No comments about Training Your Cat.

No comments about Multiple-Cat Households (Caring for Feline Friends).

2 comments about Nick the Cat.

1. This book was recommended to me when we lost our beloved cat suddenly and unexpectedly. It is a very well written story of a theologian and church historian who is also a cat lover. She is adopted by a very unusual stray cat, the title Nick. She details her family's life with this cat until his death. The anecdotes of Nick's life are hilarious and his behavior is definitely un-cat-like.
   
   She intersperses episodes in their life with Nick with observations on life and our tendency to anthropomorphize our animal friends. She makes the case that animals are not just a pre-programmed bundle of instincts but have unique "personalities." Her sociological and theological insights are useful and thought provoking.
   
   All in all, an enjoyable read and a source of valuable insight.



2. Nick the Cat is like nothing you have ever read. It is about a stray cat and what happens to the woman, a retired Harvard and Candler prof and Oxford Scholar and a completely companionable woman, who encounters and tries to understand this strange cat. For every cat lover and everyone who examines their life from its spiritual side.

3 comments about ¿Dónde está el gatito? (Photoflaps).

1. I bought the whole serious for my 10 month old daughter after her doctor gave her, "Where's the puppy"? at one of her well baby check-ups. She absolutely loved the book! We took it with us to Church every Sunday and it kept her occupied. My daughter is now 15 months old and she still loves this book and all of the others in this series. These are by far her favorite books and she has a lot of books. They are also fun to read to her. Even her older 10 year old sister enjoys reading these little flap books to her baby sister. If you have a baby or need to buy a gift for someone who does, you can't go wrong with this book!



2. "Donde esta el gatito?" is great for toddlers, especially one like mine who wants to open the flaps and turn the pages himself. Not only does he get to identify the cat, but there are also everyday things he can recognize on each page- bananas, a toybox and a laundry basket. The Spanish version lets me practice a little Spanish on him (and me), with easy and a little more difficult words mixed together. I recommend the series in English or Spanish.



3. I bought this book for my oldest son about six years ago, and he just loved it (we have a cat, and he loved our cat too). It's a wonderful book for little kids because they can participate by lifting the flaps, and they love the surprise of finding the kitten hidden underneath. The book has been out of print for a while, so I am thrilled to see it's available again.

No comments about The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health.

1 comments about The Cats History of Western Art.

1. I bought this from an Amazon vendor as a Christmas gift for a dear old aunt who is both an art snob and a cat fancier. Once she opened this gift on Christmas Eve, she could not seem to concentrate on anything else! She kept looking at the pictures and laughing out loud, really enjoying herself. It was useless trying to distract her with any other presents - she was hooked!
   
   This book is basically a sort of highbrow art parody with a number of famous works of art (from ancient Greek to the Impressionists) re-done by Susan Herbert. Instead of the regular human figures in the paintings, Herbert has substituted cats. And so you get two cats as God and Adam on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling (this was shown on the book cover of the edition I received), cats populating a Breugel village scene, a Rembrandt cat, a Van Gogh cat, and so on. It sounds like it would get boring, like a one-trick pony, but actually it doesn't. The combination of familiar art pieces from different periods, together with kitty faces offers enough variety to keep this picture-book interesting, even when you know where it's going.
   
   The text which accompanies the paintings supposes a strange fiction - that all these great Western Artists had somehow needed to do "first drafts" of their famous works using cats as models instead of humans. The dead-pan prose is quite funny, if you know how incredibly unlikely it is that any cat would sit still for long enough to be painted (in costume, no less!)
   
   I'm so sorry that this wonderful little book is out of print, but it was worth paying the money to an Amazon used-book vendor to see the delighted smile on my dear aunt's face!
   
   Two paws up!

3 comments about Through Cougar's Eyes: Life Lessons From One Man's Best Friend.

1. David Raber tells a unique story -- one which many animal lovers might wish to relive. His accounts of life with this amazing cougar are worth the read. But an animal expert he is not. He may know volumes about raising a cougar in his home, but he called an opossum a rodent. Other misstatements were less obvious but inexcusable. Still, the story was fun.



2. Ever since I was a young kid I wanted to own a big cat. I have lived with a house cat ever since I was born, 21 yrs. It doesn't need to be said how happy I was to find a book detailing big cat ownership. How interesting is this book? Well, I read all 200+ pages in 2 days. While not the most professionally written, it is packed with tales of Cougar that at times seem almost to amazing to be true. When finished, I didn't want it to be. I want to hear more about Cougar's adventures. Although David is against big cat ownership, I think this book also shows possibilities with the right committment. I hope to someday meet Cougar and David to share in the joy that this great cat brings wherever he takes David. My best to Dave and Cougar



3. I suppose it is every cat lovers dream to "own" a big cat like a cougar. But most people never get that chance, and if they did would quickly realize what an all consuming job it is to care for a tamed wild cat - time, money, emotion, legalities, not to mention the fact that you want to do the best for the animal. Well the author of "Through Cougar's Eyes" knows exactly what it is like to live with a big cat. And although he never in his wildest dreams ever even considered adopting a cougar he tells in touching detail how they came to be together for life.

