Customer Reviews

250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You

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1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

While this book does offer some good advice, it also has some very unrealistic advice. It says to clean out the litter box every day-dumping the old litter, cleaning the pan, everything. I mean, who really would do that? Cat litter costs about two dollars for a bag big enough to fill one litterbox. That means you would spend over $$$$ a year on cat litter! Plus, she reccomends a vegetarian diet for cats. I know vegetarian diets are healthy for humans-I've been a vegetarian since I was 11-but I know cats should be fed meat. My cat ate meat cat food, but then, when I decided to have him be a vegetarian, too, he started vomiting and having diarrea and he was so skinny that he looked rather unhealthy. I started feeding him meat cat food again. The vomiting and diarrhea stopped, he became plump and healthy, and his coat started glowing. I think Ingrid Newkirk is so caught up in farm animal rights that she forgot the cats'. I think the things she said about meat cat food being unhealthy and unsuitable for cats is speculation-if there was any proof that meat cat food is unhealthy for them, than surely someone besides PETA and the vegetarian pet food companies would know? She says cats are healthier on a vegetarian diet-even though we know cats are carnivores.

I do not reccomend the book. I reccomend the Humane Society of the United States Complete Guide to Cat Care. It is also available here on Amazon.com. While it takes animal welfare/rights seriously, it is realistic and remembers the most important fact needed to feeding cats properly:cats are CARNIVORES!

I enjoyed reading most of this book. The info on cat communication was excellent. However, the obvious intent to put most cat owners on a guilt trip for not doing exactly what the author says is at the least annoying. Also the idea that a cat will thrive on a vegan diet is ridiculous. Cats are mainly carnivorous and that means they need meat protein to thrive. Yes, cats like grass and catnip (one of mine even eats tomatoes off the vine if I don't keep him out of the garden)but a purely vegetarian diet is unhealthy. As far as cleaning the litterbox daily... well.

I don't regret spending the money on this book but I feel it didn't live up to the blurb and contains some potentially dangerous information.

Although I consider myself a cat lover, I thought this book went a little overboard. The author makes you feel guilty if you let your cat go outside, or if you don't clean the litterbox every single day. She even advocates feeding your cat vegan food. The book does have some useful tips, but I didn't think it was very realistic.

Ingrid Newkirk gives excellent practical advice on the physical & emotional care of cats.The average person may find some of the advice over the top but true cat lovers will be relieved to know that they are not alone in their devotion. My only disagreement would be her recommendation of a vegetarian diet.While I do have concerns about the content of commercial cat food, I feel that while humans can thrive without meat...cats probably cannot. It's also a bit of a leap of faith to expect that the average person can be counted on to ensure the cat consistently receives all the proper vitamins & minerals it needs. All in all an excellent book.

If you own cats, and are interested enough in cats to actually buy and read this book, the only things that will strike you as new ideas are Newkirk's dogmatic beliefs about the welfare of our feline friends.

As a long-time vegetarian, bordering vegan, I have little problem with the suggestion that cats can be mostly vegetarian. However, a strict vegetarian diet isn't best for *most* cats, and can cause - in some cats, particularly males - struvite crystals in the bladder which are excreted, painfully, in their urine. This is because a plant diet does not have the acidity that a meat diet has - not because of a deficiency in protein, fat, or nutrients - as some reviewers suggest. Specially formulated, highly acidic brewer's yeast can help in this area, but a fail-safe method is to incorporate small amounts of meat, and do a heck of a lot of research. For example, our cats are pesco-vegetarians, and thrive on a diet of Evolution dry kibble - with small amounts of salmon or tuna every few days.

My biggest problem with Newkirk's take on cats is that they should be kept 100% indoors, and the assertion that death (is that the 250th thing you can do to make your cat adore you?) is a preferable alternative to allowing a cat to roam outdoors. I imagine Newkirk doesn't have children, and this is a lucky thing, because she would likely lock them in a padded cell for fear that they might stub their toe. Or maybe she'd just kindly euthanize them? Eeks. Not all cats are happy being indoor cats, and one has to decide if the possibility of death, perhaps in painful circumstances, is worth the risk when this is the cat's inclination and the only way some cats are truly happy.

