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00:03There's really been a lot of dog telling hasn't there? For the love of dogs, dogs behaving very badly, top
00:10dog model, underdog to super dog, woof exclamation mark.
00:15Some of it is great, some of it not so much.
00:20Sorry who is this?
00:21That's my dog. Is that a real show? One man and his dog. Help, my dog's... Help, my dog's as
00:29fat as me.
00:30Whereas cat TV, there's basically just this. And that cat is made of cloth. Sorry to crush your dreams.
00:39Okay, Joe Brand did do a lovely kitten rescue show on Channel 5, but a general celebration of this country's
00:47and the world's second most popular pet?
00:51Where, in Bastet's name, is for the love of cats? Nowhere.
00:57Now, wait a minute. It's gonna do a big jump. Oh, wow. This is an unbelievably brilliant animal.
01:02It's alright, I think I can get it. Whoa! Maybe not.
01:05In this three-part series, I'll be fulfilling a lifelong dream to spend most of my time with cats.
01:11Come on. Good boy. Like a mountain goat except a mountain cat.
01:15They're not always easy to film with. Ah!
01:19He's a wiggly one. Oh, there we go. But that turns out to be half the fun. Come on, Zelda.
01:25I think Bella's winning.
01:27I'll be exploring pedigree cats. He's got a very incredible Star Wars face. Rescue cats. That's a very wobbly cat.
01:35Yes, we do get them quite a lot worse. I mean, it's sort of heartbreaking. It is also quite funny.
01:40Celebrity cats. Thanks. Larry wanted to come in.
01:42In the Netherlands, in Italy, we would have people come up and be like, oh my God, is that a
01:45cigarette?
01:46Wow.
01:46People couldn't decide whether he was extraordinarily beautiful or extraordinarily ugly.
01:52Celebrities with cats.
01:54Meow!
01:55Come on, Paz.
01:56Oh my God. What?
01:58She feels like a real cat.
02:00Yeah, because it's a real cat.
02:02Well, it's a dead real cat.
02:03Chairman Meow. That's a good name for a cat.
02:05Adolf Kittler. I can't have that, obviously. That's complicated.
02:08And cats with incredible skills.
02:11You can scent to medical things way before they happen.
02:15That's extraordinary.
02:165% on that.
02:17Most people don't know that cats can do this.
02:19Are you going to be called Cat Man now as a general thing?
02:23Well, I'm not going to change my name.
02:24One really wants to stroke that mane.
02:27A man with a cat is a more rounded person.
02:30Right now, I'm quite near fainting.
02:32He's got his yin and his yang.
02:35This is David Baddiel.
02:37Cat Man.
02:39Look over there.
02:47Why this lack of cats?
02:49Well, there are a lot of misconceptions about them.
02:52They're sneaky and lazy and selfish.
02:55But what cats actually are is very, very various.
03:00Dogs may be generally nice.
03:02Cats are not generally anything.
03:05Every cat is different.
03:07For example, here's my cat.
03:18Tiges, do you want to come out?
03:20You're not sure, are you?
03:22Zelda, do you want to come out?
03:24And finally, Ron.
03:26Tiger, by the way, has already got upstairs,
03:28which we were told we weren't allowed to use upstairs.
03:30Ron has gone behind that bit of wallpaper.
03:31Zelda.
03:33Zelda.
03:34Tiger is an incredibly lovely person.
03:38He's very keen to sort of help in a new situation.
03:42There isn't much he can actually help with, except making you feel better.
03:47Hello, Zelda.
03:48Zelda's quite vocal.
03:49She's hard work.
03:50She's a high-maintenance cat.
03:51But there's something incredibly winning about her.
03:56She works with this aesthetic.
03:58It's like 1960s beatnik thing.
04:00It's very Zelda.
04:02Ron is the biggest.
04:04He's got massive balls like baseball gloves.
04:07And despite having the strength of seven men, he is always a bit jumpy.
04:11The most nervy of my cats.
04:13One of my previous cats, Monkey, grew very fond of Ron in his old age.
04:18Monkey?
04:18Really very fond.
04:19Monkey.
04:20To be honest, Ron never does this at home, so this is a bit of a win for me.
04:30The other really weird thing about the lack of cats on our TV screens is that there does
04:37exist something now which demonstrates that people like seeing cats on screen.
04:43This thing is called the internet.
04:45And it has been won.
04:47By porn.
04:49But then after that, by cats.
04:53It's not altogether a new thing.
04:54The first ever cat video, Boxing Cats, was made in 1894 by Thomas Edison.
05:02And I found that out on the internet.
05:06What's been your highest rating video?
05:08So we actually have one that's not on the bike.
05:11We're in the underground and Sigrid gets into the tube and meets some people.
05:15Wow.
05:16That's got about 42 million views.
05:1742 million views.
05:19In the year of 2018, he went from like 40,000 to a million followers in less than a month.
05:25Right.
05:25I think it was one of the most viral videos of that year.
05:28Ma!
05:29Ma, there's a weird straight cat outside.
05:32It looks...
05:32It looks like grandma.
05:34Michael Rapaport shouting is one thing.
05:36But what's funny is Wilfred's completely deadpan face.
05:40If you look on YouTube or any other kind of streaming film, they film cats essentially being...
05:44My position is that whatever cats do, I never think it is.
05:48Have you not seen the one with the cats on the shelf and the person going,
05:51Don't do that.
05:51He knocks the glass.
05:52No, no.
05:54No.
05:54Don't do that.
05:55He knocks the glass in.
05:56Then he knocks it off.
05:57That's great.
05:58No, that's a rascal cat.
05:59Yeah, rascal.
06:01That's a roguish, adorable rascal cat.
06:06You must get loads and loads of messages.
06:08Yeah, there's quite a few, but a lot of it's just saying, like, I love Lippy.
06:12How old's Lippy?
06:13Right.
06:13Where do you live?
06:14And stuff like that.
06:15But where do you live one's more funny.
06:17Do you get sent lots of stuff for him?
