5 comments about Natural Pet Cures: Dog & Cat Care the Natural Way.

1. This book is one of 4 books that I have on natural pet care. I refer to it along with all the others every time I need guidance. I have found it useful for some health issues, and will continue to reference it in the future. I always cross-reference the advice against my other books, then make a decision based on my own gut instinct as to what's best for my animals.



2. Although I have yet to actually read the book. (I'm buying it today) I must disagree with all of you who were against the idea that animals should not be spayed and neutered. The owners, not the animals are responsible for the countless animals being murdered at shelters. I would 'fix' myself before I'd do such a cruel thing to my dog. Have you ever fixed an animal yourself? My family raises show goats and bands the young males when they're old enough. To watch the physical and emotional trauma these poor kids go through is enough to break your heart a million times over.
   Also, my mother insisted two of our cats were spayed. The emotional trauma there was also heartbreaking. No reaction? These cats dispised my mother for weeks for putting them through such a terrible thing.
   If animals were meant to be neutered or spayed, they'd be born that way.
   Perhaps all animals shouldn't have children, but removing parts of their body because their owners aren't responsible enough to look after their pets is never going to be alright. Especially as far as the animals are concerned.



3. I bought this book to use for a college course even though the reviews were poor. I found this book to be helpful. It had some different alternatives to the usual holistic and natural cures. Give this book a try.



4. Like the writer from Memphis, I too bought this book in good faith. I had to re-read the author's comments on spaying and neutering a thousand times I was so dumbfounded. "Spaying and neutering deprives a dog from the joys of parenthood"? Are you kidding me? It is absolutely that kind of thinking that leads to the millions of homeless animals that have to be euthanized. My advice to the author, spend a few weeks volunteering at a shelter (I have volunteered at one for 3 years) Witness shelters that are bursting at the seams because of his logic. Maybe then the author would realize that the "joys of parenthood" mean nothing when faced with the realities of euthanasia



5. I bought this book in good faith that it would help me with three rotty puppies I rescued.One got sick with parvo so I started the treatment on the hour with the formula described in this book. I even started the well puppies on the formula on the hour.My puppies are so sick at this point,4 days later that I am putting 2 down today because they are to weak to throw up.I wish I could sue.My heart is breaking.

3 comments about 101 Reasons Why Cats Make Great Kids.

1. For those of us who choose to have kids with four legs and a tail, this is the perfect book. You'll never have a cat asking for piercings, never have to change diapers, they LOVE liver and litter training is a breeze. Sure, some people will never understand the bond between cats and humans but I know I'm their mama and they're my kids.



2. This book mirrors reality.
   My wife and I have 3 short hair domestic cats, all adopted.They are our fur-children!
   My Dad calls them his grandcats.Not having any children in our younger days, and unable to have them now, our cats are our 2 year old kids.
   Watch your cats.
   By far, this book is well written, and the graphics are excellent.If you have no cats, this book is not for you.
   Also recommended is "I learnt everything for business from my cat". E-Ruff-moew-gruff or read this book, lady.



3. My 2 persian cats are my children so I could totally relate. This book would be a fun read for any cat lover, whether they have children or not. Also, I found the illustrations very enjoyable.

3 comments about Steinlen Cats (Dover Art Library).

1. These drawings seem to move by themselves within the printed page. This artist truly portrays a cat in all serenity, playfulness, strength, and agility. These drawings are so life-like I could almost feel the warmth of life in each animal drawing. A great gift for any kitty lover.



2. Many wonderfull drawing of cats. Mostly gesture type, but beautiful studies.



3. The drawings in this book all include cats in different positions. Sleeping, eating, and playing. They are beautiful and simple drawings of cats. Great book for the cat lover.

5 comments about Particularly Cats.

1. While reading this book I became so involved having raised so many cats over the years. Her writing takes you away..Out of all of the "Cat Books" I have ever read, her book stands alone for the pure and simple way it is written...One of the best of our times...Kudos go to Doris Lessing.



