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En route to the evening caterwaul, Bob Cat's life falls apart. Claudette, flower among felines and queen among cats has been catnapped by the Mad Scientist. Bob doesn't even paws for thought. Nobody takes his bit of fluff without prior permission. He's going out there, he's going to find her and he's gonna bring that kitty back.

This is way too complex for a one-cat mission so Bob's first task is to get help from his friends. Six cat cousins are caged up on each of the four levels leading to the Mad Scientist's domain. It's Bob's job to locate them and find enough keys to set them free. The snag? There are hundreds of perilous platforms, crazy conveyors and poisonous pests in there.

So, will Bob wither in the face of catastrophe or will he battle against the odds, rescue his mates and save Claudette with just nine precious lives and his trusty ball of magic wool?

9 Lives isn't a licensed product but it's what all those mediocre cartoon 'conversions' (Tom And Jerry, Garfield, Snoopy) should have been. It's got all the cartoon essentials: cute animation, comic-book artwork and bags of visual gimmickry. Add to that a sophisticated network of conveyors, ledges, spikes and underwater channels, and you have an exciting platform game which guarantees hours of absorbing fun.

Admittedly, the unusual jumping controls do take a bit of getting used to and moving about can be a tad awkward at first, but half an hour's patient practice early on adds up to lots of entertainment later.

All that's missing are a few well-chosen sound effects: Bob's animated antics are crying out for the odd sampled bang, crash and miaow. However, 9 Lives sports a suitably comic soundtrack, is addictive, silly and well-designed.

An Amiga version, claws and all, should be in the shops as you read this.

Bad news for PC cat-lovers. You won't catch Bob on your machine.