No comments about I Purr, Therefore I Am: Never Before Collected Observations on All Things Cat.

1 comments about In the Spotlight: A Guide to Showing Pedigreed and Household Pet Cats.

1. In the Spotlight is a terrific reference source for any cat person who shows or who is interested in showing. This book covers everything from the obvious - grooming and preparation - to a detailed description of the titles and awards offered by four major cat registries. It is also one of the only cat showing books that focusses on household pets. Containing tons of info, lots of hints and tips, and many pictures (although black and white), this book is one of, if not the BEST in it's class!!

5 comments about Cats on the Counter: Therapy and Training for Your Cat.

1. Cats on the Counter takes a serious approach to Cat Therapy. There are many topics discussed here that many a cat owner will want to read about and find how these 'cat psychologists' helped fix problematic or 'bad behaviour' of many a house cat.

   If you never owned a cat before this book would be very insightful, but not as an end-all to any confusion or problem you are having with your cat. If you ARE a long-time cat owner, there are just a few gems here and after quickly reading the book you may set it down and decide like I did, that you really didn't find any amazing revelations...

   Or you may decide that you've become paranoid with worry over something they say in the book which is quite normal behavior for a cat and they just don't seem to get that across.

   Read it? Yes. Believe it all?? No.




2. Finally, a book that acknowledges and addresses the most common of all cat problems, especially in multiple-feline households: Tabitha's (and Sylvester's and Eliot's) "uncivilized" avoidance of the litter box. The author addresses both physical and psychological problems (both the cats' and owners') and gives much helpful advice (put tin foil over the scene of the crime, spray it with citrus scents, put Cleopatra's food dish close by (since's she's far too civilized to want her dining table next to the "men's room"), and address Morris' attacks of anxiety with generous doses of reassuring countermeasures.

   Admittedly, much of the information I had sort of intuited. But this is no novelty book about problems that to cat lovers are no laughing matter. It's both eminently readable and practical. I only wish I'd had a copy earlier to give to a friend who brought his adorable little stray to the pound when she began soiling his carpet.




3. I bought this book because I was having some problems with my cat.I ended up learning more about myself.There isnt anything I can put in this review that people have not already said.If you want to learn more about your feline,and a little about what makes you both tick then purchase this book.You wont be sorry..



4. A well organized book that explains what is going through your cat's mind. Too often we believe that the cats in our lives think the same way we do and this book has a great way of getting the humans to think like their cats. I currently share my home with two Russian Blue kittens and this book has explained most of their antics. It also helped solve a problem that was frustrating them and me. Get the book, your cat will thank you.



5. I have already bought extra copies of this wonderful book for pet lovers I care about. Dr. Lachman covers every possible scenerio and explains in understandable language, ways to correct every day problems as well as unusual problems. His sense of humor makes the book "reader friendly" and his background in clinical psychology adds a different dimension, involving the whole family. Both Dr. Lachman and journalist, Frank Mickadeit, have successfully put together a delightful teaching guide for cat owners, from the novice to the pro.

No comments about Kitten and Cat Care: Diet, Toys, Breeds, Health Care.

2 comments about Understanding Your Cat: Revised and Updated.

1. Understanding Your Cat sets an expectation for deeper insights into feline behavior. In fact, what little commentary there is on cat behavior is superficial and obvious to the long-time-cat-owner. Dr Fox spends too much time analyzing feline evolution and contrasting feline, canine, and primate behavior and not enough time on cats themselves. Finally, the black and white photographs which comprise the core of the behavior section did not reproduce well and are dificult to see. I could only recommend this book to non-cat-owners.



2. If you have a cat, especially a siamese or purebred one, you need this book. Some people own a cat for years and still don't know the first thing about them or how to properly take care of them. This book gives you a luminous insight into their super-selfish but predictable behavior, such as why they seem to turn around and try to get back in a door when you let them out. The many photos are great too, as is the history of where our domestic cats come from. All in all, "America's best known animal psychologist" is not an understatement. Dr. Michael Fox rocks!

No comments about The Color Kittens: A Child's First Book About Colors.

2 comments about A Cat in the Manger (Alice Nestleton Mystery).

1. "Cat in the Manger" is a ridicious mystery authored by a hack. Our heroine, Alice Nestleton is a off-off Boradway actress, and tries to discover why her old friend was brutally murdered. Soon, she discovers it's connected to horse racing. The exact reason why the man was killed has got to be the worst idea in the history of writing. The conclusion to this over-the-top saga is mind-numbling dumb(and yes, it has a cat connection).