2. as one who can't bear the often/usual cutesy "kitty" tales i expected and was duly rewarded as doris lessing came through with an elegant tale of her life with cats. her clear-eyed unflinching and therefore loving recitation of life both in the bush and in town with cats is a book i re-read at least once a year. lessing's cats are dignified and she does not fail them by falsely sentimentalizing their lives. she looks at and into these animals as they coexist and achieves a truth and charm which would be lost were she to diminish them with saccharine phrases, denying their deaths and lives the nobility they have and exude. edith ann esbensen.



3. I feel compelled to write a review to warn people that this is a pretty disturbing book. I thought the back cover was completely misleading. The book is about cat death - tons and tons of cats die in horrible ways. The descriptions are graphic. There is not a normal relationship between a woman and her cat wherein the woman loves and grieves the cat - it is written with complete emotional distance. If the author wasn't famous for other work I can't imagine any publisher publishing this book. Awful doesn't do it justice. If you want to read about cats dying, written in a completely dispassionate, matter-of-fact, "oh-well" way go for it. Otherwise, SKIP THIS BOOK!



4. Only Doris Lessing could have written this book. She's so brilliant, so insightful, and cats have played a big part in her life, so of course she eventually chooses to write about this.
   This slim little volume is packes with hilarity, pathos, saddness, insight, stories, and philosophy.
   And there are cat characters and one liners that will stay with you always.
   Top billing.



5. The negative review of Particularly Cats is pretty funny; it's clear the reviewer was expecting just a book about cats, not a Doris Lessing book about cats. I'm sure by now she's assuaged her emotions with the standard sentimental fare she was looking for. DL is not to everyone's taste. As for me, I found this book very absorbing. DL expertly observes the lives of several cats she has owned, describing and interpreting their unique temperaments and actions. Interwoven with the narrative is all sorts of fascinating speculation on evolution, human (and cat) psychology, science...and I'm sure there are points floated briefly in her deceptively light prose that I missed. She never beats you over the head with her analysis, just as she never breast-beats over her emotions experienced while facing very difficult choices about her cats.

   Particularly Cats opens in Africa, where DL grew up, and depicts a few incidents with cats that happened on her family's farm, all in the larger ecological context of hawks and their prey, wild cats, and adders who can blind you with a spit to the eye. Why is a cat programmed to expect 2/3 of her litter to die very quickly? What happens when humans upset this balance of nature? In Lessing's (true) story, her mother one year decides she can no longer bear redressing the imbalance herself, and in a chilling scene, the task devolves on her father. Later in the book we read of the consequences of spaying or neutering, the more favored, humane, modern method of population control, and the conflicting emotions Lessing experiences as she subjects her cats to the procedure.

   Unlike the negative reviewer, I found Lessing's way of referring to the main characters in Particularly Cats as "grey cat" and "black cat" refreshing and amusing. Refreshing because it helps stave off cutesiness that could interfere with the tale, and amusing because "grey cat" is a very effective way of undercutting the vanity and unique beauty of the cat she refers to as "grey cat." (As for "black cat", it is merely a plain description of the cat she refers to as such.)

   Lessing briefly touches upon topics that beg further elaboration and research on the part of the reader. For instance, she remarks on the attitudes of some scientist friends of hers who are also cat owners, and how they change their story depending on whether they're among fellow scientists or among fellow cat owners. Observant cat owners, notes Lessing, are more advanced in the study of cat behavior and psychology than scientists, but scientists read only "important" scientific publications, not the "unscientific" cat-lover rags that contain cat-owner's surprising findings. This off-hand, throwaway remark is far-reaching in its implications...could it perhaps be extended to say that scientists in other fields pursue their study with blinders on? I don't know if she means to offer that connection, but Lessing does remark in the intro to _Mara and Dann_, after relating what for shorthand I'll call an instance of family ESP: "This sort of thing happens often in families but seldom in laboratories."

   Anyway, I have to say I'm a huge fan of Lessing, I loved _Particularly Cats_, and I'm not myself a cat owner. So you may take my Highly Recommended with a spoonful of salt.