06:19We do.
06:19Mostly food and treats.
06:21Yeah.
06:21That, like, the tent was sent, the cat tree was sent, the cat scratching post was sent.
06:26It's really good.
06:27Yeah, yeah.
06:28So this is Louie.
06:30Hello, Louie.
06:32Louie is amazing.
06:34Does he go on here with that?
06:35Absolutely.
06:36He's allowed everywhere in the house.
06:37I mean, he's in charge.
06:38So he is a British Blue.
06:40He's British Blue.
06:41He's eight years old.
06:42Yeah.
06:42He's my first pet, actually.
06:47At what point did you start devoting your life to Louie?
06:50I was conscious that a lot of my friends are not cat people.
06:53Right.
06:54And I was probably littering their social medias with pictures of cats.
06:59So I thought, I'll make him his own account.
07:01Yeah.
07:01And when I set out, I had no intention of this ever becoming what it has.
07:08Obviously, there's loads of cats.
07:10Only certain cats spark.
07:12Yeah.
07:12And one wonders, what is it about Louie?
07:14I mean, he is beautiful.
07:15I think a cat that has a niche, a unique personality trait, a unique skill, a unique aesthetic of some
07:21form.
07:22Should we just have a quick look at Louie's social media page?
07:24This is Louie.
07:27And this is Louie sat on his Juliet balcony in Edinburgh.
07:32Who's talking?
07:33Who's that?
07:34A cheap David Attenborough, I think.
07:37I use editing software where they have a variety of voices.
07:40In my head, if he spoke, that's how he'd sound.
07:43Oh, really?
07:43Louie is eight years old.
07:45That's 48 in human years.
07:48An Aquarius, naturally, which means he's emotionally unavailable, but fascinating at dinner parties.
07:55So you wrote that?
07:56Yes.
07:57Tried to make it a bit funny.
07:58That is like properly character-written comedy.
08:00Yeah.
08:01Comedy.
08:14Can you do a kissy?
08:15Kissy.
08:16Good boy.
08:18Do a twirl.
08:19Oh, good boy.
08:21Lovely twirl.
08:22No, not her one.
08:23Yay!
08:24Sort of.
08:25High five.
08:26Yay!
08:27There you go.
08:28This is his page, is it?
08:30This is his page, yeah.
08:31What's it called?
08:31It's called Ragdoll Atticus.
08:33Recently hit 70k, so that's...
08:34That's great.
08:35...really good going.
08:35Going how long?
08:36A bit over a year.
08:37This is the one, so it's on 6.8 million views.
08:39Oh yeah, let me see that.
08:40It's day two of our to wild days of cat enrichment miniseries, and today I got my cat a pet
08:45fish.
08:45I am interested in, like, the way that cat content goes viral, because there's a certain pace and a certain
08:53jump cuttiness.
08:54Yeah.
08:55Obviously, everyone these days has such a short tension span.
08:57It used to be like...
08:58Yeah, it's so fast.
08:58If it's too slow, they just, oh, scroll on to the next thing.
09:01Yeah, you know, people think that the internet is rotting our brains, and I think if it is cat content,
09:06it's doing it in quite a nice way.
09:07Yeah.
09:07Because that's, I love that, that's such a sweet video.
09:10Isn't there anyone on a motorbike, or was that there?
09:12I didn't...
09:12Yeah, I feel like the motorbike, he's a bad boy.
09:14Yeah, he looks like a real bad boy.
09:17Yeah, he looks like a real bad boy.
09:17It's terrifying.
09:19Like a hell's angel in a kind of 1970s film.
09:21Exactly.
09:27Yeah.
09:46Oh, no.
09:48I know.
09:50Ready, Atticus?
09:51Wow.
09:52Good boy.
09:53Good boy.
09:56Clever.
09:58That's quite a tight turn coming up, Atticus.
10:01Wait to the left.
10:02Come on, Atticus.
10:03You can do it.
10:04Look at this.
10:07He's loving it.
10:08And we're going to make it.
10:09It's such a tight turn.
10:11Oh, no.
10:11His most viral video has over six million views.
10:14Oh, show me that one.
10:15I've got on the balcony, I've got bird feeders, so when he looks at those, it's these noises.
10:19Oh, the noises, right.
10:23And I think I got 30,000, 40,000 followers just from that video alone.
10:27People love it.
10:28I love it.
10:29I'll tell you one thing I think that's incredibly sweet about it, is that this is a cat, you know,
10:34doing its kind of like, there's prey out there, there's birds out there, I could catch them,
10:37but then yawns in the middle of it.
10:39Well, exactly.
10:39It just shows the level of laziness.
10:42If a bird flew in the room, I just don't think he'd do anything.
10:47Just looking around here, Louis' brand is that he's essentially an aristocrat.
10:52You've got little Louis cushions and a caviar cushion.
10:55Does he like caviar?
10:56He does.
10:57For his birthday, I get him caviar.
10:59Do you really?
11:00Yeah.
11:00He's a fussy eater.
11:01Do you know what's funny is, actually, last week, he stopped eating his normal food.
11:05Right.
11:05And I was quite worried.
11:07Yeah.
11:07But I think he was just making sure he looked particularly good for today.
11:10Yes.
11:10So I think he was a bit nervous about meeting you.
11:12Yeah.
11:13But yeah, I get given strange things and something I was given was this spray.
11:17So I'm very interested in this.
11:18Which is infused with catnip.
11:20This could be the answer to my prayers.
11:22By which I mean that cat, whoever it is, my cat, anyone's cat, it's ignoring me.
11:27I want it to be over here.
11:29It's just because of cheap.
11:30Cheap deodorant.
11:31Oh, no, he's coming.
11:31He's coming.
11:32He's coming.
11:33Oh, I'm so excited.
11:34Come on, Louis.
11:35Come on.
11:37Louis, I've absolutely made myself stink of catnip for you.
11:41You know.
11:43And he's definitely quite interested.
11:45Yeah.
