Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat--Not a Sour Puss

I have not finished this book yet but have gotten more than my money's worth. My plan is to reread this after completing it the first pass, and then referencing it often. I'm not actually nuts, I have good reason for my thoroughness. My husband and I recently lost our beloved cat Isis, after 19 years together. The loss was all but devastating to us. We have a second cat, an elderly male who is now 13-years old, and was also grieving the loss. After a couple of weeks of the three of us wallowing in pain, we decided to adopt a rescue animal-companion. We left ourselves open to adopting as many as three. It would give us a total of four cats which we felt we could manage financially, but more importantly we would be able to meet the time and attention needs of a maximum of four. Within a matter of 21 days we all but fell into three separate adoptions. The newbies range in age from about 5 months to just now 5 weeks. They had a range of issues from two of them being underweight, one being found off of the side of an expressway and the youngest that was weeks too young to be away from her mother or at the very, very least her other litter mates. Adding to our challenges has been misrepresented ages and that we brought them into the house in stages, but still rather fast. The oldest of the new adoptees, a male that was stated to be 13-weeks, (turned out to be closer to 18 weeks) came home to us on April 14th. The next a female stated to be 13-weeks, (turned out to be closer to 7 weeks) came home on April 30th. The assumption had been that the two "13-week old kittens" would be able to play and keep one another company. In actuality after two weeks of solid meals and a safe environment, the male blossomed adding nearly three pounds in the 24 DAYS we've had him. He is no longer the scrawny, feeble-looking, nearly feral kitten that he appeared to be. He's healthy and inquisitive and wonderful! BUT, now there is a clear 4-pound difference between these two kittens. Play must be monitored as he learns his strength and she learns her limits. Adding to that, we have a ONE-POUND kitten that came home with us on May 4th. They had represented her to be nearly 8 weeks, as it turns out she was much closer to 4. She was supposedly weaned, but "torn" is a better description. She wants to play with the others but it is even more important that limits be set for her. Adding into this collage of personalities and specific needs, we have our elderly cat. He is doing better every day but this has been no easy transition for him. So how does all of this relate to this book? The information has been incredibly helpful! Instead of attempting to force our version of integration on each of these incredible life forms, we are seeing life from their perspectives. It changes EVERYTHING! There are so many things that never even would have crossed our minds. I'm making "puzzle feeders" for our 5-month old to help him with some of his innate need to "figure things out". He also requires a GREAT deal more release for his excess energy, where the two girls need a great deal more rest. Separate spaces, safe hiding places, access to "escape routes" from one another, all of these things are different when looked at from the floor of our house UP, rather than looking around or DOWN on what is available to them. I have rambled on way too long, but I will say that I HIGHLY recommend this book! One quick note regarding the one-star reviews stating that this was either not informative enough or that they disagree with keeping cats inside the home, I just could not disagree more. I had no idea of the blood types of cats, had never heard of a puzzle feeder and never considered whether or not I could have a real impact on the emotional wellness of each of these tossed-together lives on anything like the level that we have. We are doing many things now intentionally rather than accidentally bumping into ideas that may have been helpful. It feels fantastic to offer such a stable environment to them all. When it come to the idea of keeping cats confined, I think this probably depends. If one has many acres of safe spaces for a cat then sure, in and out is probably fine. In either a suburban or urban setting this is just not the case. If one simply looks around at their neighborhood and notices the lack of weeds in the lawns due to routine weed-killing regimes, watches strays without adequate immunization, observes the number of cars in their area including distracted drivers, and considers the very real possibility of someone's intentional malice towards their cat, it changes the concept of "keeping them prisoner". Also, if one feels their home to be a prison, the cats are probably not the biggest issue they may have. Home should never feel this way to either us or our animal companions. I agreed with the author. We may debate whether or not to spay, neuter and/or declaw. We can debate whether or not they should be allowed to roam the neighborhoods or remain within the home. What we should not debate, should be able to in fact agree on, is that each of these decisions will impact the entire life cycle of another living being. They are completely dependent on us to make these decisions based not on our opinions, but rather what is in the best interest of the animals, based solely on facts. This book offers factual statements of what is in the best interest of our cats. This is a well researched book that offers those of us sharing our lives with cats, insights that we simply might not have considered or been offered in any other way. Great book that I have already planned to also purchase in paperback for quick reference.

