1 Distant, aloof, self-absorbed. Cats ` (HISSES) untrainable, lazy bundles of fur. Think again. With the balance of a ballerina, senses so acute they can pinpoint a mouse scratch 30ft away and unique social skills, they're deservedly the most popular pets in the world. EXCITING MUSIC 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 stand-offishness. (MIAOWS) As science uncovers more about their behaviour 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'll follow a kitten from newborn to fully grown, revealing the secret life of cats. Copyright Able 2015 LIGHT MUSIC KITTENS MEW 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 MEWS MUSIC CONTINUES But she won't stay like this for long. (MEWS) In the next few weeks, her senses will develop at phenomenal speed to become supersenses, helping her make the journey to join the 8.5 million other cats in the UK who've made our homes their own. MUSIC CONTINUES 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. MUSIC CONTINUES KITTENS MEW Our kitten's mother has her work cut out ensuring 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 SQUEAK 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. (SQUEAKS) 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. Your heart rate slows and your blood pressure goes down,... (PURRS) ...all of which means that if you're a cat owner, you're around a third less likely to suffer from heart disease. (PURRS) LIGHT ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC At 2 days old, our kitten is still too young to have direct contact with people. Our smell could cause her mother to reject her. (MEWS) 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. KITTENS PURR It was these same two cat supersenses that saved Sue Roff's life and turned her rescue moggie, Basil, from unloved street cat into guardian angel. Basil turned up on Sue's doorstep unexpectedly 16 years ago. It was pouring with rain. It was a horrible night, and, um, 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. (PURRS) He seemed like any other housecat until one night in 2011. I'd done dinner, my husband had gone up to bed. I clean the cooker last thing at night. I think that was about, sort of, 10-ish, and then I went up to bed. GAS HISSES 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 1, he came on the bed, patted my face, and I just literally pushed him back off the bed, cos I said, you know, 'I need to go to sleep, Basil. Go away.' GAS HISSES 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 at that stage, but he obviously could. (PURRS) (PURRS) 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's touch was so precise, he didn't scratch Sue but used just enough pressure to make sure she was properly awake. NOBLE MUSIC He could've just literally walked straight out the cat flap and just left us, but he didn't. I'm convinced in my own mind that he's just saved our lives, cos if he hadn't have woken me up, when the gas came on at 4 o'clock, it would've just gone kaboom. Many people think of cats as uncaring. Yet it appears Basil made sure Sue, her husband and their neighbours were unharmed before looking after himself. I like to think it's his way of almost giving back the fact that we possibly saved him from a life on the street and looked after him all these years. (PURRS) WHISPERS: 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 and touch senses, Basil had saved the day. 9 Two almost identical families; two almost identical fridge-freezers. Both have all the modern features. So what's the difference? The Smiths chose a fridge-freezer that's Energy Star qualified. That means it uses up to 40% less energy. Because it runs all day every day, that will save the Smiths a lot on their energy bills. And that's just one appliance. Next time you need a new appliance, look for one displaying the Energy Star. KITTENS MEW LIGHT MUSIC Our kitten's paws are ultrasensitive, just like Basil's. (MEWS) She has many thousands of nerve endings around the tiny pads in 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. MUSIC CONTINUES (MEWS) Our kitten's perceptive touch sense is not only in her paws, though. (SQUEAKS) All over her body, she has special hairs that are hypersensitive ` whiskers. These are above her eyes, on her front legs and, of course, on her cheeks. (PURRS) GENTLE MUSIC When she's older, they'll become essential for helping her to navigate in the dark. CURIOUS 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. (MIAOWS) 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 metres, then jumps... without a second's hesitation. It's foolproof. LIVELY MUSIC Well, most of the time. The sensitivity of Monty and Charlie's whiskers is phenomenal but not unique. PIANO MUSIC Your cat's whiskers are no different, capable of feeling things we need complex scientific instruments to detect. Through their whiskers, cats sense minute changes in air pressure, like a barometer, so they can even detect an approaching storm well before it arrives,... THUNDER RUMBLES ...ensuring there's somewhere safe and warm when it hits. (PURRS) CURIOUS MUSIC Like adult cats, kittens use their whiskers to make sure they can find somewhere safe too. (MEWS) Facial whiskers are just wider than the widest part of their body ` the head ` (MIAOWS) so they're essential for judging what's possible to get into... (MIAOWS) ...and so get out of. This helps explain why kittens are so fond of getting into the smallest spaces. MUSIC CONTINUES Messages transmitted by their whiskers tell them that what they're touching is snug and secure, just like their mothers. KITTEN MEWS 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 three-quarters 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. (SQUEAKS) Yet it's not just the father's genes that can have a huge effect on a kitten's colour. BRIGHT 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. KITTENS MEW KITTENS PURR Our kitten's not yet as sophisticated in her development, but far more radical changes are ahead. GENTLE MUSIC 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 supersenses ` sight and hearing. MUSIC CONTINUES Two weeks after birth, her blue eyes open for the very first time. MUSIC BRIGHTENS If our eyes were equal in scale to hers, they'd be the size of tennis balls. KITTENS MEW Hers are so large because cats' vision has evolved over thousands of years for very specific reasons, and scientists are only now starting to understand why. BRIGHT MUSIC While most of us can see all the colours of the rainbow, cats are partly colour-blind. MUSIC CONTINUES They can only see blues and yellows. To them, red and green colours appear grey. They don't need our precise colour vision, because colours have little effect on the way they hunt and socialise. 