Ever since I was a child, I've had a phobia about cats. I simply cannot bear to touch one, which is always an open invitation for them to try and get "close and personal" to my great distress.

Yet, I hate to see ill treatment and neglect, and the news of dozens of stray cats frozen to death or missing after Beijing Zoo removed shelters it had earlier built for them is a shame on us all.

You don't have to go far in Beijing to find stray cats and dogs. They are being abandoned in droves to fend for themselves, a plight even more harrowing given current sub-zero temperatures.

Some years ago, awaiting a move to my new home, I stayed with old friends and was intrigued to notice the wife going out every evening with food and water to feed a large clowder of cats hiding in the bushes outside her apartment building.

According to her, they had been bought by families in her compound, perhaps as Christmas presents for children. But interest soon waned, and the poor pets were unceremoniously abandoned.

At the time, I reckoned there must have been at least 30 cats forced to fend for themselves in this one place.

In my wealthy neighborhood, the strays seem to have disappeared. One can't help but fear the worst as temperatures hit -10 C overnight. At least residents' pampered dogs are nice and warm in their padded jackets.

Pet ownership is quite a recent urban phenomenon, almost a fad among newly affluent Beijingers, even if the choices are sometimes ludicrous - large dogs in micro apartments, for example.

However, pets are not toys to be tossed aside; they are a responsibility. In return for our care and attention, they give us affection and companionship.

Beijing alone is estimated to have some 400,000 stray cats, according to the Beijing Little Animal Protection Association, the only government-approved animal protection agency. Such animals have faced regular culls, such as one launched before Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympic Games.

Of course, this isn't something unique to China. Every year in the UK, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals runs a campaign at this season with the theme: "A pet is not just for Christmas."

Only yesterday, I read a horrifying story from the US of how a golden pit bull terrier puppy was tied to the back of a truck and dragged almost 2 kilometers along an expressway before a motorist spotted it and alerted the innocent driver.

Police are now looking for the perpetrator of this inhuman act. Meanwhile, two weeks after the incident, I'm happy to say that the puppy, heavily bandaged and with plaster casts on two legs, is making a good recovery.

Dogs are said to be "man's best friend," but unfortunately many humans appear to be fair-weather friends at best to pets.