3 comments about 101 Questions Your Cat Would Ask Its Vet (If Your Cat Could Talk).

1. This is the only cat book I have seen that combines simplicity, entertainment and common sense. It should be required reading for every cat owner; you can dip into it anywhere and draw up useful information. I have been giving copies of this book to the new cat owners among my relatives and friends for years.
   
   Beware! There is another, larger, very glossy imitation of this book, published in 1999, that also has "101 Questions" in the title. The people who created it, whom I suspect of trying to capitalize on the success of Fogle's simple, modest, and beautiful book, should be left in a cage without food, water, or a clean catbox for an extended period of time.



2. Great book, mainly for those who didn't have ever had a cat. Serious but simple with lots of good advices and things everyone having a cat should know! I have loved it! Maria Manuel (Portugal)



3. This is a great book for cat lovers. Brought many smiles..

3 comments about Is Your Cat Too Fat?.

1. As another reviewer has pointed out, this book really looks like a humor book at first glance, and I picked it up thinking that was the case. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's actually informative as well as entertaining.

   The whimsically illustrated book discusses a brief history of cats and goes a bit into why commercially prepared cat foods are not a healthy staple for your cat. There is some information, for the most part based on observation, about how to tell if your cat is too fat. The correct ratios of protein to fat to carbohydrates are discussed, as well as some actual recipes to cook for your cat.

   This book really convinced me that feeding dry kibble just doesn't cut it and may explain why my cat has always been overly plump and yet still (always!) clamoring for MORE FOOD. The only drawback is that it just didn't give me all the information I needed to make the switch. Aside from some recipes for vitamin and mineral supplements, there were no specific mixes for basic foods. While the recipes are cute and, I'm sure, tasty for cats, they seem too labor-intensive to prepare day after day. I would have liked to see a few basic recipes that would make a larger quantity which could be frozen in meal-size portions and used for daily meals.

   Overall, I think the book was a good purchase, but it left me starving for more.




2. I am a cat lover (currently between cats) and, while I intend to try the interesting recipes and naturopathic advice with my next cat, I have to admit to buying the book purely because I'm a fan of the illustrator. Readers of Graham Oakley's "Church Mice" series will recognise Sampson the ginger tomcat on the cover and endpapers - which show a before and after picture of him having a very good dinner. Almost every spread in the book features an apt (and usually funny) colour illustration of cat behaviour, and he captures cat expressions/body language beautifully.



3. Is your cat too fat? is a straightforward diet and fitness book for cats, dispite its cover illustration, which might lead would-be readers to conclude that it is a humor book.

   It begins by telling us some interesting cat history. For example, did you know that cats were persecuted during the Middle Ages? Next, the author explains what it is that cats really like to eat -- NOT BIRDS! Bird are way down on the cat's list of favorite things because the feathers must be plucked before eating. Yuck. Cats like mice of course, but according to a study the author cited, cats prefer canned or prepared food, if it's available. Also, cats can tell when food is beginning "to turn." They prefer it fresh.

   The book contains ways to figure out if your cat is too fat, including a weight chart for different breeds. (Mine weighs 12 lbs which is okay for an American short-hair, but she feels fat to me.)

   Then comes the part we all know will follow -- the inevitable diet suggestions which we've all heard before. Ta Da: diet and exercise. The author has included lots of clever ways to engage our cats in playful games designed to trim them down a little. And the exciting thing is that we ourselves must become the primary entertainer.

   But the most interesting part of the book is the recipe section. Yes, indeed. How about whipping up a batch of chicken liver mousse for your kitten? Or scrambled eggs with haddock for a Sunday morning brunch (for the cat, of course). The recipe section is divided into categories: Sauces, Savories, Sandwiches, Eggs, Game, Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Pasta. (What, no dessert?)

   The illustrations are charming, it's easy to read, and full of interesting facts, with a small dose of guilt designed to help us keep our cats healthy and happy. This book belongs on the bookshelf of every cat-lover.

No comments about Cats (Little Golden Book).

No comments about Personality of the Cat.

5 comments about Natural Cat Care.

1. I bought this book hoping for something I didn't get. I was hoping it was more in depth but instead it talks very little about alot of subjects. I think the most detailed part of the book is on feline massage/t touch. This is a good book but if you're looking for something more in depth this is not the book for you.



2. Dr. Fogle shows how alternative therapies such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and chiropractic can complement conventional veterinary care, and offers natural remedies for a range of ailments including cuts and bruises, muscle and joint conditions, and behavioral difficulties. He explains how each therapy works and how to judge the suitability of different treatments for your own cat. This book just wasn't my cup of tea.