11:46It's definitely kind of working.
11:48The other thing I have is catnip bubbles.
11:52Hours of fun.
11:55Oh, that's better.
11:56Oh, Louis.
11:57I agree.
11:57He's very judgmental of people being in the house.
11:59So you should feel quite honoured he's greeted you.
12:02Right.
12:02Well, he hasn't really greeted me.
12:03But he has decided to be over there.
12:05I think he's a good judge of character.
12:07And I mean, I think this is why cats are better than dogs.
12:11Because you've got to earn their affections.
12:14Yeah.
12:14It's not a given.
12:15No, no.
12:15And I think it's more rewarding.
12:17And I also don't like someone being that needy.
12:19He's quite aloof.
12:21So when he does come and sit by you, it feels more special.
12:36One thing I've noticed is that people passing by, Sigrid brings sort of immediate joy.
12:42Yeah.
12:42Yeah.
12:42Very much so.
12:43In fact, some of my earlier posts were actually just sets of photos of people smiling at us.
12:49She just kind of spreads joy wherever she goes.
12:51Yeah.
12:56Do you make money from it?
12:58I do now, yeah.
12:59It is my full-time job.
13:00I've had a lot of people just donate a little bit of money every month for us to keep doing
13:03what we do.
13:03What do you do?
13:07Well, we go out and we just explore.
13:09We explore London.
13:10Right.
13:10By bike.
13:11Right.
13:11We meet people and we just kind of have, like, pleasant moments.
13:14People often describe them as, you know, feel-good videos.
13:17How does she get on with dogs and stuff?
13:19So she's kind of notorious for hating dogs.
13:24She won't hiss at them.
13:25Okay.
13:25Even if we just cycle past, she'll hiss at them.
13:27Okay.
13:28And how are the dogs with it?
13:29The dogs are usually terrified.
13:31Right.
13:32Have you taken her anywhere out of London?
13:35Yeah, we've done a few trips.
13:36We went to southern Italy.
13:37Okay.
13:37We cycled through Belgium and the Netherlands over the course of a week.
13:40Wow.
13:41And surprisingly, she's internationally known.
13:43You know, even in the Netherlands, in Italy, we would have people come up and be like,
13:46Oh my God, is that Sigrid?
13:47Right.
13:48You know, just a few months ago, we rode all the way across England.
13:52We did, what was it, 500 miles over the course of eight days.
13:55We raised 30,000 pounds for charity.
13:57That's brilliant.
13:57Well done, Sigrid.
14:00Yeah, Sigrid degrees.
14:04Ron likes bongos.
14:05Do you know what that is?
14:06No.
14:07Drums?
14:08No.
14:08It's when you play the bongos on them.
14:10You're free to do.
14:11Gently, you just take their sort of rump and sort of bongo it.
14:15There we go.
14:17Oh God, he's so brilliant to hold.
14:20He's absolutely, what a great cat to hold.
14:22Okay, this is it, this is it.
14:24Bongo, bongo, bongo.
14:26Look at the ears.
14:27He does quite like it.
14:28I think he likes it.
14:29Bongo, bongo, bongo.
14:30Do you like the bongo?
14:31You don't have to say bongo, bongo, bongo.
14:32That's just something I've made up.
14:34No, he doesn't like it that much.
14:36Oh, I feel bad.
14:37He's never bitten someone.
14:42I don't think he likes it.
14:44I'm not going to lie.
14:45It turns out he doesn't like bongos.
14:47I think that's what that proves.
14:48I'm sorry about that.
14:50I think he's just playing hard to get.
14:51I'm not going to bongo again.
14:52Look at his face.
14:53He's like, don't bongo me.
14:57You're a qualified architect.
14:59Yes.
15:00So just over a year ago, I actually left architecture.
15:03I now full time work as an artist and run Louie's account.
15:07Right.
15:08He's worked with Amazon, Google.
15:11Okay.
15:12Yuffie, Shark, Deliveroo.
15:14I'd only work with brands that their values would align with what I believe in.
15:18What do you believe in?
15:20I'm not really sure.
15:28I'm not sure what you believe in apart from Louie.
15:32There have been some months where Louie's been the breadwinner, which is quite disturbing.
15:37Yeah.
15:38And I think it's a lot of self-reflection when I think I've trained for something for so long.
15:42And through his mere existence, he's doing better.
15:46It's possible that part of his high status, which he definitely has, is you're reliant on me.
15:52Love.
15:52Well, exactly.
15:53You know, don't mess with me.
15:54Don't get men in to bongo me, because you are totally reliant on me.
15:59Louie.
16:00Louie.
16:00Louie, look.
16:01Louie, hello.
16:03Louie.
16:04I'm sorry about the bongos.
16:08Okay.
16:16Just in case, by the way, you're thinking by now, he's a bit mad, he's a bit obsessed.
16:22No one likes cats this much.
16:24You're wrong.
16:25There's loads and loads of us out there.
16:29I don't know.
16:32I don't know.
16:32I don't know.
16:34I don't know.
16:34I don't know.
16:35I don't know.
16:37So this is Maud?
16:39That's Maud.
16:40And this is Pads Picklesome.
16:43Look at Pads.
16:44Pads is a handsome half Bengal.
16:46So are they related?
16:47Yes.
16:48Maud is Pads's mother.
16:49But the father was a full Bengal.
16:51Sorry, I've already been clawed.
16:53OK, let's film.
16:54Hi, Bubbler.
16:55How are you doing?
16:56Here you go, my love.
16:57Here you go.
16:58Yeah.
16:59That's Pickle.
17:00Pickle looks absolutely great.
17:02So sweet.
17:03I took that this morning.
17:05Kevin is very beautiful.
17:06Yes.
17:07I mean, to be honest with you.
17:08No, you haven't finished looking at this.
17:09Oh, OK, sorry.
17:09No, he's in the bath.
17:10Kevin in the bath.
17:11Kevin in the bath.
17:11Kevin in bed.
17:12How angry he was.
17:13No, he looks cross.
