What Is A Cat? (1972)

[Music] the cat walked into man's life several thousand years ago it came from the lands of its wild ancestors from the high mountains from the jungles from the Great Plains slowly and hesitantly it came to settle Among Us for us the cat has become a companion and a stranger an object of admiration and fear a symbol of beauty and mystery of angelic Grace and demonic [Music] Powers what is a cat there is no one answer a cat is an enigma a riddle of hidden meanings a paradox a puzzle and although cats have been domesticated man has not tamed their Wild Spirit cats are skillful Hunters instinctively physically equipped to catch prey with eyes set in front for tracking with padded Paws which are firm and sure and quiet with Sleek muscles designed for leaping and pouncing and with retractable claws which they keep well [Music] sharpened cats hunt everywhere for their prey belongs to the air the land and the [Music] water [Music] their hunting Instinct goes so deep that they keep in practice by hunting anything real or imagined cats climb trees to hunt to rest to escape or just to feel [Music] secure cats are [Music] Defenders of their territory they're possessive always alert to Danger of their young they're fiercely [Music] [Music] protective cats not only shelter their kittens from all Intruders but train them well to go out to meet the world cats are clean in all their personal [Music] habits cats play for the pleasure of it in every field and around every corner a patch of grass to hide in or to eat something to rub against or roll on whether it's a warm spot to Sun in or a quiet walk cats make the most trivial things a source of delight cats love freedom and Solitude and just to be alive and if in one life or nine the cat has always stirred our imaginations self-contained aloof wary he's the source of a lively stream of myths Legends and superstitions those eyes that dilate at night and shine in the dark are they the eyes of a feline monster that demands Human Sacrifice or are they the eyes of an enchanting Moon Goddess cats have been either worshiped or scorned admired or feared from the beginning they have provoked man's deepest emotions approximately 5,000 years ago wild cats from the northern part of Africa wandered into the Nile Valley and were domesticated they looked very much like today's Abyssinian cats at first the Egyptians used these cats to guard granaries later they were also trained to retrieve bastet Goddess of Life fertility and happiness had the body of a woman and the head of a cat the Temple of bastad preserved the mummies of tens of thousands of cats they were regarded as religious symbols worshiped for their beauty and Grace cats were honored as the companions of goddesses in other Pagan religions too but the Adoration the cat received in ancient times only led to a death sentence in the Middle Ages as the medieval Cult of the Norse goddess Rea spread cats became identified with witchcraft Satan and evil and witches were thought to assume the form of black cats the church determined to Snuff out sorcery hunted them down ownership of a cat was punished by death and though we may be far from the Dark Ages now the world is still sprinkled with people who are superstitious about cats particularly black ones The Next Step was again inevitable for the paradoxical cat he became a hero the Great Plague swept over Europe destroying hordes of people cats killed the disease carrying rats and began to be valued again since the last century hardly a home in Europe has been without a cat they have assumed their rightful place in our households more than useful mousers they are companions friends members of the family it is the nature of the cat that allows him to adapt to our world and bask in the warmth of our affections the romance between cat and man takes many forms we are Kindred enough for a cat to love to appreciate and yet alien enough for a cat to ignore but when he wants our attention he is insistent persistent demanding [Music] the cat will try to con man out of almost [Music] anything he demands an equal place in the family and lets us know his desires as demanding and persistent as he may be the cat can change his mind in an instant his personality is a contrary mixture of dependence and self-sufficiency he may trade on a bit of his independence for he would rather lean on us than fend entirely for himself he likes the special Foods we feed him Foods we have developed to meet all his nutritional [Music] needs he'll accept our home as a safe domain we give him a place to sleep litter boxes scratching posts in place of trees and toys in place of [Music] prey indoors the cat lives in an imaginative world world with treel likee objects to climb upon and Scamper in caves to hide in and [Music] explore every object may become a challenge to his curiosity a conquest and [Music] [Music] adventure [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] and there are endless perches from which to make and what the fascinating World of Fun danger threat and [Music] pleasure [Music] unlikely as it seems cats often make friends with dogs sometimes with complete trust and Comfort cats befriend other animals too even their natural [Music] prey but their best friends and bitterest enemies are other cats [Music] they speak to each other in secret dialects their games have rules known only to themselves discussed at length at outlandish hours over backyard fences hidden in the night they bring out their Secret Lives their loyalties jealousies AFF affections and hatreds which we can never hope to [Music] see though we may think we own him we'll never be the center of the cat's world he remains a free [Music] spirit his complex personality tuned by Instinct tempered by adap ability resists definition loyal and fickle dignified and comical sassy and demure take any adjective and you'll find a cat lurking behind it to understand the cat we must accept him and cherish him on his own terms as an animal half friend half [Music] mystery [Music] I