Original subtitles

(peaceful music)

(rooster crows)

[Voiceover] One morning, in the French countryside,

a kitten is born on a farm.

(kitten meows)

As the months go by, it will grow into an authentic hunter.

What remains of its feline instincts?

(sheep bleats)

Cats have been domesticated by man

and humans play a decisive role in their existence,

especially in Tokyo where cats are coddled like plush toys,

sometimes spending their entire lives

in these peculiar places called cat bars.

Miles away in Greece, some cats roam free

and are abandoned to hands of fate.

For them, their feline instinct is a question of survival.

Three cats, three destinies, three worlds.

Amazing and moving stories to discover

the secrets of these familiar creatures.

(birds chirping)

(tractor rumbling) (horse neighing)

The sun is just rising,

and the farmer and his animals were already awake,

a typical morning in the French countryside.

In the barn, a new story is beginning.

(mellow music)

Nestled in a corner of the straw are five kittens,

a hidden spot chosen by their mother

to protect them from the elements

as well as any predators that might happen by.

(kittens meow)

This behavior has been passed down

from the cat's wild ancestors.

These domesticated kittens belong to the family of Felidae

and share many likenesses with them.

Like their cousins, lions and tigers, they have a round head

with a flat muscle and protractable claws.

This little gray and white ball of fur is named Mouricette.

We're going to watch her as she grows to adulthood,

but for the past 1/2 hour, she's been growing impatient.

This is her mother and source of sustenance.

Her eight nipples are more than enough

for this litter of kittens,

(kittens whimpering)

but they still need to fight for a spot,

and Mouricette is already good at defending her own.

(kittens whimpering)

With full tummies, the under-a-week-old kittens

sink into a restless sleep.

Their brains practice making their muscles move,

and they're wracked with spasms.

This phase is called seismic sleep

and will diminish as they grow.

(birds chirping)

(uplifting music)

(rooster crows)

A week's gone by.

Mouricette's eyes are wide open,

but she still can't see yet.

(kitten meows)

She gropes her way to her mother,

relying on her sense of smell.

She crawls since her legs are too wobbly to stand.

Her little limbs aren't strong enough

to bear her weight of just 200 grams.

(kitten meows)

Her meowing is the way she calls her mother.

Mouricette is distressed by her absence

and cries to get her attention.

When mom finally comes back, it's bath time.

Cats are instinctively clean,

and the mother makes sure the family home never gets dirty.

She licks her kittens' bottoms clean,

leaving their fur covered in her pheromones.

(kittens purring)

Another plus, the stimulation

wakes them up before their meal.

Since they suckle only tiny quantities at a time,

the kittens nurse every hour, even at night.

So, they manage to drink about 25% of their weight each day.

At two weeks, they already know

how to stimulate milk production

by kneading their mother's belly.

Some adult cats, if they were weaned too early,

will reproduce this reflex to sooth themselves.

(kittens purring)

(playful music)

(birds chirping)

Farm cats aren't born year-round

but only during the warm season,

like most mammals in temperate climates.

The synchronization of births is caused by a hormone

called melatonin when the days grow longer in spring.

Nature knows what it's doing.

This way, the kittens have a few months

to learn how to walk before autumn arrives.

(playful music)

One month later,

here's what a six-week-old kitten looks like.

Mouricette is still unsteady on her feet,

but instinct pushes her to venture a little further.

(straw rustling)

Kittens are curious about everything.

These five kittens' favorite activity is playing

and especially play fighting.

(kittens meowing)

The rules are simple,

bite and swat at whoever's down.

(dogs barking)

These play fights are reminiscent

of lion cubs in the Savannah,

a feline behavior, learning to fight without getting hurt.

If Mouricette were an only kitten,

her mother would be more present in her education,

but with a litter of five,

she lets the siblings keep each other company.

(peaceful music) (kittens meowing)

A reassuring cuddle also embodies

a survival strategy, heat conservation.

To develop properly,

the kittens sleep nearly 20 hours a day.

This time is needed for their growth.

(kittens purring)

(birds chirping)

Mouricette is over two months old now,

and her days in the barn are drawing to a close.

(rooster crows)

Now that she's weaned, she no longer needs her mother,

and she's clearly the boldest kitten in the litter.

