1 00:00:01,067 --> 00:00:03,160 They're independent; they're affectionate; 2 00:00:04,204 --> 00:00:06,638 they're loyal; they're beautiful; 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,565 they're sagacious; they're mysterious; 4 00:00:09,809 --> 00:00:11,777 they're ineffable; they're inscrutable. 5 00:00:12,512 --> 00:00:15,538 Cats are magic. They really are magic. 6 00:00:16,282 --> 00:00:19,308 Probably the most mysterious creatures in the world. 7 00:00:19,986 --> 00:00:21,283 They're also very vicious; 8 00:00:21,521 --> 00:00:23,386 they're very cruel things. 9 00:00:23,623 --> 00:00:25,454 That's another thing I like about them 10 00:00:25,692 --> 00:00:27,717 their ability to be one thing and then another. 11 00:00:28,995 --> 00:00:32,396 The domestic cat harbors a sort of split personality. 12 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,596 Within even the most demure pussycat lurks a creature of the wild. 13 00:01:37,163 --> 00:01:38,926 Even after thousands of years, 14 00:01:39,232 --> 00:01:42,429 we still know little about the behavior of domestic cats. 15 00:01:44,404 --> 00:01:47,032 Now, scientists and laymen alike 16 00:01:47,273 --> 00:01:51,232 attempt to understand them to demystify this elusive feline. 17 00:01:54,581 --> 00:01:57,914 For them, the domestic cat is every bit as intriguing to study 18 00:01:58,151 --> 00:02:00,517 as the lion or the tiger. 19 00:02:03,356 --> 00:02:07,918 To share one's life with a cat is to invite a bit of wildness indoors. 20 00:02:10,263 --> 00:02:13,892 Perhaps the writer was correct when he philosophized: 21 00:02:14,134 --> 00:02:18,833 "God made the cat that man might have the pleasure of caressing the tiger." 22 00:03:04,250 --> 00:03:07,845 Today, the Western world enjoys an unparalleled love affair 23 00:03:08,087 --> 00:03:09,554 between man and beast. 24 00:03:12,959 --> 00:03:14,119 Cat coming through. 25 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,796 The cat now surpasses the dog as the number one pet, 26 00:03:18,231 --> 00:03:21,166 and annually we spend more on cat food than on baby food. 27 00:03:25,638 --> 00:03:29,369 On any weekend proud owners display their pampered pets 28 00:03:29,609 --> 00:03:31,634 to thousands of fellow enthusiasts. 29 00:03:32,278 --> 00:03:35,406 Some three dozen breeds compete longhairs, shorthairs, 30 00:03:35,648 --> 00:03:40,085 and some that seem to have no hair. 31 00:03:41,554 --> 00:03:45,217 There are nearly 58 million pet cats in the United States alone. 32 00:03:45,625 --> 00:03:48,856 While many are common alley cats of little monetary value, 33 00:03:49,095 --> 00:03:53,225 some exotic breeds sell for as much as $3,000. 34 00:03:57,337 --> 00:04:00,306 And, although many people dislike and distrust cats, 35 00:04:00,540 --> 00:04:03,566 a far greater number adore and indulge them. 36 00:04:04,644 --> 00:04:09,547 Keeping cats and their owners happy has become a major industry. 37 00:04:10,950 --> 00:04:13,817 It's extremely durable It's synthetic fur. 38 00:04:14,053 --> 00:04:15,987 Look at the beads in the middle there. You see the beads? 39 00:04:16,222 --> 00:04:16,881 Oh, yeah. 40 00:04:17,123 --> 00:04:18,021 Okay, listen. 41 00:04:18,258 --> 00:04:19,987 You hear that little scratchy sound? 42 00:04:20,226 --> 00:04:22,285 Drives the cats crazy. They love it. 43 00:04:22,528 --> 00:04:24,052 This is one of our kitty condos. 44 00:04:24,297 --> 00:04:26,595 We have a birthing area or a litter area. 45 00:04:26,833 --> 00:04:28,858 Kitty pan comes down on the bottom. 46 00:04:29,202 --> 00:04:32,933 It's made of solid0-wood construction stain-resistant carpeting... 47 00:04:33,339 --> 00:04:37,139 The cat, as you can see has a tubular body; 48 00:04:37,577 --> 00:04:40,239 everything is in line. 49 00:04:40,546 --> 00:04:44,038 It's got the long body the long tail, 50 00:04:44,384 --> 00:04:46,045 the long head to go with the rest of the body. 51 00:04:46,386 --> 00:04:47,683 Long bones. 52 00:04:48,221 --> 00:04:52,385 The people keep it in wonderful condition, because he's very muscular. 53 00:04:52,659 --> 00:04:56,686 He's not skinny at all; he's just slim and hard like an athlete. 54 00:05:10,076 --> 00:05:13,409 Like a specter floating from the mists of prehistory 55 00:05:13,746 --> 00:05:15,907 into the shadows of modern times, 56 00:05:16,215 --> 00:05:20,879 two species of wildcats still prowl parts of Africa and Europe. 57 00:05:29,262 --> 00:05:32,197 Presumed to be the ancestors of today's house cat, 58 00:05:32,432 --> 00:05:34,263 they even look like tabbies. 59 00:05:34,901 --> 00:05:39,338 But wildcats are fierce and formidable animals, in no way tame. 60 00:05:40,907 --> 00:05:45,742 In ancient times many became tame when farmers fed and sheltered them 61 00:05:45,978 --> 00:05:47,639 as valued rodent killers. 62 00:05:54,253 --> 00:05:59,281 The farmers were Egyptian. The time more than 3,000 years ago. 63 00:06:01,194 --> 00:06:03,719 The cat became adored and revered in Egypt. 64 00:06:04,230 --> 00:06:09,065 Never since has the cat's honored role been matched anywhere in the world. 65 00:06:11,471 --> 00:06:15,032 One goddess in the form of a cat symbolized pleasure, 66 00:06:15,274 --> 00:06:17,333 fertility, and maternity. 67 00:06:19,312 --> 00:06:23,681 Cats were also associated with the deity believed to start the sun 68 00:06:23,916 --> 00:06:25,645 on its daily course 69 00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:29,686 and one who symbolized life itself. 70 00:06:33,326 --> 00:06:38,093 The Brooklyn Museum maintains one of the world's finest Egyptian collections 71 00:06:41,167 --> 00:06:44,102 lts curator is archaeologist Richard Fazzini. 72 00:06:44,470 --> 00:06:48,463 He divides his time between ancient ruins and ancient artifacts. 73 00:06:51,677 --> 00:06:54,578 Prized in any such collection is a cat mummy, 74 00:06:54,947 --> 00:06:57,973 embalmed as were the ancient pharaohs themselves. 75 00:06:58,951 --> 00:07:01,647 This pussycat has been this way since, 76 00:07:01,888 --> 00:07:03,822 well, he's hard to date, 77 00:07:04,056 --> 00:07:07,492 but let's say at least 2,300 to 2,500 years. 78 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:12,094 Now why, you might ask, did the Egyptians mummify animals? 79 00:07:12,331 --> 00:07:17,792 Well, because certain gods could appear in the form of certain animals. 80 00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:23,034 And so it could be a pious gesture or part of some cult ritual 81 00:07:23,276 --> 00:07:28,009 to present a mummified cat to place it in a temple 82 00:07:28,247 --> 00:07:32,877 or to place it in one of the great animal cemeteries. 83 00:07:36,522 --> 00:07:38,956 But the heyday of the cat was to pass. 84 00:07:39,258 --> 00:07:42,785 Once sacred, the cat would come to be hated and scorned. 