2. Do you love cats? Do you dream of cold winter days lying cozily on your chaise, a cup of hot cocoa beside you? Do you love cozy mysteries If you answered yes to all of the above, then the new Alice Nestleton series by Lydia Adamson are the right stuff for you. This is a light but highly inventive mystery and I can tell it will be a successful series. In this first installment, we are introduced to a courageous sleuth by the name of Alice Nestleton. She is an off-off-Broadway actress, who is trying to move away from the classical Shakespeare plays and into the new avant-garde theatre. In the meantime, she supplements her vocation with cat-sitting around New York. As befitting a cat-lover, Alice has two cats: a Maine Coon named Bushy, and a frightened, domestic gray shorthair she rescued from the ASPCA by the name of Pancho. It's Christmas time and Alice is preparing for her annual cat-sitting job in a run-down horse-farm near the Hamptons, taking care of eight Himalayans for Harry and Jo Starobin; he a famous ex-cat judge and champion animal lover, she his faithful wife. When Harry fails to pick her up at the local train station as previously arranged, Alice is intrigued. She finds her own way to the farm via a taxi. Upon arrival, Alice finds things eerily normal, but it is only when she starts to get settled into her cottage that she finds Harry's corpse hanging from the back of the door. When a second murder happens to one of Harry's friends who lived just down the road, Alice puts her powers of deduction to work. She will have to deal with a pestering detective, Starobin's grieving widow and his young lover who surreptitiously disappears along with a calico barn cat and all her kittens. A connection? Maybe. Alice decides the case is worth investigating when Jo Starobin shows her a very large sum of money her husband left without explanation of how he got it. In order to solve the case, Alice will put her own life at risk, entering into high-stakes involving horse-racing and special cat genetics, geared toward producing miraculous mascots in the shape of calico cats.

   "A cat in the manger" has the perfect mix of cat lore and sleuthing. I especially enjoyed the way the cats are very much at the center of the story, but they do not possess special powers. This leaves a good balance for the main character - the sleuth - to play her role naturally. Ms. Adamson obviously knows her craft very well, which involves not only the world of cats, but how to develop a good story thanks to what I sense is a background in the theatre industry.

5 comments about Cats are not Peas: A Calico History of Genetics.

1. A male calico so rare that most veterinarians have never seen one - "Cats are Not Peas: A Calico History of Genetics" is an examination of the strange and off biology of the feline species which work apparently quite a bit differently than that of the common pea. In a second edition, the first published sixteen years ago, is newly enhanced with a lengthy addendum covering all the new discoveries and advances in the study of feline genetics and so much more. "Cats are Not Peas: A Calico History of Genetics" is highly recommended to community library pets/wildlife shelves with a focus on animal biology and for anyone who may be interested in breeding cats or just a plain interest in cats period.



2. If you love cats, you will love this book, and want to share it with others. Laura Gould has written the charming, witty, delightful story of her male calico cat, George, and his feline pal Max in their California home. That alone would have been a wonderful book. But aren't all calico cats female? The vet turned pale upon seeing George, obviously male and obviously calico. Gould intersperses George's' life story with her own investigation into how he could have come to exist. This makes a gentle, funny, and accurate introduction to genetics, including side trips to libraries with insane librarians preventing the books from being used, to theories of sex before the discovery of genes and DNA, and to rare Japanese sources. Cat lore, history and science are beautifully balanced in this book. The second edition brings the genetics up to date, while keeping all the charm of George. A superb read!



3. Best explanation of the calico phenomenon I have ever read. SHe explains the basics and the history behind the rare male calico in a clear and enertaining way. The lessons on basic genetics as you go is a unique way of presenting things.



4. I found this book quite by accident but it was exactly what I was looking for. Not only did this book share my love of cats and interest in calicos but gave a clear and easy to understand explanation of calico genetics.



5. "Cats are Not Peas" by Laura Gould is remarkably well written, and manages to be both very funny and very accurate. Laura discovered that George, one of the two cats she got from the animal shelter was both undeniably male and undeniably a calico. But calico cats are always female, according to legend and some vets. So how did George come to be? Laura's investigations began with the vet who turned pale, and included a charming series of adventures with cats, libraries (with the occasional librarian whose duty it was to prevent books being used), investigations into the history of genetics (thus giving the book its title), and Japanese newspaper archives. This is no dry scientific tome. In fact, Laura's search for an explanation for George is tightly interwoven with delightful stories of George (and his companion, Max) at home in the California hills, blistfully oblivious to their mistress' task, and coping in their delightfully feline way with their unusual environment. I've already bought 6 copies of this extraordinary book for friends and relatives...