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 ultra-sensitive 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. CURIOUS MUSIC 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 socialising. LIGHT ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC Our kitten's ability to focus is still developing. In the next two months, her vision will improve 16-fold. 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. (PURRS) Even now, though, our kitten's eyes are tuned to detect danger, and she'll avoid eye contact with anyone outside her family. For big cats and for small, direct eye contact is an act of aggression. 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. CURIOUS MUSIC KITTENS MEW It's not just sight that's transforming our kitten's world but hearing too. Sealed shut at birth, her ears open at 2 weeks old, and she's able to hear her mother clearly for the first time. SOFT 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 BARKS IN DISTANCE 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 CLICKS, CREAKS Unlike our hearing, which diminishes when we're asleep, a cat's hearing is always on, ready to locate danger. DOG BARKS IN DISTANCE And top of a cat's list of dangers is dogs ` DOG BARKS IN DISTANCE unless you're a cat that uses its senses in a very unusual way. Tervel, 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 have him as a puppy, but I was told that he was thrown against a wall, which made him blind. So it must have been quite traumatic for him at the time. (MIAOWS) But then his owner, Anne, inherited a stray cat called Puddytat. (MIAOWS) He's top cat, and he's not very nice with the other cats. He will, uh, you know, bully the other cats a bit into submission. Amazingly, Puddytat became Tervel's best friend. (PANTS) He prefers Tervel to any of the other cats. I think he must have known Tervel was blind, because he sort of bonded with him straight away. Puddytat will, uh, seek out Tervel, and then they'll, uh, snuggle up and rub against each other. It's quite obvious that there is a bond there. Definitely love at first sight. Mm. (CHUCKLES) But more astonishing still was when Puddytat decided to take on the role of guide cat to blind Tervel. I think Puddytat must have realised that Tervel was a bit vulnerable. He just seemed to know that, uh, there was a need there, somehow. Tervel's much more confident when Puddytat's around. He relies on him to` to get around and avoid bumping into things. It's often when they're out they're nose-to-tail, with Puddytat in the lead and Tervel 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 ` that have relied upon, uh, 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.' (HISSES) 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. (WHINES) Puddytat has learned to read Tervel'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. Ah, the power bill. Did you know our appliances are responsible for about 30% of one of these? So if you're buying a new appliance, choose one that's energy-efficient. Use the energy rating label to compare models. A two-star washing machine could cost $1200 to run over its lifetime. A four-and-a-half star machine could cost just $380. An Energy Star shows it's one of the most energy-efficient. If we buy and use appliances wisely, we'll all benefit by saving energy and money. With a St John Medical Alarm, you have the confidence to enjoy living at home. If there's an emergency, you can press the button and it connects directly with St John, who'll know exactly what's needed, from reassuring advice... to dispatching the right help for your situation. It feels like having St John right here in your own home. Call 0800 50 23 23 and find out about a free trial. LIGHT ACOUSTIC 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. (MEWS) Between 2 and 7 weeks of age, if our kitten has no contact with people, she would likely go feral, returning fully to her wild nature. (MIAOWS) Yet the earlier she has human contact during these few weeks,... (MEWS) ...the more she'll adapt to us and the more sociable she'll be when grown-up. How much more can domesticated cats adapt? And how much can we affect how they behave towards us? (PURRS) (SMOOCHES) 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 started teaching him tricks four or five years ago. Good boy, Benny. It's always just been our little party trick that, like, when people come round I just` we do our little tricks,... (CHUCKLES) and everyone loves it. Come on, Benny. Come on, Benny. (PURRS) Good boy. Many cats will learn one trick, but Benny won a national competition because he had memorised a whole range of tricks. And again. And again. You just have to have patience, really, cos it might take, like, half an hour to teach him something, but if you keep practising, he doesn't forget. Good boy. Cleverest cat in Britain. (CHUCKLES) Cats can learn as well as dogs. They just need shorter lessons over a longer period. Good boy. Good boy. (PURRS) So if you've 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 embarrassing admitting that. But, yeah, I can't imagine living without him. (PURRS) Cats are building ever stronger ties to us, but the connection to their wild past remains just as strong. Soon our kitten will start perfecting 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 superpowered cat. At 8 weeks old, all her senses are in place, and it's time for play. PLAYFUL MUSIC Play isn't just for fun. It's a way of learning new skills and building up her strength to become a superpowered cat. MUSIC CONTINUES INSECTS CHIRP, BIRDS CALL All domestic cats, including ones like this Bengal, can trace their family tree back to where it split from the big wild cats. MOMENTOUS MUSIC (GROWLS) 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 but ways of behaviour too. (YAWNS) Domestic cats have an ancient instinct to hunt and return home with their kill. It's separate from their instinct to eat, which is why you'll sometimes get left those unwanted, uneaten gifts on your doorstep. MOUSE SQUEAKS PLAYFUL MUSIC So deep-rooted is this instinct that even at 8 weeks old, kittens practise their hunting strategies. (MIAOWS) 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 LAPS, BIRDS CALL 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. 