17:14This goes on for some time.
17:16I like the independence of a cat.
17:19I think it probably plays to what we've done with our lives.
17:22Cats are freelance.
17:23Dogs are P-A-Y-E.
17:27Come on, Paz.
17:28Paz, come here.
17:30Meow.
17:30Come on, Paz.
17:33When I was looking around at houses,
17:35I said to the estate agent,
17:36I need a garden for the boys.
17:38And she went, oh, how old are your sons?
17:40I said, both three.
17:42And she went twins.
17:43I said, cats.
17:45That's how you should stroke a cat.
17:46You pinch down there like that,
17:48and you know the other area they love.
17:49I know, yeah, that area.
17:51Well, Dolly recently has been saying to me
17:53they like bongos.
17:54Bongos?
17:55Bongos is that.
17:56Now, this might not be great on camera.
17:57I'm not sure what this is like on camera.
17:59I should have stopped that.
18:00No cat likes that.
18:02Well, yeah, well,
18:03I should have got around the other side.
18:05No, you shouldn't have done it at all.
18:07Honestly.
18:07I'm not doing that to you, am I?
18:08Oh, God.
18:09Oh, no.
18:10Lovely boy.
18:12So we have two alive cats at home,
18:14Mettle and Boo, two rescues.
18:15What a sweet pea.
18:17Yeah, yeah.
18:17Have you got a picture of you with Pickle?
18:19Millions and millions.
18:20Oh, that's our first little portrait together.
18:23Oh, that's beautiful.
18:24Oh, God, what's he doing there?
18:25Licking his lips.
18:27So I have hired a pet psychic
18:28to tell me that my cat likes the garden.
18:30But you know, like, when psychics do a thing,
18:32like, was your mum a kind person?
18:35That's similar to one of your cats likes the garden.
18:38Oh, no, because she's got the right cat.
18:40Is this going to be a problem?
18:42No.
18:43It's fine.
18:43Well, let's see how mad Roger gets.
18:45That is good.
18:46I like it.
18:47Um, Dolly, you're my daughter.
18:49I am.
18:50How important would you say cats are in our family?
18:53I think cats are the most important thing in our family.
18:56Oh, okay.
18:57Well, not me.
18:58Mmm, I'd say it's a close call.
19:01Right.
19:02Oh, hello, the dog's back in.
19:03Oh, hang on.
19:04Oh, God.
19:04You see, look at this.
19:05Hello.
19:06Hello.
19:07Hello.
19:07You have to work.
19:08Cat affection is not the same, is it, with these guys.
19:11Look at that big nose, a handsome big nose.
19:13Yeah.
19:14Yeah.
19:14Powerful.
19:15Now, one thing I should, that I want to make clear,
19:17is I think some people will think that the show is anti-dog.
19:19It really isn't.
19:20I'm like, I like dogs.
19:22I just prefer cats.
19:25I was out with somebody the other day
19:27who actively doesn't like cats.
19:29I don't think I'll be able to live with someone
19:31who said, no, I don't want a cat.
19:34I don't love cats.
19:37I don't understand why people are proud
19:39to have a pet that doesn't apparently like them.
19:43Whereas I've got this needy relationship with my dog.
19:46I need to be greeted when I come home.
19:48We used to own a cat together.
19:50We didn't own it together.
19:52It was your cat and I live with you.
19:54I always thought it was our cat.
19:55Well, who bought the cat?
19:57I did.
19:57And so we brainstormed a name.
19:59What I do remember is you saying to me,
20:02what does the cat do a lot?
20:04And I said, meow.
20:06And you said, chairman, meow.
20:08There you go.
20:09And that was what the cat was called.
20:10But I think they are very beautiful and very graceful.
20:14Dogs are very slapstick.
20:16Yes.
20:16And they're more satire cats.
20:19I think that is very true.
20:20Cats sit outside our window
20:23and taunt the dog.
20:25That definitely happens.
20:27What do you mean, taunt?
20:28Well, they sit there right by the window
20:30and the dog is going to go at the window.
20:33I mean, cats, they do this weird noise
20:36if they see birds outside the window.
20:38They go,
20:40meowing thing.
20:40I'm not doing it very well.
20:42Impressions are not my strong points.
20:43You say you're not doing it very well,
20:45but I'm loving it.
20:46Okay.
20:47I'm imagining me and you sitting in 20 years time talking
20:51and you just doing that.
20:56I don't know what's wrong of me,
20:58but I'm looking forward to it.
20:59Are you going to be called Catman now
21:02as a general thing?
21:03Well, I'm not going to change my name.
21:04That's all I'm ever going to call you again.
21:06I think that'll be odd.
21:08I'll say to my wife,
21:10I'm nipping up Catmans to watch the match.
21:14I think that's fine.
21:15I can't be Robin because you'll torture me.
21:20Can I say to your audience,
21:22David Baddiel loves cats.
21:24He's not doing this,
21:26you know,
21:26he's not desperate.
21:28It's not like,
21:29you know,
21:30when you see people doing a documentary about Formula One
21:33and you think,
21:34you've never, ever mentioned Formula One to me
21:36and I've known you 20 years.
21:38You do love cats.
21:39You should be doing this show.
21:46I wanted my four cats to be here.
21:50All of them,
21:51part of Catman.
21:52But just as we've started filming,
21:54the mum of the other three,
21:56Pip,
21:57the queen of the animal chapter of our household for 15 years,
22:01she's become unwell.
22:06Yes,
22:07because she always looks sad.
22:10I'm here in my daughter Dolly's room with Pip
22:13and this is an amazing moment
22:16because basically we thought Pip was a goner
22:19and then really what happened was
22:21that Dolly,
22:22who is holding the camera now,
22:24said that she'd quite like her to come home for a bit.
22:27That's what's happened.
22:28The vet has decided that she can come home
22:32and now I think she's a bit weak
22:35and she's a bit confused,
22:36but she's not as bad as I thought she might be.