   I love cats and I love hearing cat stories. This is a humdinger of a cat story that chronicles the adventures of a man, his wife and a very large cat. It is simply amazing what David and Linda Raber were and are still willing to do to care for this beautiful animal. Are their efforts worth the sacrifices they have made? You bet they are. This animal lives a wonderful life because he is so loved and in return the Rabers have received so much joy.

   I just love this story. If you love cats or if you love animals you are going to love this book and besides since Cougar is the national spokes-cat for Iams cat food you can actually meet him and his human family in person as they travel the country together, which I highly recommend it is such a treat, just like this book.

No comments about Please take good care of your best friend!!: A book on pet care.

5 comments about My Cat Saved My Life.

1. "My Cat Saved My Life," is a charming and insightful account of
   the relationship between an abandoned kitten and a man
   who has fallen into the dark pit of depression that most
   of us have visited at one time or another.
   Over a period of several months, the author
   learns to observe life through the eyes of a the cat.
   He makes several related changes in his life,
   e.g. sleep patterns, relationship to nature
   and, in the years to follow, the title of the book
   becomes reality.
   Any animal lover would enjoy every word of
   this book. Any animal non-lover could
   be converted.



2. So, I am getting ready to fly home to the West Coast and my sister hands me a couple of books including this little book and I think "Oh great, a stupid book about a cat," but think "at least I will look at it."
   Holy cow! Everyone can relate to this author. READ IT. I'm giving it to a lot of friends.



3. I was convalescing from a serious illness when I discovered this book (in 2001). Having come upon it during an Animal Planet television show, I had recently lost a pet cat of 7+years. Seeing this story about the relationship between a man and his cat and how it affected him really jolted me out of the mental coma I had been in. Although I have never really gotten over the death of my cat and been able to consider another pet, this book is one of the most meaningful and profound I have ever read. The writing is meaningful and laconic; it tells the emotional story of the events in life which sometimes wrench us out of the sick, banal reality of everyday existence and into a place where we finally can comprehend the significance of spirtuality and God. It really gave me the perspective I needed, and I still carry sentiments of that book with me everywhere I go. Sometimes it is good to have a reminder, however small, that someone is watching over us and that there is something out there which can provide comfort in times of need.



4. I have always been of the belief that animals can be enormously beneficial to the emotional well-being of humans, and have always loved animals, cats in particular. This book is small, but don't be fooled: it is a true emotional roller coaster that gets to the essence of the human-animal emotional bond better than any other book I have read.
   
   Phillip Schreibman was grieving over the loss of both of his parents after long, tortuous illnesses. He had found himself inconsolable and depressed. Much to his surprise the one who finally led him out of his depression was a tiny little orphaned kitten he took in and named Alice. Over her lifetime she managed to teach him important lessons he had never understood before, and ultimately even prepared him for her own passing. There is no question that there is great sadness in this book, but it is ultimately uplifting, as the lessons Phillip learned from "Cat School", as he called it, let him regain a firm foothold on his own life.
   
   This book was particularly touching to me as it paralleled an encounter with a kitten, "Ghost Blimp" (a.k.a. "Gloovis") who I took in when she was a tiny ball of fur, and who graced my life for seven years, like Alice. Although those seven years were far too short, in that time her presence helped me recover from the loss of my father. My point here in telling you this is that the lessons Schreibman learns from Alice are universally applicable to other lives as well. I believe that whatever animal you choose to keep company with has lessons to teach you.
   
   My only critique of the book would be a disagreement with a couple of the specific conclusions that Schreibman draws about "Creation" versus "Culture." Having said that, it is his book, and the conclusions he draws are important for him to tell. Everyone would have slightly different conclusions after going through events like those relayed here, but that does not diminish the power of this little book.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone who is grieving for any reason, particularly after the loss of a loved one, and also to any animal lover. Thank you Phillip, and thank you, Alice, even more for this beautiful book.



5. Don't let the title or short length of this book fool you - it contains a huge amount of wisdom. You don't have to be a cat lover to appreciate what the author is going through and what he learns. He has put exactly into words what I have been thinking for a long time. He has done an amazing job.

No comments about Siamese Cat (Pet Love).