Wouldn't be the 70's without a flute

Even before the internet, we have obsessed over felines. While we champion dogs for their loyalty and hard work, we are intrigued and mystified by cats. The world would be less interesting and fulfilled without them.

It kinda saddens me to think that all those lovely cats are now long gone. I hope they all had long and happy lives.

The color, the composition, the jazz flute, bass and synth soundtrack, the narration. This is the most 70s documentary of all time.

I always wondered what a cat was! Thank you 1972!!

I wish this style of documetary came back, the calm narration, the trippy music, the long camera shots... Nowadays is all so fast and so loud, everyone is trying so hard to be funny and quirky, i miss this vibe.

What is a cat ? A creature that deserves RESPECT.

I like how the guy playing the recorder loses his sanity at 9:44

People in 2024: what is a cat? People in 1972: what is a cat? People in 3500 bc: what is a cat?

Fun fact: cats most likely view us as a maternal figure, because all of our interactions with them are somehow related to when they were kittens with their mothers. Especially meowing, which is something cats in the wild typically only do as kittens with their mother. There are jokes about us being their slaves, but it's actually more like they're a spoiled kid that was never told no. lol

I'm 65 and just rescued a kitten yesterday. She's now #23 of all the cats I've had and one more of uninterrupted companionship for the past 42 years. Her name is Hope.

If I had a cat coffee shop, I would have this film on loop on a vintage television set in the corner. Just playing really softly though.

This explains the weird medieval cat pictures. People didn't know what a cat was before 1972.

I live in Crete and have 20 cats living in the wild land around the house and they all have Swiss watches when it comes to dinnertime. Yes, they are supremely clean---but they sure make a mess out of everything around them!

The opening scene cat was sadly thirsty and his real legs were giving way, broke my heart

I like how this looks like it’s going to be educational/scientific with a simple title, but it’s actually a celebration of cats and an intense fascination with their relationship with humans/history/the universe. Sponsored by cat food. I can tell they had fun with it lol

what is cat feline, dont scratch me dont bite me no more

I’m at an age where almost everyone I grew up with is dead. I don’t find it depressing at all, it’s natural. And I look forward to seeing all my relatives and friends in heaven. (And yes, even my cats!)😻 I miss them all so much ❤❤❤

Documentaries from the 60s and 70s were just incredible weren't they?

"Cats love freedom, and solitude, and just to be alive" YES

If all advertisements were like this I wouldn’t be donating $10/month to Adblock

Telling me what a cat is: very well-written and edited but that flute-synthesizer score, man the 70s were something else

Sure we can all agree this documentary could have gone another 2 hours with our undivided attention.

Dang even the cats were skinnier in the 1970s

My favorite part? No CGI OR AI

God idk why this is sooo soothing, for the first time i never click fast forward button. Don't ever change, cat.

52 years later, cats haven’t changed a bit.

It's sad to think that all of the cats in this lovely video are long since passed.

I love everything about this, particularly the fact that the soundtrack is just a series of jazz solos on various instruments

The first few seconds: THAT CAT NEEDS SOME WATER

Cats were worshipped in ancient times. They never forgot.

This soundtrack goes so hard

My kitty, who passed from diabetes in 2010, was the best friend I’ve ever had. I took her from my friends who were going to send her to the pound when the weather got warm. She loved me unconditionally, and was cute and funny, and I loved to harass her (with never hurt her but sure annoyed her! lol. But the funniest thing was she never got wise to it!) I got her as an adult, so her personality was formed but it was perfect for me. ❤ she loved to climb on my shoulder, and I would walk around the apt for a minute with her on my shoulder like a bird before sitting back down. lol. I missed her as much as my human friend (who passed in 2019) when she passed. I always said she looked like a Holstein cow :) ❤

52 years later we are still loving them!

I love that humanity will always be intrigued by cat antics

Who couldn't love cats. They're intelligent, elegant, fast, flexible, cuddly

One cat can be your best friend in the whole, wide world. Another, from the same litter, can treat you with utter indifference. Yes, I've had both! 😊

Best 13 minute commercial I've ever watched

Plenty of mischief afoot, devious intentions even

It's hard to believe that no one knew what these animals were before 1972. I'm glad we discovered them.

This is by far the best video I have ever watched on the internet

Cats are the best! 2 years ago life gave me the joy of having a beautiful cat and I've never been so happy! ❤ Literally my cat changed my life for better ❤

Cat: the one mammal that doesn’t need to feel ashamed of their ‘70s yearbook photos. Those hairstyles still hip. 🐈‍⬛💜

"What is a cat?" "Half-friend, half-mystery" This seems to be an accurate definition. As someone housing cats, I can confirm this is true. :D

In addition to many many shots of cats and great music, this doco is superbly written. What wonderful friends cats are!

love the vintage music

I live with 6 adopted cats, one of whom is blind since birth. Best decision i ever made

I can't remember the last time I truly smiled and felt okay, that was the best 13 minutes of my life. Thank you.

These old doc's had the best music, like a beat spoken word jazz fest

This is the most adorable documentary I have ever seen.

The filmmaking style and high quality of this speak of another time. As you see, it's courtesy of the Friskies Corporation. Like most American businesses of any scale, it had been bought out and conglomerated by this time. This promotional film looks like it took a long time to make for what it is, even if there was no clearly no budget. The classic voice-of-god narration combined with psychedelic music point up the changing times in 1972. Who was this for? Young adults considering getting a cat; kids who could bother their parents to get one; really groovy olds? Was this played on TV late at night like today's infomercials? Or possibly in public schools on 16mm under the guise of education? In the economically recessed early 70's, was cat ownership down I wonder?