(cow mooing)

The other four frightened kittens huddle in a corner,

while their sister is lured by adventure.

(playful music)

Mouricette doesn't know it,

but the farmer's been observing her

and has noticed her natural gift for hunting

when she was chasing her siblings.

These hands belong to her future owner.

As if often the case,

cats are given to owners as soon as they're weaned.

In the wild, six months is the age

at which wild cats are rejected by their mothers,

one year lynxes and two years for tigers.

The life of the domestic cat is much different.

Kittens are removed from their mothers

between two and three months, as soon as they are weaned.

This is because kittens adjust more easily

to a new environment within their first nine weeks of life.

(donkey braying)

It's important for territorial animals, such as these,

to discover their future home early

and discover the animals that live there,

but before she can start providing pest control at the farm,

Mouricette must first adapt to her new home.

(feet shuffling)

(kitten meows)

(basket creaks)

When she first arrives, Mouricette is kept in the kitchen

to give her a chance to discover her new environment.

During the holidays, Christmas tree decorations

provide an ideal training field.

(decorations rustling)

The kitten doesn't know where to look next.

Her attention span is still pretty short,

a few seconds tops, and she moves on to the next toy,

as long as it moves when it's batted about

as if it were a mouse.

Is that a fly over there?

(fly buzzes)

Learning to hunt requires intensive training.

All these moves will come in useful

in real life when she grows up,

but she needs to learn to be a little less conspicuous

(blocks crash)

and wait a bit longer

before she can meet all the farm animals.

(geese honking)

In a familiar environment,

the feline nature of the domestic cat

is not always easy to see,

(peaceful music)

but in Greece, it's much more obvious.

Some cats don't have it so easy,

and this picturesque setting on the Aegean Sea

does not guarantee an idyllic existence.

(hooves clopping)

On an island off the shore of Athens,

stray cats live in colonies.

Introduced by pirates who occupied the port

until the the 19th century,

their population has exploded in the absence of predators.

(hooves clopping)

But their scarred little faces

show the harsh reality hidden behind the postcard setting.

Here, we see a little ginger orphan.

Skinny and weak, the kitten must struggle to survive.

It's undernourished and doesn't fare well

during the cool nights of early autumn.

(kitten coughing)

Nearby, three luckier kittens play fight

while the little ginger kitten looks on.

(playful music)

(rooster crows)

(birds chirping)

One of them is even agile enough to climb a tree

and attempt to hunt for food.

(leaves rustling)

The reason this trio is more robust than our ginger kitten

is that their mother is around to watch over them

and provide them with food.

(kitten purring)

Mother cat makes the rules.

She rations out her milk by feeding them in turns.

Elsewhere, they would be too old,

but here, their mother's milk

is often the only source of nutrition.

This one has gone blind in one eye,

an infection caused by malnutrition.

(somber music)

For the mother, it's also a struggle to find enough to eat.

(kittens purring)

Leaving the kittens in a safe place,

she heads out in search of food whatever the weather.

The survival of her family depends on it.

(thunder crashes)

(rain splashes)

At the port, she waits for just the right moment.

(wind rushes)

Salvation comes from the sea.

Over the decades, the fisherman

have grown accustomed to the cats

and have become, in a way, their guardian angels.

(boat engine rumbling)

But mother cat is not the only one with the same idea.

Every time a boat comes in,

an amazing spectacle takes place.

The entire colony of stray cats gathers

to take advantage of the fish

that are either too small or damaged to keep.

Like tigers, cats are often solitary.

Stray animals only tolerate

their fellow creatures near food sources.

(cats growl)

The biggest males are always served first.

Lower in the hierarchy, the black female must wait

until the dominant cats have had their fill.

(cats growl)

While the tomcats feast,

mom finally manages to get her share.

She eats her meal

and even manages to bring back a little for her kittens.

(upbeat music)

High up on the island,

the kittens are lured from their hiding place

by the smell of fish.

Since they will soon be weaned,

this familiarizes them with dead prey.

It's a way of stimulating their instinct

before they learn to hunt for themselves.

The ginger kitten is hesitant and timid.

He's afraid, but he's also hungry.

(kitten hissing)

Finally, the one-eyed kitten lets him have what's left.