85 00:07:43,696 --> 00:07:47,462 The same eyes perceived as the throne of the gods 86 00:07:47,700 --> 00:07:49,429 became feared as the seat of the Devil 87 00:07:56,943 --> 00:08:00,037 Believed by many to be the companions of witches, 88 00:08:00,213 --> 00:08:03,512 thousands of cats were tortured. 89 00:08:03,816 --> 00:08:06,808 Burned, and hanged, as recently as colonial times in America. 90 00:08:16,696 --> 00:08:18,323 Veterinarian Michael Fox 91 00:08:18,564 --> 00:08:21,931 is Vice President of the Humane Society of the United States. 92 00:08:22,535 --> 00:08:26,995 He writes extensively on cat behavior and human cat relationships. 93 00:08:28,574 --> 00:08:33,341 It is intriguing that cats have been revered in history and persecuted. 94 00:08:33,579 --> 00:08:37,174 There was one pope who had all cats killed. 95 00:08:37,416 --> 00:08:39,907 This love-hate relationship, I think, 96 00:08:40,152 --> 00:08:44,646 reflects an aspect of the dualistic psyche of human beings. 97 00:08:44,891 --> 00:08:47,758 We love things conditionally. 98 00:08:47,994 --> 00:08:50,360 We love them if we can control them and they will bend to our will. 99 00:08:50,730 --> 00:08:53,164 Or we love them because they are mysterious, 100 00:08:53,432 --> 00:08:56,526 that they're an aspect of nature's wildness, 101 00:08:56,769 --> 00:08:58,327 which the cat embodies. 102 00:09:02,141 --> 00:09:06,237 The domestic cat is but one of 38 species of cats, 103 00:09:06,479 --> 00:09:09,642 most of them astonishingly alike. 104 00:09:09,882 --> 00:09:13,318 Take away their spots or stripes their short or long fur, 105 00:09:13,553 --> 00:09:17,683 disregard the differences in size from four pounds to more than 600 106 00:09:17,924 --> 00:09:21,917 and a cat is a cat is a cat. 107 00:09:23,863 --> 00:09:27,959 Few pet owners are aware that most of the behaviors of their house cat 108 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,760 have a parallel somewhere in the wild. 109 00:09:36,008 --> 00:09:40,104 The cat is an enchanting combination of beauty and utility. 110 00:09:40,346 --> 00:09:43,213 Its sinuous movements delight the eye. 111 00:09:43,516 --> 00:09:46,781 Cats get some of their suppleness from their shoulder joints, 112 00:09:47,019 --> 00:09:49,146 which are so constructed that they can shift 113 00:09:49,388 --> 00:09:52,152 the front legs freely in almost any direction. 114 00:09:53,092 --> 00:09:57,028 They have almost no collar bone and an exceptionally limber spine. 115 00:10:06,606 --> 00:10:11,100 Ever fluid and graceful cats are marvels of strength and balance. 116 00:10:16,549 --> 00:10:19,347 All cats advertise their territory. 117 00:10:19,752 --> 00:10:22,220 Spraying deposits a pungent scent. 118 00:10:27,226 --> 00:10:29,387 Scratch marks are visual signals 119 00:10:29,629 --> 00:10:33,087 and may also carry a scent from glands in the paws. 120 00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:42,339 Glands on the face and tail deposit scents at home just as in the wild. 121 00:10:44,110 --> 00:10:47,045 Sometimes more than one signal is left. 122 00:10:52,251 --> 00:10:54,481 Territorial fights could be deadly between animals 123 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,154 with such sharp teeth and claws, 124 00:10:58,658 --> 00:11:02,890 so most disputes are settled by body postures and intimidating bluffs. 125 00:11:30,523 --> 00:11:34,220 Friendly greetings are generally more fleeting and subtle 126 00:11:34,460 --> 00:11:36,894 a nose touch or body rubbing. 127 00:11:44,970 --> 00:11:49,304 Exactly how and why cats purr remains a mystery. 128 00:11:53,846 --> 00:11:57,805 We do know that both purring and kneading with the paws 129 00:11:58,050 --> 00:12:00,985 first appear in infancy to stimulate the mother's milk to flow. 130 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,192 Being hunter, cats must conserve energy whenever possible. 131 00:12:16,268 --> 00:12:18,930 They snooze about two-thirds of the time, 132 00:12:19,171 --> 00:12:21,503 but always remain alert to sounds; 133 00:12:21,907 --> 00:12:23,932 hence, the term catnap. 134 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:31,047 In all cats ovulation the release of an egg, 135 00:12:31,283 --> 00:12:34,116 does not occur until mating triggers it. 136 00:12:37,323 --> 00:12:41,419 After gestation of two to four months depending on the species, 137 00:12:41,660 --> 00:12:44,356 they give birth to one to eight young. 138 00:12:51,504 --> 00:12:54,234 Kittens and cubs are helpless at birth 139 00:12:54,473 --> 00:12:56,941 At first they can neither see nor hear 140 00:12:57,243 --> 00:13:00,303 their life guided primarily by touch and smell. 141 00:13:01,347 --> 00:13:05,147 Amazingly, each has a preference for one particular nipple, 142 00:13:05,384 --> 00:13:07,215 which it locates by smell. 143 00:13:09,688 --> 00:13:11,849 In the wild this efficient behavior 144 00:13:12,091 --> 00:13:14,924 frees the mother to resume hunting sooner. 145 00:13:20,232 --> 00:13:21,699 Excellent, protective mothers, 146 00:13:21,934 --> 00:13:26,200 cats will quickly move their offspring if they suspect danger. 147 00:13:33,546 --> 00:13:36,515 To teach their young how to hunt and kill, 148 00:13:36,749 --> 00:13:40,708 many cat mothers bring home live prey for practice. 149 00:13:48,861 --> 00:13:52,092 These caracals nicknamed "desert lynx" 150 00:13:52,331 --> 00:13:54,856 may seem to be playful or cruel, 151 00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:56,931 but they are merely learning. 152 00:14:01,173 --> 00:14:03,198 Striking the prey stuns it, 153 00:14:03,442 --> 00:14:06,934 but the cubs are too inexperienced to deliver the fatal bite. 154 00:14:23,062 --> 00:14:26,623 Cat mothers keep their young fastidiously clean. 155 00:14:26,899 --> 00:14:29,834 The soothing sensation of tongue rubbing against fur 156 00:14:30,069 --> 00:14:32,936 is duplicated each time a human strokes a cat. 157 00:14:34,206 --> 00:14:36,470 In this way a bond is formed, 158 00:14:36,709 --> 00:14:39,837 and cats come to regard us as surrogate mothers, 159 00:14:40,279 --> 00:14:42,611 a role we hold throughout their lives. 160 00:14:49,154 --> 00:14:51,622 In the wild, as young felines play, 161 00:14:51,857 --> 00:14:56,294 they refine the predatory skills essential to survival as adults. 162 00:14:59,765 --> 00:15:03,257 Whether domestic cats similarly practice stalking 163 00:15:03,502 --> 00:15:05,333 and hunting is subject to debate. 164 00:15:05,571 --> 00:15:09,632 Many experts feel that play exists as a behavior in its own right, 165 00:15:09,875 --> 00:15:11,604 simply because it's fun. 166 00:15:32,564 --> 00:15:36,000 With indoor cats many owners can attest to a phenomenon 167 00:15:36,235 --> 00:15:39,568 affectionately called the "evening crazies", 168 00:15:40,005 --> 00:15:43,668 when pent-up hunting instincts erupt into a frenzy. 