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Hi, I'm George Page for Nature, and as much as I hate to think about it, my cat Clyde may very
well think I'm her mother. At least that's one contemporary theory being offered to explain why
cats like people and occasionally even show them affection. The theory goes something like this.
Wild cats are solitary animals once they leave their mother and siblings, with the single exception
of the lion. But kittens, even wild kittens, are capable of sociability. So, according to the theory,
we humans extend a growing kittens period of social tolerance into adulthood by providing food,
shelter, physical closeness, and affection. All this sustains the closest relationship the solitary
cat is capable of, that between kitten and mother. And we, therefore, become surrogate mothers. Well,
the cat's always been a mysterious and fascinating figure. And this time on Nature, we'll try to
unravel at least some of those mysteries. Independent, aloof, often mysterious. It has
lived with people for some 4,000 years. It's one of the most familiar, yet least understood
animals on the planet. Their beauty so captivates us that it's easy to forget that they're one of
nature's most perfectly designed predators. The domestic cat. Although they share our homes as
pets, cats are often seen as antisocial, finicky, indifferent to our wishes, and practically
uncontrollable. With this reputation, it's surprising that the cat is vying with the dog
to become America's number one pet. Man's traditional best friend is being upstaged
by an animal that's only a whisker away from its untamed ancestors. The dog was the very first
species domesticated by man. The cat is the most recent. By 12,000 years ago, the dog was already
sharing the hearts and affection of early man. Like all other domestic animals, dogs are by nature
social creatures. Their wild ancestors lived in highly cooperative packs. Cats, though,
led basically solitary lifestyles. So while the dog's wild heritage prepared it for our domination
and control, the elusive nature of the cat has always kept it just beyond our reach,
and able to survive almost any situation. It is adapted to all in every part of the globe.
Yet to many, it remains the world's most inscrutable animal. Although it's a member of the cat's
spectacular family, the king of beasts is not really an overgrown tappy. For one thing,
male and female lions look very different. Like all their kind, they're beautifully adapted
predators. But lions are the only member of the cat family to live in large social groups,
and they cooperate when hunting, a job that falls to the females of a pride. They depend on stealth
to stalk their prey, then dash across open ground to seize it without stretch claws.
The kill is quick and clean. A bite at the nape of the neck severs the spinal cord. Our house cats
execute the coup de grace in exactly the same way. The cheetah is the most dog-like of all the
cats. It's the only cat to catch its prey by a speedy prolonged chase. Its claws are not retractable,
and it has only moderately sized canine teeth so that it needs to choke its prey.
The leopard is a superb tree climber and tremendously powerful for its size. This
enables it to carry its prey out of the reach of competitors. People who wish to draw parallels
between a big cat and their pet might do well to choose this one. The tiger, a solitary hunter
whose behavior is fairly similar to our own cats. And like all cats, they're specialists
at blending in with their habitats, yet they're worlds apart.
Today in every corner of America, so familiar we hardly notice them, you find domestic cats.
Their popularity is at an all-time high. 56 million now live in 30% of American households.
Cats have adapted to such a wide range of lifestyles that it's hard to find agreement,
even on their basic nature. Are they dedicated, gentle, close companions,
or just casual hangers-on around our homes and lives? Whatever our feelings,
they always seem in essence creatures of the wild. We may never know whether man first chose
the cat as a companion or as a way to control rats and mice. We do know it inspired our awe.
2500 BC, ancient Egyptians worship at the feet of Bastet, a female cat seen as the fierce
protector of health and goddess of fertility. Her form was depicted in all manner of statues
in her temples. The Egyptians believed that the male cat had a different role. According to legend,
his job was to kill the evil serpent, which was constantly trying to stop the sun from
traveling around the world. Cats were so revered that when they died, they were embalmed, mummified,
and placed in caskets with some model of the occupant displayed on the outside. As many as
300,000 cat mummies have been found in one temple. Behind the scenes in museums and
universities, studies are going on to discover more about the significance of these mysterious
Egyptian temple cats. X-ray pictures of these mummies clearly show the skeleton. Its hind legs
and tail have been folded against the belly. The front legs are straight. The shoulders and
neck are distinct, and above that, the skull. The neck of this one is broken. The skeletons
also reveal that many of these cats were less than a year old. Perhaps the priests sacrificed
these emblems of their god in large numbers and sold them to the public as offerings.