22:39So we don't quite know how long she's got,
22:43but I'm very, very happy to see her.
22:46Very happy to see Pip.
22:48Anyway, Pippi,
22:50are you pleased to be home?
22:53Yeah.
22:54Yeah.
22:55She's part of the story.
22:56She is.
23:05Here in the UK,
23:07the dog thing,
23:08it's wrapped up with our national identity.
23:11John Bull and his British bulldog.
23:14Foxhounds,
23:14horribly ripping foxes to shreds
23:17for the horsey amusement of lords and ladies.
23:19And of course,
23:20corgis,
23:21forever padding loyally at the feet of Queen Elizabeth II.
23:24But what of cats?
23:27Where is our feline emblem?
23:30Our whiskered ambassador of Britishness.
23:33There's one.
23:36One.
23:37But to be fair,
23:38he is a really big star.
23:45Number one.
23:47No Larry.
23:48No.
23:48Day number two.
23:49No Larry.
23:51Day number nine.
23:52We finally saw Larry the cat.
23:58Hello.
23:58Hi, Dave.
23:59Hello, lovely to meet you.
24:00You're Justin, right?
24:00Yes, lovely to meet you too.
24:01And you specialise in taking photographs of Larry the cat.
24:05Yep.
24:06So I was really worried that we just wouldn't see him at all.
24:08But here he is,
24:10sleeping outside 10 Downing Street.
24:12And how old is Larry?
24:13He's 18 years old.
24:14He was about to see cats before.
24:16That's right.
24:17He used to strut around,
24:17so they knew he was this kind of special.
24:20And I think that's why they picked him to come to Downing Street.
24:22How many prime ministers has he seen?
24:24Five.
24:24Do you think that he would remember Liz Truss?
24:26Or do you know that I can't remember that one?
24:28It was so quick.
24:29I'm going to just see if I can stroke Larry.
24:31Is that allowed?
24:32Yeah.
24:33Oh.
24:33OK, OK, yeah.
24:34Hello, Larry.
24:37What a moment.
24:39Who do you think was his favourite of the prime ministers?
24:43I honestly think it would probably be Cameron.
24:45Because it was his first one.
24:46Exactly.
24:47And, you know, despite what people say,
24:48I think Mr Cameron did, you know,
24:49was quite affectionate with Larry.
24:51What do people say?
24:52Do people say that he wasn't?
24:53Yeah.
24:54The rumour that somehow I don't love Larry.
24:56I do.
24:56And I have photographic evidence to prove it.
25:00That's so British that you'd be worried about that.
25:02So, Keir's got two cats.
25:05He does, yeah.
25:05Jojo and Prince, he knows that Larry's quite territorial,
25:08so he's kept his cats pretty far away from the apartment.
25:11I mean, it's one of the things about being Downing Street cat, right?
25:14You can't rely on your human owner, can you?
25:17Bless you.
25:18Because they're going to change.
25:20That's right.
25:20Sometimes very quickly, in Liz Truss's case.
25:22But, you know, you might think, I really like this one.
25:24Oh, no, the country's voted him out.
25:27Or her out.
25:28So, oh, that's interesting.
25:29Yeah, that's what he did with Trump.
25:32Making a statement.
25:33Positive statement, some might say.
25:35I like arseholes.
25:36That statement.
25:39But, yeah.
25:43So, a lot of us shot a lot wider to get him in frame.
25:46Right.
25:46He always tends to photobomb any kind of visiting leader.
25:49It's something that he always does.
25:51Yeah.
25:52Can we try some treats if he'll come to the edge?
25:55We can try.
25:56I think he's deaf.
25:58Can I have a go?
25:59Larry, look.
26:00Hey.
26:02Come on, Larry.
26:04Larry, mate.
26:04Hey.
26:06Oh, what a result.
26:08So, Larry, can I ask you, what was your opinion of the way that Boris tackled COVID?
26:14No?
26:15He doesn't actually talk about politics that much.
26:17No, no.
26:17He's very apolitical.
26:19Yeah, he seems quite apolitical.
26:21This is great.
26:21I feel part of history.
26:24He's thinking he might be called back at any moment for a cabinet meeting.
26:27Here we go.
26:27Oh, there we go.
26:29People are too focused on getting their selfies with Larry.
26:31They don't really stop to kind of admire him and just kind of appreciate him.
26:34You're a lovely cat, Larry.
26:37Larry, look at that camera.
26:42I believe you've got Larry merch that you produce.
26:44Yes, I do.
26:45Can I see?
26:46Sure.
26:48So, this is the famous over-the-shoulder pose.
26:50It's almost like a red carpet one, like a movie style.
26:52It is a great picture.
26:54I feel I've seen this.
26:55This is like an iconic picture of Larry.
26:57Okay, what else?
26:58I have a travel mug.
27:02So, there's two faces.
27:04So, obviously, that's the before coffee and then that's the after.
27:08Well, hang on.
27:08Are you saying these are two different faces of Larry?
27:10Yeah.
27:11You can't tell.
27:12They look exactly the same.
27:13Ah, you can't tell.
27:13I really can't.
27:14If you look at his eyes, you'll be able to see the difference.
27:16Really?
27:16Yeah.
27:19So, hang on.
27:20Which is before coffee?
27:21That's the...
27:21That's before coffee.
27:23Okay.
27:23And that is after coffee.
27:25You see?
27:26You see how expressive cats are?
27:30Oh, look.
27:31He's doing proper photocalling now.
27:33Yeah.
27:33The thing is, he knows when there's a camera pointing at him, he'll gravitate towards it.
27:38I'm going to try and pick him up.
27:44Hang on.
27:45There you go.
27:48You're right, Larry.
27:50It's my sad duty to announce that I am stepping down as David the old cat man.
27:56Perhaps we should put this at the end of the series.
28:02I notice there's no cat flap.
28:04So, how does that work?
28:05The custodian can actually see who's at the door and he'll always let Larry in.
28:08So, someone will see him on CCTV?
28:09Yep.
28:10There's a camera across the road.
