Original subtitles

Distant, aloof, self-absorbed, cats.

(cat hissing)

Untrainable, lazy bundles of fur.

(lively music)

Think again.

With the bounce of a ballerina, senses so acute

they can pinpoint a mouse scratch 30 feet away,

(cat meowing)

and, unique social skills, they're deservedly

the most popular pets in the world.

And, they seem to be evolving,

finding surprising new ways of thriving in our world,

revealing personalities and talents

that challenge any thought of their cool, standoffishness.

(cat meowing)

As science uncovers more about their behavior and senses,

we discover the awe-inspiring qualities

that each and every one possesses.

From those that save themselves

to those that even save our lives.

We will follow a kitten from newborn to fully grown

revealing the secret life of cats.

(gentle music)

(kitten mewing)

Just after birth, we meet our kitten for the first time.

After nine weeks in the womb, she's born deaf and blind,

completely vulnerable and totally dependent on her mother.

(kitten mewing)

But, she won't stay like this for long.

(kitten mewing)

In the next few weeks her senses will develop

at phenomenal speed to become super senses,

helping her make the journey to join

the 8 1/2 million other cats in the UK

who've made our homes their own.

(upbeat music)

She'll develop qualities that will make her

not only one of the most successful predators,

but also perhaps the best at adapting to our world.

(kitten mewing)

Our kitten's mother has her work cut out

insuring her brood grows up healthy.

Grooming is a way of bonding between a mother

and her kittens.

Each time she licks, she's adding her smell to their fur

so they can find her if they get lost.

(kittens mewing)

What's startling, though, is the fact

she's not just licking them clean,

she's actually combing their hair at the same time.

By filming in slow motion with a special lens,

hundreds of tiny barbs on the top of a cat's tongue

can be seen combing through the hair.

If you've ever been licked by your cat,

this is why it feels like sandpaper.

Cats spend a sixth of their life grooming

so it's worth watching how they do it.

They'll appreciate being stroked the same way

they groom themselves.

When we stroke our cat, we're reminding him

of when he was a kitten.

We're also making him familiar with our smell,

both strengthening his bond to us.

(cat chirping)

And, scientists have discovered that stroking

has a surprisingly positive side effect on us.

When you stroke a cat, your body releases

a stress-busting enzyme called renin.

(cat purring) Your heart rate slows

and your blood pressure goes down.

All of which means that if you're a cat owner,

you're around 1/3 less likely to suffer from heart disease.

(cat purring)

(gentle music)

At two days old, our kitten is still too young

to have direct contact with people.

Our smell could cause her mother to reject her.

(kitten mewing)

Her focus is on growing, fast.

She may not yet be able to see or hear,

but using her smell sense, she sniffs out one nipple

on her mother that'll be hers alone.

And, then using her touch sense, paws around it

until she finds her mother's milk.

This deep-rooted instinct is the reason your adult cat

will sometimes knead you.

He's remembering the comforts of kittenhood.

Now, and for the rest of her life,

it's our kitten's heightened smell and touch senses

that will keep her alive.

(kitten purring)

It was these same two cat super senses

that saved Sue Rolf's life and turned her rescue mogie,

Basil, from unloved street cat into guardian angel.

Basil turned up (cat purring)

on Sue's doorstep unexpectedly 16 years ago.

It was pouring with rain.

It was a horrible night.

And, we don't know how he managed to get in

to be honest with you.

He had a couple of fleas and things,

but I said to my husband, he obviously wants to live here,

can we keep him?

Sue nursed Basil back to health

and soon he'd made himself at home.

(Basil purring)

He seemed like any other house cat

until one night in 2011.

I'd done dinner, my husband had gone up to bed.

I cleaned the cooker last thing at night.

And, I think that was about sort of 10-ish

then I went up to bed.

(ominous music)

Sue had accidentally left

one of the gas rings on.

Asleep upstairs, neither she nor her husband

could smell the leaking gas.

But, Basil, the cat she'd rescued, could.

Half past one he came on the bed,

patted my face and I just literally pushed him

back off the bed 'cause I said, you know,

I need to go to sleep, Basil, go away.