3. A pretty book with lots of full-color illustrations throughout, but not nearly as much information as The New Natural Cat: A Complete Guide for Finicky Owners, Cat Care, Naturally: Celeste Yarnall's Complete Guide to Holistic Health Care for Cats, Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, or Natural Healing for Dogs and Cats. Get one (or more) of those instead of this.



4. Very handy information on using herbs to cure for my cat!!!
   At the begining the author explain Nautral development of the cats, a small part of training following...then is the Nutrition, Health Care, Touch and Movement Therapies and how to use Herbal Therapies on them....., a big part on using herbs for Health Disorders for every subject...which herbs is poisioning are included.
   That is not the same to Use herb on Human and Animals. Even not the Same between Cats and Dogs!!! Beware on using herbs on them!!!



5. The best thing about this book is the pictures, but I have to say right off that your child might find some pictures a little disturbing. My son was really worried about the cat having an acupuncture treatment.

   That said, it was a very helpful book. We just adopted a stray and now she's having kittens. I really wanted some insight into cat behavior and cat care. A lot of the alternative treatments described in here seem a little far-fetched. I think they could help humans, but I'm not taking my cat in to the chiropractor. That said, if YOU would take your cat to the chirorpractor, this book would be very helpful. It also covers basics like house training, nutrition, and health disorders. The book is divided into sections and colorcoded for each one. It's very easy to follow and understand.

   Great book for cat owners;, however if the alternative treatments are not something you'd pursue, you may just want to check it out from the library like I did.

No comments about Puss in Books - An Anthology of Classic Literature on Cats.

3 comments about Save Our Strays: How We Can End Pet Overpopulation and Stop Killing Healthy Cats and Dogs.

1. This is an excellent, and concise, guide to learning the nature of pet overpopulation problems in your own community. Without trying to provide a "one-size-fits-all" solution, the author explains that you can gather facts and data, analyze them and find out what needs to be done to make a more humane community. This is not a book with cute stories or heart-tugging appeals. Instead, it is a book that will make you curious about your local animal laws, your shelters and rescue groups, and how many people decide to get a pet in any given year.

   You might not know Bob Christiansen's name. His ideas aren't designed to make him famous. Instead, they are ideas that help YOU find ways to stop the killing. They will enlighten, surprise and intrigue you. And lastly, Save Our Strays doesn't try to point fingers or pit groups against one another. Christiansen asks us to look at facts about our own communities, and use those facts -- rather than feelings -- to identify where we need to begin.

   If you love animals, you MUST own this book!




2. I bought this book after a heart breaking trip to the local pound. I was overwhelmed with how many adoptable, healthy animals there, who if not soon adopted, would be euthanized. I decided that I wanted to find out WHY there were so many unwanted animals and WHAT I could do to help. SAVE OUR STRAYS was exactly what I was looking for. If you are concerned about the current state of animal welfare, please buy this book.



3. Dear Mr. Cristiansen,

   In my conversation with Carol Monroe a week before the meeting, I was promised that I could speak for 5 or 6 minutes about what I believed to be the solution to the pet over population problem. I prepared a 6-minute presentation. Unfortunately Carol must not have told you of her promise to me and you cut my presentation time and I was unable to make my conclusion.

   Proving yet again, Dr. Stultzberg's (of PETsMART) contention in her half page rebuke of Carol in the Arizona Republic.

   The answer to the problem is: Put birth control additives in pet food.

   It is very difficult to argue a point that is absolutely correct. An example: "Put fluoride in the drinking water to prevent cavities." I believe that you will have a difficult time finding many people today that are against this solution to tooth decay. Yet, when this solution was presented, it was fought vigorously by many large groups of people. Why? I have no idea. But many people had either fears or vested interests to contend with.

   Let's look at the fears and vested interests in the birth control pet food issue. Fears: Giving my pet an additive might hurt it. This is "Big Brother" getting further into my life. This is stepping on my "Rights."

   Vested interests: MCRAC: Started to protect citizens from the threat of rabies, expanded to protect citizens from roaming dogs, expanded to prevent animal abuse, expanded again to help with pet adoptions. Funded by the county and pet licensing. One avenue to more funding is proving to the county that there are more problems with dogs and cats that can be solved by this agency. Another is proving to the community a valid reason for licensing their pets.

   Arizona Humane Society: If MCRAC did its job, there would be no need for this agency. In many areas the Humane Society and the County Animal control agencies are combined. Funded by donations and fees. Strong tie to the community with continuing distress calls and public viewing of animal cruelty reports. Sixty cats rescued, fifty-five euthanized the next day. High profile, big budget, "cash" business, with over 1 million dollars in cash assets.