28:11Come on, cat custodian.
28:13Let Larry in.
28:14I should lock on the door.
28:16Okay.
28:16I mean, custodians are meant to know, but this is amazing.
28:24Thanks, Larry wanted to come in.
28:29Right, I'm going to do this as a job forever.
28:39So, it's a couple of days after Pip came home and Donnie's been nursing her with a special broth.
28:50What's over all of you?
28:51What have you been giving her?
28:52Well, I've just been putting all her medication in the juice from a can of tuna.
28:57Generally, her fur looks better.
28:59There's talk of her cleaning herself again.
29:01Yeah, a little bit.
29:03She even jumped up onto the kitchen island to try and look for more food.
29:08And just generally, she's looking, you know, still like quite tired.
29:12A little bit weary.
29:13A little bit weary, but she definitely looks better.
29:16All right, Pip.
29:18Bye-bye, Pip.
29:19Pip, you're on telly.
29:21That's it.
29:24Pip, you're on telly.
29:33There you go.
29:34Oh, one eye's back.
29:35Well, I'm not.
29:36People go on about this.
29:37People who don't like cats go on about the anus.
29:40They go on about it.
29:40I don't like it.
29:41I don't like cats because you see a lot of cat anus.
29:44One of my dogs used to have a mark on the back of his fur around his anus.
29:49Yeah.
29:49And it looked like the Statue of Christ in, is it Brazil or Rio?
29:52Yeah, Rio.
29:53Yeah, it looked just like that.
29:54Yeah, it did it.
29:54And the round bit with his head.
29:55It was perfect.
29:56It was like, and for a while, I thought.
29:57Did you have pilgrims coming?
29:58For a while, I thought, I should put this online.
30:00This might get a bit of traction.
30:01Yeah.
30:01I thought people might think I'm being sarcastic.
30:04Yeah, well, to be honest, Pads has got a little bit of something going on, which might
30:08be biblical there.
30:10That's a lot.
30:11Yeah.
30:11I mean, if you see it, great.
30:13I just see nature.
30:15Yeah.
30:15And all its more beauty.
30:16This is a lovely cat.
30:17I know.
30:18It's my cat.
30:18Of course he's lovely.
30:20Oh, you're back, are you?
30:21Let's ignore him.
30:23Let me bribe you a little, though.
30:25Can I try?
30:26Yeah.
30:26I know he's gone out.
30:27This sounds, apparently.
30:29I don't know if you know.
30:30Oh, do you know what I heard?
30:31Mat-wa is come here in cat language.
30:33Mat-wa?
30:34Yeah.
30:34Okay.
30:35Mat-wa.
30:35Yeah.
30:36It doesn't work on mine.
30:37It's not working.
30:37They don't study dinkish.
30:38No, they're not.
30:40So now, you have, what's the name of the cat?
30:42I have Cisco.
30:43Like San Francisco.
30:44Yes, Cisco was the name given to her by my ex.
30:48And he was like, I was thinking of keeping, you know, this one, but I think she belongs
30:52with you.
30:53He's a cat pusher.
30:54You know, he's kind of like, he was the one who's like, you're not that allergic to cats.
30:57Here's a cat.
30:58He's a cat dealer.
30:59Yeah, pretty much.
30:59He's on this, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, anyone want some purr, want some meow?
31:03Anybody, anybody, right, just hang out on the part.
31:07Another possible reason for the absence of cats from television is that people think,
31:12well, they don't really do anything.
31:14Lazy layabouts, the stereotype goes, who spend their days draped over radiators, occasionally
31:20opening an eye to judge us before drifting back to sleep.
31:23But maybe what we need to do is realise that cats, if very gently nudged, can do more.
31:32He likes going for a walk.
31:33Yeah, he really likes going outside.
31:36Come on.
31:37Great.
31:38Good boy.
31:39Brilliant.
31:39Like a mountain goat, except a mountain cat.
31:42Is she going to go into the station or on top of that motorbike?
31:46I'll tell you, if we saw a hot wire motorbike, then that would be a great bit of television.
31:50That would be fantastic.
31:51We'll stop and talk, if he wants to stop.
31:54I know, I'd do your poo on telly.
31:56Wow.
31:56He's really going for it.
32:07Okay, so Marley, Jasper clearly is a good walker, but how did you know that was something
32:12he would like?
32:13He had unbelievable amounts of energy as a kitten.
32:17Yeah.
32:18We took him to the beach at midnight, so there was no one there, and he loved it.
32:22The thing that would bother me, I guess, is that they would just get frightened.
32:25It does take training and socialisation, because I've done it with both my cats, and each cat
32:29is different.
32:30Does he ever ask to go for a walk?
32:32Every day.
32:33He does not like me leaving the house without him, and I don't like leaving the house without
32:36him either.
32:37He goes almost everywhere with me, except for uni.
32:40You bring out the harness, he's purring, and he's sitting at the door.
32:44This is not a distressed cat.
32:46No.
32:46He's not shaking.
32:47He's not trying to hide.
32:49He's not trying to find somewhere to go underneath, or any of that.
33:00Tell me the longest walk you've done with him.
33:03We did Ben Nevis in total up and down.
33:06It took us 15 hours.
33:08Are you thinking about Everest at some point?
33:10No.
33:11I'm not quite equipped for that, and it would take us maybe years at his speed.
33:15That's true.
33:16It would take a while.
33:35So, I'm ready for paddle boarding with cats.
33:37We have paddle boards.
33:39We have a cat.
33:39Bongo, his eyes, which are amazing and kind of mysterious, but he can see.
33:44Yeah.
33:44It's a rare condition.
33:46It just makes his eyes a different color, but he can actually see really well.
33:51I think this board looks good for you.
33:53Okay.
33:53Bongo.
33:54Get into position.
33:57Just stay standing.
33:59I'm facing that way.
33:59You'll be facing that way, yeah.
34:01He can swim, but he won't enjoy it.
34:04Okay.