3 comments about What's Up with My Cat?.

1. This is an excellent book for the cat owner who is not sure what to do with signs and symptoms of their cat. Each sign or symptom has an algorithm with little "yes" or "no" arrows to follow till you reach a probable diagnosis and plan. It also includes Kitty CPR. I wish I had known this book existed before, as I would have bought it for my sister before her cat got sick and died.



2. The book did the trick for our initial diagnosis of allergies and continues to help us out when our cat has an issue. The charts are great and this book is worht the money.



3. Great flow charts of sorted by symptoms. Very useful!

1 comments about Guide to Owning an Abyssinian Cat (Guide to Owning).

1. I would recommend this book to any first time Aby owner. It is excellent value for money - covering the essential elements of background, care and behaviour of your new Aby. It is a slim volume with a soft cover, glossy pages and lots of pictures. It contains a good description of the history of the breed and carefully debunks the old theory that the Aby is a direct decendent of the ancient cats of Egypt. It contains clear guidelines for how to take care of your Aby and what kind of behaviour to expect from your new friend. For a book published so recently I would have liked to see more information regarding the new Aby colours - Chocolate and Lilac. I also felt that the 2 page spread of one Aby was not a good example of the breed and did not deserve the glowing description provided in the accompanying caption.

5 comments about Persian Cats.

1. I liked the box, was in good condition, and found the book informative and answered several questions which was my reason for purchasing the book. I was very well satisfied with the book and the quality of the product. Would purchase with that company again.



2. This book covers ALL cats in general, it's not specific enough for Persians.
   Dissappointing.



3. The photos inside are very nice but it doesn't represent the standart of persian cat. Here in Brazil the Persian cat is very diferent. Persian's face (principally Persian's nose) is much more different than it is showing in this book.



4. This book is a good book for its size that does covers the basics that you need to know.Shows many variations of the Persians.For me personally finding a book that shows the blue eyed Chinchilla was a bonus.Plenty of colour photos throughout.
   
   If you are thinking of buying a Persian Cat this book will be a good start.Plenty of information here.For its size the book has a lot going for it.The photos are a treat,You're gonna love the photos in this book! This book has a lot to offer and is good value.Overall,a good quality book.
   
   I would suggest that this book be your first book on Persians then consider books on how to look after your kitten(s) and even the Cat encyclopedia type books after.



5. I had recently got the cutest little Persian Kitten. As a new cat owner I purchased this book to get information specific to the breed. Outside a few pages of breed information, history and pictures, everything else was just general cat information. I would have expected more on breed care, grooming, and health concerns.

5 comments about Mindspeaker's Call (Ghatti's Tale).

1. A lot of second books in a trilogy lack the initial burst of energy from the first, but this one is just as good if not better than the first! I thought it was great, and some new characters are introduced. I particularly like Hru'rul! This book is great and I strongly recommend having book 3 on hand to start once you finish this one!



2. Vesey is gone, but Doyce and the Seekers face new threats as they begin to realize that the ghatti aren't the only Mindspeakers on the planet....and the future may lie with the Gleaners who have been persecuted as evil! Highly recommend for fans of this series, cat lovers, and those who also like Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series (horses as bondmates)



3. It's been six months since Doyce's stepson Vesey and the renegade "Gleaners" (telepaths) he led were destroyed, though not without cost to Doyce herself: ever since that battle she has closed herself off mentally from everyone, including her would-be lover Jenret (whose presence she wasn't even aware of) and her beloved Bond, the ghatta Khar'pren. So Khar is delighted when the chief of the Seeker corps asks Doyce to join a diplomatic mission. The chief (only?) continent of the ghattis' world was long ago divided by its human colonists into two countries: the Seekers' Canderis, which is a republic, and Marchmont, a monarchy. Recently Marchmont's aged queen died without obvious heirs, and border incidents have been multiplying ever since, endangering the freedom of trade between the two nations and, thereby, Canderis's prosperity. Accompanied by several other Seekers and their ghatti, plus Nakum, the forester, and his ghatt Saam as guides, she sets out for the border. When Chak, the Bond of the senior Seeker, unexpectedly dies and his human walks off a cliff with his body, Doyce is promoted to head the party, much to her dismay, and they continue on their way.
   