The Romans were probably the first to introduce cats from Egypt into Europe. During the Middle
Ages, cats suffered a terrible turn of fortune. Once gods, they were now seen as demons, the
embodiment of the devil, familiars to witches, fiendish servants to do their bidding. The
church's persecution of witches and the animals associated with them lasted for more than 400
years. During much of this time, rats and mice actually symbolize good and are shown here hanging
the demon cat. But to some during the 14th century, the cat's unpopular image began to change.
When the Black Death sentenced a third of Europe to die,
cats were man's natural ally against the black rat, which spread the plague. But witch hunts
persisted through the 17th century. It wasn't until the brown rat swept through Europe, feeding
on man's food supply, that the cat once again became a welcomed household pet. Finally, in a
total turnaround, we see rats surrendering to the cat. As soon as man mastered the seas, cats became
part of ships companies and sea routes, normally a barrier to the migration of land animals, became
a highway system for cats. Here in the Galapagos Islands, 600 miles from the nearest mainland,
Darwin discovered a unique fauna that had no fear of man. Bizarre creatures evolved in complete
isolation. Never having known any land predators, they're incredibly tame. Their total lack of fear
has left them entirely defenseless against predation. And the land iguana is only one
of the species that has been endangered by our seemingly innocent companion.
Cats left behind by visiting ships long ago have returned to a totally wild existence. They're
lean and wary and have gone back to holding territories, feeding on whatever they can catch.
Scientists have found that surprisingly over half their diet is grasshoppers. But cats are
renowned opportunists and they found the defenseless wildlife here to be easy prey. Young iguanas and
ground nesting birds are especially vulnerable. Feral cats are considered perhaps the greatest
threat to the native wildlife of these and many other oceanic islands. To this day,
domestic cats easily adapt to a life at sea. They've made themselves at home wherever man
has migrated. The first cats to reach America were rat catchers on commercial vessels that
brought them from Europe around 1620. They thrived in the cities of the northeast and
gradually spread from there throughout the country. Feral cats also occur in the American
countryside. They feed on small mammals and birds. Wildlife here evolved along with land
predators and they're not entirely defenseless. Sadly though, the growing number of feral cats
has begun to take its toll on birds and small forest animals.
Other rural cats have the best of both worlds. They continue to live around humans and depend
on us in part for their food, but they do go off hunting on their own. All outdoor cats
have home ranges from a half to 40 acres in size. Males have larger ranges than females
and they often overlap. Both males and females mark their home areas. It's one way of telling
others of their presence. Cats that follow may stop to sniff the mark, but they don't
respond with a mark of their own. Cats live in a whole landscape of odors of which we
are totally unaware. Different cats may hold dominance over a particular area at different
times of the day. Scent marking reinforces their awareness of who has the right of way
now, but it doesn't act as a repellent and confrontations are bound to occur. Body postures
convey moods precisely. Ears flatten back in a defensive threat. Its scent helps identify
the combatant. The fur begins to bristle to increase the threat. Ears erect in an offensive
display, one cautiously exercises its dominance while the other recognizes that it's time
to back off. Yet even solitary animals have to come together for mating. This feral female
manx cat is in heat. Her body is producing scents that tell the local males she's ready
for mating. The male picks up her scent and follows her. He stays around the female until
she's receptive. In more crowded urban locations, he would have to fight off other males at
this time to hold on to his position. The female begins to adopt a special crouching
posture, back curved and rump held high. The male continues the pursuit until he judges
that she's ready. Males are often repelled on their first approach. Female cats exercise
considerable choice. Finally, with her back held high, she signals to the male that she's
ready. The male restrains her by a tight grip on her neck and holds her firmly just behind
her front legs. They will keep this position for about two minutes, but the actual mating
only occurs in the final few seconds. She gives a loud cry and throws him off. This
curious behavior is explained by the tiny spines on the male's penis. Although it's
evidently somewhat painful, it's necessary to stimulate ovulation in the female. Then,
she indulges in a bout of rolling, rubbing and licking. The male waits close by. Over
a three-hour period, he may repeat the process as many as 16 times.
Once away from human influences, domestic cats reveal a repertoire of behavior patterns
that closely resemble those of their more awesome cousins. A tiger in the wilderness
of India, scent-marking by rubbing with the side of its head, just like our own cats.
