Cant you just change this to:
Code:
{section name=cat_num loop=$categories}
<tr>
<td class=VertMenuItems><font class=CategoriesList>•<a href="home.php?cat={ $categories[cat_num].categoryid }">{$categories[cat_num].category|escape|wordwrap:23:"
\n"}</a></font>
</td>
</tr>
{/section}