Are There Any Good Cat Books?

[SoDesuKa]

Cats don't need to be so mysterious. But the cat books I've seen at libraries or book stores are usually a tad goofy. I'm looking for a serious, disciplined book that explains cat behavior. It doesn't have to be scholarly but it ought to tell me things I don't already know.

Cats are my favorite animal. When I meet a cat in the street I always stop to say Hello, because of my motto If you're too busy to say hello to a cat, you're just too busy. I have been a student of cats for years. Surely there are enough students of cat behavior that a market exists for the kind of book I'm looking for.

[sleepyhead]

1. You might want to check out

Catwatching, by Desmond Morris - sort of an overview of behavior for the layperson. (May bee too elementary for you, if you have been observing cats for years?)

If it's more of a textbook you're after, there is an excellent animal behavior book by Dr. Karen Overall, who is considered one of the foremost veterinary behaviorists in the country. It covers both cats and dogs, but may be a tad technical for the casual reader.

I have a couple of other feline behavior resources in my office at work but can't remember the authors offhand. PM me if you want me to get some more names for you.

[SoDesuKa]

10. Karen Overall

Thanks for telling me about Dr. Karen Overall. I've googled a couple of her articles and she sounds like what I'm looking for. Clinical Behavioral Medicine For Small Animals, the book you mention, is pricey like a textbook because it is one, but I'll find a way to get hold of a copy.

One book I enjoyed was Cat Massage by Maryjean Ballner. It's full of novel suggestions. For instance, I never would have thought that a cat would prefer knuckles rather than soft fingertips, but Otis certainly responds.

[NJCher]

2. visit your local public library

That's what I did when I got my first cat. I read about 12 books. I wish I could remember which ones were good but it's been awhile and no doubt there are new books out that might be even better.

I'm with you on taking time to say hello to a cat. Any day spent in the company of a cat is a good day. :)




Cher

[Jamastiene]

3. I can't answer your question, but you just earned

a special spot in my heart. I love your motto. My motto is similar, but yours sums it up perfect. Kudos.

The reason I cannot answer your question is that I have not been able to find any really good books about cats either. I have found though, that if you talk to them a lot, they will try to communicate back. They learn many words from us, but we rarely notice their words.

I have two cats that were littermates. They talk to each other and call each other sometimes from other rooms. I noticed that they each have some sort of word they use for each other. On a whim, one day, I tried to remember and mimic the word to call Yogi. It worked. He answers to Yogi, boy, and his cat language name. Same goes with Domino. They seemed to get really excited when I started using their cat language too. Now, they talk up a storm to me and I have learned a few words.

What made me think about trying it was that I noticed that momma kitties tend to all use the same sort of sound or word to talk to their babies when it is time to go somewhere or nurse.

One of my biggest dreams has always been to study cats for a living. I'd like to catalog and create a dictionary of cat words. I do know that "Purrp" is what momma kitties use to call their babies to them. I can't really spell Yogi and Domino's names as they call them. I don't have a clue how I would go about doing that. Too bad the teachers at my community college who have the knowledge I need said that animals do not use words and that what they say is just gobbledy gook like baby talk. :eyes:

Sorry, this is so long, but one passion of mine is to find information about any cat language study that might be out there so I could add to it. Or if I can't find it, maybe I could learn enough that I could be the one to do it. Too bad I don't have the right degree for that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. I think cat language studies have been done.

I know I read about it somewhere but I can't remember where. One thing some researchers discovered is that cats usually don't meow to each other; they just meow to people. The researchers think this might be because they are trying to mimic the vowels of human speech. But when cats talk to each other they make trilling or murmuring sounds instead of meowing. I've noticed this with my own cats. If I can find this reasearch or a citation to it I'll post it.

[Jamastiene]

5. I have noticed that to some degree, but my cats use

the trilling/murmuring sounds with me nowadays. I remember a time years ago when they did the meowing to me and talked to each other different. That was what made me really stop and think about it.

Thanks for the info. I would really love it if you could find an online link. I was discouraged after asking the teacher at college and being told basically, never. I know there is some truth to the idea of a cat language actually existing. :hi:

[lildreamer316]

6. That's cool--cause my girl cat trills at me all the time.

Guess she thinks I'm supposed to learn the cat language instead of her learning people language.
Figures.:eyes:

[lildreamer316]

7. I'm gonna steal that!

"If you're too busy to say hello to a cat, you're just too busy."

I love it.