169 00:16:10,569 --> 00:16:12,400 Triggered by a prey's movements, 170 00:16:12,638 --> 00:16:16,597 even the most well-fed cat may hunt given the opportunity. 171 00:16:17,042 --> 00:16:21,979 But the connection between making a kill and eating it has to be learned. 172 00:16:23,015 --> 00:16:26,348 An inexperienced cat may attack with precision, 173 00:16:26,585 --> 00:16:29,213 yet not recognize its kill as food. 174 00:17:04,823 --> 00:17:06,984 As hunters that rely on stealth, 175 00:17:07,226 --> 00:17:11,925 cats are always alert for cues that could mean food or danger. 176 00:17:15,634 --> 00:17:18,296 While smell is not their primary sense, 177 00:17:18,537 --> 00:17:20,437 no odor escapes them. 178 00:17:20,806 --> 00:17:25,175 They use smell mainly to find the territorial boundaries of other cats 179 00:17:25,411 --> 00:17:28,676 or to know if other cats have been in their territory. 180 00:17:33,252 --> 00:17:36,050 To gather information about potential mates, 181 00:17:36,288 --> 00:17:40,418 cats use a second olfactory system in the roof of the mouth. 182 00:17:40,692 --> 00:17:44,253 Inhaling the airborne scent while curling the upper lip 183 00:17:44,496 --> 00:17:46,521 creates the grimacing look. 184 00:17:55,741 --> 00:17:59,336 Cats move their funnel-shaped ears to zero in on sounds. 185 00:18:00,212 --> 00:18:03,306 They probably have better acoustical discrimination 186 00:18:03,549 --> 00:18:05,016 than either dogs or humans. 187 00:18:09,688 --> 00:18:13,419 The function of a cat's whiskers is not entirely understood. 188 00:18:13,992 --> 00:18:15,425 But if they are severed, 189 00:18:15,661 --> 00:18:19,153 the animal may lose its equilibrium and stumble into things. 190 00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:24,533 It may even be unable to make a clean kill. 191 00:18:25,170 --> 00:18:28,936 Whiskers also transmit information about captured prey. 192 00:18:32,878 --> 00:18:36,814 To remove all traces of food, cats regularly groom. 193 00:18:37,382 --> 00:18:40,613 Fastidiousness is one of their best known traits. 194 00:18:41,687 --> 00:18:44,019 Coarse and abrasive liken sandpaper, 195 00:18:44,256 --> 00:18:47,748 the tongue is covered with hook-like projection 196 00:18:47,993 --> 00:18:50,621 that can even tear flesh from bone after a kill. 197 00:18:57,302 --> 00:18:59,634 To writers, artists, and poets, 198 00:18:59,872 --> 00:19:04,002 cat's eyes have embodied all things magical and mysterious. 199 00:19:08,147 --> 00:19:12,743 The scientist knows that vision is one of the cat's most vital senses, 200 00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:15,044 the key to its success as a hunter. 201 00:19:19,491 --> 00:19:21,550 At Florida State University, 202 00:19:21,793 --> 00:19:24,421 the question of how cats see the world 203 00:19:24,663 --> 00:19:27,393 has been studied for more than 25 years. 204 00:19:28,333 --> 00:19:30,893 Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, 205 00:19:31,136 --> 00:19:35,698 Dr. Mark Berkley defied cynics who told him the independent cat would 206 00:19:35,941 --> 00:19:38,239 never make a good laboratory subject. 207 00:19:39,144 --> 00:19:44,343 He designed a system that not only works, but actually appeals to the cat 208 00:19:50,055 --> 00:19:52,216 Banking on the animal's inquisitiveness, 209 00:19:52,457 --> 00:19:55,483 Berkley built a box that invites exploration. 210 00:19:56,962 --> 00:20:01,399 And when it responds correctly, the cat is rewarded with food. 211 00:20:04,736 --> 00:20:06,499 Generated by a computer, 212 00:20:06,738 --> 00:20:10,697 an image will appear in front of the cat on one side of the screen. 213 00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:15,041 The cat must tell the researchers, "Yes, I can see that". 214 00:20:15,447 --> 00:20:18,883 It does so by poking the right-hand plexiglass panel 215 00:20:19,117 --> 00:20:21,449 when the image appears on the right, 216 00:20:21,687 --> 00:20:24,315 and the other side when the image appears on the left. 217 00:20:30,662 --> 00:20:32,630 From the work of Berkley and others, 218 00:20:32,864 --> 00:20:36,231 we know cats cannot distinguish between human faces, 219 00:20:36,468 --> 00:20:40,905 have poor color vision, and like us, experience visual illusions. 220 00:20:41,607 --> 00:20:45,373 But perhaps most noteworthy is their ability to see at night. 221 00:20:45,777 --> 00:20:48,803 Under low light levels 222 00:20:49,047 --> 00:20:53,814 the cat is anywhere from six to ten times more sensitive. 223 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:59,557 That is, at a light level where we perhaps couldn't see anything, 224 00:20:59,791 --> 00:21:01,816 he still sees, not very will, 225 00:21:02,060 --> 00:21:03,925 but certainly better than we do. 226 00:21:04,363 --> 00:21:07,025 I suppose it might be the difference between 227 00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:10,099 a starless night and a moonlit night, 228 00:21:10,335 --> 00:21:16,865 where under a starless night that might be the way it looks to us, 229 00:21:17,109 --> 00:21:20,840 but to the cat it might look as if the moon were up. 230 00:21:24,916 --> 00:21:29,080 Able to pierce the darkness with vision at least six times more 231 00:21:29,321 --> 00:21:33,883 sensitive than our own, the night truly belongs to the cat. 232 00:22:03,822 --> 00:22:05,585 The cat's earliest ancestors 233 00:22:05,824 --> 00:22:09,191 probably hunted both on the ground and in the trees. 234 00:22:10,595 --> 00:22:15,259 To survive, they needed not only claws but remarkable balance, 235 00:22:15,701 --> 00:22:18,670 an aptitude all cats retain to this day. 236 00:22:23,075 --> 00:22:27,842 In keeping with its reputation, the cat usually does land on all fours. 237 00:22:28,413 --> 00:22:31,610 And scientists have come to understand how. 238 00:22:36,021 --> 00:22:38,649 Slow-motion photography 239 00:22:38,890 --> 00:22:42,223 reveals that cats always right themselves in a precise order. 240 00:22:45,063 --> 00:22:46,655 The head rotates first, 241 00:22:46,898 --> 00:22:49,731 based on messages from the eyes and inner ear. 242 00:22:50,402 --> 00:22:53,929 Then the spine twists and the rear quarters align. 243 00:22:54,506 --> 00:22:59,170 At the same time the cat arches its back to reduce the force of impact. 244 00:23:12,424 --> 00:23:13,721 Despite its agility, 245 00:23:13,959 --> 00:23:18,123 the cat faces particular dangers in today's modern cities. 246 00:23:19,364 --> 00:23:22,356 Here, although hundreds of feet above the ground, 247 00:23:22,601 --> 00:23:27,698 the indoor cat is just as attracted by moving prey as is any other cat. 248 00:23:31,743 --> 00:23:35,406 If anything, it may be a stir-crazy bundle of energy. 