The pilot light for Sue's central heating

was due to switch on soon

and that would make the gas ignite.

I couldn't smell it in that stage, but he obviously could.

(Basil purring) Couldn't you, eh?

Basil, like all cats has a sense of smell

30 times better than ours.

To him, the smell of gas was intense

especially now it had been leaking for over five hours.

An hour and a half later he came back.

He was very much more insistent.

He patted my face like that and then one little claw.

And, then I knew there was something wrong.

(Basil purring)

Basil's touch was so precise,

he didn't scratch Sue, but used just enough pressure

to make sure she was properly awake.

(emotional music)

He could've just literally walked straight

out the cat trap and just left us.

But, he didn't. (cat purring)

I'm convinced in my own mind that he's just saved our lives.

'Cause if he hadn't have woken me up

when the gas came on at 4:00, it would've just gone kaboom.

Many people think of cats as uncaring.

Yet, it appears Basil made sure, Sue, her husband,

and their neighbors were unharmed

before looking after himself.

I like to think it's his way (Basil purring)

of almost giving back the fact that we possibly saved him

from a life on the street and looked after him

all these years.

Catch it.

I'm really proud of him.

You know, without him, would I be here now?

He is my hero.

Aren't you, eh?

He'd risked his own life

and with his impressive smell (Basil purring)

and touch senses, Basil had saved the day.

(kitten mewing) (gentle music)

Our kitten's paws are ultrasensitive just like Basil's.

She has many thousands of nerve endings

around the tiny pads and between her toes.

Cats walk on tiptoe so naturally have more sensitivity

in their toes to feel the texture and temperature

of the ground.

Which is why even though we enjoy a soothing foot massage,

cats hate us touching their feet.

(kitten mewing)

Our kitten's perceptive touch sense is not only

in her paws, though.

(kitten mewing)

All over her body she has special hairs

that are hypersensitive.

(kitten mewing) (kitten purring)

Whiskers.

These are above her eyes,

on her front legs,

and, of course, on her cheeks.

When she's older they'll become essential

for helping her to navigate in the dark.

(lighthearted music)

In fact, for blind cats whose world is always dark,

whiskers are what help them see.

Monty was born blind,

while Charlie lost her sight as a kitten

after an infection.

Yet, both of them find their way around home

with no problem at all.

If it wasn't for the fact that their eyelids are shut,

you wouldn't guess they can't see.

Each of them has used their whiskers

like a blind person's white stick to build up

a mental map of their home.

(Charlie meowing)

All Charlie sees from up on this chair is a dark void.

But, she leaps with no fear of hurting herself.

It's also why Monty can do what seems impossible.

After sensing the position of this tree with his whiskers,

he moves back a couple of meters, then jumps

without a second's hesitation.

It's foolproof.

Well, most of the time.

The sensitivity of Monty and Charlie's whiskers

is phenomenal but not unique.

(thunder rumbling) (somber music)

(rain pattering)

Yule cat's whiskers are no different,

capable of feeling things we need

complex scientific instruments to detect.

Through their whiskers (cat purring)

cats sense minute changes in air pressure

like a barometer so they can even detect

an approaching storm well before it arrives

(thunder rumbling)

ensuring they're somewhere safe and warm when it hits.

(lighthearted music)

Like adult cats, kittens use their whiskers

to make sure they can find somewhere safe, too.

(kitten mewing)

Facial whiskers are just wider than the widest part

of their body, the head.

(kitten mewing)

So, they're essential for judging what's possible

to get into (kitten mewing) and so get out of.

This helps explain why kittens are so fond

of getting into the smallest spaces.

Messages transmitted by their whiskers

tell them that what they're touching is snug and secure

(kitten mewing) just like their mother's.

(gentle music)

Our kitten's mother is a tabby and so too is our kitten.

But, apart from her white socks and chin,

her sister's fur is all black.

It's likely that these sisters

actually have different fathers.

Their mother is a city cat and scientists have found

that in built up areas, around 3/4 of females

give birth to litters with more than one father.

It's a way of ensuring a large gene pool

and so prevents inbreeding.