[sakabatou]

8. The Tribe of Tiger

[Shakespeare]

9. This is my favorite book on cats:

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Cat-Not-So-Pretty-Kitties-Cats/dp/0761136193/sr=1-1/qid=1163400596/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3982765-6004808?ie=UTF8&s=books

[SoDesuKa]

13. An Edgy Cat Book

I like the idea of an edgy cat book. There was a picture book in French some years ago. A cat-with-attitude saying things like Je deteste le medecin.

[Patiod]

11. Here's all you need to know: they are aliens from another planet

Look into their little eyes, and tell me they don't look like little evil invaders intent on taking over our planet

[SoDesuKa]

14. Five Kittens

All right. Since you asked, they don't look like little evil invaders intent on taking over our planet.

I love cats' ears. They are huge scoops that rotate independently. A cat is a walking radar station. When cats appear to be sleeping, they are monitoring their surroundings. The slightest sound alerts them to possible prey.

[Patiod]

15. You aren't looking hard enough into their eyes

or you would feel the alien vibe!

Think about it - an alien species wants to take over our planet, and doesn't want to expend too much energy doing so. So they send down cute, fuzzy creatures that take over human lives, become our bosses AND get taken care of with little or nothing in return. Okay, so occasionally they eviscerate some of the planet's wildlife, and bring the corpses to their humans in order to pretend they're actually earning their keep.

And those ears are there to pick up communications from the Mothership.

Tell me you yourself haven't fallen into the trap, and do their alien bidding!


/these little guys are my wallpaper -- a friend works at a Humane Society, and her colleague was fostering these dear little creatures

[pitohui]

12. if cat is in the title it's guaranteed to be god-awful

it's sort of a law of publishing or something

[evlbstrd]

16. The Cat in the Hat.

A classic.

[sleepyhead]

17. Another book you might like

See if you can find a copy of "Feline Behavior: A Guide for Veterinarians" by Dr. Bonnie Beaver. She's another well-known behaviorist, and this book is exclusively about feline behavior. Lots of illustrations and case histories. It's also a smaller book and thus probably cheaper than Dr. Overall's book. Both of them are available as paperbacks - see if you can find used copies somewhere (Powell's Books, maybe?)

[Bear down under]

18. Stephen Budiansky's 'The Character of Cats'

I have a shelf full of cat books, and have got more from this one than all the others put together. And his prose is sheer joy to read too.

http://www.budiansky.com/index.html

[jrandom421]

19. Here's a classic

"The Silent Miaow" Paul Gallico. Witty, to the point, and from the cat's point of view. There are places where you'll laugh and places you'll cry.

"Beware of human love, which is crueler than being beaten with a stick. Humans will stop loving. We never do."

[havocmom]

20. The Book of the Cat

Book of the Cat (Paperback)
by Michael Wright, Sally Walters (Editor) 1981

Great book, practical info, cat movement, sensory info, cat genetics, cat care, injury care, behavior, growth stages.

Best practical book on cats I have ever run across. Absolutely.

[Hissyspit]

23. That's what I was gonna post, havocmom. Here's a link and the cover:

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Cat-Michael-Wright/dp/0671416243



I've had it since it came out in 1980.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. My very favorite cat book is "The Tribe of Tiger" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.

http://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Tiger-Elizabeth-Marshall-Thomas/dp/0743426894

"From Booklist
Taking her title from Christopher Smart's poem "Of His Cat, Jeoffry," recognized anthropologist and writer Thomas offers an insightful look into the lives of various members of the cat family--small and large, domestic and wild, Old World and New. She begins with the evolution and spread of different feline species, explaining the physiology and behavior of cats, including house cats, as meat eaters, that is, in light of their hunting instincts. She then examines the changes over a period of more than 30 years in the culture (defined as a "web of socially transmitted behaviors") of different lion communities in several parts of Africa.... This unusual study is based on extensive research plus a lifetime of careful observation and filled with personal anecdotes about Thomas' own and other individual felines. More extensive and detailed than her recent, best-selling The Hidden Life of Dogs , it will attract anyone interested in animal behavior."

[Jamastiene]

22. The Fur Person by May Sarton

Granted it is a novel about two ladies who adopt a stray cat, it is written from the cat's point of view. I'd recommend it if for no other reason it includes the Ten Commandments of a Gentleman Cat. It's a short book and well worth the read to see into the mind of a cat and how cats think.

I realize I said earlier that I didn't know any really good books, but at the time I was thinking strictly reference type books. Like I said, the one I recommended is a novel but it really delves into a cat's reasoning for why they do what they do.