Wow they thought cats were domesticated 5000 years ago in Egypt. Now we know there's a 9000 years old human burial with a cat inside it in Cyprus. I love how our understanding of humanity changes according to archaeological and paleontological finds.

synthesizers and cats go together so well

“A cat is a hatless enigma, framed in the triangles of Pythagoras and cloaked in a fur coat” - Abraham Lincoln, “A Discourse on the Nature of Cats”, 1859

Finally, one of life's toughest questions answered at last.

The soundtrack is 🔥🔥

honestly, this is a fascinating little video, lol. there's questionable moments like the panting cat at the beginning (unless if it's footage of a wildcat), and cats being chased by dogs and other cats. but there's also something so sincere and simple about a documentary from the 70s talking all about a beloved pet. it paradoxically shows how much we've changed over the last 50 years, and yet how little we've changed. what i mean is, we know how to raise cats better now, but even still, people loved them just as much back then as we do today. it's the first video in a really long time where i've had a stupid smile on my face the whole way through. cats really are an enigma

This is such a great documentary for everyone that loves cats.😻😻😻

Cats: "we single handedly eradicated the bubonic plague.. You're welcome, humans."

Probably the cosiest videos I've ever seen, that soundtrack is S-tier

Interesting timing for this to be recommended to me. Well, for me a cat was...IS...my absolute best friend I have ever had. He just passed away. My shadow, my confidant, my soul mate. He understood everything about me and I understood him. I easily knew what he was communicating and we were more deeply bonded than I have ever seen another person and their "pets". He wasn't a pet or animal. In some countries they are simply considered garbage, or food. That is not even understandable to me. He was my bff.

Reminds me of the documentary films we used to watch in school in the late 70’s-early 80’s. 🥰

"A creature of angelic grace and demonic powers." I couldn't have said it better myself

Cats: quiet, self cleaning, bury their manure, purr, don't try to smell your crotch

Such a beautiful definition on such an old piece of audiovisual media.

What is a cat? He's the guy who jumps on my chest at 4am asking for food

Cats didn't settle among us. They showed up one day and said, "this is how it's going to be, cope". For which humans bowed before them and became their slaves. What a great video. I bet it was fun to write, shoot, edit, and produce.

What a cat is, is something that without them this world would be a very dark and grim place. Thank you cats for existing.

This was awesome. Can't believe I was just a 9-year-old kitty myself when this was made. Timeless, accurate, and still germane in 2024. Love the jazz.

Amazing how so much in this video still holds true till today!!

4:11 "Cats make the most trivial things a source of delight." / Truer words have never been spoken... 😺😺😺

This is so adorable and charming, nothing beats these types of videos.

I'm glad this video popped up on my YT suggestions 😊 The music, the narrator, the educational information 🥰😆❤️🥰

What a kind look at cats for something that's so old. For the longest time it had been so popular and mainstream not to like them, when in reality, they're absolutely lovely creatures

This was quite possibly the best video I've watched on this platform

"I'm not a cat. I can't tell you what a cat is. Only a cat can tell you what a cat is . . . "

Why wont the algo stop suggesting this to me???! I WATCHED IT OKAY!

Everything about this, the film editing, the background music, the narrator`s manner, reminds me of the 70s. And it unexpectedly filled me with waves of feelings. And thinking about the cat I had in 1972, the late great Orlando.

In the USA, in 1972, you would have seen this between 1st and 6th grade. The teacher might have even let you run the projector.

the little ploof going crazy along with the mischievous music is my favorite part of this 8:42

I really just sat through 13 minutes of stuff I already know, and I don’t regret it.

I need a 2 hour version of this.. for reasons

I found myself smiling throughout this entire documentary. I used to love watching this type of show when I was little, and still do, despite that I am 14. I love old timey stuff like this.

This the type of content I wish KZfaq would put in my recommendation feed more often

rest in peace to all the cats (and dogs) in this video 😢

I remember watching stuff like this as a kid growing up in the 70s… It brought back such a wonderful feeling of nostalgia, this relaxed, easy going vibe. And the way they described cats was purr-fect! This is everything a cat is 🥰

These films were still being played on rickety projectors in schools in the 90’s and I loved whenever the teacher put them on. They’re so aesthetically pleasing. And the music was always so dope.

It's actually really cool and impressive that cats hunt everywhere - air, land and water. Not a lot of animals besides humans do this. I'd never thought about it like that until the documentary said it.

52 years old. Still definitive.

"Half friend, half mystery" sounds about right

As a cat lover, i totally love this!Thanks!

Why dont pet food companies make trippy documentaries about cats with free jazz soundtracks anymore

dear algorithm: pls recommend more stuff like this

This will be one of those videos that will have millions of views in 9 years

この子達の子孫がいっぱい生きてるんだね💕💕

Cats rule. They're funny, cute and cuddly yet are acrobatic super ninjas at the same time. People who don't like cats just don't fully understand them and I feel for those people.

cant believe it took us until now to learn what a cat was, thanks for uploading this

i love this idk why videos like this aren't being made anymore.

I just love cats. I have a lot of things to look forward to, and this just fills me with delight and the excitement mixes with it, and it’s just amazing.

Actually started watching this ironically. But ended up fascinated