   In Marchmont, intrigue is afoot, and questions are everywhere. Who is the heir, and why can't he or she be found? Who is the mysterious Steward who guides Marchmont while the search continues? Who is trying to disrupt the Seekers' mission? Where does the D'Artagnan-esque guardsman Arras Muscadeine stand? Can the Canderisians stop a palace coup from placing the power-hungry Lord Maurice on the throne? As they struggle to carry out their mandate, they learn, to their astonishment, that Marchmont is overrun with telepaths--but these are not the meddling Gleaners of Canderis; their society acknowledges them and they function openly and, for the most part, ethically. Their powers will prove crucial to the resolution of the situation--but so will the Seekers: the late Queen on her deathbed urged her people to "wait for the ghatt" who would lead them to their next ruler, and so one does.
   
   Although by no means a quick read, this second in the Ghatti's Tale series is equally rich in texture and insight, and author Greeno displays a keen understanding of how governments and economies work and how people react to psychological stress. (Some reviewers take Doyce to task for her "whining," but I understand her feelings: she thinks there should have been something she could have done, as Vesey's stepmother, to prevent him from growing up so twisted, and she believes she should have nurtured rather than destroyed him, which naturally makes for guilt.) The climactic scenes may be difficult for some readers to bear, as two ghatti and their Seekers die gallant but violent deaths for a country that isn't even theirs; but in the end the right triumphs and Doyce and Jenret appear to be on their way to healing.



4. For some reason, Greeno chose to destroy MOST of the main characters -- almost as if she was worried any book without a lot of senseless deaths would be unprintable...The Ghatti are also relatively absent for much of the book, which I found a great disappointment.

   The plot and characterization are otherwise brilliant... It was nice to see Greeno decide to treat the "Gleaners" a little more rationally in this volume than she did in the first. The only problems really occur where Greeno evidently "needed" to inject elements that didn't fit in with reality. Still, it's worth the extended read, if only for a historical set-up for the next novels.




5. I couldn't put it down until I hit the end and I couldn't wait for my next visit to this world! This was a great read, if you love cats, telepathy or the interaction of just people and animals you'll love this book!

4 comments about How to Draw Cartoon Cats, Kittens, Lions and Tigers.

1. This is a great bare-bones book on how to draw cartoon cats in all kinds of interesting poses. I love it. One caveat: the actual content is basically identical to the book, Kids Draw Cartoon Cats, Kittens, Lions and Tigers. Kids Draw Cats, Kittens, Lions and Tigers (Kids Draw) I ordered both, thinking they would be different. They are not.
   
   Either book should give you some fun, however. I could wish that the book was longer with more pictures, but that is nitpicking.



2. I am 12 years old and I love to draw.And this book helped me to do better.I always thought you could draw by just drawing right off the bat and in this book, I found that you had to start off with shapes and guide lines.Now I can draw much better now that I know the proper way to draw.I also had a problem, when drawing animals that stood on all fours.It would always be very difficult for me to draw their legs so that they looked good and this book helped me with that too.I was going to buy "How to Draw Cartoon Dogs, Puppies, and Wolves" but I found it was out of print.I saw a used one here on Amazon but it was $..., and I don't have that kind of money...



3. Good cartoon books on drawing specifically cats are hard to find, and this is one of the best. I am currently working on a script with 4 different cat types, and this book has them all, including the tiger! Althouth basic drawing techniques could be improved (he jumps to the finished product quickly), it is still a great teaching tool and a lot of fun.



4. This book really improved my cartooning. I spent many hours with this book and have really improved my drawing. The "Modeling Cats After People" section gave me some great insights into expressing personality.

   My kids loved it as well. They especially loved the "Cat Characters and Costumes" section. I highly recommend this book.