The kittens don't have the silky fur

and round tummies of well-fed kittens,

but it looks like the shared feast

has perked up the little ginger kitten,

and he's now accepted by the three siblings.

(kitten sneezes)

(mellow music)

The survival mode stray cats live in

reveals their feline instincts,

but how do cats behave in Tokyo,

the most populated city in the world?

42,000,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom

live in buildings that don't allow cats.

Condominium regulations strictly forbid them

for reasons of hygiene.

Not so great for the Japanese since they adore cats.

(bell ringing)

Adore and even worship,

like here, in the Buddhist Gotokuji Temple.

Legend has it, a samurai was beckoned by a cat

passing its paw behind its ear.

He entered the temple just at the moment

lightning struck where he'd been.

To show his gratitude, he gave money to the sanctuary,

and ever since, the beckoning cat, or maneki neko

has been a good-luck charm to attract fortune.

(claps)

For cat lovers who can't afford their own house,

there are places especially designed

for enjoying our furry friends.

(cats meowing)

This morning, the 15 residents of the Hapineko Cafe

emerge from the bedroom,

20 square meters governed by Princesse

and these other domestic cats,

a realm entirely devoted to cats

where human visitors are merely tolerated.

(speaking in foreign language)

This week, a new resident makes her appearance.

(peaceful music)

(bell jingling)

This roly-poly kitten is called Kurumi,

little nut in Japanese.

She's just turned three months old,

the minimum age for admission to this rather unusual place,

the cat bar, where she will live from now on.

But if Kurumi wants to fit in to this elite feline group,

she's going to have to prove herself.

(laughing)

(speaking in foreign language)

It's not easy for a little kitten to win the approval

of all the full-grown cats that have lived here for years.

Each cat has its own personality and habits.

Princesse, the Persian cat often hides

beneath the doll's bed.

It's a feline survival reflex

to find a hiding spot for peaceful sleeping.

(feet pattering)

Komono likes to sit in salad bowls,

classic behavior for domestic cats.

They feel protected from the outside world, safe and secure.

This one's called Roll.

She's gotten into the habit of poking about people's plates.

She refuses to follow the rules imposed by humans

and eats whenever she feels like it.

(speaking in foreign language)

But there's no question of letting Kurumi

pick up the same habit.

The waitress quickly sets the record straight.

Last, but not least, is Konatsu.

(playful music)

This Siamese cat is not quite a year old,

and Kurumi's presence reminds her of her kittenhood.

(speaking in foreign language)

These indoor cats seem used to a cushy life

in a safe environment

far from the wild existence of their fellow Greek felines.

They've traded their freedom to live like plush toys

in an enclosed environment,

but the cafe contains specially designed

substitutes for life in the wild.

(peaceful music)

Instead of trees, there are shelves

because like leopards, for example, cats love to climb,

the ideal position for staking out prey.

The only prey here live outside the window

where they're impossible to catch.

(birds chirping)

So, to satisfy their urge to hunt,

even the adult cats play from time to time,

a behavior more common among cats in captivity.

(bell jingling)

At the end of this day of discovery and play,

Kurumi finally finds a spot to rest between two sofas.

(tranquil music)

Back on the farm, however, Mauricette never takes a break.

With her boundless energy,

she clearly has other things on her mind than sleep.

She's now four months old and curious about everything.

Her first adventures are right outside the house.

(rooster crows)

(bell rings)

(goat bleats)

They say cats have nine lives

since they're always in danger of losing one

due to their curiosity,

a characteristic they share with their lion cub cousins.

(goat bleats)

Curiosity is what compels Mauricette to face the unknown.

(bell ringing)

The chained goats seem harmless enough,

but the geese are a different story.

(geese honking)

They are territorial and have even been known

to frighten away humans, so just imagine a kitten.

(geese honking)

Curious doesn't mean foolhardy.

Mauricette high tails it to safety.

Like her wild cat ancestors,

she seeks the shelter of heights.

She climbs to escape predators.

(dramatic music)

But Mauricette is inexperienced

and has trouble getting down.

(shuffling)

Luckily, her flexible skeleton,

a quality shared by all felines both big and small,

helps cushion her fall.