249 00:23:36,681 --> 00:23:40,777 So many cats actually careen through unscreened windows 250 00:23:41,019 --> 00:23:45,353 that the phenomenon now has a name "high-rise syndrome". 251 00:23:47,159 --> 00:23:50,185 At the Animal Medical Center in New York City, 252 00:23:50,429 --> 00:23:54,126 doctors were perplexed when they found that victims of higher falls 253 00:23:54,366 --> 00:23:58,393 often had less severs injuries than those that fell a shorter distance. 254 00:23:59,104 --> 00:24:00,696 Good morning, Miss Pizano, how are you today? 255 00:24:00,939 --> 00:24:01,837 Fine, thanks. 256 00:24:02,073 --> 00:24:04,633 Dr. Michael Garvey is medical director. 257 00:24:04,976 --> 00:24:05,806 Hello, Harry. 258 00:24:06,211 --> 00:24:08,475 Harry is recovering from serious fractures 259 00:24:08,914 --> 00:24:10,905 after falling just a few stories. 260 00:24:13,051 --> 00:24:16,509 We'd been puzzled by the high-rise syndrome for a long time 261 00:24:16,755 --> 00:24:19,918 the name that we give for cats falling out of windows. 262 00:24:20,192 --> 00:24:24,288 Our clinical impression is that cats that fall from medium-level 263 00:24:24,529 --> 00:24:29,023 stories are hurt much worse than cats that fell from even greater distances. 264 00:24:29,267 --> 00:24:31,167 That seemed to defy our logic 265 00:24:31,403 --> 00:24:34,964 that cats that would fall farther would be hurt less. 266 00:24:35,273 --> 00:24:39,300 So we undertook a study to examine the records on cats 267 00:24:39,544 --> 00:24:42,604 that had been admitted here for falling out of windows. 268 00:24:42,848 --> 00:24:46,682 And it actually confirmed that our clinical impression was correct. 269 00:24:46,918 --> 00:24:50,479 It seems that cats that fall from higher stories 270 00:24:50,722 --> 00:24:54,180 and have enough time to reach free-fall like a parachutist are relaxed. 271 00:24:54,426 --> 00:24:57,554 And when you experience trauma when you're relaxed, 272 00:24:57,796 --> 00:25:01,391 you will probably avoid injury. 273 00:25:01,633 --> 00:25:05,569 When you experience trauma when you are very rigid and very tight, 274 00:25:05,804 --> 00:25:07,567 you will tend to maximize injury. 275 00:25:09,708 --> 00:25:12,438 The cat may not have nine lives, 276 00:25:12,677 --> 00:25:15,646 but its uncanny ability to sail through the air 277 00:25:16,014 --> 00:25:18,608 is almost certainly responsible for the myth. 278 00:25:32,697 --> 00:25:33,994 Throughout its history, 279 00:25:34,232 --> 00:25:36,723 myth and folklore have enshrouded the cat. 280 00:25:38,870 --> 00:25:42,135 Near Oxford, England, scientists have been exploring 281 00:25:42,374 --> 00:25:45,866 whether the legendary solitude of the cat is fact or fiction, 282 00:25:46,311 --> 00:25:49,712 or can cats adapt successfully to living in groups? 283 00:25:51,016 --> 00:25:54,281 Puss. Puss. 284 00:25:54,519 --> 00:25:56,510 Puss. 285 00:25:57,122 --> 00:26:00,785 Bert Parker has kept farm cats for more than half a century, 286 00:26:01,026 --> 00:26:02,618 as many as 80 at a time. 287 00:26:03,628 --> 00:26:06,825 Puss, puss, puss. Come on. 288 00:26:07,732 --> 00:26:09,825 Puss. Puss, puss, puss, puss. 289 00:26:10,468 --> 00:26:12,629 A good cat is worth a lot. 290 00:26:12,971 --> 00:26:15,997 She's a valuable asset to any farm. 291 00:26:17,609 --> 00:26:19,543 Our cats have increased. 292 00:26:19,778 --> 00:26:22,076 There's few more than what we really need, 293 00:26:22,314 --> 00:26:23,941 but what do you do? You just let them go on. 294 00:26:25,417 --> 00:26:28,318 They do keep the rats and mice down to a limit. 295 00:26:28,553 --> 00:26:31,681 I don't say they have every one, 296 00:26:31,923 --> 00:26:34,414 but they do catch up with them at the finish. 297 00:26:39,397 --> 00:26:42,332 But what happens when this usually solitary animal 298 00:26:42,567 --> 00:26:45,365 lives in close quarters with so many others? 299 00:26:52,577 --> 00:26:54,238 Oxford University Professor 300 00:26:54,479 --> 00:26:58,677 David Macdonald has studied farm cats since 1978. 301 00:26:59,584 --> 00:27:02,451 Why is it that people have tended to typecast cats 302 00:27:02,821 --> 00:27:06,188 as anti-social, as solitary creatures? 303 00:27:06,458 --> 00:27:07,686 I think there's two reasons. 304 00:27:07,926 --> 00:27:11,885 Once of them could be that the sorts of things that cats do socially 305 00:27:12,263 --> 00:27:15,755 are not the sorts of things that classically people have had in mind 306 00:27:16,001 --> 00:27:17,832 when they though about wild animal societies. 307 00:27:18,103 --> 00:27:20,594 And I think that's because cat society is based on 308 00:27:20,839 --> 00:27:23,535 a rather subtle, covert language. 309 00:27:24,042 --> 00:27:26,875 And the sorts of signals that pass between cats, 310 00:27:27,112 --> 00:27:29,273 and the one I personally think is important is this business 311 00:27:29,514 --> 00:27:32,074 of rubbing where one individual rubs its lips and its cheek against 312 00:27:32,317 --> 00:27:34,683 another individual happen very quickly, 313 00:27:34,919 --> 00:27:38,252 they happen very rarely, and if you're not tuned in to looking for it, 314 00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:39,422 you just don't see it. 315 00:27:39,691 --> 00:27:42,057 So I think people have spent their lives living amongst cats 316 00:27:42,293 --> 00:27:44,761 and formed an impression which hasn't taken into account 317 00:27:44,996 --> 00:27:48,454 the subtlety of the relationships that occur between the cats themselves. 318 00:27:49,467 --> 00:27:51,662 It turns out that they are living in a society. 319 00:27:51,903 --> 00:27:54,599 And, therefore, it's a bit irritating in a sense 320 00:27:54,839 --> 00:27:56,306 that one hears so many people saying, 321 00:27:56,541 --> 00:27:58,008 Oh, the only sociable felids, 322 00:27:58,243 --> 00:28:02,270 the only sociable members of the cat family as a large group are lions. 323 00:28:02,547 --> 00:28:06,142 That having been said, there are a lot of similarities 324 00:28:06,384 --> 00:28:08,477 between these barnyard lions that we have around here 325 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,019 and the lions that we are ever more familiar with from programs 326 00:28:12,257 --> 00:28:15,818 and researches about the African lions 327 00:28:17,829 --> 00:28:19,956 Lions are the only wild cats 328 00:28:20,198 --> 00:28:22,928 that normally live in a group, called a pride. 329 00:28:23,802 --> 00:28:27,465 At its core are the adult females, usually related. 