4 comments about Bohemian Cats.

1. "Not too long ago, but most definitely before you were born, the world was quite a different place. In a distant land called Bohemia, Cats ruled over all: good King Furr governed with a firm but kind paw, Court Scientist Sir Walter Whisker wrote papers on `The Human--myth or reality?' Prince Scratch strolled the lush gardens dreaming of his future reign, and of course, Lady Purrla though herself the most beautiful kitty at the ball." - From the book
   
   Courtyards and libraries, ballrooms and gardens, lavishly costumed felines parade about in the enchanted world of Bohemian Cats. In this Catdom, The Human inspires whispers and speculation, for the hairless, tailless ones are mostly the stuff of legend (and puppets!).
   
   King Furr's favorite bird has gone missing. Believing it to be stolen, King Furr charges Sir Walter Whisker--Court Scientist and occasional alchemist--to find the household pet. While housecats also scurry to find the missing bird, King Furr throws a costume ball to catch the bird thief red-pawed. "I haven't seen you in seven lives!" one feline exclaims. "Who did your fur?" asks another.
   
   Gilded chariots and majestic steeds, ornate sitting rooms and exquisite architecture--these and cats of various color and temperament exist in the magical world of Bohemian Cats.
   
   Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov, founders of baba studio in Prague, spin a fanciful tale of absurdity, intrigue, and romance. A hardcover book featuring panoramic pullouts, a gold ribbon bookmark, and beautiful photography, Bohemian Cats will satisfy the cravings of collectors of all things feline, as well as cat lovers of all ages. Enthusiasts of the Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot will no doubt enjoy this book, for many cats that grace that deck also make an appearance in Bohemian Cats! Interestingly a few of the cards from the deck also make an appearance in this book, lying strewn on the floor while Prince Scratch, resident party animal, sleeps late.
   
   My only misgiving about this book--and it is only a slight one--is that the story seemed a bit forced, as if the tale was constructed around existing images (perhaps already created for the Tarot deck?). I don't know which came first--the deck or the book--but since I reviewed the deck before the book, this was my impression as I read this whimsical Bohemian Cats.
   
   Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)



2. I can't say enough good things about this book! I have recommended it to everyone who has presents to buy for children or cat-lovers. This sumptuous book combines costume drama with art while having a plot line that is mild enough for children, yet with undertones that adults will enjoy. The art, like many of the subtleties of the text, are probably over the heads of many youngsters, but they will love what they do "get."
   
   This book can be read aloud to pre-schoolers (my 4 year old loved it), or handed to older readers. Unlike many read-aloud books, this one can hold the adult's interest, too.
   
   The art involves taking many pictures, of setting, costume and cats, and then super-imposing them upon each other. The illustrators then adjusted the pictures so that they look more like baroque paintings, and added fillips of whimsy.
   
   I see good books and bad as a reviewer; the bad I reject, but their effects can linger. This one is a gem, and thank goodness for it. It was a joy to read, and it's a treat to be able to recommend it to you.



3. The collaborative work of Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov, Bohemian Cats is a wondrous storybook, with text simple enough to be accessible to children yet so fantastic that it is sure to appeal to all ages. Every page of this stunningly delightful fairy tale features charming, full-color, photographic illustrations of rambunctuous felines who ruled a distant land called Bohemia. No live cats were harmed or even inconvenienced in the making of Bohemian Cats, which applies digital technology to photographs of cats and environments to create the lustrous, puss-n-boots style images of felines in royal garb. An absolute "must-have" for true ailurophiles, and a dazzling treasure to simply page through.



4. A beautiful picture book for cat lovers of all ages, BOHEMIAN CATS is sure to become a classic, not only for its precious design and exquisite illustrations, but for its hilarious, fantastical, often absurd story. Made "on location" using historical settings in the Czech Republic as a backdrop, Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov have written a wonderful new fairy tale that tells of a time when cats ruled the kingdom of Bohemia. As the book jacket promises, after reading BOHEMIAN CATS, your own feline companions will never look the same again!