Ah, safe at last.

It's all part of the learning process.

A young border collie named Jamie

has just arrived on the farm.

He's going to herd sheep.

(bell ringing)

The puppy and kitten are going

to have to learn to get along.

All felines are very attached to their territory.

Instinct tells them to defend their property,

even when they're domesticated like Mauricette,

but right now, she's torn

between wanting to play with the puppy and total fear.

(feet shuffling)

(cat hissing)

Feeling threatened, she rises up on the tips of her paws

and arches her back to make herself

look as scary as possible to Jamie,

who's not feeling very sure of himself either.

(cat hisses)

(dog growls)

After this show of force,

curiosity wins out over aggression,

and a peaceful coexistence settles in.

(dog sniffs)

(cat scratching)

(peaceful music)

What remains to be seen is how Mauricette will fare

when she is truly needed

because if humans have allowed cats to coexist with them,

like here on this organic farm,

it's because they understood the creatures' potential

back in the days before rat poison.

(sheep bleating)

It all started 7-10,000 years ago.

Cats became domesticated in the fertile crescent

in Mesopotamia where agriculture began.

Rodents would scrounge from the grain harvests

meant for humans and their livestock.

Cats were lured near villages by the rodents,

their prey of choice.

It was a win-win situation for the first farmers

who were delighted to get rid of the unwelcomed pests.

(goats bleating)

First, cats had to get used to

the other domesticated animals.

(cat hissing)

But when it comes to rodents, no fear at all.

Instinct is instinct,

and Mauricette immediately begins chasing the mouse.

With all her senses alert,

she detects her prey using sight and her sense of hearing,

though not usually her sense of smell,

which isn't nearly as sharp as a dog's.

(feet shuffling)

What happens next may surprise us.

Rather than kill the mouse,

four-month old Mauricette plays with it for a long time.

This simple reason is that she wants to make the hunt last

as long as possible until the mouse tires out.

Among domesticated cats, the urge is independent of hunger.

And maybe she's afraid of getting bitten herself

by the terrified victim.

She still needs to gain a bit of experience

before she can become a excellent mouser.

In the end, finicky Mauricette

turns up her nose at her prey.

(dramatic music)

Meanwhile, in Greece, the stray cats can't be so choosey

if they want to survive on the island.

The orphan ginger kitten is still alive,

but he now lives far from humans.

He's become a feral cat,

the term used to describe

domestic cats that have become wild.

What's special about cats

is that even if they adapt a human contact,

they never become truly domesticated,

and their preditorial instincts remain intact.

(peaceful music)

(waves rushing)

The ginger cat has joined the colony

that lives alongside the sea, the fishing cats.

Cats on the water's edge remain an unusual sight.

(waves crashing)

Since water was scarce in the Middle Eastern region

where the wild ancestors originated,

the cats developed a natural fear of it

that they must overcome if they want to eat.

(water splashing)

The crab is protected by both the waves and its shell,

so the ginger cat decides to look for other sea creatures.

This cat isn't afraid of getting its paw wet,

but it's technique isn't very effective.

This one seems more agile.

The ginger cat tries to copy it.

Observation, imitation, and survival instinct

finally combine into the formula for success.

But this meager pittance is hardly enough.

An adult cat needs 300 grams of food per day,

in other words, about 10 fish, birds, or rodents.

Resources are quickly depleted on an island of stray cats.

To round out the meal,

the ginger cat also uses his sense of smell.

Although it's a feline's third sharpest sense

after hearing and sight,

it's still 100 times sharper than our own,

enough to lead him to the trash bin.

The ginger cat gleans what tourists have left behind,

a welcome addition of protein.

(hooves clopping)

(cats meowing)

During the summer, the ginger cat even knows a great spot

near a hotel where the garbage gets piled.

(laughing)

He's the king of the garbage heap.

(peaceful music)

The problem comes when holiday makers

vacate the island in winter.

No tourists means no trash.

(rain pattering)

Life grows harsher and hunger is a constant daily reality.

The island's inhabitants are moved

by the homeless creatures' plight and look after them,

like the fishermen, through a local association.

(food rustling)

In return, the cats are sterilized each year

to limit overpopulation and prevent new orphans

from swelling the ranks of the seaside cat colony.

