The Cat's Mind: Understanding Your Cat's Behavior [Paperback]

Bruce Fogle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1995

Anyone who owns cats knows that even the ones they think they understand best behave peculiarly sometimes. This books helps cat owners understand why their pets act the way they do by explaining a cat's senses, learning patterns and ways of communicating with each other and humans. It's a fascinating journey beyond observations and into the feline mind.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House (May 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876057954
• ISBN-13: 978-0876057957
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The End Does Not Justify The Means, April 6, 2001

By 

"msfairydust" (Tucker, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cat's Mind: Understanding Your Cat's Behavior (Paperback)

Never before have I felt so compelled to write a review on a book, but Dr. Bruce Fogle's "The Cat's Mind" bothered me so much that I wish someone had warned me before I made the mistake of buying it.

Prior to even reading a word I was struck by the fact that there is an entire chapter dedicated to disciplining your cat. While Dr. Fogle does make mention of one form of discipline being positive reinforcement, he then goes on to disturbingly describe how negative reinforcement can be used to effectively retrain cats to behave "as you would like them to". The next two sub-chapters are titled "aversion" and "intimidation", the latter of which describes techniques to hit your animal, including the use of rolled up newspaper, or as the author proudly claims to be his method of choice, using the "nearest fly swatter".

If this isn't bad enough the rest of the book (or actually the first half of this book as I couldn't even finish reading it) is riddled with ridiculous and barbaric experiment citations involving cats which, he states, are "unpleasant, at times thoughtless and at other times cruel, but it would be foolish to disregard the results". I don't want to hear how inserting electrodes into a calm cat's brainstem can turn it into a "ferocious demon", what effect keeping newborn kittens in total darkness has, or what happens when a cat's whiskers are removed. He even goes on to cite an "experiment" you can conduct yourself to test your cat's balance ("hold your cat by its front and back legs upside-down a yard above your bed and let go").

To say I was disgusted with this book is an understatement. First off, there are so many alternative ways to "discipline" your cat to where you are not physically hurting it (my favorite are the cans of compressed air most computer stores sell to clean your computer keyboards with. They emit a loud "hiss" noise when engaged, which startle the cat. To me this beats even the water gun because no contact is made with your cat). Even with his method of punishment aside, in respect to Dr. Fogle's need to cite animal experiments, I do not feel the end justify the means. Just because an experiment was conducted does NOT give it merit or mean the results should be reviewed. Should the horrific experiments the nazi's conducted be viewed as viable research simply because they were conducted? Absolutely not.

I found this book to be very distracting and even if Dr. Fogle gave informative insight I wouldn't know because I couldn't even finish it. If you are a true animal lover, in my opinion, you can go elsewhere to find more feline-friendly information, and not waste your time on this book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A handbook for understanding the cat's mind, May 5, 2000

By 

Gregory (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cat's Mind: Understanding Your Cat's Behavior (Paperback)

This book improved my understanding of my cat's needs and behaviors; it also heightened my appreciation for these sometimes quirky behaviors. The author blends the history of cat domestication and scientific research with humorous anecdotal illustrations to help the reader understand the why cats behave like cats.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Here, Kitty!", May 14, 2008

By 

J. H. Minde "Everything I need is right here" (Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Cat's Mind: Understanding Your Cat's Behavior (Paperback)

THE CAT'S MIND should really be subtitled A GUIDE TO CARING FOR THE SAVANNA-STALKING CREATURE IN YOUR HOME. Let me say by way of introduction that I love cats. I have four of these wonderful companions. I don't consider them pets as much as housemates simply because a cat won't conform to his owner's whims like a dog does. There is no question in my mind that I am sharing living quarters with a group of independent, affectionate, and strong-willed unique personalities.

THE CAT'S MIND is a good volume for beginning cat fanciers who are trying to decode the sometimes seemingly-bizarre behavior of their new friends (likewise, a wise cat should write THE HUMAN'S MIND for feline readers). Long-time cat fanciers may find THE CAT'S MIND too simple to explain the cat's mind, which is often surprisingly subtle, and frequently not subtle at all.

Do I agree with everything Dr. Fogle says? No, both theoretically and empirically. Do I think this book could be more complete? Yes.

But do I find this book so horribly objectionable, as do several reviewers who object to chapters on Operant Conditioning and disciplining cats? Absolutely not. Anybody who objects to "having your cat behave the way you want her to" obviously never had a terrified cat trapped inside a wall, or owned an expensive Swedish mattress, or replaced a limited-edition collectible. Nobody likes obnoxious cats, even other cats. Human beings who share their living space with a cat MUST inform the cat as to the ultimate ownership of that space. The cat won't mind. As a matter of fact, the cat craves order and quiet and likes nothing more than to eat, sleep and play/hunt. A safe environment with set rules is the best place for that.

I do not in any way advocate abusing cats, but teaching them the house rules is certainly acceptable. A house without rules is a dangerous house, an unsafe house, and an unsafe house is more abusive to a cat than shpritzing an overexuberant kitten with water every so often. People who object to the spray bottle probably have ill-mannered children at home who run riot as well (plus, air cans are full of toxic gases---notice the coldness of the can?---which could blind a cat if by mischance the stream strikes the cat in the eye).

Do I think some of the experiments discussed in THE CAT'S MIND might have been more humane? Yes, certainly.

By-the-bye, Dr. Fogle was not the experimenter. The experiments described took place often decades in the past. Even Pavlov's bell might be described as an act of cruelty. Behavioral experiments on animals and humans tend to affect behavior. The famous Milgram Experiment was certainly unpleasant for the subject. But not all experimentation is Naziism. Once again, "The Hitler Argument" gets trotted out in which someone takes a most extreme example of human excess---Hitler---and uses that as the foundation of their discussion. I think People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals is a fine organization, but where is People For The Ethical Treatment of People?

An animal-rights advocate once wrote to the leader of a terrorist organization, objecting because explosives were strapped to a donkey and then detonated in a crowd. When the matter of the dead pedestrians came up, his response was, "That's not my issue." Excuse me, but I'll accept the spray bottle over that kind of thinking any day.

THE CAT'S MIND deserves THREE-AND-A-HALF-STARS and a place on your shelf.