Of course this doctrine comes from an animal rights group that has been noted for euthanising 85% of the animals it takes in - a far greater number than many public animal shelters (San Francisco Chronicle, June 23, 2005). And that, honestly, is my biggest gripe with this book, and with PETA in general. Hypocrisy of this sort - PETA is riddled with it - leaves me feeling we have the wrong group representing the rights of companion and farm animals, and that ultimately Newkirk's poorly researched, dogmatic ideas leave us all (animals rights activists) looking like a bunch of nuts.

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.

Ingrid Newkirk (the author) is the President of PETA and a militant-type activist. No wonder she thinks cats can be vegetarian!! Love and respect animals and pets, and be informed- but please, don't be a freak.
There are many other books available by people who are still sane and care about animal welfare.

I think this would be a terrific book for the new cat owner - in fact, I wish I had had it back when I first got my kitties. I've had cats for about 11 years now though so there wasn't much new in here for me. There were a few tidbits but now that I've readthem I'm ready to pass this book along. For the new cat mom or dad though this would be a must have since it does have some great ideas, tips and insights

One of the things that worries me most about this book is the information about making your cat a vegetarian. Cats are the strictest type of carnivore, obligate carnivores. From Wikipedia: "Obligate carnivores depend solely on the nutrients found in animal flesh for their survival. While they may consume small amounts of plant material, they lack the physiology required for the efficient digestion of vegetable matter and, in fact, some carnivorous mammals eat vegetation specifically as an emetic. The domestic cat is a prime example of an obligate carnivore, as are all of the other felids." So even if you could supply all the required nutrients for your cat in a vegetarian diet, your cat is not designed to digest a vegetarian diet.

The other thing I can't get out of my head is the recommendation that it is better to kill a cat (take it to your vet to be euthanized) than to allow it to live in the author's definition of a less than perfect home. Less than perfect to the author home might just be the perfect home for a particular cat.

Other notes:
"cats had no natural enemies" Wrong. Cats are prey for canids, larger felids, and birds of prey.
Catnip described as an artificial stimulant. - It's not.
Litter box needs washing every day with vinegar and soap." - Weekly washing is sufficient with modern litter and boxes.
Clumping litter kills cats. - Only if the cat ingests it. If cat litter is sticking to your cat and the cat is ingesting it when cleaning, get a different cat litter.
Leaves of catnip look like marijuana. - Not even close. The leaves are completely different shapes, sizes and textures.
You can use human toothpaste to brush your cat's teeth. - Not a good idea. Human toothpaste is made with flavorings, sweeteners and other ingredients that are not good for your cat. And your cat can't spit out the toothpaste when they are done brushing. Using a toothpaste formulated for your pet is better - they don't foam and ingredients are pet safe.
Declawing a cat changes their gait. - Not necessarily. I adopted a declawed cat and she walked and acted just like a non-declawed cat. I would never have a cat declawed, but would not hesitate to adopt one.
Clipping a cat's nails requires special tools. - Nope, regular human nail clippers work fine. They are even what my vet uses.
"never leave kitty at the vet's office, no matter how nice everyone is." - If you aren't comfortable leaving your pet at the vet's, you need a different vet. When I had to leave my pet at the emergency vets, they were great about giving me a tour of the back areas where the pets are. I've also been in the back area of my veterinarians office, and everything was clean and tidy and the pets were in clean, comfortable cages with food, water, privacy, whatever they needed.
use "gentle baby shampoo" on your cat - while gentle on baby, baby shampoo is not gentle on your cat. If it is all you have and your cat needs a noxious substance removed from their coat, use it. But for more than that, get a shampoo formulated for cats. Pet shampoo is less likely to leave your cats skin dry, itchy and otherwise uncomfortable.