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 MUSIC DUCK QUACKS LIGHT ACOUSTIC GUITAR 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. DISTANT SIREN WAILS SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC SIREN BLARES EXCITING MUSIC They're 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 stabilising device. MUSIC CONTINUES 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. MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC FADES 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 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 on to the ledge. An indoor cat, this was the first time she'd ever ventured out. 175ft below her was the concrete pavement. 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. There's an elderly woman, and she was at the window doing her eyebrows. She saw something white just go flying past her window, and she thought, 'How terrible that someone is just throwing trash out of their window.' It went straight down, and I thought, 'What is that?' What she'd seen was Sugar flying past at 60mph. I looked out the window, and the cat was laying on the ground, and I thought for sure she was probably dying. 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, you know, such an immense height. Britt got an urgent message to call the animal rescue centre. 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. They said, 'We have your cat. We traced her back to you because she is microchipped, 'and it looks like you're the owner. Um, 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, just slight bruising to her lungs. That's 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 half a minute ` she used up her nine lives, but it goes to show you what nature can do, what` 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. LIGHT PIANO MUSIC In one-tenth of a second, Paddington works out which way's 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. MUSIC CONTINUES 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 7 weeks make it seem like child's play. But please don't try this at home. ORCHESTRAL MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC FADES 1 INDICATOR CLICKS (GASPS) NO AUDIO (EXHALES HEAVILY) (EXHALES HEAVILY) (PANTS) GRAVEL CRUNCHES GRAVEL CRUNCHES Mate, I'm so sorry. I thought there was time. You just pulled out. I don't have time to stop. Oh, come on, mate. It was a simple mistake. I know if I was going a bit slower, but` I know if I was going a bit slower, but` GRAVEL CRUNCHES Please. I've got my boy in the back. I'm going too fast. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. (SIGHS) OMINOUS RUMBLING LIGHT 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. (PURRS) 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. 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,... (PURRS SQUEAKILY) ...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. (PURRS SQUEAKILY) 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. Lorcan Dillon is 9. He suffers from an anxiety disorder called selective mutism. When he started school nursery, when he was just over 3, 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. His friends would go out to play, knock on each other's doors. I couldn't let him go out, cos if he did lose sight of his friends, he wouldn't be able to ask anybody for help. He was 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 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` 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, 'I don't know how this will 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.' 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` is`? Cos if he can't do it, how will that make him feel? When the teacher came out, she grinned and told me what had happened, and he had a big smile on his face, and it was j` it was just a huge, huge relief. I actually heard him say to her, 'You helped me to talk, Jessi-Cat.' TRILLS: Jessi-Cat! Wanna play a game? 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 OK, Jessi? Are you OK, Jessi? (MIAOWS) Are you OK? With her unique way of communicating, 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. LIGHT 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. RICH MUSIC Using her sophisticated smell sense, she's starting to build up a mental map of familiar objects. BUSY 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? You'd imagine a cat cafe where customers come for a 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. LIGHT PIANO MUSIC In just a few weeks, our kitten will be old enough to venture outdoors, but until she's able to memorise 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. BIRDS CAW While nearly all cats are territorial, some take it to the extreme. POMPOUS 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` he` he considers town his` 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,... (LAUGHS) Hamish, 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 a while he stayed around, but then he just decided, 'No. I prefer the wandering life.' His own home, here, he abandoned ` God knows why, cos 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. MUSIC CONTINUES TODDLER MIAOWS (MIAOWS) His circuit even includes regular visits to his local salon to have his hair done. Hamish has been coming in here for eight years, and he gets fed and brushed and made to look very handsome, I hope. Somebody 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 cosy 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. 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? MUSIC ENDS INTRIGUING 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. She'll apply all the instinctive supersenses 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.