34:04I can swim, but I won't enjoy it.
34:06So, try not to flip him.
34:08Try to go.
34:08The cat's gone with you.
34:10Easy does it.
34:11Whoa.
34:12Whoa.
34:14Yeah, I'm okay, sort of.
34:16It can't last forever.
34:18What, life?
34:18But clenching your bum really helps.
34:21I'm doing that.
34:22Good.
34:22Okay, I think that's good advice.
34:23It can't last forever, but clenching your bum really helps.
34:27Whoa.
34:27Also, if I'm going to fall, I think we won that on camera.
34:34Hooray.
34:35Paddle boarding with cats.
34:36Is Bongo all right with getting wet?
34:37Yeah.
34:39We're going to crash, aren't we?
34:44Bongo.
34:45Traitor.
34:46Yeah, Bongo.
34:47I mean, I'll be honest with you.
34:48I have walked dogs in my time, and I'm already feel more comfortable walking a cat.
34:53It's quite relaxing.
34:54It's really relaxing.
34:55That is a dancing tale.
34:57I could take him absolutely anywhere.
34:58He's been on boats.
34:59We've been to London.
35:00He's not scared of the tube.
35:02He goes to pride parades.
35:03He's listened to, like, outdoor concerts.
35:05It's so cool.
35:06You know, it's a whole new aspect.
35:09Because, actually, when we've talked about getting a dog, which we never have in our family,
35:13we have said, actually, one good thing about a dog is that you can walk with them.
35:17It turns out...
35:18You can walk a cat.
35:19You can walk a cat.
35:20Come on.
35:28Come on, Bongo.
35:29Oh, look at this.
35:30This is what we want.
35:31This is the hero shot.
35:32Tell me where to go, Bongo.
35:34I think of you as a ship's cat.
35:36And a ship's cat should be helping me find my way to port.
35:41He's telling us.
35:43It's like there's some treasure somewhere at the end, and Bongo knows what it is.
35:46You can jump.
35:52I do get the sense that Bongo is enjoying himself.
35:55So, anyone who is worried about whether or not it is stressful for a cat to be doing this kind
36:01of activity,
36:02and obviously it's not going to be for every cat, so, you know, don't try this with your cat at
36:06home.
36:07I've always done paddle boarding.
36:09Right.
36:09And one day, Bongo came and he went on it.
36:12Oh, he just did it by himself?
36:13Yeah.
36:13You just need to learn cat body language.
36:15No, he's clearly fine.
36:16However, it is quite stressful for middle-aged presenters.
36:21But, as ever, one of the things that makes it less stressful is the presence of a cat.
36:25Bongo used to go horse riding.
36:27Really?
36:27I was holding the horse's head collar.
36:29Did he enjoy it?
36:30Yeah, he really enjoyed it.
36:32What about the horse?
36:32They were friends.
36:33Oh.
36:34And they'd, like, bump noses.
36:35This is a Disney film.
36:36Oh, he's going to jump.
36:38He's going to do a big jump.
36:38Wait.
36:39That was impressive.
36:40That was impressive.
36:41That was like something from an action film.
36:43It's like something that Tom Cruise says, no, I can still do it.
36:46Oh.
36:46Oh, he's taking your boat.
36:47Go on, Bongo.
36:49Oh, wow.
36:50Okay, so we like to, in this show, do a bit of behind-the-scenes action.
36:54So where Bongo is now is the canoe where the camera is.
36:57I think he wants to direct.
36:59Yeah.
37:00We all get to that position in our careers.
37:03Yes.
37:04Good boy.
37:15Now, I know it's, I know absolutely it's the right thing.
37:18I'm sorry, sorry I wasn't there.
37:20I feel bad.
37:21I just cut your photo, and I just burst into tears.
37:25It's all right.
37:26It's all right.
37:26Because I want to, I want to cry.
37:28Oh.
37:29We did our best, and we did the right thing.
37:32Bye-bye.
37:32Bye-bye.
37:35Oh, dear.
37:42Oh.
37:50I very much wanted to include Pip in this series.
37:53I was hoping that a miracle was going to happen, and she was going to turn around and get better,
37:57because she was obviously really ill.
38:03I think you have a very simple response to your pets dying.
38:07When Monkey died, I just wept and wept and wept.
38:09It was quite soon after my dad died, and I wept more than when my dad died.
38:13And that doesn't prove that I didn't love my dad.
38:15It proves that my relationship with my dad was complicated, and my relationship with Monkey was not.
38:24And it's the same with Pip.
38:36Anyway, I loved Pip, and I'm very sad she's gone, but it's the right thing to do.
38:57So I'm still very upset about Pip, but I'm nearly as upset about the bill.
39:04Well, she's just come in from the vet, but it's not about the money, and she was worth it.
39:12I think what it's taught me, it's taught me many things, living with cats and living through the death of
39:18this cat,
39:19about wisdom, about maturity, about life.
39:22But it's also taught me that I might go and look for some better ways to insure older cats.
39:34So tell me, you've had cats your whole life, right?
39:37Yeah.
39:37My first cat, I remember, who died when I was, like, three or four, was a grey moggy called Smokey.
39:47My early memory of my mum's party trick, when people came round after Smokey had died,
39:55she would sing that song,
39:56On top of old Smokey,
39:59just to see me cry in front of neighbours.
40:01Oh, right.
40:02She would sing it and you would cry?
40:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:04Well, she would do it deliberately to make you cry?
40:06Yeah, yeah.
40:08OK, should I call social services retrospectively?
40:11That's awful.
40:12Well, yeah, but, I mean, you know, it is a sad thing.
40:14I still, every cat I've ever had, until recently when Ollie died, I've cried.
40:22The worst thing with Ollie was when Jane was making the phone call
40:26and I was holding her for the last time.
40:28Yeah.
40:28And I just burst into tears.
40:30Because I've had about 20 cats.
40:31Right.
40:31And Monkey was a cat I really loved.
