Builder's mate is the cat's whiskers

Here's a warm, fluffy story to get your claws into.

It was far from love at first sight when Dunedin builder Scott Broere first came across Puss the cat.

In fact, their relationship was initially one of convenience rather than companionship, but now the two are seldom seen apart.

"I used to live on a boat and I had a problem with a water rat running around at one stage. It was quite a big one.

"So, I went to the SPCA and asked if I could borrow the wildest, scrappiest cat they had in at the time.

"I knew Puss was the one for me. She was quite feral. She hissed and scratched me when I picked her up."

Three days later, the rat was nowhere to be found.

"She was great. She got rid of the rat pretty quickly.

"I only intended to borrow her for a couple of weeks, but I ended up keeping her."

Six years later, Puss is a lot friendlier to her owner.

So much so, they eat, sleep and work together.

Wherever he goes, the white feline follows, and she can often be seen basking in the sun on the dashboard of his work van.

"She loves it. In the mornings, I say, `Right, it's time to go to work', and she jumps up into the van with me.

"Whenever we drive anywhere, she has her paws up on the dashboard, looking at where we're going."

Mr Broere said he had no idea what prompted Puss to start travelling with him.

"I was just heading to work one day and she jumped in the van with me."

Mr Broere said Puss was great company on building sites, but she was also a curious cat and she often wandered off to catch birds or mice.