Cats For Dummies? - Softcover

Spadafori, Gina; Pion, Paul D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0764550373 ISBN 13: 9780764550379

Publisher: For Dummies, 1997

Synopsis

Few creatures seem more inscrutable than the common, domesticated cat. Fortunately, with Cats For Dummies™ you'll finally have insight into everything from cat behavior (both good and bad) to what distinguishes each of the feline breeds. In this thorough, easy-to-understand guide, award-winning pet care columnist Gina Spadafori and world-renowned veterinary cardiologist Paul D. Pion, DVM, DACVIM reveal everything you need to know about topics such as Choosing the kitten or cat who's right for you Choosing a good feline companion for your cat (and whether you should choose one at all) Dealing with problem behaviors like furniture clawing, spraying, and avoiding the litter box Understanding what your cat is trying to tell you Safeguarding your cat from poisonous houseplants and other dangers Selecting irresistible cat toys Controlling fleas and ticks Grooming Traveling with your cat and finding a good pet sitter Surfing the World Wide Web for fun, useful sites all about cats

About this title

Review

Gina Spadafori, Universal Press Syndicate pet care columnist and host of AOL's "Gina Spadafori's Pet Connection," follows her educational and entertaining book Dogs for Dummies with Cats for Dummies, which she co-authors with Paul Pion, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.I.M., president of the Veterinary Information Network.

If you own a cat or are considering cat ownership, Cats for Dummies is the one book you really must have. This educational, comprehensive, and entertaining book is probably the closest you'll get to a cat "owners' manual."

Beginning with a foreword by Lilian Jackson Braun, the cat-owned author of The Cat Who... mystery novels, the book quickly moves into a brief history of cats, cat psychology, and their recent amazing growth in popularity.

Spadafori and Pion spend a considerable amount of time on the selection of a cat breed. While size and in-bred behaviors don't vary in cats as much as they do in dogs, different breeds of cats do have distinctive traits and temperaments that should be considered when deciding on a purebred animal. Physical characteristics, such as coat type, should also be considered. Some cats require a great deal more grooming than others do. The authors are frank in their discussion of the fate of poorly chosen cats who wind up in shelters because they were too much work and not right for the person who had selected them.

For readers considering a purebred cat, Spadafori and Pion provide tips and resources, including magazines, Web sites and Cat Fanciers Association breed clubs. They also give information on screening breeders to weed out the "truly evil" and the simply ignorant. They strongly encourage adoption of shelter cats, though, pointing out that many of these animals are young, healthy, and affectionate and may have been given up through no fault of their own. Adult shelter cats, Spadafori says, can be a particularly good choice, especially for an older person, since they are past their kitten craziness. Because the adoption rates for adult cats are lower than for kittens, thousands of wonderful animals who would make great pets are euthanized each year.

Spadafori recommends proceeding with caution when shopping pet stores for kittens due to the high percentage of pet store kittens that come from kitten mills where animals are bred indiscriminately and often kept in horrifying conditions. And while some pet stores offer space to sell "oops" litters, she believes the practice, while well-intentioned, sends the message that kittens are easy to place and encourages cat owners to continue allowing their pets to breed.

Once the breed or type of cat has been selected, Cat for Dummies moves on to cover aspects of cat ownership, including kitten-proofing your house, bringing home a new cat or kitten, care, feeding and grooming, and veterinary care. The chapter on medical care and common illnesses is particularly strong, spending much more time on the subject than in Dogs for Dummies, due, most likely, to the fact that the co-author is a veterinarian. This section provides important information without excruciating clinical detail that might lose the reader and is a great addition to the book.

As in Dogs for Dummies, Spadafori includes the entertaining "Part of Tens" section in which she debunks 10 common cat myths, offers 10 things the cat owner needs to do to be prepared for a disaster, suggests 10 sets of questions to ask when choosing a kitten, lists 10 household dangers to cats, and provides 10 cat-related sites on the World Wide Web. Also included is "Ten of the best things ever said about cats." This book is highly recommended for anyone who is owned by a cat or aspires to be.

From the Publisher

Discover how to:

Choose and train your feline friend
Solve your cat's litter-box and behavior problems
Know when your cat is well -- or when he's not
Provide proper health care and nutrition
Read feline body language

About this edition

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0764550373
• ISBN 13: 9780764550379
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384