Yet, it's not just the father's genes that can have

a huge effect on a kitten's color.

(upbeat music)

In one breed, temperature too has an astonishing effect.

At birth, all Siamese kittens are completely white.

But, because of a genetic mutation,

as they grow up, the coolest parts of their bodies

start to darken.

With a high-tech thermal camera

we're able to see which parts of these kittens are coolest

like the tips of their noses, ears, and tail.

Even though this one is mostly white now,

his face will end up just as dark as his mother's.

That's why Siamese cats growing up in colder climates

are darker than those in warmer places.

(kitten mewing) (gentle guitar music)

(cat purring)

Our kitten's not yet as sophisticated in her development.

But, far more radical changes are ahead.

She's about to experience two life-changing events

that will transform her world and how she relates to us

as she gains two new super senses: sight and hearing.

Two weeks after birth, her blue eyes open

for the very first time.

(lively music)

If our eyes were equal in scale to hers,

they'd be the size of tennis balls.

(kitten mewing)

Hers are so large because cat's vision has evolved

over thousands of years for very specific reasons.

And, scientists are only now starting to understand why.

(upbeat jazzy music)

While most of us can see all the colors of the rainbow,

cats are partly colorblind.

(patrons chattering)

They can only see blues and yellows.

To them, red and green colors appear gray.

They don't need our precise color vision

because colors have little effect

on the way they hunt and socialize.

Instead, they've replaced this ability

with an extraordinary sense.

Recently, scientists have learned that cats see things

invisible to us because their eyes allow in

the ultraviolet part of the light spectrum.

So, they can see everything from extra vivid stripes

on plants, to additional bold patterning on other animals.

To see UV like cats see, we need special lights.

When they're restoring old masters,

art experts use these lights to reveal the ultraviolet

secrets sometimes hidden in the paint.

Cats, of course, put their ultrasensitive skill

to a much more practical use.

Some prey animals leave traces of ultraviolet

in their urine.

It's invisible to us, but as clear as day

to a stalking cat.

At dusk, the differences between their sight and our own

become greater still.

Mirror-like reflectors at the back of their large eyes

capture and concentrate every last bit of light.

To see as well as cats do in the dark,

we'd need our eyes to be six times as sensitive.

Then again, most of us don't usually spend

all night out hunting and socializing.

(gentle guitar music)

Our kitten's ability to focus is still developing.

In the next two months, her vision will improve 16-fold.

(kitten mewing) (cat purring)

But, like all cats, she's evolved to be long-sighted.

It's much more useful for hunting

and she'll never be able to focus on objects closer

than about 12 inches.

So, if you drop a treat in front of your cat,

he'll struggle to see it.

But, if you drop it a few feet away,

he'll spot it quickly.

Even now, though, our kitten's eyes are tuned

to detect danger and she'll avoid eye contact

with anyone outside her family.

(tense music) (lion rumbling)

For big cats and for small, direct eye contact

is an act of aggression. (lion growling)

It's one way lion tamers establish dominance

allowing them to control a wild animal

that could turn on them in an instant.

That's why it's much more friendly to greet your cat

with a slow blink.

It's the way they use to greet family members.

Give it a try when you next see a cat

and don't be surprised when he blinks back at you.

(lighthearted music)

(kitten mewing)

It's not just sight that's transforming

our kitten's world, (kitten mewing)

but hearing, too.

Sealed shut at birth, her ears open

at two weeks old (kitten mewing)

and, she's able to hear her mother clearly

for the first time.

(kitten mewing)

Once she grows up, like most adult cats,

she'll tend to be solitary so she needs

acute hearing abilities to know

if danger is approaching. (dog barking)

With 32 muscles in each ear, ours have just six,

cats' ears twist independently of each other

to give them full surround sound.

Have you ever noticed that your cat,

though seemingly fast asleep, knows when you enter the room?

(door squeaking)

Unlike our hearing which diminishes when we're asleep,

a cat's hearing is always on (dog barking)

ready to locate danger.

On top of a cat's list of dangers is dogs,

(dog barking)

unless you're a cat that uses its senses

in a very unusual way.

