderCare. The psychological effect of stroking a cat, and the cat responding, can give the elderly a sense of love and affection. To touch and be touched in return is very therapeutic, she said. . And these cats which provide joy now were themselves once lost and lonely. They were strays picked up from the streets, said Miss Jean Lau, the president of the society. About 13,000 stray cats have been killed each year over the past 20 years, and the non-profit society was formed by a group of volunteers two years ago to care for these strays, she said.