Customer Reviews

The Character of Cats: The Origins, Intelligence, Behavior, and Stratagems of Felis silvestris catus

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Being an owner and lover of horses, dogs, and cats, and having enjoyed Budiansky's two books about horses and dogs, I was happy to find he had taken on cats. In this book also the wit and historic, scientific, and social details that make for an interesting read are there, and it is written upon the same premise as the books on the other two species: that the best way to love our domesticated animals is to understand and appreciate what they really are. Why cats have physically changed so little (unlike dogs) after domestication, and why they can be so social (despite being descendants of a very solitary species) are two interesting topics. I also found fascinating the story about human influence on the distribution of cat colors (and number of toes) worldwide. That traveling ancient Egyptians apparently snatched cats they found abroad to "return" them to Egypt is one bizarrely amusing historical anecdote that made this book a pleasant read for me. And the story of the cat that attacked its owner who was bathing a parrot is weirdly unforgettable. Although this isn't necessarily a how-to book, it contains good information on behavior that can help with problems cat owners encounter. I found some practical information that helped me improve a new-cat-added-to-three-cat-household problem. I'd recommend this book to cat owners who are as curious as their cats.

As a first-time cat owner, I found my cat to be a great curiosity. In particular, I often wondered what my cat was thinking. I read an excerpt of this book in the June 2002 volume of The Atlantic Monthly, and I later received the book as a gift and read it voraciously. This answers many of the minute ponderings that had crossed my mind while living with my enigmatic cat (as well as many, many questions I never thought of). Among other things, it includes the feline family tree, info on the history of cats, behavior/ communication & learning.

_The Character of Cats_ contains all sorts of fascinating tidbits, for example, I found explanations for why my cat charges if I stare at her, why she blinks her eyes at me, and why she rolls on her back to attract my attention when she wants to play. It explains cat's senses and gives an idea of how they perceive the world. It offers a kitty personality test. It explores how cats learn and therefore how they can be trained, including detailed info on training a cat to use the toilet! The only question it didn't answer is why my cat meows when I sneeze. As an added bonus, it has helped me to interpret my cat's communicative gestures and improve my relationship with her.

I highly recommend this book for cat-curious people.

This book is a terrific, elegantly written (and occasionally funny) summary of the scientific understanding we have about cats. Among other things, its useful to know what is really demonstrated and what is just folklore. And yes, cats are just as unique as we think they are. Although solidly based on research, the book is written in a journalistic style that is easy to read. I am a high school biology teacher and read a lot of science, Budiansky is one of the very best of the popularizers. Parts of this book are so eloquent, I plan to read them aloud to my classes.

I've read dozens of books about cats, but this is the one I won't be re-selling on Amazon after having read it. Rarely does a book deal strictly with FACTS while also providing insightful and intriguing information. From the history of cats worldwide (I didn't know that brown tabbies like mine are commonplace in England) to easy-to-understand genetic basics (why orange tabbies are usually male) to clarification of fact vs. fallacy (a declawed cat may not be any more prone to behavioral problems than any non-declawed cat), this book takes solid research and translates it into fascinating, readable stuff. Best of all, the author's style is delightfully conversational, quite easy to read, and occasionally has me laughing out loud!

If you're looking for an author's first-person diatribe about what his cat did last Tuesday and how cute he is under the Christmas tree, this isn't the book for you. But if you want a book that teaches you more than you ever expected to know about our feline friends -- without making it tedious or hard to read -- THIS is the book you want.

Stephen Budiansky has taken all the latest scientific and psychological research done on cats to date and simmered it down into this compact little volume for the lay reader. It explores everything from the origin of the purr to the origin of the black-cat mythos, from why cats meow to why they can be stand-offish or even bite the hand that feeds them. I now understand why my cats will head-butt me to offer affection (there are scent-marking organs in the forehead--who knew?), as well as why and how each of my cats ended up with their very different temperaments. From biology to sociology, mythology to psychology, this slim book covers it all.

