Product Description
Showing how to live with a happy, contented cat, this guide provides advice on finding the right cat, welcoming it into your home and house-training, and keeping your cat healthy and happy with the best food, play and grooming routines…. More >>
I got a little black kitten a few months ago. This being my first cat, I decided to purchase a book that would help me take care of him. I am not sure how I came across this book, but I found it and bought it. I was more than surprised to find that my favorite actor did the forward. This book was very helpful in raising Azrael Walken-Serrine to the healthy cat he is today.
Rating: 4 / 5
I see that other reviewers loved this book, but I have to admit that I was disappointed. My cat recently had kittens, and this book was no help at all. It has no section on pregnancy, only a very small section on breeding your cat for profit. Well, this was purely accidental, but I still wanted some help on caring for her during her pregnancy and labor, as well as some tips on caring for the kittens. It doesn’t have anything like a section on kitten developmental stages. When do they eat solid food? When can I separate them from their mother? When should I get her fixed so we don’t do this again? It also didn’t have much on caring for sick or injured cats. What it did have, and I really didn’t need, was a section on teaching your cat tricks. Hello! She’s a cat, not a dog. I don’t really need to teach her tricks. Of course, if you are interested, then this book may help. But it didn’t have what I was looking for at all.
Rating: 3 / 5
This book covers all the important areas of cat selection, feeding, care, health, supplies, toys, etc. and is a great book for anyone who is about to be, or has become, a new cat owner. I appreciated that more often than not, the book got to the point at hand very quickly.
Rating: 5 / 5
Hi. I wanted to thank the reviewers for taking the time to read my book. Thanks for all those stars!
Regarding the lone criticism regarding the lack of a section on pregnancy, let me say that both I and the publisher decided not to cover the topic, for one very good reason: we did not want to help add to the already burgeoning cat population. Why would I want to coach people on how to care for the pregnant cat? That amounts to tacit approval of in-home breeding, the main cause of millions of cat euthanasias every year. Millions of pets killed because someone wouldn’t spay or neuter, or at least keep the cat indoors. On that note, why would anyone actually have a pregnant cat in the home (besides a professional breeder, that is)? Having an unneutered cat in the home (and presumably wandering the neighborhood) is irresponsible, and cruel. The days of farm ratters are over; to continue to allow cats to mate willy-nilly only serves to increase the misery. Been to a cat shelter lately?
Before pretending to be an authority on cats (as any competent reviewer should be), one should first have the common sense to spay or neuter, don’t you think? How else can we take your sage opinions seriously?
Rating: 5 / 5
I generally like the DK series, so I thought this one would be good. But there were some serious inaccuracies here. The one that bothered me most was the photo of a kitten tangled in string, titled “if you provide your cats with enough stimulation . . .” Many cat books warn against letting cats play with string or thead as it can cause serious damage passing through the intestines if swallowed. After having to cut a cat free from a big tangle of string, I am careful not to leave it around anymore. In general the book had some good information, but not much of it. I’m finding Think Like a Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett much more useful. It isn’t full of cute pictures, just good information.
Rating: 2 / 5