(gentle piano music)

Turval, a 14-year-old chocolate lab,

is blind and partly deaf.

He used to be stuck in his basket because he couldn't see

where he was going and kept getting hurt.

I didn't own him as a puppy, but I was told

that he'd been thrown against a wall

and that's caused his blindness.

So, it must've been quite traumatic for him at the time.

(cat meowing)

But then his owner, Ann,

inherited a stray cat called Puttytat.

(Puttytat meowing)

He's top cat and he's not very nice

with the other cats.

He will, you know, bully the other cats

a bit into submission.

Amazingly, Puttytat became

Turval's best friend.

He prefers Turval to any of the other cats.

I think he must've known

Turval was blind (Puttytat meowing)

because he sort of bonded with him straightaway.

(Puttytat meowing)

Puttytat will seek out Turval and then they'll snuggle up

and rub against each other.

It's quite obvious that there is a bond there.

Definitely love at first sight, mmm (chuckles).

But, more astonishing still

was when Puttytat decided to take on the role

of guide cat to blind Turval.

I think Puttytat must've realized

that Turval was a bit vulnerable.

He just seemed to know that there was a need there, somehow.

Turval is much more confident when Puttytat's around.

He relies on him to get around

and avoid bumping into things.

It's often when they're out.

You know, they're nose to tail with Puttytat in the lead

and Turval following him.

It is lovely to see especially when you're used to

dogs chasing cats.

But I don't think I've ever seen one

that have got on quite as well as these two

and have relied up each other in that same way.

Cats and dogs have very different ways

of communicating.

When a puppy wags its tail, it means I want to play.

(cat hissing) But, for a kitten,

it's a sign of aggression.

For cats and dogs to get on,

they have to learn what each other means.

And, researchers believe that cats are better

and faster at learning these differences than dogs.

(puppy whimpering)

Puttytat has learned to read Turval's body language

and now has no reason to see him as a threat.

In fact, they've become better than the best of friends.

(birds chirping)

(gentle guitar music)

Our kitten is now a month old and in the middle

of a crucial stage of her development.

Scientists have pinpointed a five week period

in all kittens' lives that defines how they'll respond

to people when they're older.

(kitten mewing)

Between two and seven weeks of age,

if our kitten has no contact with people,

she would likely go feral,

returning fully to her wild nature.

(kitten mewing)

Yet the earlier she has human contact

during these few weeks,

(kitten mewing)

the more she'll adapt to us and the more sociable she'll be

when grown up. (kitten mewing)

How much more can domesticated cats adapt

and how much can we affect how they behave towards us?

(lighthearted music) (cat purring)

You might believe you can't train your cat

to do anything.

Emily Muggleton has taught her cat, Benny,

not only to high five on command, but also to hurdle fences

like a thoroughbred.

And, again, jump.

We've started teaching him tricks four or five years ago.

Good boy, Benny.

It's always just been like a little party trick

that when people come round, we just do our little tricks

and everyone loves it.

Come on, Benny. (Benny purring)

Good boy.

Many cats will learn one trick,

but Benny won a national competition

because he had memorized a whole range of tricks.

And again, and again.

You just have to have patience, really,

'cause it might take like half an hour

to teach him something, but if you just keep practicing,

well, he doesn't forget.

Good boy.

Kind of first cat in Britain (chuckles).

Cats can learn as well as dogs,

they just need shorter lessons over a longer period.

Good boy. (Benny purring)

So, if you got a little spare time

and a lot of patience, you might even persuade your cat

to fetch your slippers.

Only kidding.

He's probably my best friend

even though that's really embarrassing admitting that.

But, yeah, I can't imagine living without him.

Cats are building ever stronger ties to us.

But, the connection to their wild past

remains just as strong.

(upbeat music)

Soon, our kitten will start affecting those facets

of her wild side she's kept despite being domesticated,

developing the stunning physical qualities

that'll turn her from dependent kitten

into super-powered cat.

At eight weeks old, all her senses are in place

and it's time for play.

(comical music)

Play isn't just for fun.

It's a way of learning new skills

and building up her strength to become

a super-powered cat.

