Cat Sense Paperback – August 7, 2014

A very valuable book, indeed. A fascinating time for cats and their keepers ('owner' is technically correct but can one really 'own' another living creature?) is right now.The book has some anatomical information - it is good to know that cats are pretty much colorblind and cannot taste anything sweet. More fascinating are the sections about how cat's brain differ from our own - not an easy task because we do not know what is really going within any brain of a mammal including our 'special' brains, to say nothing about non-mammals.I am not the original owner of my cat but she, obviously, spent the early part of her life with someone else and does not seem to be traumatized by that experience. Still, she took her time to become affectionate with me (a month or so) and if someone comes to the house, she usually hides quite well behind the garments in my closet.The conclusion of the book presents almost a recipe how to improve domestic cats. It defines, in my opinion, the ideal domestic cat for the 21st century rather well: a friendly` INDOOR NEUTERED cat. That is, neutered only, after proper evaluation, she is allowed to have one or two litters. That pertains, obviously, only to female cats.The problem with tomcats is quite different. Some of them should never be neutered if, somehow, they are obviously fathers of the best cats possible in a given area. Most of them - as long as they live in homes - have to be neutered since their urine really stinks for essential reasons well explained in the book.Many, many years ago I visited a family owning a mighty male cat and his smell filled the whole floor of an apartment building in an affluent part of the city. I was just a kid then (in the fifties of the last century) and it was not up to me to make any comments on it. But the stink was almost unbearable.The author hints that the 'breeders' of the new and improved (truly 21st century generation) of a cat cannot be commercial breeders. There is no money in it, obviously. The money comes only from the looks, not from behavior. Cat shows cannot, by definition, deal and reward good behavior.My suggestion is simple: various clubs of cat 'fanciers' and cat enemies should get together and figure out how to breed ideal cats defining what ideal cat is in a given area.The author is bit skeptical about the real damage to the wildlife by domestic cats and he correctly points out to the feral (and a few wild) cats as well as other non-felines like rodents. There are places (mostly outside apartment buildings) where the tomcats' odor may not be too objectionable.The book has plenty of ideas for further work in the interest of the cat fanciers and cat enemies and, most importantly, for the future of our beloved pets.Five stars without hesitations. Highly recommended to both cat lovers and cat haters.

This is a good and well researched book, however, I gave it only four stars instead of five because I did not find it very relevant to typical cat owners.I own two cats that I got from a rescue shelter, a boy and a girl from the same litter. They are indoor cats and were spayed/neutered while they were kittens. They have been with me for a year and a half now and are wonderful companions. My motivation behind reading this book was to understand more of cat behavior and psychology so that I may interact with them more meaningfully and improve their quality of life.The book is quite scientific and well researched. Part of the book deals with the evolution of cats, part with their behavior and perception and part with their effect on the environment. However, most of the book deals with feral cats or cats that are not neutered and spayed. It goes to great lengths studying the behavior of the species as hunters, their reproductive habits, etc. The behavior of feral and undoctored cats are very different from those of indoor neutered/spayed cats as these are mostly driven by hunting and mating needs. The typical pet cats today, at least in the US, are primarily indoor cats and are spayed or neutered, so the behavior described in the book does not apply to these pets. The author goes into great details describing the behavior of feral and wild tomcats, and of female cats in the wild and how they raise their kittens. While interesting, it did not help me understand my pets.

I own Dog Sense and loved it. Hence, when the kitty came through the doggy door and made herself at home, I purchased this book from the same author. Not as complete as his dog book, but as he explains, not that much research on kitties. Lots of great insights as to why your cat will never be comfortable on your lap if not raised correctly, not socialized to humans by 7 weeks old, and how if kitten raised right, the wrong owner will screw it up. A little too much about genes and dominate colors, etc. for anyone who does not have a PREGNANT cat come in through the doggy door. As it turns out, my kitty did deliver four different looking kittens so his insight as to dominate genes gives clues to who daddy might be were a lot more useful than I originally thought they might be. Great book, well written, based on excellent research