330 00:28:29,207 --> 00:28:32,142 Researchers have discovered that within a pride 331 00:28:32,377 --> 00:28:35,574 the females look after and nurse each other's cubs. 332 00:28:37,982 --> 00:28:42,385 Here, three different females allow the same cub to nurse. 333 00:28:50,995 --> 00:28:54,795 Though a lioness gives preference to her own cubs when they want to nurse, 334 00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:59,436 at times she will allow younger sisters or brothers, nieces, nephews, 335 00:28:59,671 --> 00:29:01,764 or grandchildren to join in too. 336 00:29:09,814 --> 00:29:11,679 David Macdonald was intrigued 337 00:29:11,916 --> 00:29:15,818 that among farm cats the same communal behavior occurs. 338 00:29:16,221 --> 00:29:18,086 It comes and spends a bit of time... 339 00:29:18,323 --> 00:29:22,817 A student, Warner Passanisi, often follow the cats around the clock, 340 00:29:23,094 --> 00:29:25,153 just as naturalists do in the wild. 341 00:29:25,797 --> 00:29:26,889 ...their litters together. 342 00:29:27,165 --> 00:29:29,497 So we have, generally, the females taking a turn 343 00:29:29,734 --> 00:29:32,635 to suckle these kittens, again indiscriminately. 344 00:29:32,871 --> 00:29:34,338 Any kitten that is there is suckled. 345 00:29:39,577 --> 00:29:43,104 Although unrelated females may help each other in this way, 346 00:29:43,615 --> 00:29:46,516 generally the behavior only follows bloodlines. 347 00:29:47,385 --> 00:29:50,946 Mothers, daughters, and sisters cooperate most often, 348 00:29:51,589 --> 00:29:54,717 but it is quite possible that other related females 349 00:29:54,959 --> 00:29:57,655 will also nurse and care for the kittens, 350 00:29:57,896 --> 00:29:59,523 much like an extended family. 351 00:30:06,237 --> 00:30:11,698 Six weeks old, this kitten has begun only recently to explore on his own. 352 00:30:14,445 --> 00:30:18,108 Today, he has accidentally become separated from his mother. 353 00:30:21,052 --> 00:30:24,544 Out of hearing range, she knows nothings of her kitten's dilemma. 354 00:30:27,859 --> 00:30:30,953 A related female hears him but does nothing. 355 00:30:34,465 --> 00:30:36,092 He starts back uncertainly. 356 00:30:45,910 --> 00:30:49,607 Out in the barnyard and still no sign of his mother. 357 00:30:57,555 --> 00:31:01,651 He comes upon the related female, now nursing her own litter. 358 00:31:15,506 --> 00:31:20,569 Hungry, tired, the kitten is willing to risk hostility to get close to her. 359 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,257 In the end, she accepts the tiny, distressed explorer. 360 00:31:43,268 --> 00:31:45,759 Why should the females behave this way? 361 00:31:47,739 --> 00:31:50,936 Once more the behavior of lions held the clue... 362 00:31:51,643 --> 00:31:56,171 a behavior not of care and comfort, but of savagery and death. 363 00:31:58,917 --> 00:32:01,112 In this graphic film footage, 364 00:32:01,352 --> 00:32:06,153 the cameraman bears horrified witness to a systematic and vicious killing. 365 00:32:07,225 --> 00:32:10,092 As three terrified cubs huddle nearby, 366 00:32:10,595 --> 00:32:15,692 a male lion prepares to brutally attack and kill one of their sisters. 367 00:32:36,354 --> 00:32:39,152 When there is a successful take-over of a pride, 368 00:32:39,757 --> 00:32:43,523 the new dominant male kills the cubs of the ousted male. 369 00:32:44,529 --> 00:32:46,724 Thus, the female will come into heat sooner, 370 00:32:47,098 --> 00:32:48,998 the new male can then mate with her, 371 00:32:49,233 --> 00:32:51,758 and thereby perpetuate his own genes. 372 00:32:54,072 --> 00:32:58,338 The barnyard, again, was to prove remarkably like the plains of Africa. 373 00:32:59,978 --> 00:33:03,846 Macdonald recalls the events leading to a gruesome discovery. 374 00:33:04,949 --> 00:33:09,249 As I watched at the communal den with these four sets of kittens altogether, 375 00:33:09,487 --> 00:33:13,389 nine kittens in total, the scene was really a very intimate one. 376 00:33:13,624 --> 00:33:15,649 The kittens were, as you can imagine, 377 00:33:15,893 --> 00:33:18,157 a chocolate box scene in amongst straw bales. 378 00:33:18,396 --> 00:33:20,364 Their nest was built in amongst a stack of bales, 379 00:33:20,598 --> 00:33:22,657 and a narrow passageway led into the kittens. 380 00:33:22,900 --> 00:33:25,368 And they were all just piled on top of each other. 381 00:33:25,603 --> 00:33:27,833 And each mother would come and go from that den, 382 00:33:28,072 --> 00:33:29,505 each suckling the kittens indiscriminately. 383 00:33:29,741 --> 00:33:33,472 On this occasion I was watching this nest of kittens and in slunk the male. 384 00:33:48,726 --> 00:33:50,353 And within just a few seconds 385 00:33:50,595 --> 00:33:53,496 this commotion brought the mothers running, but not soon enough. 386 00:33:53,731 --> 00:33:56,291 Because by the time the mothers came back and chased had been 387 00:33:56,534 --> 00:34:01,471 in that communal den to start with, six of them were slain. 388 00:34:09,947 --> 00:34:12,040 So I think we've come up with two answers, 389 00:34:12,283 --> 00:34:15,275 both of them perhaps rather surprising to why cats may 390 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,681 benefit individually from living communally. 391 00:34:17,922 --> 00:34:20,686 One of them is that they can look after each other's young 392 00:34:20,925 --> 00:34:22,119 by sharing the load of nursing, 393 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,659 and the other is that females may be able to repel murderous males. 394 00:34:27,031 --> 00:34:31,798 Thus, cooperative care by a number of females increases the likelihood 395 00:34:32,036 --> 00:34:37,599 that more kittens even orphans will be watched over and thereby protected. 396 00:34:43,548 --> 00:34:48,178 What other unexpected parallels may exist between these barnyard lions 397 00:34:48,419 --> 00:34:51,650 and their wild cousins is yet to be discovered. 398 00:34:59,263 --> 00:35:00,594 In another English village, 399 00:35:00,832 --> 00:35:05,235 the image of cats as ruthless killers was confirmed in a different way. 400 00:35:07,371 --> 00:35:08,929 It began with a local teacher. 401 00:35:10,808 --> 00:35:15,472 Peter Churcher has taught biology at the Bedford School for 15 years. 402 00:35:17,381 --> 00:35:19,372 Those two have started before that one. 403 00:35:19,617 --> 00:35:22,347 And of course it's important they all start at the same time, 404 00:35:22,587 --> 00:35:24,851 isn't it? Right. So back to the beginning. 405 00:35:25,089 --> 00:35:28,388 A cat owner himself, Churcher applied the discipline of 406 00:35:28,626 --> 00:35:32,289 his scientific training to explore the unseen world 407 00:35:32,530 --> 00:35:34,395 of the house cat on the prowl. 