(baskets rustling)

(birds chirping) (mysterious music)

All domestic cats, including ones like this Bengal,

can trace their family tree back to where it split

from the big wild cats.

(moving to dramatic music)

(cat growling)

Even now, 10,000 years after wild cats

were first domesticated, the two share similarities

in patterning, body shape, and movement.

Yet, it's not just physical characteristics

that these animals share (cat growling)

but ways of behavior too.

(lighthearted music)

Domestic cats (kitten mewing)

have an ancient instinct

to hunt and return home with their kill.

(mouse squeaking)

It's separate from their instinct to eat

which is why you'll sometimes get left

those unwanted, uneaten gifts on your doorstep.

So deep rooted is this instinct

that even at eight weeks old,

kittens practice their hunting strategies.

(kitten mewing)

As our kitten stalks a ball of wool,

it's a mirror of the technique older cats use

to hunt mice.

And, this scooping method is the same

an adult cat uses to pull fish from a pool.

(water gurgling) (gentle flute music)

There's one breed that's taken this method

of hunting fish to the extreme,

busting one of the longest held myths

about cats, that they all hate water.

(water splashing)

Although legend has it they swam ashore

from Noah's Ark, in reality, these Turkish cats

called Vans have adapted

to living near Turkey's biggest lake

becoming more like Navy Seals than covert commandos.

(gentle piano music)

It's unlikely our kitten will ever be

quite as comfortable in water,

but with every playtime, she moves a step closer

to being able to join the older cats

who've turned the city into their playground.

(siren blaring)

(rhythmic music)

They are masters of the thinnest of rails

and the most perilous of heights

by day and by night.

While they have around the same number

of neck and back bones we do,

their ace is in their tail.

Another 20 bones turn it

into an automatic stabilizing device.

It's not only a cat's ability to leap up

and balance on a knife edge that's impressive,

but the way they fall, too.

(gentle piano music)

One surprising survivor of a terrifying fall

is Britt Kirk's much-loved cat, Sugar.

I wasn't a cat person growing up,

but right when I got Sugar, I really fell in love with her.

I would come home from work and really look forward

to seeing her.

Sugar is deaf, like the majority

of white cats.

Which is why Britt didn't let her outdoors

fearing she'd get hurt especially when they lived

on the 19th floor of an apartment block in Boston.

She would sit on the windowsill

and just look outside all day,

look at the birds, look at the bees flying by,

look at the clouds.

It was beautiful so I can see why she spent

that much time up there.

In March 2012, Britt had left for work

at the hospital across the street leaving an air gap

in one of her windows.

Sugar stepped through the gap and onto the ledge.

An indoor cat, this was the first time

she'd ever ventured out.

175 feet below her was the concrete pavement.

(siren blaring)

For us, it's the equivalent of looking down

from the top of the Empire State Building.

I think what happened was that she was so focused

on whatever she saw there,

she probably just lost her balance.

(tense music)

There's an elderly woman and she was at the window

doing her eyebrows and she saw something white

just go flying past her window and she thought,

how terrible that someone has just thrown trash

out of their window.

It went straight down and I thought,

what is that?

What she'd seen was Sugar flying past

at 60 miles an hour.

I looked out the window

and the cat was laying on the ground.

And, I thought for sure she was probably dying.

And, I get really, really sad to think

how frightening that must have been for Sugar

slipping off of the ledge.

I can't imagine falling from such an immense height.

Britt got an urgent message

to call the Animal Rescue Center.

I did wait a few minutes before I called

Animal Rescue League back just because I didn't,

I really didn't wanna hear the bad news.

(gentle piano music)

They said, "We have your cat.

"We traced her back to you because she is microchipped

"and it looks like you're the owner.

"Apparently she fell out of your window."

And so, of course, I thought the worst

because living on the 19th floor

what would survive?

The vets made X-rays

but couldn't believe what they showed.

They looked all over and no broken bones at all,

it was just slight bruising to her lungs.

That was it, no chipped teeth, nothing, no scratches.

This cat was able, I think, to position her body

to slow the rate of the fall and that saved her life.

