IN his letter D Berry says that cats are scaring away the wildlife from his/her garden. "This must be affecting other estates", he/she says, seemingly alarmed.

In our pleasant corner of Breightmet, we have an abundance of cats. We also have an abundance of wildlife.

As I write this letter, I can see a pair of blackbirds, several sparrows, a huge wood pigeon and a tiny wren, all enjoying breakfast on the lawn. In the shrubs, blue tits and other small birds flit from branch to branch.

Blackbirds have nested in and around our garden for many years. Every morning I throw bread out onto the lawn, and if I am late in doing so, the male bird hops up to the window, cocks his head, and looks at me as if to say, "you're late with the breakfast - again".

A squirrel occasionally scurries across the fences, scattering clematis petals as he goes. In the evening when the sun drops behind Winter Hill, bats come out to entertain us. We often watch their spectacular display of aerobatics.

Wildlife gives me enormous pleasure, and so too do cats which often come to lie on the lawn or to follow me around the garden. Yes, they do sometimes use the garden as a toilet, and sometimes, very occasionally, they kill a bird. But that's what cats do.

Our five youngest grandchildren love to play in the garden. They know not to dig in the soil, because that's where granddad grows his flowers. We have a sand-pit for digging in, which is kept covered when not in use.

Brian Derbyshire, Ribchester Grove, Bolton