National Geographic: The Secret Life of Cats Page #4

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They're real, real red.

He's got a pretty good

gingivitis here,

which is one of the common

things we see with feline...

plus the fact that

he's a male.

So we'll wait.

He's got a couple of variety

of skin lesions as well,

so he's not in

the greatest shape.

He's been eating well,

he's not too thin,

but this is a bad sign.

It really makes me sad

that the animals suffer.

And anytime I have to

put a cat down,

it really bothers me.

But, if you leave him,

then he's gonna infect

the others.

It's the right thing to do,

unfortunately.

And he'll also have

a really miserable death.

If they go through the

course of this illness,

it's not fair to them.

They suffer too much.

Cats that test negative

for disease

might be candidates

for adoption.

But first they must be spayed

or neutered.

I don't think it's the

solution to the problem.

But at least

we are controlling

the population somewhat.

Thousands of cats are being

put to sleep every year,

needlessly,

because owners are

just not complying

with spaying and neutering.

We have to tell these people

that are abandoning cats,

this isn't the way to do it.

Spayed and neutered cats

have the tips of

the ears clipped,

to serve

as a permanent record.

This kitten has become

too wild for adoption.

Once she's recovered

from surgery,

she'll return to the colony-

to face an uncertain future.

You doing alright?

Alright.

It's a dismal solution

for the cats

and a precarious

one for the wildlife.

Well-fed and spayed,

a cat can still hunt.

But where are the thousands

of homeless felines to go?

Until an answer can be found,

migrating birds

may come face to face

with yet another predator.

But it's not just

the homeless that hunt.

There are more than 60

million house cats in the U.S. -

and many are on the prowl

night and day.

What is the impact of

these unleashed predators?

The answer is clear at the

Wildlife Center of Virginia.

Dr. Gentz, cat attack coming

in from Harrisonburg.

Many of the patients

are casualties

of ordinary house cats.

We have two injured bunnies.

Most are mangled

beyond repair.

Cat attack coming in from...

Each day brings new drama for

Dr. Ned Gentz and his team,

as they try to piece together

the victims of cat attacks.

Well, I think this one's

going to make it...

although probably half don't.

Casualties pour into the

Wildlife Center night and day.

Pet owners are often shocked

to find that their well-fed

cats are killers.

Though some have been

de-clawed,

the attack is often

just as gruesome.

This one was injured on

it's eye right here.

And it was bleeding

this morning.

And this one was injured...

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