Then, to complete the picture, it sprays on a well-used landmark in its territory. The
rubbing records its own identity and condition for all that follow it. The spray message
seems to serve as a more general advertisement. As it rubs, it senses which others have rubbed
there recently. A tiger learns where to find prey, then waits and ambush. Males and females
hunt alone and pounce to make a capture. A male looks on, while a female, which also
operates in this territory, cuts the carcass into pieces with her shearing side teeth before
swallowing it in chunks, just like our pets are equipped to do. This male has been busy
spray-marking his territory. When a muddy female approaches, they briefly investigate
the sides of each other's faces, probably to confirm identities or to match the particular
scent with that on the rubbed landmarks. The encounter apparently over, she continues on
her way. Then, she suddenly reverses her tracks and lies down provocatively near the male.
Mating involves the identical neck biting by the male and the subsequent batting off
by the female. In such ways, our domestic cats apparently carry with them much of their
behavior from the wild, even to the female indulging in a bout of rolling, and the male
staying close by, waiting for another chance to mate. And then, there are cats in other
jungles. These animals also depend on using the same basic instincts to survive, but here,
their habitat is a far cry from the wilderness. There are an estimated 15 to 25 million strays
in America. This represents about a quarter of the total cat population. These unwanted
street cats are often unhealthy and lead short, miserable lives. Every year, more than 3 million
cats have to be killed by animal welfare organizations. At the other extreme, we spend almost $2 billion
on cat food each year, and many more millions on vet care and special products and services.
Those that have been rejected by human society survive by scavenging for any leftovers, an
all too common sight.
In the other world of cats, owners come together with pride to display their pets. A top pure
There's close attention to detail. At a typical cat show, you can see more than 30 breeds
that are recognized by the Cat Fanciers Association. When compared to all the extremely different
looking breeds of dogs, different breeds of cats have stayed much closer in appearance.
It may be something about their genetics that has made cats resistant to breeding into
widely different body forms. More likely, since they have little potential as working
animals, cats have not been subjected to the same intensive selective breeding. But at
this cat show, the title of queen is awarded to a non-petagree house cat, presumably on
the grounds that with cats, everyone is equally entitled to the description of regal. If this
seems a bit excessive, it may be little more than our pets are used to receiving in their
daily lives. Cats have their own ways of demanding and getting attention and manipulating our
behavior to match their wishes. But when a cat rubs you, it may not be showing affection.
It said that only when it rubs you with its forehead and nose is it recognizing you as
a member of its cat family. All the other places that a cat normally uses to rub with,
like the sides of its head and mouth, its flank, or even with its tail, are simply to
mark you with one of its personalized scents. As well as demanding attention, it's probably
claiming you as part of its territory, even though it may not always be the most convenient
time. When this cat rubs on the edge of a table, it's clearly not passionate about the
wooden legs, but is simply marking it with its odors. Since most cat owners have more
than one cat, each will stake its claim to share the territory. The other cat in the
household will commonly go over and sniff the rubbed area before adding its own personalized
scent to the same spot. This house cat is sharpening its claws, or so it appears. But
this animal had its claws removed as a kitten. The fact that it continues to rub may give
us a clue to the significance of this behavior. When a cat scratches a tree, not only is it
keeping its retractable claws in top condition, but it's almost certainly putting scent marks
from its pads on the roughened surface, as well as leaving a visual marker of its presence.
The cat experiences a sensory world that's totally different from our own. It's easy
to misjudge precisely what messages cats are picking up from their environment. As they
carry out their familiar lives around our homes, they are responding to a world of which
humans have little awareness. Their seemingly psychic abilities, such as being able to sense
the vibrations of coming earthquakes, may be achieved simply by using sensory information
we cannot experience. All of it adds to their mysterious image. The hearing of cats is considerably
better than humans. They have greater sensitivity and can detect high frequencies several octaves
above the limit of our hearing. The cat's outer ear is very flexible and can scan and
localize sounds with great precision. It's moved by an elaborate complex of tiny muscles.
A cat's keen sense of smell provides a wealth of information, information that is intensified
by the special organ in the roof of the mouth. A cat's pupil can occupy the whole of the
eye or can contract into a vertical slit, allowing it to see in almost any light condition.
They've sacrificed color vision for extra sensitivity in low light. They can detect
blues and yellows but can't really distinguish red. With this array of senses, cats are well
equipped for survival, but pampered pets cannot automatically become accomplished hunters.
