Starring Animals

Even if you don't know exactly when your cat was born, you will be able to pinpoint their starsign. Just watch your feline friend for a few minutes. The way they look and how they behave will soon tip you off about their sign because cats, like people, are greatly influenced by the position of the planets at the time of their birth …

ARIES CAT

Slender, often ginger and forever knocking your knickknacks flying - that's a typical Aries. But whatever his, or her, coat colour (and some are not as lithe as they think they are), a surefire way to spot your Aries is to glance at their ears. Do they look, dare one say, a bit dog-eared, covered in scars and with the odd chunk missing altogether? That's because lovable Aries is so very direct and impulsive. Thinking is doing, immediately. And that means leaping into a fight as often as into your lap - often with remarkable bravery and at the defence of his owner or a fellow pet.

Aries knows no fear (or doesn't let it show) and his boisterous courage can get him into lots of scrapes. He's naturally lucky, but that's not much comfort to his human owners who are bound to worry about him. His adventurous nature as a young kitten makes him especially vulnerable and he needs to have a close eye kept upon him during this phase.

Now look closer - it won't be easy because Aries cats don't sit still for very long, even when old age ought to rule out those great games of football with a screwed up sheet of paper. He leads with his head - forever shoving it into nooks and crannies and giving people a violent head butt that might be painful if it wasn't so well-meant.

Wild of spirit and a genius at opening doors with a flying lunge (and a wally at leaving his tail behind) Aries is persistent and inventive. He's highly inquisitive and affectionate and only rarely lets slip his naughty, spitty, snarly side - usually when someone or something has made him jump. He'll eat you out of house and home, if you let him, and although he's not fussy (quantity, not quality, is what counts with him) he needs and deserves good food to keep his powerhouse energy levels topped up.

Your Aries will be a lifelong friend. Can't see him at the moment? Try looking up along the curtain pelmet or on a really high shelf!

TAURUS CAT

Big, wide-spreading paws - that's what a Taurus cat needs to keep her anchored to the ground. She's the most earth-bound of cats (did someone dare to call her a cushion or couch-potato?) Perish the thought, even though members of the family have sometimes nearly sat on her by mistake.

It's not that Taurus is lazy - she can shift with the best of them once she's seen a butterfly she fancies chasing or when she takes an instant dislike to a visitor's dog. And make no mistake, she'll rush to the attack, not flee, when she's confronted with what she sees as an unpleasant intrusion. It's just that, most of the time, she can't be bothered. She's often a great favourite with children. 

She doesn't even mind car journeys and would rather travel around with her owner than be left behind. She's the most amenable cat around. Most of the time. 
Sensuality is her middle name and you'll find her wherever there's a soft bed covering, a glowing log fire or warm radiator. She could spend hours rolling on her back in grit or gravel and is a demon for spreading muddy pawprints around her home. Not surprisingly, her healthy appetite and quest for the easy life conspire to make her a true heavyweight in later life and her owner would do well to harden their heart against her round-the-clock cries for food, keeping her to a sensible diet recommended by their vet.

Stroke her powerful back or tickle her under that soft, fluffy chin and you'll soon turn on that other infallible sign of a Taurus cat - a beautiful, loud, purr that rolls up and down an octave. These cats really sing. You'll notice, too, that she smells rather earthy in a nice sort of way, rather like the leafy floor of a woodland in autumn.

She's a confirmed fan of the great outdoors and despite her cosy preferences - she doesn't mind extremes of temperature provided she can come indoors when she wants. Her love for her favourite humans, once gained, is simple and deep. Reward it with plenty of stroking and cuddling and loving words. 

GEMINI CAT

No risk of accidentally tripping over this cat because you'd no idea he was there. The decibel level that always marches alongside a Gemini is enough to herald his arrival - whether it's the cluster of bird-scaring bells (waste of time in his case, he's too fast) around his neck or the wide vocabulary of sounds he produces from his neat, diamond-shape little mouth. He is noisier - and nosier - than any cat has a right to be.

He probably adopted you in the beginning, maybe walking in from the nearby alley or from a shed where he'd been weighing you up as a potential friend. He is a survivor with a whole box of cardtricks to amuse and charm you into submission.

But he's probably one of the hardest starsigns to identify because he's forever switching moods, flashing in one lightning instant from pleasure-seeking playfulness to over-nippy mock fight with your wrist, the next.

One mark of the Gemini cat, though, is his preference for human, as opposed to animal, company. And he can't keep his nose and paws out of whatever you are doing, from preparing a meal (for yourself) to sorting out the accounts on you home computer. As soon as your back is turned, this bundle of hyper-curiosity is guaranteed to be trying his own hand at doing whatever you were doing.

And although he is endlessly sociable, he will also want to go out a lot - a problem if you happen to live eight floors up in a flat with no balcony.

Fidgety, flighty and, at times, completely bonkers, he never seems to need much sleep. Short catnaps suit him and, if you let him curl up on the end of your bed of an evening, you'll pass one of the most disturbed nights of your life.
His changeable nature extends to his taste in catfood, too, and he can suddenly turn up his pink, specked nose at products he has been happily lapping up for months.

Humour him only up to a point because this cat is one of the most likely in the feline galaxy of starsigns to pop into another home part-time. He's a terrible cadger of tasty morsels and you'll probably never suspect that he has another doting 'owner' unless you come face-to-face at the vet's or in the cattery.

