Product Description

There are happy cats, and there are happy cats. Which kind of cat is yours? You may be surprised...

Here it is, straight and simple. Even the most well-intentioned, doting cat owner can (and often does) create an environment in which the beloved feline feels less than comfortable. Think about it: we humans create homes that feel, smell, sound, and look good to us -- not our cat. But fear not. Here in 250 Things You Can Do To Make Your Cat Adore You, a top animal expert, cat lover, and listener gives you insight from the cat's point of view, as well as practical and simple things you can do, to accommodate the cat's wishes so that nothing feels, smells, sounds, looks, or tastes at best unappealing, at worst harmful. With tips on how to:

• read your pet's body language
• use holistic remedies for common cat maladies
• discover human traits that cats love -- and loathe

and much, much more. With this book you can end kitty boredom forever and improve most behavior or health problems if they exist. And if they don't, here's an opportunity to make your happy cat happier!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #507921 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Booklist
How serious are your patrons about making their felines happy cats? Serious enough to change litter daily? To choose household products based on how cat friendly they are, not on their cost? To search out specialty foods and holistic remedies, such as clematis and chicory? Readers concerned about their responsibilities as cat companions will get lots of good advice from Newkirk, cofounder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and author of a number of other animal-care books. 250 Things discusses around-the-house improvements and dangers, ways to keep house cats' minds and bodies active, common physical problems, multiple cats in one house, how to "read" cat communications, and what cats eat (from healthy food to potential poisons). Although not essential, Newkirk's guide is likely to circulate where interest in feline friends is high. Mary Carroll

About the Author
Ingrid Newkirk, cofounder of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), is the acclaimed author of Save the Animals! 101 Things You Can Do, Kids Can Save the Animals, and The Compassionate Cook. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1

Home, Sweet Home

Or, is it? Could it be that your cat is living only one of her nine lives in a human-oriented dwelling place, and worse, living at ground level? Let me elaborate: Before cats belonged to human beings, they belonged to themselves. They answered to no one unless they felt like it. In fact, before fourteen-wheelers and human beings got into the act, cats had no natural enemies to speak of, except parasites, and even then, they knew which plants to chew on to fight off illness and even managed to pass on their folk remedies to their youngsters.

Yes, cats used to be self-sufficient in those halcyon days before we, if I may borrow Joni Mitchell's lyrics, paved their paradise and put up a parking lot. Cats also got along perfectly well, thank you very much, without can openers and litter boxes. Sure, they probably wouldn't have said no to a catnip toy, but their lives were full without such artificial stimulants.

They were whole, dignified, free-roaming, independent souls. They carved out their own, often vast, patches of turf, defended them with their own spit and claws, enjoyed a social life with friends and family, had the opportunity to flirt and to select and reject suitors, raised the kids, provided balanced meals for their families without benefit of advice from nutrition experts, and still had time to play "pounce." We humans were about as necessary to their existence as a bowling ball.

Now look at modern kitty's confines. Your cat is probably stuck inside a wood and cement box with compartments -- otherwise known as your home.

Before you protest, "But I live there, too," chances are you leave your house or apartment every day. Sometimes you are in and out of the door so fast that your cat's image of you amounts to a big blur. Sometimes you are out and about so much, your cat can't remember what you look like.

Out in the real world, you see things your cat would give an eye tooth to see. You interact with others of your own kind, even if that only means swearing at the driver in front of you who brakes for falling leaves. Your brain and body are actively engaged, whether it's greeting neighbors and friends, running for the bus, drafting a memo, or making change.

Meanwhile, your cat is probably back home, staring at the wall. At least your cat should be indoors, unless you are conducting supervised leisure or exercise time, because today's outside world is a dangerous place for a cat, full of traffic and strangers with candy in their pockets who want to take your cat for a little ride. This means your cat is virtually a shut-in! Your home is his entire world.

Take a look around Cat World. Unless you live somewhere like the Hearst Castle, there's probably not much to it from a cat's perspective. This calls for action! You have to fool Kittums into thinking you live in the most interesting place on Earth. You have to enrich his otherwise drab little life.

Customer Reviews

Worthless propaganda from a cat murderer...
Anyone who takes this book's advice will lose thier cat to death in 6 months...

Garenteed.


What else can you expect from a woman who wants to ban all pet ownership and Servuce animals for the disabled?


Yes, I am one of those "loathsome creatures" that enslaves a dog to be my eyes. If dear Ingrid had her way, my best friend in life would be taken away from me, and every other visually impaired person on earth who dared to have one.


And this woman claims to love animals... Meh.

Disappointing
I was very disappointed in this book. It wasn't anything like I expected. It was more on cat care and it seemed to make things complicated. I expected it to be more of suggestions for play and comfort. Pretty dull read.

Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

... and 1 Slow, Agonizing Way to Kill Your Cat.

As a career microbiologist with a fair grounding in biochemistry, I might be qualified to say a few words about the feline vegetarianism advocated in this book.

While I'm certainly no apologist for the mass-market pet food industry, I can't let the author's advice on feline nutritional needs go unchallenged.

Basically, Cats ARE obligate carnivores. Why? Unlike humans, cats cannot synthesize the organic compound taurine, which is essential for their survival. THE TAURINE CONTENT OF GRAINS, VEGETABLES AND FRUITS IS NEGLIGIBLE; IN MOST CASES SO LOW AS TO BE UNDETECTABLE. Cats CAN live on a modified (VERY carefully modified) diet consisting mostly of well-balanced vegetable protein PROVIDED they are given some form of supplementation for the nutrients that cats normally obtain from eating meat. Synthetic taurine is available, although I was under the impression (perhaps erroneous) that "synthetic chemicals" were anathema to most serious vegetarians. "Natural" taurine is easy to come by, with the caveat that there's only ONE "natural" source of taurine: meat. Perhaps my logic is flawed, but I don't see much of an ethical distinction between feeding your cat meat as opposed to a meat derivative.

If you know of someone who claims to have a cat who has thrived on a vegetarian diet for years without some form of taurine supplementation, they're either lying about the supplements or about the cat's health. A person who tries to "convert" their cat to vegetarianism without a thorough knowledge of the modifications that need to be made in order to make up for the essential missing nutrients in the cat's diet is condemning their pet to a life of sickness, blindness and eventually, premature death.

If there should be any remaining doubt on the matter, just type the words "taurine cats vegetarian" (without the quotation marks) into your browser's search field, and see what comes up.

This one issue doesn't necessarily invalidate the contents of the entire book, but it does raise serious questions about the judgment and expertise of a person who cavalierly advocates something as potentially dangerous as feline vegetarianism.