(cats meowing)

Although the Japanese cats may not share these same worries,

the impatience of their empty tummies

still upsets the serenity of their mornings.

While the owner prepares breakfast,

Kurumi the kitten is kept away from the frenzy.

But order is quickly restored and everyone falls into place.

(food crunching)

(peaceful music)

No question of stealing from a neighbor's dish.

Even Kurumi can eat peacefully without being disturbed.

(doorbell rings)

(speaking in foreign language)

As soon as the meal is over,

the cafe opens its doors to human patrons.

They take off their shoes and wash their hands

to keep any germs away from the cats.

(water pouring)

It didn't take long for Kurumi to get used to

the coming and going of visitors,

although slippers don't disturb her in the least.

(playful music)

(bells jingling)

She still plays with Konatsu

but also interacts with the patrons.

That's her role here, which is convenient

considering predation is second nature for domestic cats.

(laughing)

Kurumi feels at home and even marks her territory

like the full-grown cats.

Beneath their paw pads are scent glands

that emit pheromones to mark where they've been.

They may be domesticated,

but they still need to satisfy their territorial instinct,

which is why scratching posts are so useful.

The cats rub up against the patrons

to mark them with their scent,

making them, in a way, part of their territory.

(cat purring)

But this is different.

This cat is busy kneading, a nostalgic reflex.

(tranquil music)

A trip down memory lane when it would

knead its mother's belly to nurse her milk.

All domestic cats retain kitten behavior.

(cat purring)

It's actually their biggest difference from wild cats.

When they curl up on our laps,

it's like they were nestled against their mothers' tummies.

When we pet them, our hand reminds them

of their mothers' tongue cleaning them.

For them, we are like substitute mothers.

Comforted and content,

they purr like when they were kittens.

The vibration is as relaxing for them as for us,

and it keeps their muscles from getting stiff

when they stay in the same position for too long.

(cats purring)

(tranquil music)

Sleep is an important part of their life,

16 hours broken into a succession of short naps.

When they're not asleep, cats spend 1/3 of their time

grooming themselves with their rough tongue

covered in hook-like bumps.

It's the ideal tool for cleaning and brushing their fur

but also for getting rid of the scents humans leave on them.

(speaking in foreign language)

And for those hard to reach spots, friends come in handy.

Too much grooming, however, can also mean a cat is bored.

Are these animals confined indoors

and pampered like living plush toys happy?

We'll never know.

But although they've escaped the risks

that come with freedom

in exchange for this comfortable dwelling,

there's no doubt all their instincts are still intact.

(bell jingling)

The proof, when Kurumi is presented

with the screensaver of a cell phone.

(beeps)

(beeps)

This digital butterfly is the only thing

she'll ever be able to hunt.

(cheerful music)

Whereas back on the farm, Mauricette has the good fortune

to come and go as she pleases.

(leaves rustling) (birds chirping)

When a stranger ventures into her territory,

Mauricette knows how to show who's in charge.

(dramatic music)

(cat hissing)

The flexible feline has grown much more sure of herself.

Her ears pick up the slightest sound,

her whiskers detect movement in the air,

and the pupils of her sharp eyes adapt to the light.

(birds chirping)

These natural weapons have caused the demise

of thousands of birds in our gardens

because tireless hunters like Mauricette

reign supreme over their domain.

She may look domesticated, but she is till wild at heart

(goats bleating)

unlike other farm animals,

such as sheep, donkeys, and goats.

(goat bleating)

These herbivores live in herds

that rely on human protection.

(sheep bleating)

And when Jamie spreads terror in the farm yard,

he doesn't go so far as to eat the geese.

(dogs barking)

(geese honking)

And he doesn't scare Mauricette anymore.

(cat slurping)

Raised together since their earliest days,

they no longer fight like cats and dogs,

but their personalities are still very different.

(peaceful music)

In the history of cats,

their domestication 7-10,000 years ago

did not fundamentally alter their behavior.

As Mauricette, the ginger cat, and Kurumi have demonstrated,

cats remain ferocious predators no matter where they live.

The wild cat that sleeps with in them

will be never be tamed.

(goats bleating)

(birds chirping)

(straw rustling)

(mellow music)