While Budiansky's work is always informative and very complete, it's only occasionally entertaining which, I suspect, is more a result of my expectations as a reader on this subject than any of the author's fault. Would I recommend it? Most certainly, especially to those of you who are cat owners.

I was looking for a summary of new research on cat behavior and this book delivered exactly what I wanted. In addition, one learns where cats came from, that domestic and wild cats are genetically very similar, and why cats have not changed nearly to the same extent as other domestic animals. The bulk of the book is devoted to explaining how cats perceive the world. A number of fascinating experiments are used to explain cat bahavior. It even has some ideas on how to stop your cat from doing things that seem perfectly in order for the cat but disruptive to their humans (such as spraying). The book is extremely well written and a great read.

This book is chock full of amazing and insightful cat lore. While I'm sure that I may have been able to read much of what was in this book elsewhere, it provides an excellent summary and review of what man knows about those amazing cats that have followed us through the ages. The author provides all of this info through very conversational and often humorous text that was very easy to read. I found myself laughing out loud as well as nodding in agreement as I suddenly understood more of why my cat's are the way they are.

Speaking as a scientist myself I think it is also a robust and well-researched piece. In the back you'll find a very long list of citations to scientific work. While it may not be perfect and may not have all the answers it's clear that the author took a lot of time to try to get things right and to present as clear and accurate of a picture as possible.

This is a fresh, insightful, and scientifically solidly grounded explanation of what makes cats tick. I especially liked the chapters at the end that discuss and explain the many wonderful and weird things cats do. The author clearly loves cats, but more than that is fascinated by them--and he has the scientific understanding to bring the full spectrum of the latest scientific research to bear on his enthusiasm for his subject. The Washington Post reviewed this book and called it a "regular Fancy feast of recent research as well as evolutionary and cultural history." I highly recommend this book to all cat owners and cat lovers. It's a real change from the run of the mill cat books.

It is my impression that Stephen Budiansky has approached this book from more of a scientific view than anything else. His history of cats and their origins is very interesting, and apparently well-researched. But his thoughts regarding cats' sociability toward humans seem to be negating or downplaying the actual personalities of cats -- giving what I think is too much emphasis on their seemingly back-to-the-wild-which-they-never-really-left traits.

What I have experienced with my (and other) cats downplays and/or negates some of his theories. Sometimes I think it's our pets who have civilized us -- not the other way around.. But that's another story.

That being said -- I think a few things should be revised -- after all, this book is 5 years old -- that is 36 years old, in Cat Years.

First of all -- the issue of "Trap Neuter and Return" of Feral Cats (cats who are the product of abandoned pets) SHOULD be addressed. Has Mr. Budiansky ever experienced or witnessed what Feral Caretakers go thru to ensure that their colony will not only stop reproducing, but will remain a healthy and well-cared for part of the community in which they live? More people need to know about this-- maybe it will even help educate those who would otherwise discard their pets (an irresponsible and sad practice).

I also feel that his remark on Animal Communicators was not well researched -- dismissing them by saying that as a cat owner, you do not want to "know what your cat really thinks of you" is disrespectful and is doing a disservice to those people who CAN genuinely communicate with non-human beings. Animal Communicators, such as Penelope Smith, and others-- have helped solve behavioral and health issues that plague so many animals and bewilder so many of these animals' caretakers - by communicating with the animals and creating a bridge of understanding between the animal and its "owner" (caretaker). Perhaps Animal Communication is not scientific enough to warrant a positive comment in his book, but there is something to it and it should not be the subject of (very unscientific) ridicule.

I find it interesting that so many of the readers that review this book poorly do so because the book doesn't reinforce their pre-conceived notions of cat behaviour (this is also true of Budiansky's book about dogs - the number of readers that trashed his book because he doesn't believe that dogs "unconditionally love" their owners was truly sad). These reviews often say more about human behaviour than they do about cat behaviour.

If you are interested in cats, and are not afraid to have your beliefs challanged, this book is a truly fascinating read. Otherwise, you're probably better off staying away.