   Pet food manufactures: Fewer pets' means lower pet food sales. Investors want more profit, not less profit. How can they approach their Board of Directors with, "Hey I've got a great idea, we can introduce birth control additives and reduce the sales of our pet food by 10% a year for the next 10 years?"

   1. Many people will resist birth control additives simply because it is a change.

   2. 84% of people adopt puppies or kittens and let older dogs and cats die. Caused by the availability of puppies and kittens. Think about it. Bring a child to a Shelter where there are 8 darling little puppies, and 3 older dogs. The child will be attracted to the small helpless puppy, with that "smell" and nuzzling. The child falls in love with the puppy and the older dogs get left. Remove the never-ending supply of puppies and more "older" dogs will get adopted. PETsMART has proven this.

   3. Nobody wants to pay more taxes! Tax non-birth control pet food 25%. This tax will give the manufactures the incentive to produce this product. Manufactures will see that if they introduce a birth control pet food that does not have this 25% tax, they will sell more pet food now and have an advantage over their competition that is not producing birth control pet food. Even though the long-term effect will be lower food sales, the short-term gains will drive them to produce this product. Net effect, little or no tax and over all cost of prevention set at pennies per day.

   4. Birth control has proven to be safe in the human species. The major concern with birth control has been the possible side effects from long term usage. The human species has shown no long-term effect and the human outlives the dog and cat by a factor of seven.

   5. Feral cats. It has been reported that the size of the feral cat population is approximately 40% of the domestic cat population and 25% of feral cats get their food from humans providing them with pet food. If the less expensive, birth control pet food was made available, people buying food for feral cats would help control the feral cat population. Agencies wanting to reduce the feral cat population could just simply feed them.

   6. Breeders. Those who wish to breed pets can go to the MCRAC and buy a breeder's license, this license allows breeders to buy non-birth control pet food. The breeder still has to pay the additional tax as an incentive to go back to birth control pet food.

   7. Veterinary services. Billions of dollars are spent each year preventing unwanted births and these efforts should continue, but the even this amount of effort is not solving the problem. Everyone agrees that there are too many unwanted births. Birth control pet food is an even more cost-effective method of solving the unwanted birth problem.

   8. Identifying the problem. Tons of time and effort is spent on quantifying the exact problem, how many dogs, how many cats, how many feral cats, how many unwanted pregnancies and so on.

   The reality is one unwanted birth is too many.

   We don't want to kill dogs and cats, so we remove the reproductive system of many of them, let the rest breed and wait a few years and then kill them, excuse me, "euthanize" them and we call ourselves "Humane."

   Birth control pet food is a humane way of lowering pet overpopulation. It should be our first line of defense. We inject a vaccine into dogs to prevent rabies. We do invasive surgery to sterilize animals to prevent births. If we could find a vaccine to inject to prevent births we would use it. We have an oral vaccine to prevent births it's called birth control pet food.

   Who can make this happen? Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Why? He's the only one with the power to get past the fears and vested interests of "status quo."

   Thank you for your time,

   Harold Clements

1 comments about Charlie the Red Cat.

1. Jim Tweedy has hit another homer with his latest on Charlie the RedCat. The paintings and writings are hilarious, and the book is beautiful. If you have a cat, or any pet with a spicy and unique personality, you'll identify with Charlie and love this book. This guy obviously has a great sense of humor and a real gift for conveying it. END

No comments about Small Animal Dentistry.

1 comments about Clones, Cats, And Chemicals: Thinking Scientifically About Controversial Issues.

1. I purchased this book to use with my high school pre-engineering courses when we discuss the impacts of technology, especially biotechnology. I found it to be a good introduction to the issues, but not as in-depth as I'd like. The diagrams that accompany some chapters, however, are a nice touch that is hard to find in other sources. Each topic has a teacher section and a shorter student section. The teacher section has the science behind the issue, while the student section typically has an introduction and questions to consider.
   
   Topics:
   Animal Cloning
   Domestic Cats and Wildlife Populations
   Stem Cell Research
   Chemical and Biological Weapons
   Robotic vs. Manned Space Travel
   Genetic Screening
   Violence in the Media
   Managed Retreat (coastal erosion)
   Hunting
   The Lottery
   
   The introduction states the book's goal as "to give the science student an opportunity to discuss and investigate the scientific and social issues of concern on a regular basis, and to learn to be comfortable with difficult decision."