Any experience from early kittenhood can prepare them for life on their own. Cats spend 80%
of their time resting or at least catnapping. By monitoring their brain waves, we know that
they first enter a phase of light sleep lasting 20 to 40 minutes. During this time, they will
readily open their eyes at the slightest disturbance. Then they finally go totally limp and their
third eyelid closes in from the side as they enter another world. Like humans, their brain
wave pattern suggests that cats dream. Sometimes their muscles start to twitch as if hunting.
Perhaps they're dreaming of a situation like this.
The cat first twists the front end of its body downward, quickly followed by the rear.
It can right itself after falling from an upside down position in less than one second.
Cats drink in a very special way. They have comb-like spikes on their tongues which are
primarily designed to scrape off meat from the bones of their prey. But there are pockets
behind these spikes which act like a sponge to soak up the milk. Then the tongue is sucked
dry in the mouth. When a cat cleans itself, it uses that same rough surface to comb and
lubricate its fur. The saliva actually contains a cleansing deodorizing agent which helps
keep the cat clean and healthy.
This motel in Florida plays host to many guests, but there's a resident here too, a calico
cat that makes her home base in the store room. She made it about 64 days ago and has produced
a litter of five kittens in a cardboard box. These youngsters are less than a day old.
Their eyes won't open for another six to eight days and their hearing doesn't function until
about another week after that. Because they feed exclusively on their mother's milk for
the first five weeks and also because they must stay close to her for warmth, these young
kittens are equipped with several powerful instincts to help them survive. Initially,
their most important senses are smell and touch as well as temperature awareness. If
they move away in the wrong direction, they can recognize by smell where they should be
and take steps accordingly. Its sense of smell also helps the kitten identify its own nipple.
It will suckle from that one exclusively. Another of the kitten's most crucial skills
is to recognize up from down so that it can always keep its belly downward and be properly
positioned to nurse. To be lying on one side is a cause for frantic struggle. In these
early days, the muscles of the kitten's rear quarters are not yet under control, so their
mother licks them, not just to keep them clean, but also to stimulate their bladder and bowels.
Yet they will develop quickly from these feeble beginnings. The onset of puberty is just four
months away. By five weeks of age, the kittens have become fully coordinated. Now their mother
begins to leave them for short periods while they explore more and more of their immediate
environment. They're full of curiosity and learn by watching and imitating their mother
The mother now has a new responsibility. As dusk approaches, she leaves her offspring
and goes out to hunt. Initially, she kills the prey she catches and takes it back to
eat in front of her youngsters. This enables the kittens to recognize it as a food source,
and soon they learn to eat with her. As her offspring get older, she changes to catching
mice but not killing them, so that she can take them back alive to her kittens. For domestic
cats about one pounds and three results in a capture. She sets off back to the store
room to deliver the hapless animal to her brood. She knows that her kittens are ready
to begin learning the skills they will need to survive. This gives the youngsters a chance
to learn how to handle a small rodent. Kittens have no instinctive knowledge of how to kill
their prey with a precise neck bite that cuts the spinal cord. They must learn from experience.
The mother looks on but does not interfere. This may look cute, but it's actually a deadly
game. This time, the mouse gets away, but soon these kittens will need to perfect their
killing skills to survive. In the center of this litter is convincing evidence that cats
need experience to learn to view mice as food. This white mouse is a family pet that the
mother cat came to know and accept when she herself was a kitten. Now it's treated almost
as a member of her own litter. Her own instincts are not triggered by the mouse and it's allowed
to be around without provoking more than sleepy curiosity. If a cat has not been exposed to
opportunities to learn hunting as a kitten, it will be an ineffective predator as an adult.
In order to survive in the wild, even big cats such as lions and tigers must be taught
by their parents to recognize that prey is food. It's highly unlikely that these kittens
will grow up to be efficient mousers. Domestic cats offer innumerable opportunities for the
study of animal behavior. Yet surprisingly, very little research has been done. It's almost
as if scientists have felt that pets are not worthy of serious study. Even obvious questions
such as the meaning of their different calls have just begun to be investigated. Zoologist
Patricia McKinley is in the first stage of work on a cat dictionary. She analyzes their
calls with a machine that separates the different frequencies and displays them on a chart.