I think it was her lucky day

in that one half a minute, even less than a half a minute,

she used up her nine lives, but it goes to show you

what nature can do, what animals can do for themselves.

It was a miracle that happened that day.

Sometimes I think that her falling has taught me

a life lesson with you have to really appreciate

what you have because you never know when it will go

out the window.

Sugar's fall was one of the highest

ever survived by a cat.

She's incredibly lucky to have escaped unharmed.

Yet all cats have the potential to survive

such spectacular falls by using an extraordinary instinct.

Using extremely high speed cameras,

we're able to see how they do it.

(delicate piano music)

In 1/10th of a second, Paddington works out

which way is down.

He twirls like a dancer, first the front part of his body,

then separately his back end.

He slows his descent like a parachutist,

extends his claws so he won't slip when he lands,

and finally, flexes his back to absorb the shock of impact.

This unique instinct is one reason cats are credited

with having nine lives.

But, it's not exclusive to fully grown cats.

It's so instinctive, kittens as young as seven weeks

make it seem like child's play.

But, please don't try this at home.

(gentle piano music)

Our 12-week-old kitten is almost ready

to head outdoors, but in her final stage of kittenhood,

she'll need to learn the skills that'll bring her

safely home again.

She's becoming more and more independent from her mother

and the lure of the outside world is increasingly strong.

(kitten purring)

Her reaction is to purr

but surprisingly it's not to express pleasure.

Cats purr when they're nervous or afraid,

not only when they're content.

(playful music)

Up to now, she's never heard or seen the outside world

so she rightly treats it with caution.

In the same way that our voices are all different,

each cat's purr is unique.

(kitten purring)

And, scientists have found that some domesticated cats

have evolved a special purr that has the tone

of a human baby's cry in it.

(kitten purring)

They only use this purr to get our urgent attention

revealing how these once wild animals continue

to embed themselves in our lives.

Some cats go one step further,

developing expert unspoken communication with us.

(gentle somber music)

Lorcan Dillon is nine.

He suffers from an anxiety disorder

called selective mutism.

When he started school nursery

when he was just over three,

he just didn't speak.

He was silent all day.

He'd answer yes or no very, very quietly.

But, it just tailed off to absolutely nothing

and it just went on and on and on.

So, it was a massive problem.

You know, some of his little friends

would go out to play and knocking on each other's doors.

I couldn't let him go out,

'cause if he did lose sight of his friends,

he just wouldn't be able to ask anybody for help.

It was very vulnerable.

Frustrated, Lorcan struggled

to control his temper, couldn't express his emotions,

and found it difficult to talk to anyone

outside his family

until Jessi-cat turned up.

She's just been his best friend, really,

since the day she arrived.

He does struggle explaining how he feels.

He really, really struggles with that

which is obviously one of the reasons why

Jessi-cat's brilliant with him.

He can talk to her.

If he's upset, he cuddles her and it's an outlet

for his emotions.

I think it's some sort of animal instinct thing

that she knows that he needs her

and she'll just be there for him.

What's surprising is that the only motivation

for Jessi-cat's love for Lorcan is Lorcan himself.

Many people think that cats only respond to those

that feed them.

Lorcan has never fed Jessi-cat,

but theirs is an unbreakable bond

and has had a huge effect on his confidence.

The test came when Lorcan's teacher asked him

to do a talk about Jessi-cat in front of his class.

The teacher said to me beforehand, she said,

"I don't know how this is gonna go."

She said, "Either he'll be great and he'll do it

"or his friend George might have to step in

"and do the speaking for him."

Well, I sat outside the classroom waiting

to hear what had gone on.

My heart was hammering.

I was thinking what, you know, just for him,

just thinking is he, 'cause if he can't do it,

how will that make him feel?

When the teacher came out she just grinned at me

and she told me what happened and he had a big smile

on his face.

And, it was just a huge, huge relief.

I actually heard him say to her,

"You've helped me to talk, Jessi-cat."

Jessi-cat, wanna play play?

When Lorcan does talk,

he has a high-pitched voice, perfect for Jessi-cat to hear.

That's because all cats' hearing is tuned

to the high-pitched sound made by the animals they hunt,

like mice and birds.