408 00:35:39,971 --> 00:35:43,668 Throughout England, indeed in much of the world, 409 00:35:43,908 --> 00:35:46,468 cats are let outdoors to roam the neighborhood at will. 410 00:36:07,131 --> 00:36:09,065 How much impact on wildlife, 411 00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:11,825 Churcher wondered, do cats actually have? 412 00:36:15,540 --> 00:36:17,167 Unable to follow the cats, 413 00:36:17,408 --> 00:36:21,310 he did the next best thing and enlisted the help of their owners. 414 00:36:22,013 --> 00:36:24,379 Well, the first thing was to go around the village 415 00:36:24,615 --> 00:36:26,446 and just find out who had cats. 416 00:36:26,684 --> 00:36:29,881 And so I knocked on everybody's door and said, 417 00:36:30,121 --> 00:36:32,316 Have you got a cat and were you willing to take part in the survey? 418 00:36:32,557 --> 00:36:35,424 And surprisingly enough, virtually everybody in the village did. 419 00:36:35,660 --> 00:36:38,925 And that meant that I had something around 78 cats to start off with, 420 00:36:39,163 --> 00:36:41,996 which was a good number. 421 00:36:51,976 --> 00:36:52,442 Oh, hello, Peter. 422 00:36:52,677 --> 00:36:53,166 Good morning, Marjorie. 423 00:36:53,411 --> 00:36:54,742 Have the cats caught anything this week? 424 00:36:54,979 --> 00:36:57,379 Yes, I have a body for you ready and waiting. 425 00:36:57,615 --> 00:37:00,049 Thanks very much. Well, that's nice. 426 00:37:00,218 --> 00:37:02,277 Yeah, that's field vole. Who caught it? 427 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:04,385 Eccles. 428 00:37:04,622 --> 00:37:05,850 Eccles again? 429 00:37:06,090 --> 00:37:08,149 Yes, the black-and-white one. 430 00:37:08,392 --> 00:37:09,654 Quite a good hunter for us, isn't he? 431 00:37:09,894 --> 00:37:11,987 Yes. The others don't seem to be catching very much. 432 00:37:12,230 --> 00:37:13,697 Laziness, I would say. 433 00:37:13,931 --> 00:37:15,523 Here you are, Peter. 434 00:37:16,234 --> 00:37:18,794 I think it's a wood mouse, a field mouse. 435 00:37:19,337 --> 00:37:23,000 I was very surprised at how cooperative the owners were in the survey. 436 00:37:23,241 --> 00:37:26,210 I think a lot of people don't like the idea of picking dead bodies 437 00:37:26,444 --> 00:37:28,002 and putting them in polythene bags. 438 00:37:28,246 --> 00:37:30,840 But most of the people in the village gritted their teeth and did it. 439 00:37:31,082 --> 00:37:33,676 And some even went as far as to put them in the deep freeze, 440 00:37:33,918 --> 00:37:35,909 which was nice, because, as you can imagine, 441 00:37:36,153 --> 00:37:38,246 at the end of a week in the summer, 442 00:37:38,489 --> 00:37:40,582 often the dead bodies were getting rather smell. 443 00:37:40,825 --> 00:37:43,259 And it was pleasant to have them put in the deep freeze 444 00:37:43,494 --> 00:37:44,791 before I got hold of them. 445 00:37:45,029 --> 00:37:46,087 ...take it to work and look at it under the microscope. 446 00:37:46,330 --> 00:37:47,354 That's Wednesday. 447 00:37:48,332 --> 00:37:51,961 When the specimens were labeled and the numbers of dead totaled, 448 00:37:52,203 --> 00:37:55,570 Churcher and cats of Felmersham made headlines. 449 00:37:57,708 --> 00:37:59,573 If the cats in Felmersham caught 450 00:37:59,810 --> 00:38:02,335 14 animals each during the course of a year, 451 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,773 we know there are about five million cats, 452 00:38:05,016 --> 00:38:06,916 domestic cats, in Britain. 453 00:38:07,151 --> 00:38:09,415 So that means that 70 million 454 00:38:09,787 --> 00:38:13,052 small mammals and birds are caught by cats in a year. 455 00:38:13,291 --> 00:38:15,156 And so, domestic cats, 456 00:38:15,526 --> 00:38:19,462 in spite of their reliance on man for food and a lot of other things, 457 00:38:19,864 --> 00:38:21,923 are still remarkably independent. 458 00:38:22,166 --> 00:38:26,102 And I think what our survey has shown is that they're also very important 459 00:38:26,337 --> 00:38:28,362 as predators on the ecological stage. 460 00:38:33,110 --> 00:38:36,568 Churcher does not propose that cats be confined indoors. 461 00:38:37,315 --> 00:38:41,081 Others insist it is essential, not just for the wildlife, 462 00:38:41,319 --> 00:38:43,583 but for the safety of the cats themselves. 463 00:38:45,222 --> 00:38:48,658 While debate continues, one thing is certain: 464 00:38:48,959 --> 00:38:52,053 In every well-fed cat by the fire lies a dormant tiger primed 465 00:38:52,296 --> 00:38:55,197 for the thrill of the hunt. 466 00:39:01,872 --> 00:39:05,205 Because cats are seen as self-sufficient hunter, 467 00:39:05,443 --> 00:39:08,901 many people feel no qualms about abandoning them. 468 00:39:09,580 --> 00:39:12,640 Nationwide, millions are dumped every year. 469 00:39:23,527 --> 00:39:25,256 Near Oxnard, California, 470 00:39:25,496 --> 00:39:29,557 animal welfare activist Leo Grillo has tried for weeks 471 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:32,268 to trap two cats living in this jetty. 472 00:39:33,104 --> 00:39:36,039 Such brutal conditions are a death sentence for cats, 473 00:39:36,574 --> 00:39:38,735 and he devotes his life to rescuing them. 474 00:39:40,845 --> 00:39:44,406 When the winter hits, these rocks are really cold and the waves 475 00:39:44,648 --> 00:39:49,085 are cold and the mist is cold and the fog is cold, The cats are cold. 476 00:39:49,754 --> 00:39:52,382 And everybody thinks they have a fur coat, they're going to be fine. 477 00:39:52,623 --> 00:39:54,181 And it's always like this, 478 00:39:54,425 --> 00:39:57,417 and when it's a bad winter especially, it's really pitiful. 479 00:39:59,263 --> 00:40:01,561 Here, at the farthest tip of the rocks 480 00:40:01,799 --> 00:40:04,427 the cats have retreated from the taunts 481 00:40:04,668 --> 00:40:06,135 and bottle throwing of uncaring strangers. 482 00:40:06,971 --> 00:40:10,338 But they are also completely cut off from fresh drinking water. 483 00:40:10,908 --> 00:40:12,842 So Leo baits his traps with it. 484 00:40:15,446 --> 00:40:15,935 Hi, Jet. 485 00:40:16,914 --> 00:40:19,974 He has named the cats "Marina" and "Jetty" 486 00:40:20,317 --> 00:40:21,978 because of where he found them. 487 00:40:22,319 --> 00:40:25,413 Come on, Jet. Com on, Jet. Come on. 488 00:40:33,464 --> 00:40:36,831 It is not uncommon for Leo infinitely patient 489 00:40:37,067 --> 00:40:40,002 to return to the same spot week after week. 490 00:40:41,639 --> 00:40:42,333 Marina 491 00:40:45,476 --> 00:40:49,037 To Grillo, these cats appear relatively tame. 492 00:40:49,313 --> 00:40:51,042 Clearly, they were not born wild, 493 00:40:51,282 --> 00:40:53,182 but raised in the comfort of a human home. 494 00:40:54,452 --> 00:40:56,647 But these same humans abandoned them. 495 00:40:57,221 --> 00:40:59,348 The cats no longer trust. 