Cats: Caressing the Tiger

They're independent;

they're affectionate;

they're loyal; they're beautiful;

they're sagacious; they're mysterious;

they're ineffable; they're inscrutable.

Cats are magic.

They really are magic.

Probably the most mysterious

creatures in the world.

They're also very vicious;

they're very cruel things.

That's another thing

I like about them

their ability to be

one thing and then another.

The domestic cat harbors

a sort of split personality.

Within even the most demure pussycat

lurks a creature of the wild.

Even after thousands of years,

we still know little about

the behavior of domestic cats.

Now, scientists and laymen alike

attempt to understand them to

demystify this elusive feline.

For them, the domestic cat is

every bit as intriguing to study

as the lion or the tiger.

To share one's life with a cat is to

invite a bit of wildness indoors.

Perhaps the writer was correct

when he philosophized:

"God made the cat that man might have

the pleasure of caressing the tiger."

Today, the Western world enjoys

an unparalleled love affair

between man and beast.

Cat coming through.

The cat now surpasses the dog

as the number one pet,

and annually we spend more on cat food

than on baby food.

On any weekend proud owners

display their pampered pets

to thousands of fellow enthusiasts.

Some three dozen breeds

compete longhairs, shorthairs,

and some that seem to have no hair.

There are nearly 58 million pet cats

in the United States alone.

While many are common alley

cats of little monetary value,

some exotic breeds sell

for as much as $3,000.

And, although many people

dislike and distrust cats,

a far greater number adore

and indulge them.

Keeping cats and their owners happy

has become a major industry.

It's extremely durable

It's synthetic fur.

Look at the beads in the middle there.

You see the beads?

Oh, yeah.

Okay, listen.

You hear that little scratchy sound?

Drives the cats crazy. They love it.

This is one of our kitty condos.

We have a birthing area

or a litter area.

Kitty pan comes down on the bottom.

It's made of solid0-wood construction

stain-resistant carpeting...

The cat, as you can see

has a tubular body;

everything is in line.

It's got the long body

the long tail,

the long head to go with

the rest of the body.

Long bones.

The people keep it in wonderful

condition, because he's very muscular.

He's not skinny at all; he's just

slim and hard like an athlete.

Like a specter floating from the

mists of prehistory

into the shadows of modern times,

two species of wildcats still prowl

parts of Africa and Europe.

Presumed to be the ancestors

of today's house cat,

they even look like tabbies.

But wildcats are fierce and formidable

animals, in no way tame.

In ancient times many became tame

when farmers fed and sheltered them

as valued rodent killers.

The farmers were Egyptian.

The time more than 3,000 years ago.

The cat became adored

and revered in Egypt.

Never since has the cat's honored role

been matched anywhere in the world.

One goddess in the form of a cat

symbolized pleasure,

fertility, and maternity.

Cats were also associated with the

deity believed to start the sun

on its daily course

and one who symbolized life itself.

The Brooklyn Museum maintains one of

the world's finest Egyptian collections

Its curator is archeologist

Richard Fazzini.

He divides his time between

ancient ruins and ancient artifacts.

Prized in any such collection

is a cat mummy,

embalmed as were the

ancient pharaohs themselves.

This pussycat has been

this way since,

well, he's hard to date,

but let's say

at least 2,300 to 2,500 years.

Now why, you might ask, did the

Egyptians mummify animals?

Well, because certain gods could

appear in the form of certain animals.

And so it could be a pious gesture

or part of some cult ritual

to present a mummified cat to place

it in a temple

or to place it in one of

the great animal cemeteries.

But the heyday of the cat was to pass.

Once sacred, the cat would come

to be hated and scorned.

The same eyes perceived as the throne

of the gods

became feared as the seat of the Devil

Believed by many to be the

companions of witches,

thousands of cats were tortured.

burned, and hanged, as recently as

colonial times in America.

Veterinarian Michael Fox

is Vice President of the

Humane Society of the United States.

He writes extensively on cat behavior

and human cat relationships.

It is intriguing that cats have been

revered in history and persecuted.

There was one pope

who had all cats killed.

This love-hate relationship, I think,

reflects an aspect of the

dualistic psyche of human beings.

We love things conditionally.

We love them if we can control them

and they will bend to our will.

Or we love them

because they are mysterious,

that they're an aspect of

nature's wildness,

which the cat embodies.

The domestic cat is but one

of 38 species of cats,

most of them astonishingly alike.

Take away their spots or stripes

their short or long fur,

disregard the differences in size

from four pounds to more than 600

and a cat is a cat is a cat.

Few pet owners are aware that most of

the behaviors of their house cat

have a parallel somewhere in the wild.

The cat is an enchanting combination

of beauty and utility.

Its sinuous movements delight the eye.

Cats get some of their suppleness

from their shoulder joints,

which are so constructed

that they can shift

the front legs freely

in almost any direction.

They have almost no collar bone

and an exceptionally limber spine.

Ever fluid and graceful cats are

marvels of strength and balance.

All cats advertise their territory.

Spraying deposits a pungent scent.

Scratch marks are visual signals

and may also carry a scent

from glands in the paws.

Glands on the face and tail deposit

scents at home just as in the wild.

Sometimes more than one signal is left.

Territorial fights could be

deadly between animals

with such sharp teeth and claws,

so most disputes are settled by body

postures and intimidating bluffs.

Friendly greetings are generally more

fleeting and subtle

a nose touch or body rubbing.

Exactly how and why cats purr

remains a mystery.

We do know that both purring

and kneading with the paws

first appear in infancy to stimulate

the mother's milk to flow.

Being hunter, cats must conserve

energy whenever possible.

They snooze about

two-thirds of the time,

but always remain alert to sounds;

hence, the term catnap.

In all cats ovulation

the release of an egg,

does not occur until

mating triggers it.

After gestation of two to four months

depending on the species,

they give birth to one to eight young.

Kittens and cubs are helpless at birth

At first they can neither see nor hear

their life guided primarily

by touch and smell.

Amazingly, each has a preference

for one particular nipple,

which it locates by smell.

In the wild this efficient behavior

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