Are you okay, kittens?

(Jessi-cat meowing)

Are you okay?

With her unique way

of communicating (Jessicat meowing)

Jessi-cat is helping give Lorcan back his voice.

She's just incredible.

I mean, I'm not in the least bit religious,

but if I was, I would probably feel that she'd been sent

to Lorcan for a reason.

(gentle piano music)

With each day comes more independence

and our kitten now spends more time away from her mother

exploring her surroundings.

This is her home territory.

Using her sophisticated smell sense,

she's starting to build up a mental map

of familiar objects.

(lively music)

Cats lay trails of scent in their home territory

by making repeated regular circuits

to make sure the familiar stays familiar.

If a foreign smell turns up, like another cat,

their mental map is disturbed and so they must redraw it

by reapplying their own scent.

These trails of scent include not only things

that don't move, but even include us.

So, when a cat rubs up against our legs,

it's not just because he loves us,

but also because he's making us part

of his secure home territory.

All cats are instinctively protective of their territory,

but could they evolve to suppress this instinct?

(people chattering)

You'd imagine a cat cafe where customers

come for coffee and cake with a dozen resident cats

might be a recipe for trouble.

Yet these cats have learned to live happily

alongside one another and also become highly sociable hosts

despite a constant stream of new faces and smells.

They're so unusually relaxed because they've adapted

to having extremely small home territories

even if it means the smallest perch

at the top of a bookshelf.

(gentle piano music)

In just a few weeks our kitten will be old enough

to venture outdoors.

But, until she's able to memorize her territory,

she'd likely find it impossible to make her way home.

That's why when you move house, it's best to keep your cat

indoors for a few days until he's fully mapped

his new territory.

While nearly all cats are territorial,

some take it to the extreme.

(comical music)

Hamish McHamish has turned the whole Scottish town

of St. Andrews into his territory,

much to the surprise of his original owner Marianne.

He'll walk into any door, any open door,

or through a window.

I mean, he considers town his own (laughs), I think.

So he hasn't been coming back here for a long time.

He's a free spirit shall we say (chuckles)

and that's what he always has been.

He's an extraordinary animal.

Marianne brought Hamish home

when he was a tiny kitten.

But, he quickly decided his home territory

was much too small.

For awhile he stayed around.

But, then he's just decided no, I prefer the wandering life.

His own home here he abandoned and God knows why,

'cause I always fed him, he always had a place.

Everybody else feeds him now (laughs).

I haven't had to feed him for years.

Hello, Hamish.

Are you coming (chuckles).

15 years older and a wee bit arthritic,

Hamish still patrols the gardens, streets,

and shops each day making sure his mental map

of the town stays familiar.

(people chattering)

(baby meowing)

His circuit even includes regular visits to his local salon

to have his hair done. (Hamish purring)

Hamish has been coming in here for eight years.

And, he gets fed and brushed and made to look

very handsome, I hope.

Somebody's sent him his little blanket for his Christmas.

So, this is Hamish's chair.

And in the winter particularly, he likes to come in

and just cozy up and go to sleep.

And, if somebody's sitting on his chair

when he comes in, he'll sit and stare them out

until they move.

And you just like to be boss.

And, it's like he absolutely owns the town.

But, we like him to come in.

We've been having him coming in for so long now.

I think it's that face, that handsome face.

He's like a little mini tiger or lion.

Aren't you?

(gentle music)

It's unlikely our kitten will have quite

the same wandering spirit as Hamish.

Yet, at six months old, she's now fully independent.

And, as she leaves home for the very first time,

she'll do exactly the same thing that Hamish does,

mapping her own territory in the brand new outdoor world.

(dog barking)

She'll apply all the instinctive super senses

and superpowers she's gained during the last six months

to secure her patch.

And, with her highly evolved social abilities,

will soon return home to slot right back in

with our indoor world.

We'll never really know if our cats love us.

What's certain, though, is that they're evolving

into ever more sociable, cuddlier homebodies.

Yet the amazing thing about cats is

that they'll never lose their wild side

reminding us who they once were and making us love them

all the more.

(upbeat music)