She found that cats produce about 15 basic calls, several of which can be combined to
give a total vocabulary of approximately 25 different vocalizations. The meow is a composite
call made of two different components. The first part, the me sound, is often used alone
and it serves as a friendly greeting call. The ow sound on its own is normally a defensive
call, meaning keep your distance. So when a cat meows at you, it's really saying, I'm
willing to be friendly, but beware, I've got rights here too. Cats almost always meow at
people and very rarely at other cats. Purring is the cat's way of trying to ensure the continuation
of some contact. They do it as they suckle their kittens and also when humans stroke
them. The purring was once thought to be an involuntary noise, like human snoring, but
now we know that it's a deliberate process. And unlike other vocalizations, it continues
as they breathe in and out. All cats seem to purr at the same frequency, 25 vibrations
per second. The two clear components of the meow call. The purr call is nonstop, only
the tone changes. Several of the insistent calls that cats make have sound characteristics
similar to the cries of a human baby. This might explain the contrasts of pleasure and
annoyance they can generate in people. Another unstudied aspect of cats is why women in general
have a stronger preference for them than men. Most owners are couples, but if you look at
single people with cats, you'll find that there's a larger percentage of female owners.
Psychologists offer several possible explanations. One is that women typically have less of a
need to dominate their pet than men. Anyone who wants a cat to do something on command
is likely to be very frustrated. However, there are ways of developing extraordinarily
close relationships with your cat. Just handling kittens for 20 minutes each day for the first
30 days of their lives actually speeds their rates of development and intensifies the closeness
of their bonding with humans. In one study, kittens handled in this way open their eyes
a day sooner and emerge from the nest box three days earlier than usual. Well handled
kittens stand the best chance of being trained by their owners. And when they become adult
cats, they're more likely to develop close and affectionate relationships with human
beings. This mother cat has been handled extensively since birth. Her kittens have been experiencing
the same affectionate daily handling and have developed a close and trusting relationship
with their handler, which in this case just happens to be a baboon. Appropriately called
Boonie, she's a resident of a small zoo. This mother cat was born here herself two years
ago and at that time the baboon decided to share in her upbringing and to groom her as
if she were a young baboon. Boonie still enjoys grooming sunshine, the ever patient mother.
Boonie also shows a strong attraction to the kittens. Given the slightest chance, she'll
pick one up and carry it around. With the daily handling they're getting from birth,
it's highly likely these kittens will develop their own attachment to baboons, which will
remain with them throughout their lives. Perhaps in a year or two, this one might return to
repeat the process. But for now, it seems to be in good hands. Contrary to popular belief,
kittens are trainable. This is how a professional goes about it, starting with four week old
kittens. The aim here is not to let the kitten use its front paws so it will learn to sit
upright unaided. As in all animal training, the most important thing is the bond of kindness
and consistency on the part of the trainer. From small, uncertain beginnings, progress
is made one step at a time.
Stimulated only by rewards and encouragement, this tiny kitten is beginning a long process
that will eventually enable it to reliably go through its paces on command and in totally
strange surroundings. The trainer, Dominique LaFour, is a professional clown who entertains
with his cats in a miniature circus act.
And although we can see that cats are trainable, many cat owners would admit they are the ones
who have been trained by the subtle influences of their pets. In the end, it's the companionship
and affection cats offer that makes them such a fulfilling part of our lives.
Many people also admire their independence, and cats give us something no other pet can
match. They provide their owners with a deep-rooted spiritual pleasure that comes from living
with an animal that retains so many obvious links with the untamed world of nature. Perhaps
in that lies their greatest charm.
These kittens are orphans from a local adoption agency aptly called Forgotten Felines. Nationwide,
fewer than one out of three cats in shelters ever find a home with people who will take
care of them. The rest will be either put to sleep, become experimental animals in some
laboratory, live out deprived lives in a shelter, or escape, go wild, and become both nuisances
and health hazards. Anyone who thinks domesticated cats and dogs can take care of themselves
in modern America is dead wrong, believe me. A couple of suggestions. One, if you want
a cat for a pet, please adopt an orphan like these fellows unless you plan to breed and
show cats. And two, please have any orphan kitten you take into your home neutered. Neutering
will definitely make a better pet, and we have enough orphans. I'm George Page for Nature.
Nature is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by annual financial
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for the 21st century.
Thank you.