Inside the Mind of a Cat

There’s more to a cat’s history than you could possibly imagine.

So, how do you get inside the mind of a cat? We already know that they can be crafty, uncaring and independent. Whereas a dog is man’s best friend and craves attention, a cat couldn’t care less and will go its own way regardless of the presence of human beings. They say that, whereas you can own a dog, with cats they own you. This documentary looks at the behaviour of the cat in a fairly lighthearted way, although not without spilling some home truths.

Apparently, cats nowadays are more popular than ever and seem to be entering show business in a big way. Recent television programmes have demonstrated how clever they can be, on such mind-blowing series as Britain’s Got Talent with cats doing all those tricks that used to be the prerogative of poor mutts, such as rolling over, jumping about and doing crazy stunts reminiscent of Mission: Impossible. In an explosion of cat science, the felines have evolved to interact with human beings in a big way.

When they feel like it, cats can be social creatures, entertaining, endearingly funny and playful. They can jump up high to sit above everybody and watch what is going on in the world, are fascinated by anything that moves – a mouse, a ball, a fluttering piece of paper – and they just love getting in and out of boxes and wedging themselves into tight corners. Like dogs, they will do anything if there is food or a little treat on offer.

Director Andy Mitchell and his feline specialists go into the history of cats, animals that have been around for some ten thousand years, as shown by the exhumation of a mummified skeleton of a cat in ancient Cyprus. They appeared in ancient Egyptian wall paintings almost as tokens of good luck, and they were the familiars much treasured by witches down the ages. In Istanbul, a hundred thousand cats roam the streets, not belonging to anyone in particular but to anybody who will feed and pet them. Cats were for many hundreds of years found on ships in order to keep the vermin at bay. Indeed, until 1975, in the UK it was compulsory to keep a cat on board.

Inside the Mind of a Cat explains the use of cats’ whiskers for getting in and out of tight spots and how they have evolved with incredibly agile bone structures that enable them to jump and then land on their feet. We have to remember that all types of cat up to and including tigers are members of the Felidae family, which means that if you take a sweet little kitten into your home, you are basically harbouring a wild animal. This film is more entertaining than educational but none the worse for that.

MICHAEL DARVELL

Featuring  Dr Yuki Hattori, Maryna Savitska, Svitalana Savitska, Wallani Sung and Kristin Vitale; narrated by Neil Wilson.

Dir Andy Mitchell, Ex Pro Brian Armstrong and Shannon Malone-Bebenedictis, Ph John Benam, Owen Bissell, Rob Featherstone, Brian Hamm and Andy Mitchell, Ed John Freeburn, Music Chris Beaty, Sound Brian Cunneff, Mark Haskins and Chris Martin.

Netflix-Netflix.
66 mins. USA. 2022. Rel: 18 August 2022. Available on Netflix. Cert PG.