National Geographic: The Secret Life of Cats Page #5

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and see the native animals

that have declined severely

returned to their

original status out here.

Until the cat

is better understood,

it will remain a fixture

in the Outback.

It has worked its way

into the food chain,

for better or worse.

There is a new order here

in the heart of Australia

and it's not a kind one for

the wildlife or the cat.

The cat wars are raging

throughout Australia.

Halfway across the continent,

there's a new chapter unfolding

On 160,000 acres of land,

a wire fence

stretches as far as

the eye can see.

Why would anyone

put up a 150-mile fence

in the middle of

the Australian Outback?

The world has lost

over the last 200 years;

At present, about one a year

we're losing and that's

just not acceptable.

John Wamsley is a self-

made millionaire-

and rabid conservationist.

Considered controversial

by many,

his passion for

native wildlife

has fueled his ire

against the cat.

Let's talk about cats.

This is a feral cat...

they came to Australia

about 500 years ago,

probably with the early

shipwrecks off

the West Australian coast,

but they couldn't cross

Australia until

the rabbit came.

The rabbit came late 1800s,

and that allowed the cat

to cross Australia,

and that's when the

devastation started.

I love Australia and I love

the Australian wildlife.

I've taken on the job of

saving them

and I am going to save them.

It's as simple as that.

For over a decade,

Wamsley has bred

endangered species

in captivity to insure that

Australia's unique creatures

don't slip away.

We're an island.

We had no serious predators

and all these incredible

creatures evolved...

little marsupials,

most of them and they evolved

to do wonderful things.

We've got banded anteaters

with fluffy tails.

We've got kangaroos

that burrow in the ground

like rabbits.

And we're losing them.

We've got the bilbie

that looks

just like a cartoon character

The world would love to see

our animals,

but they can't,

because they're all going.

Wamsley's dream to create a

safe haven for native creatures

is getting closer

all the time.

But fencing in habitat

is only half the battle.

Before endangered wildlife

can be released,

the enclosure

will have to be free

of introduced species.

This fence is all about cats

and rabbits.

It puts a pretty

big boot in it.

It's a massive charge

and it's like getting hit

in the middle of the back

with a sledge hammer.

When a cat touches

that fence once,

it doesn't come back.

On the other hand,

we don't want to stop

the big kangaroos,

the wildlife that

already live here,

we don't want to stop

them with this fence.

And this fence is designed

to let them through.

The kangaroos

just hop through.

What we're going to do here,

is we're now watering

the cats.

The cats have plenty

of water here.

And on the hottest day

in summer,

when we get there in February

when all the rabbits are gone

we're gonna cut off

their water.

There'll be water

outside the fence.

They'll come over the fence

to get the water.

They won't be able to

get back in again.

For the cats and rabbits

that don't take the bait,

Wamsley called in an expert.

I guess Adam O'Neil is the

real live Crocodile Dundee.

He understands animals

and the bush better than

anybody else

I've ever met.

He's probably the best shot

that I've ever seen.

He can knock over

a rabbit at 500 meters

without any trouble.

Yeah, he's got the job

of getting rid of

the cats and the rabbits.

Well, I love the cat

along with every other animal

on this planet.

They're not exactly calculating

and malicious with intent.

They're just out there acting

on their instincts to survive.

It's just unfortunate

the way things have panned out

I suppose.

But they've obviously got to

go from this environment.

Once again, the cat has been

caught in the crossfire.

If you walk down the street

with this cat hat on,

then you are noticed.

I can guarantee you that.

Some people might try

and ignore you,

and they'll have different

things to say to you,

but you'll be noticed

by everyone.

Here at CATS, Incorporated,

we say, "No dead cats for hats."

Right, Nippy?

Not everyone approves

of Wamsley's approach.

At the other end of the

spectrum is Christine Pierson,

the president of CATS,

Incorporated.

She is dedicated to

the care of strays

and the control of cat numbers

through sterilization.

Killing cats-

or trying to get rid of

the cats-

is achieving nothing.

Christine Pierson

has her own theories

about the cat crisis.

If you leave the birds

and the animals alone,

they have a natural balance

between them.

But the trouble is that

people come along and

they upset the natural balance

and they stuff everything up.

And so the cat wars

continue to rage.

Where does the solution lie?

Perhaps it

begins in our own backyards.

In the Adelaide Hills,

there is a cat whose

lifestyle changed

a few years back.

Owner Christine Colyer

is a bird lover who's found

an unusual solution

for her beloved cat.

Diddles is a happy cat.

The more comfortable she is,

the happier she is...

...the further out that

tongue will hang.

She is the most beautiful cat

in the world.

We just don't think that

there's another one like her.

Nestled in

this garden of Eden,

Diddles has the run of

the house-

and access to an open cat

flap... 24 hours a day.

The world outside for Diddles

is a labyrinth of bridges

and tunnels-

a playground for cats.

We have what

we call a London Bridge,

which Diddles just loves to

run from one side to the other

up and over and down.

It's not a cage.

And that's the beauty of it.

The garden is full of birds-

be it the [...pigeons,

the red finches, rosillas,

the cockatoos] that fly in.

They will graze directly

around the cat units.

It's lovely to see the birds

coming around so close.

It certainly is peace

of mind for me to know

where Diddles is,

that she is safe and that

she can go outside and

enjoy life just as normal,

but she is protected.

And so are the birds.

Back in Virginia,

another cat is yielding

to domestication.

Ting Tang! Time to come in.

Ting Tang II's moment in the

sun has come to an end.

You know the rules.

C'mon in now.

It's curfew time.

Good boy.

Yes, it's time to come on in.

Until tomorrow, there will be

one less cat on the prowl.

Through the millennia,

cats have found their way

into our hearts and our homes.

Mama, Mama, Mama, Mom, Mama,

look what I found.

Can I keep him,

please, please?

But has our passion

for these creatures

also blinded us to

their natural instincts?

Has domestication gone awry?

With cat numbers on the rise,

Felis catus is getting away

with murder.

Well-fed and sheltered,

these predators are gaining

a competitive edge-

against which

few creatures can contend.

Most simply can't compete

with the extraordinary cat.

In the time it's

taken to watch this film,

cats in the U.S. have caught

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