As other reviews have stated, Think Like a Cat is very informative and covers a wide range of topics. I am glad that I bought it. It rates five-stars when compared to other cat books. Still, the following are areas of concern: On page 16 it reads that the kitten should not be taken from her mother before 10 to 12 weeks old. On the next page it states that the critical socialization period is 3 to 7 weeks of age (earlier and shorter than a dog). The problem with her timeline is that the new owner is totally out of the socialization period. The website by Kleinbrook Animal Hospital largely agrees with our author, but believes the kitten should be given to the new owner after weaning at 6 to 9 weeks of age so that the end of the important socializtion period can be with the new owner. The author almost dismisses the idea of the cat being able to roam outside. Cats like the outdoors. It is in their nature. I wish she would give more time to this option. (Note -I had a cat that after troubled times outdoors decided he largely wanted indoors, but that was his option.) I wish the costs of veterinary services would be discussed. Perhaps it is too expensive for the potential owner to care for a cat in a first class manner. Lastly, I would suggest that the temperament and personality of various breeds of cats be discussed in an added chapter. Still, very good book as it is. And, I like its ergonomic shape, size and feel.

I got the Kindle version. It is packed with information, much of it conventional "how to" guidance for folks considering a cat or unexpectedly finding themselves with one who has adopted them, but many sections, especially in the behavioral topics, It is quite detailed, which can be excellent if you are hungry to get the whole story or boring if you already have had cats and know the material, but some of the tips are excellent for both experienced cat owners and (especially) for newbies. I know of a cat adopted from a shelter, and after being ripped out of somewhere or getting lost or abandoned, then being ripped out of the shelter and in a new place with all new faces, it is terrifying for a cat, and they may hide for weeks or even months, but the people who adopted this one felt that a few days under the sofa (coming out to use litter and to eat) was enough so reached in and tried to grab her and drag her out, got scratched, returned the cat. I hope the humans can not vote or reproduce. But, for folks like that, this is a great book and can avoid a lot of trouble for both humans and cats. For experienced cat owners, you can skim quickly over some sections, but the sections on behavior, training, understanding why a cat does what it does, etc., is interesting and helpful. If I were the editor, I would've divided the book into sections, one for if/when a person is considering a cat, one for those who are getting a kitten, one for getting an older cat, and then one for all the behavioral and training topics. All in all, a good read, some info treasures buried amongst other info that, to anyone who has cats and cares about them, is obvious info, but not to everyone. The author makes some excellent points, like don't expect a cat to learn your name for it if you use ten variants or nicknames of it, you have to be consistent and clear. Use of play and toys and how they are beneficial if not necessary to healthy, well-behaved cats, etc. Good info and written like a friend speaking to you, very clear.

I'm still reading this book, but I love it!! Right from the start, just looking at that adorable kitten image on the cover, I was hooked. It answers lots of questions I had (I don't have my own cat yet) and teaches me a lot about how cats think. In many cases, it's like humans think, as far as I can see!! Especially useful to me is how cats liked to be touched and not touched. Also the "click and treat' method of training kittens, I had never heard of!! Once you've read this book, you will never again think, "Cat's can't be trained." Pam Johnson-Bennett has a very warm heart for cats! You can feel it all through the book! Maybe a little less warm for people who are dumb or careless about how to treat cats in a good way!! Her writing style is lively and interesting, and is especially enjoyable in how she describes the behavior of a cats who are being treated with insensitivity by their owners. A bit of exaggeration makes you really be able to see why treating a cat without knowing what you are doing can be unpleasant for the cat—and unpleasant for you! All kinds of things are covered, from the emotions and needs of a cat to the host of medical problems a cat can get. I learned that cats like to live not only in a horizontal world, but a vertical world (think of cats climbing trees outside, and get a cat tree) (or kitty might climb your curtains! plus be bored) There's lots about the litter box, too. Peeing outside the litter box isn't to "piss YOU off." It could be just that the box needs to be changed. But peeing on your pillow might well be to let you know she doesn't like something you or doing, or in the case of visiting boyfriends, she might not like YOU. I learned that cats need to feel they OWN certain areas in your (their) house especially when there are other cats around. Or kids, and they will keep that area marked with their scent. Even just one level on the cat tree. They tend to need their own area to feel secure. Also, there are many ways cat's don't like being touched. I sort of knew this already—but keep an eye on your cat while you are patting them—they will start to show signs that they are getting tired of it, and you might wind up with a scratch on your hand. (I remember telling my friendly visiting cat, when I was brushing her and she was getting restless and I didn't want her to scratch me (again), "It's okay if you get down when you are tired of this!" And from then on, she'd get off my lap and leave when she was ready!! One of the most important things I learned about cats is not to think of them as "aloof" and unloving just because they are not just like dogs. Cats can be very loving—just look at all the images of them you can find online with their heads resting on their owners shoulder with their eyes beatifically closed in heavenly sleep! And why do they always sit on your book or your keyboard!? They long for your attention! But we need to remember that, just like humans, if they are not treated with love and guidance as kittens, they can bear emotional scars for the rest of their lives. Oh, and I must mention how extremely important it is for each cat to have a scratching post to use (they can share, of course.) Not only does it help them to shed their claw husks, but they use it to exercise all the muscles in their body, every day, as well as relieving stress. I suppose that could be one of the most important thing I learned that I hadn't realized—how sensitive cats are to all aspects of their environment, and how stressed and anxious they can get— and how that leads to cat behavior we tend to dislike. Well, more things I've learned from this book keep coming into my mind, so I guess I'll sign off now. There will be a lot left to learn when you buy this book, which you should do if you learned about cats many years ago, as I did, when we just "had" our cats, fed them, and chased them off the kitchen counters and let them outside and inside and back outside again. ("a door is something that a cat wants to be on the other side of"—remember that joke?) Dogs got all the training methods and respect!