496 00:41:00,658 --> 00:41:06,563 For Leo it is always a waiting game to see which is stronger, thirst or fear. 497 00:41:17,975 --> 00:41:20,876 Atta boy. I'm coming down. 498 00:41:21,579 --> 00:41:23,342 All right, Jet, all right. Here you go. 499 00:41:23,714 --> 00:41:26,581 When I get a cat, and those traps are set, 500 00:41:26,817 --> 00:41:29,718 and I get a cat to go in the trap and that door comes down and slaps, 501 00:41:30,488 --> 00:41:31,853 that is the most exciting feeling. 502 00:41:32,089 --> 00:41:34,114 And that little saga, that little story, 503 00:41:34,358 --> 00:41:35,916 the trips to this one little rock to feed that 504 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,390 one little cat is now over. It has an ending. 505 00:41:40,564 --> 00:41:45,228 After weeks of failed attempts this day would finally bring success. 506 00:41:47,071 --> 00:41:51,269 Tired but exultant, Leo would trap both Marina and Jetty 507 00:41:51,675 --> 00:41:54,439 and bring them back to a world of care and love. 508 00:41:59,350 --> 00:42:02,046 Grillo runs four licensed shelters in California. 509 00:42:02,786 --> 00:42:05,721 But they are only for animals he himself has rescued. 510 00:42:09,593 --> 00:42:13,586 An ever-changing number of cats and dogs live out their lives here. 511 00:42:14,431 --> 00:42:17,696 If it gets too crowded, he says, I just expand. 512 00:42:20,938 --> 00:42:23,839 Leo and family live nearby with 60 cats. 513 00:42:24,642 --> 00:42:28,578 This ranch house is home to more than 150 at last count. 514 00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:40,088 Dry food seven tons a year is left out at all time. 515 00:42:40,791 --> 00:42:42,782 Canned food is fed twice daily, 516 00:42:43,093 --> 00:42:46,062 totaling more than 80,000 cans per year. 517 00:42:46,564 --> 00:42:49,692 All of this is paid for by private donations. 518 00:42:51,068 --> 00:42:54,435 There we go. Come see Jetty and Marina. 519 00:42:54,805 --> 00:42:59,435 After a trip to the vet for shots blood tests, spaying, and neutering, 520 00:42:59,677 --> 00:43:02,510 Marina and Jetty are ready to meet the others. 521 00:43:03,013 --> 00:43:05,208 But only from the safety of their cages. 522 00:43:06,550 --> 00:43:08,484 J.J., Junkyard, come on. 523 00:43:11,255 --> 00:43:12,620 Come see your friends. Come on. 524 00:43:24,201 --> 00:43:26,533 This cat is in ecstacy just to have food, 525 00:43:28,205 --> 00:43:29,035 real food. 526 00:43:31,675 --> 00:43:32,972 Yeah, look at that. 527 00:43:34,678 --> 00:43:37,909 Beautiful thing is they were caught together and they can 528 00:43:39,183 --> 00:43:43,779 tame down together, comfort each other 529 00:43:48,092 --> 00:43:51,152 For many people the cat is all but hypnotic 530 00:43:51,395 --> 00:43:53,386 soothing and calming just to behold. 531 00:43:54,765 --> 00:43:55,857 Through the ages, 532 00:43:56,100 --> 00:44:00,059 an uncounted number graceful, beautiful, and mysterious 533 00:44:00,237 --> 00:44:02,899 have captivated the human mind and eye 534 00:44:04,375 --> 00:44:09,506 Scientists learned that simply petting a cat lowers human blood pressure. 535 00:44:10,247 --> 00:44:16,152 Now, some go further and suggest cats may actually benefit our longevity. 536 00:44:22,793 --> 00:44:27,025 In a small town on Long Island, one innovative woman is playing a role 537 00:44:27,264 --> 00:44:29,755 in the sweeping changes in health care. 538 00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:33,033 When her cats helped her cope with an illness, 539 00:44:33,270 --> 00:44:36,262 Joan Bernstein was inspired to reach out to others. 540 00:44:37,741 --> 00:44:40,733 I became ill. I developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 541 00:44:40,978 --> 00:44:43,947 at that time not knowing what it was. 542 00:44:44,181 --> 00:44:46,240 The disease was not defined at that time. 543 00:44:46,483 --> 00:44:48,246 And there were days when there was no way 544 00:44:48,485 --> 00:44:50,544 I felt like getting out of bed, 545 00:44:50,788 --> 00:44:55,851 crawling out of bed literally in pain, and feeding the cats, 546 00:44:56,093 --> 00:44:57,617 changing litter pans, 547 00:44:57,861 --> 00:44:59,829 and doing everything else that has to be done. 548 00:45:00,064 --> 00:45:05,024 But I did it because the cats insisted that I did it. 549 00:45:05,569 --> 00:45:08,732 Sometimes they'd just by my hot-water bottle or my comforter. 550 00:45:08,972 --> 00:45:12,203 Whatever I needed them to be, they became. 551 00:45:12,443 --> 00:45:18,473 So I became very aware of the value of the cats as a therapy. 552 00:45:24,421 --> 00:45:26,480 Lonely, often forgotten, 553 00:45:26,724 --> 00:45:29,750 the institutionalized elderly have been cut off from a 554 00:45:29,993 --> 00:45:31,984 lifetime of friends and memories. 555 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:44,166 Ladies and gentlemen, 556 00:45:44,408 --> 00:45:46,899 one of the most beautiful Grand Champion, 557 00:45:47,144 --> 00:45:48,372 champagne mink Tonkinese... 558 00:45:48,612 --> 00:45:51,979 At the Brookhaven Health Care Facility Joan's Tonkinese cats 559 00:45:52,216 --> 00:45:54,184 are eagerly awaited every month. 560 00:45:54,585 --> 00:45:57,952 Bred for their stable temperament and sociability, 561 00:45:58,188 --> 00:46:00,520 they offer therapy at many levels. 562 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:06,161 The warmth of the cat on her lap is very important. 563 00:46:06,396 --> 00:46:09,490 Just holding the cat in her arms. 564 00:46:09,733 --> 00:46:11,997 First of all, it's good exercise for her; 565 00:46:12,236 --> 00:46:15,672 she's utilizing the muscles in her arms and her hands. 566 00:46:16,039 --> 00:46:17,973 So we have the physical aspect of it. 567 00:46:18,308 --> 00:46:19,434 Look what I brought you. 568 00:46:21,011 --> 00:46:23,605 You think she's trying to tell you something? 569 00:46:26,817 --> 00:46:28,751 Come on. Okay. 570 00:46:29,887 --> 00:46:31,855 She'll stay right there with you, Mr. Hook. 571 00:46:32,790 --> 00:46:36,191 Patients who have difficulty with recall, 572 00:46:37,127 --> 00:46:40,858 with recall of the present, okay, in other words remembering 573 00:46:41,098 --> 00:46:43,225 the present from now to tomorrow, or now to next week, 574 00:46:43,467 --> 00:46:47,301 or now to a month from now, they will remember the cats. 575 00:46:48,138 --> 00:46:50,129 She's a lot like the one I brought here one time 576 00:46:50,374 --> 00:46:52,308 who was sitting on your shoulder. Remember? 577 00:46:52,843 --> 00:46:53,537 Yeah. 578 00:46:53,911 --> 00:46:56,937 And I took a picture of you with the kitten sitting on your shoulder, 579 00:46:57,214 --> 00:46:58,909 and only half the picture came out. 580 00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:05,244 She really is a good guy. 581 00:47:05,489 --> 00:47:07,354 So soft and so pretty, isn't she? 582 00:47:07,624 --> 00:47:11,788 Some scientists believe cats touch people more than other pets do, 583 00:47:12,296 --> 00:47:14,025 literally and figuratively. 