4 comments about Cationary: Meaningful Portraits of Cats.

1. "Cationary" is beautiful, amusing, knowing - just like the photographer's "Dogtionary." Sharon Montrose really has done it again. You know the old saying, "Dogs have masters; cats have staff." Indeed. Cats are vain; they're haughty; they don't suffer fools at all, let alone gladly. Then turn around, and they're loving, and graceful, and endlessly inventive. They're all here in this delightful book, in all their warm, exasperating, funny, fussy, glamorous glory.



2. I have to repeat it, WHAT A HAPPY LITTLE BOOK! Being in the animal care field (I work at a non-profit, privately funded shelter) not only do I collect books on animals, of course, I see a lot of sad situations everyday in my field. When this book arrived from Amazon (prompt as usual), after a hard day at the shelter, I was immediately overjoyed by the beauty of it and it helped me realize "Yes, this is why I do what I do, because people care"! The photography is excellent, sort of a photojournalistic point of view and the style of printing is in a soft, sepia tone. The captions for each photograph are right on target. Now to order her book on dogs....



3. All I could think about while I was looking through this beautiful book was how much I wished I could contract Ms. Montrose to take portraits of my cats. How thrilled the guardians of these cats must feel to have these gorgeous portraits of their cat companions.

   I work for a publishing company so the typesetting did not escape my notice, either. Called "CatLover" it was designed by the author as per the cip page, and is so hip and quirky and appropriate. Impressive.

   The format of the book is a photograph or photographs of a cat, it's name which falls into alphabetical order like Webster's on a much smaller scale, and then captioned by three definitions of the accompanied cat. My favorite is Gracie because that is the name of one of my own cat companions.

   When you buy this book, get two. One for yourself and one for another cat lover in your life.




4. This book is a must have for all cat lovers! The pictures make you smile and the captions make you laugh. These photographs encompass the personalities and emotions of the cats that grace them.
   Wonderfully done!

5 comments about This Is the Abyssinian Cat.

1. This was the first book I purchased after I got my Aby Cats and it is my Bible! Kate Faler when she wrote this book, (it was printed in 1983)was/is a practicing veterinarian that bred and owned these wonderful cats. I would reccomend any first time Aby owner to get this book first and then add the other books. The information contained in this book is timeless. That said, I would love to see an updated version. What fun it is to look at the pictures, even if some are in black and white, and see how similiar my kitties 20 years later look.
   This book has saved the lives of two of my queens when they had some problems with their deliveries. The purchase price has more than paid for itself! I wouldn't own an Aby without it!
   Thank You Kate!



2. An aby breeder has lent me this book. Its excellent. It contains all you might want to know about sharing your life with abysinnian cat or more of them. It includes even instructions for first aid and keeping your cat healthy, how to prepare milk for kittens if queen fails to breastfeed, which plants to avoid, what toys are suitable etc. There is a history description on how abys have established themselves as a breed and what Britain has to do with it (and later USA). There are some beautiful photos, color and black and white. Its a must have for a breeder. However, keep in mind that book is - old. So some of the info (like information about colour variants of aby) is rusty. I do hope there will be a newer version of this book published soon.



3. This book was recommended to me by my Abys' breeder and am I glad she did. It's chock-full of information on every aspect of the breed, from its history to methods of care, information on showing and breeding and an additional section on Somalis, the long-haired version of the Aby. It's down-to-earth, sensible and one can tell the author's love of the breed clearly from her words.

   Before getting an Aby - a highly intelligent, active and social cat who needs lots of love and attention - one would do well to give this book serious study. Know what you're getting into and the Aby will reward you with a life of insanity, activity and lots of LOVE! But don't buy an Aby thinking this is a "cat that will take care of itself". As Ms. Faler notes in this book, it is a people-loving breed that will flourish best in a home where it is not "just a pet", but an integral, adored member of the family.




4. Kate Faler's book is detailed, practical and knowledgeable. Includes details of British cats behind American Abyssinians and lots of first class photos which really help show how the breed has developed in the last 50 years.Now that American Abys have been imported into Europe, UK, Australia so widely it is important to know about the US cats behind these imports.Valuable hints on care of Abys also. Would be improved by a world perspective and more details on original Abyssinian type developed in United Kingdom.



5. As the breed has evolved throughout the years, we can see a marked difference from the Abys detailed in this book to present day trends, but the basic information on care and breeding is very good. The text is easy to read, just technical enough to keep it interesting, and it is obvious Ms. Faler is well versed on her subject. A good reference for the Aby breeder.