40:33And so, Dolly came with me to, when I took Monkey to the vet,
40:39and she said, not only has she not ever seen me cry as much,
40:42she's never seen a human being cry as much.
40:44And the vet said, yeah, yeah, it's time.
40:47And then she said, do you want to be alone with him for a bit?
40:50Which I wasn't expecting.
40:51Right.
40:51So, she left us to say goodbye to Monkey,
40:55and the, almost like emotional blackmail, started purring.
40:58I know.
40:59Like, that thing of not, of the animal not knowing what you're going to do,
41:04underlined by the fact that he's thinking, this is nice.
41:06But that's the good bit, that they don't know what's going to happen.
41:09It's all on us.
41:10Yeah, of course.
41:11Of course.
41:12But it's, you know, it's still like a wonderfully kind thing to do.
41:18They've had 16 to 20 years or whatever,
41:22and then they don't know that they're going to have a lovely death as well.
41:27Yes, no, that's true.
41:28And they're not going to be in pain.
41:29No, no, it's a very good thing.
41:31And all the emotional stuff is all us.
41:34One's relationship with an animal is full of love, right, and genuine love.
41:38Of course, yeah.
41:39And so, and I think people can feel a bit ashamed sometimes
41:43of how much they love their pet.
41:45I know.
41:46A survey by Cats Protection shows that 73% of pet owners
41:51believe it can be as difficult and upsetting to grieve for a pet
41:54as for the loss of a person.
41:56But 55% also said they hid their grief for fear of being ridiculed.
42:02Me, I'm with Adam Ant.
42:05Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.
42:07Which is good.
42:09Particularly as regards this next sequence.
42:17Are you sure we've come to the right place?
42:25I have done, I think, one session of yoga in my life
42:28and it went very badly wrong.
42:30Oh, gosh.
42:31I ripped the quite loose trousers that I was wearing
42:34and I thought, well, that's it for me in yoga,
42:37but you know what's brought me back?
42:38Kittens.
42:40Explain to me the theory of, like,
42:42what are kittens and yoga interacting?
42:44What's happening there?
42:45Yoga brings, you know,
42:47a lot of physical and mental well-being
42:48through calmness and movement.
42:51Cats themselves bring a lot of peace
42:53and tranquility to a setting due to their nature
42:56and combining the two, pet therapy and yoga,
42:59it just aligns so perfectly.
43:05Welcome to your kitty yoga.
43:08I'm going to give them a real opportunity
43:09to get used to us.
43:11You can see some of them are really, really brave.
43:14I'm going to let our legs outstretched.
43:17Or bend your knees.
43:18If that feels better,
43:19I'm going to really start to slow down.
43:22Inhaling through the nose.
43:24And exhale, sigh out.
43:30We softly surrender the chest towards the earth,
43:34coming into our puppy push.
43:35So before I started that,
43:37the yoga instructor said this thing
43:39that yoga instructor said.
43:40She said,
43:40don't worry, there's no right or wrong way to do yoga.
43:43That's not true, is it?
43:45In your next breath,
43:46we'll take our right foot and left hand
43:48in the same direction.
43:50Well, I don't understand what you're saying.
43:56I hardly know my neck from my wrist.
44:01And you get yourself looking at your hands down.
44:03It's like a big sweep of that right arm.
44:06My baby looking up towards the ceiling.
44:08I'm going to let's go.
44:09Two particularly complicated moments.
44:12One was when I could feel a kitten
44:13climbing up my crotch area
44:14as a little tickle
44:16and I didn't know
44:17what the appropriate thing to do was.
44:19You know, I don't want to be cancelled
44:20but it's complicated to know
44:21whether at that point
44:22you kick the kitten off
44:24or you let the kitten carry on
44:26and both of those things
44:27might be inappropriate.
44:29And then the other thing was
44:30there was a cat underneath me
44:32and I thought, again,
44:34this feels wrong.
44:34It was like there was a little kitten turd
44:37right underneath me.
44:39Up towards the ceiling,
44:41unfurling through the chest
44:42as you exhale,
44:44threading the right arm underneath the left.
44:55as we exhale,
44:57bowing heads off our arms.
45:02Great, please.
45:03It's all that's like a very long time.
45:05It is now, play time.
45:07At all time.
45:15I could just walk out
45:16with him on my shoulder
45:18and I think I can't get away with it.
45:21There was a saving grace.
45:23Kittens.
45:24Although, only half a saving grace in this case
45:27because I got really worried
45:28about crushing a kitten.
45:30But I feel good now
45:31that I'm not doing it.
45:35So the takeaway, I think,
45:37is that cats really do make everything better.
45:41Yoga, certainly.
45:43Social media.
45:45Even death.
45:46Because even the pain
45:47that comes with the absence
45:49of a much-loved cat
45:50can have the edge taken off it
45:52by the arrival of a new kitten.
45:54Or maybe just by watching
45:56a whole load of other cats on the TV.
45:59Which is good news
46:00as really, there's a lot more to come.
46:03And by the way,
46:04cats do like bongos.
46:10Loving it.
46:11Loving it.
46:15I just really would like
46:17to hold one of these cats.
46:18Whoa!
46:19Maybe not.
46:21So we've got quite a few wobbly cats.
46:22I mean, that is a really twerky bum.
46:25At the end of a difficult day,
46:26they would just come and look
46:27at pictures of Wilfred.
46:28So Lucy,
46:29he's like the number one seed
46:30of Wimbledon.
46:31She is.
46:31OK, wow.
46:36There's more of that
46:37same time next week.
46:38And it's a good night
46:39to be a comedy lover
46:40here on Channel 4.
46:42Jimmy Carr's not holding back
46:43as John Richardson,
46:44Julie Love,
46:45Rob Beckett
46:45and Katherine Parkinson
46:47bring us new
46:478 out of 10 cats
46:48does countdown.
46:49Then a literal lesson in funny
46:51in Taskmaster Class
46:52with Greg Davis
46:53and Lil Alex
46:54starting tonight at 10.
46:59Cloned for an experience.
47:02You
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