I have loved cats since, at age three of four my mother humored me and took in a stray orange cat that I named Meow Meow. I had a recent catless period of several years that ends this Saturday, when I will be adopting a beautiful blue point traditional Siamese kitten. nonetheless, I haven't had a cat for several years, and was feeling a bit out date on my knowledge. My reaction to that feeling of insufficient knowledge has been to devour a number of books about cats. of the various books that I have read on cats, this one was the one I enjoyed the most. It has a lot of information without being dry or overly dense and technical, making it ideal for most cat owners. (incidentally, If you do want an excellent and very academic book on feline behavior, I highly recommend The Domestic Cat: The Biology of its Behaviour , which is a superb book as well (just be aware that it is highly technical and academic, and definitely not light reading). All told, if you are getting a new cat, want to update your general cat ownership knowledge (I found the cat toys section especially helpful, due to my long catless period, for example) including suggestions or just want to be a better owner to your existing cat, you'll probably find a lot to like in this book. Pros: -lots of good information -The author's writing style is very pleasant and conversational. Cons: -While it reads easily enough, it's also not a "for dummies" book, so it may be a bit more involved than you may want if you aren't much of a reader, or are giving it to a loved one in hopes that they'll learn how to better interact with your cat or cats. -The author *really* pushes clumping clay litter in her liter section. There are some good reasons to consider other litter options ( pine pellets, the Purina Tidy Cats Breeze Litter System Cat Litter - 1 Kit , the CatGenie Self Washing Self Flushing Cat Box , etc), especially if a household member has breathing problems (My housemate has asthma, so the dust from clumping litter would be a real issue for her, for example).

I am preparing to adopt my first cat soon and wanted to prepare myself to be a cat mom. This book covered a lot— food, litter, optimal environments, behavioral considerations, introduction to other pets, medical issues, and even how to get optimal photos of your kitty! It gave slightly more detailed information than what I could find on the internet. Provided pros and cons of particular cat-owner choices, was divided into easy-to-navigate sections, and didn’t ramble or talk down to the reader. I enjoyed this read!

I bought this book to get me ready to adopt my new kitten two months ago. I read it before going to the shelter, and since bringing him I've referenced it countless times. It's been an amazing resource for someone who's never had a pet, and her advice has been gold. So far so good, and it seems like I'm raising a well-behaved, well-adjusted little dude. My only criticism, like other reviewers have mentioned, is that there's not much info on alternative litter (I use pine pellets) - but considering there probably weren't as many options available when this was published 8 years ago, I didn't lower my rating. Definitely give it a read and I'm sure there's lots of helpful advice for new owners.

I've been reading several cat care books in preparation for a new kitten and out of all the ones I've read over the past few months, this one stands out. It is incredibly interesting to read while still packing in a lot of information. It covers a broad range of topics including how to deal with common behavioral problems and health care concerns. It goes more in-depth than most other books I've read and I find myself going back to it again as reference. I am pairing this book with a more detailed cat health book and a Clicker Training book, but that's honestly all you need! I recommend getting the Kindle version as it's easier to navigate but I also bought the paper book copy to have on my shelf.