He is very vocal and loves to chatter away for ages - and he adores the telephone. Switching from one frantic activity to another in nanoseconds, he particularly enjoys hanging from things with outstretched arms, letting himself paraglide to earth with claws open. Guard you curtains. He can be tiring at times - but never boring. 

CANCER CAT

She may be smoky grey and fuzzy around the edges, or pale as clotted cream and short-haired, but once you catch her gazing wistfully at the moon, her paws neatly folded beneath her rounded tummy, you'll know for sure that you've got a Cancer cat at home. Many of these cats also have a distinctive white crescent on their chests which they are very fussy about keeping clean.

She's a powerful mothering instinct and even if your Cancer cat is a He, the urge to adopt and nurture small, young creatures is very strong. It may even extend to odd socks.

Basically sweet-natured and regular in her habits, your cat is acutely supersensitive. Severe emotional upset can make her avoid human company. Perhaps she was a very shy kitten, standoff-ish to start with, then growing more demonstrative. As an adult, she still needs plenty of security and routine. The company of another cat, preferably a litter-mate, would also stop her becoming lonely and when you are not around.

She is particularly nervous before thunderstorms - she can predict one hours in advance - and fireworks or vehicles backfiring send her into a panic.

Sleep is one of her favourite hobbies and she adores kneading your stomach or giving your face a thorough wash before settling down.

She is a bit of a choosy eater.

It's impossible to hide anything from her - she'll prod and poke, snag and scoop - until she's retrieved the forbidden object. The same applies to your feelings and she has an amazing empathy with your moods. You can confide in a Cancer cat and her manner is always comforting.

She's a home-loving softie whose kind character really merits cherishing.

LEO CAT

His fiery ruler, the Sun, ensures that a Leo cat is mighty masterful and his personality larger than life. Even a 'flu jab won't faze him and his love of an audience knows no bounds. He may well be marmalade - at any rate, he'll have a huge shaggy neck ruff of fur and his eyes will probably be wide and golden. Or your Leo could be a loud, extrovert tortoiseshell female with enormous lime-coloured eyes and a queenly bearing.

Highly independent, your Leo cat reckons that he's your owner and he can even dominate dogs. When he's not being a toughie and ruling the roost, he loves to clown around. But although an appreciative human chortle goes down well when your Leo is being deliberately playful, never laugh if you see him miss his footing on a garden fence or misjudge a leap upstairs. He can't stand any loss of dignity and if you poke fun at his mistakes, you'll be rewarded with a look like frozen fire and snubbed for days. This cat's pride is supreme but it is easily wounded.

Another surefire signal of your Leo's birthsign is his attraction to mirrors. He never makes the mistake of thinking his reflection is another, possibly hostile, cat. He knows what he's looking at and he like what he sees. He'll spend hours grooming his fine, usually long, coat - or pointedly staring at the catbrush-and comb set until you decide to help him in this fascinating enterprise.

So strong is his desire to be seen and admired and so noticeable are his looks and talents that he could easily be a performer cat - the star of television adverts or even a film.

He needs lots of attention if he is to thrive, though, and he can get very depressed when neglected. Of course, his idea of neglect might differ from that of his owner. His bad points are his occasional bursts of bad temper and his jealousy - ideally, he makes a good pet when he doesn't have to share you with another cat. He quite likes parrots.

Endlessly courageous, lazy on the quiet, he has an enormous heart and expects to be love back just a powerfully.

VIRGO CAT

If you see a smaller-than-average little female cat fussing around rearranging its bedding or endlessly trying to clean every last scrap of soil from the underside of its claws - then giving its face another wash for luck, chances are she's a Virgo. 

When you catch her staring quizzically and rather critically directly into your face, you'll know for sure. This is not going to be a pushover relationship. 

Your Virgo cat lays down the ground rules and is very particular indeed about whose settee she curls up on or whose hands she will permit to stroke her. She absolutely hates being picked up and spends ages trying to tidy herself up again afterwards. But once she has found a human who can measure up to her needs and expectations, she's a one-person cat.

Often, Virgo cats smell very sweet - with a hint of parma violet in their fur. And they often look as if they are wearing two pairs of white gloves.

Watchful and sensible to the core, your Virgo rarely comes a cropper through foolishly dashing somewhere without looking. She is highly suspicious of strangers and won't normally stray far from home. 

Virgo would never be gauche enough to rush to the door to greet you, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care. She's the most discreet of cats and petting must be gentle and on her terms.

Plants, especially indoor ones, fascinate her and she is prone, alas, to take the odd bite. So guard against any harm by not keeping any plants that contain poisonous or irritating juices.

This cat is ultra-modest and won't use a littertray if anyone is watching. She also covers her tracks with undue vigour, so a cover might be a good idea to prevent scattered litter or newspaper. She is equally fastidious over her food and won't touch grub that's less than fresh or a bowl that smells of soap or disinfectant. Ideally, she'd like you to handfeed her with delicacies from your own plate - not a good idea! Her ever-active brain never switches off - watch out for telltale squeaks, twitches and tail movements when she's asleep.

A bit of a loner deep down, she will put up with other cats in the house - but only just.