584 00:47:14,498 --> 00:47:17,490 Their lithe and graceful movements are non-threatening. 585 00:47:18,235 --> 00:47:22,934 And the cat's shape and size are basically the same as a human baby's 586 00:47:23,607 --> 00:47:27,805 for most people, an automatic invitation to nurture and love. 587 00:47:28,679 --> 00:47:30,044 She is beautiful. 588 00:47:31,481 --> 00:47:37,044 Aw. I'd love to hold you call day and all night. 589 00:47:37,588 --> 00:47:38,748 I really would. 590 00:47:41,091 --> 00:47:43,719 Another world touched by Joan and her cats 591 00:47:43,961 --> 00:47:46,794 is a residential school for autistic youngsters. 592 00:47:48,732 --> 00:47:51,792 The cause of autism is not fully understood and currently 593 00:47:52,035 --> 00:47:54,265 there is no known cure. 594 00:48:05,816 --> 00:48:08,114 Locked largely in a world of their own 595 00:48:08,352 --> 00:48:10,946 the children are extremely difficult to reach. 596 00:48:22,633 --> 00:48:25,363 Some, like John, erupt uncontrollably. 597 00:48:26,069 --> 00:48:30,096 Easily frustrated, he often reacts with raging tantrums. 598 00:48:36,813 --> 00:48:39,976 While no one pretends the cats are a miracle cure, 599 00:48:40,217 --> 00:48:43,448 they regularly bring about miraculous breakthroughs. 600 00:48:43,787 --> 00:48:46,255 How can you tell me what color they are if you don't look? 601 00:48:46,490 --> 00:48:50,153 For John, the cats open a window on a bright, new world. 602 00:48:50,394 --> 00:48:51,326 ...game with me. 603 00:48:51,561 --> 00:48:52,425 I know. 604 00:48:52,663 --> 00:48:54,893 I think you're playing a game. 605 00:48:55,132 --> 00:48:59,728 John, if she's red, then I'm from Mars 606 00:49:00,304 --> 00:49:02,033 Do I look like I'm from Mars? 607 00:49:02,272 --> 00:49:03,569 No. 608 00:49:03,807 --> 00:49:05,274 No! She's brown. 609 00:49:08,078 --> 00:49:10,273 And what color are her eyes again? 610 00:49:10,714 --> 00:49:11,510 Blue. 611 00:49:11,748 --> 00:49:14,182 That's right. How about looking at the eyes? 612 00:49:14,418 --> 00:49:17,615 How about looking at them? Oh, okay. 613 00:49:17,854 --> 00:49:20,550 Did you want to give her a kiss? Okay. 614 00:49:21,425 --> 00:49:22,653 Etta 615 00:49:23,994 --> 00:49:25,791 Etta, what have I got? 616 00:49:26,430 --> 00:49:30,230 Etta becomes very agitated as you can see from her 617 00:49:30,467 --> 00:49:33,595 rocking back and forth, a constant motion. 618 00:49:34,404 --> 00:49:38,932 And the more she rocks, of course, the more agitated she is. 619 00:49:39,576 --> 00:49:43,012 I can take the cat over to her, and at first she may thrust it away. 620 00:49:43,313 --> 00:49:44,610 But if I'm persistent, 621 00:49:45,415 --> 00:49:49,374 sometimes I have to withdraw a little bit and come back to her. 622 00:49:49,720 --> 00:49:52,188 But if I'm persistent, the cat can stop her. 623 00:49:53,256 --> 00:49:55,156 Later, Joan will try again. 624 00:49:56,159 --> 00:49:56,989 What have I got? 625 00:49:57,227 --> 00:49:58,125 Cat. 626 00:49:58,362 --> 00:50:00,626 Is this a nice cat? 627 00:50:01,064 --> 00:50:02,088 Do you like this cat? 628 00:50:02,599 --> 00:50:08,435 I see them relating to the cat so much more openly, so much more freely, 629 00:50:08,805 --> 00:50:11,000 than they do to other people. 630 00:50:11,475 --> 00:50:12,772 They can trust the animal. 631 00:50:14,511 --> 00:50:19,380 With every individual I've worked with they have eventually reached out, 632 00:50:19,983 --> 00:50:23,976 and I think it's because there is again that sense of 633 00:50:24,221 --> 00:50:30,160 communication the says, 'Trust me'. I won't hurt you. 634 00:50:31,428 --> 00:50:33,055 Is she saying give her a kiss? 635 00:50:33,897 --> 00:50:35,990 Do you want to? Okay. 636 00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,561 Do you want me to turn her around this way and give her a kiss back here? 637 00:50:40,804 --> 00:50:42,772 A little closer. Good. Okay! 638 00:50:44,174 --> 00:50:46,665 Joan senses she can approach Etta again. 639 00:50:48,045 --> 00:50:52,209 By holding the cat and focusing her attention on the cat, 640 00:50:52,449 --> 00:50:55,384 she will stay still, and she will talk to the cat. 641 00:50:56,219 --> 00:50:59,848 She's with us for several minutes at a time. 642 00:51:00,490 --> 00:51:02,151 How about saying, 'Hi, kitty.' 643 00:51:02,959 --> 00:51:03,857 Hi, kitty. 644 00:51:04,327 --> 00:51:04,952 Good! 645 00:51:05,195 --> 00:51:05,752 Hi, kitty. 646 00:51:05,996 --> 00:51:06,963 Good! Okay! 647 00:51:11,968 --> 00:51:13,993 We're talking about therapy. 648 00:51:14,271 --> 00:51:15,829 We're talking about hands-on, 649 00:51:16,073 --> 00:51:19,509 and we're talking about one-on-one and up-close. 650 00:51:19,743 --> 00:51:24,146 We're also talking about cats that are capable of creating 651 00:51:24,381 --> 00:51:28,943 interaction or curling up in somebody's arms and saying. 652 00:51:29,619 --> 00:51:34,249 I'm all yours. Right this minute I belong to you. 653 00:51:34,791 --> 00:51:39,524 You're special to me and I love you. So hold me and feel good. 654 00:51:51,508 --> 00:51:53,271 It was said that a long time ago, 655 00:51:53,510 --> 00:51:56,172 probably in our own Golden Age as gatherer-hunters, 656 00:51:56,413 --> 00:51:59,143 that we could talk to the animals and they would talk to us. 657 00:51:59,416 --> 00:52:03,011 And I think part of understanding "felinese" is that we can learn 658 00:52:03,253 --> 00:52:06,552 the cat's repertoire and have a deeper communication 659 00:52:06,790 --> 00:52:09,088 and communion with our cats. 660 00:52:11,094 --> 00:52:15,531 Love for cats is part of a universal love for all creatures, 661 00:52:15,765 --> 00:52:18,859 which impels us toward a reverence for all life. 662 00:52:22,439 --> 00:52:26,842 Subtle, amusing, enigmatic... regal and serene... 663 00:52:27,410 --> 00:52:31,904 cats remain ultimately independent of their human companions. 664 00:52:32,682 --> 00:52:35,879 They move among us as half-wild creatures, 665 00:52:36,119 --> 00:52:39,816 the only domestic animal man has never fully conquered. 666 00:52:44,594 --> 00:52:48,360 Plain or fancy, barn mouser or lord of the hearth, 667 00:52:48,598 --> 00:52:51,260 they have fired our imagination. 668 00:52:51,568 --> 00:52:54,469 But, we wonder, did we adopt the cat 669 00:52:54,704 --> 00:52:57,605 or did tabby simply deign to share his life with us? 670 00:52:59,242 --> 00:53:02,177 In the end, it is a tantalizing mystery, 671 00:53:02,412 --> 00:53:07,042 one that we, being mere humans, can never hope to solve.