ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household [Kindle Edition]

Amy Shojai (Author)

Book Description

Cat behavior puzzles the most savvy cat lovers, and cat behavior problems lose cats their homes. Cat behavioral problems arise out of owners not understanding cat language and normal animal behavior. Training a cat helps stop cat biting, for instance, and this book explains the behavior of cats whether you have a single feline or multiple cats.

The United States is home to 86.4 million owned cats, and 52 percent of owners own more than one cat. That means more furry love for owners, but also can put your cats’ tails in a twist over that (HISSS!) new feline friend. From conflicts over favorite sleep spots to sharing potty facilities, adding new pets rubs fur the wrong way and creates hairy situations for everyone—including you.

Whether you share your home with a single cat or a clowder of feline friends, this new guide by a seasoned cat behaviorist and cat trainer, gives you the ability to understand cats aggression, learn how to soothe the growls and turn your household into a peaceable kingdom. You’ll find detailed prescriptive how-to advice focused in the most common problems found in the multi-cat household from cat hisses to cat litter box problems, cat nutrition and feeding challenges, and answers every cat behavior question you have.

Use these fun techniques to calm fears, explain cat body language, and strengthen the bond you share with your cats. Step by step tips from this award-winning author and certified animal behavior consultant explain how to:

• Recognize and diffuse cat aggression
• Stop cat bites
• Settle disputes cat territory squabbles
• Solve hit and miss litter box problems
• Cure cat scratching with scratching post training
• Manage cat nutrition and meals
• Soothe cat stress and cat fear
• Reduce bullying behavior
• How to choose pet friends to reduce cat fights
• Learn proper cat introduction techniques
• Introduce cats and a new baby or kids
• Solve common pet peeves: meowing, cat clawing, kitty countertop cruising, feline door dashing and more!
• Understand weird cat behaviors and cat facts: feline phone attraction, kitty mirror fear, “elevator butt” and cat toilet pests

Fun, practical, and eminently informative, ComPETability helps owners devise strategies to prevent, reduce or eliminate cat behavior problems. This also enables multiple cats to live in harmony within the same household. Written by one of America's premier pet experts, the book explains everything the loving cat owner needs to know. Most important, ComPETability provides crucial tips on how to evaluate and match your pets' personalities, improve their relationships, and make your home a sanctuary for cat fun and peace.

For more pet behavior advice refer to:
ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your CAT/DOG Household
ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-DOG Household

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amy Shojai has been reinventing herself for years. She’s a certified animal behavior consultant, and the award-winning author of two-dozen best selling pet books that cover furry babies to old-fogies, first aid to natural healing, and behavior/training to Chicken Soup-icity. She is the Puppies Guide at puppies.About.com, the cat behavior expert at cats.About.com, and hosts a weekly half hour CAT CHAT radio show. Amy has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, and Family Circle, as well as national radio and television networks such as CNN, Animal Planet’s DOGS 101 and CATS 101. Amy brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to public appearances, nonfiction books and THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Amy Shojai, CABC has been reinventing herself for years. She's a certified animal behavior consultant, and the award-winning author of two-dozen bestselling pet books that cover furry babies to old-fogies, first aid to natural healing, and behavior/training to Chicken Soup-icity. She is the Puppies Guide at puppies.About.com, the cat behavior expert at cats.About.com, and hosts a weekly half hour Internet Pet Peeves radio show. Amy has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle, as well as national radio and television networks such as CNN, Animal Planet's DOGS 101 and CATS 101. Amy brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to public appearances, nonfiction books and THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Product Details

• File Size: 433 KB
• Print Length: 132 pages
• Publisher: FurryMuse Publications (June 30, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007V42XN0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,127 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #11 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Cats > Breeds
  • #18 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Veterinary Medicine > Small Animal Medicine
  • #24 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Pets & Animal Care > Cats > Breeds

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ComPETability, Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multi-Cat Household July 15, 2012

By Cat Person

Format:Kindle Edition

Multi-cat households post a host of challenges and introducing a new kitty to the brood may not be as smooth as you'd hoped. In ComPETability, Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multi-Cat Household, Amy Shojai does a fantastic job explaining the whys, wherefores and potential solutions to make the kitties at least be amicable towards one another.

In this book, she covers everything from moving to a new home, introducing a new boyfriends or baby, to bringing in a new kitten.

She breaks the book into three parts:

*Part One, "Understanding ComPETability outlines the joys of a multiple cat home along with cat-specific details, including how they learn, socialize and communicate, as well as background on behavior modification and training techniques.

*Part Two, "Common Problems and Practical Solutions" addresses the specifics of aggression, bathroom challenges, emotional issues, feeding concerns, and introductions in multi-cat households.

*Part Three, "Common Multipet Frustrations," explains some cat idiosyncrasies that we all wonder about like why cats follow humans to the toilet. It also talks about the top behavior complaints of pet owners, many which could be solved with a little training. Many cats end up relinquished to animal shelters because of these behavioral problems, especially litter box issues.

The amount of information in this book is unbelievable, even for someone who knows a tad or two about felines. She goes into group behavior, feral cat clowder society, aggression, creating a time-out for the bad kitty, having safe rooms for more timid kitties or new ones to retreat to, and much much more....

For anyone that has more than one cat or is thinking of adding a new feline to the group (this can include dogs as well, though Shojai has a more detailed book about dog and cat households, ComPETability, Solving Behavior Problems in Cat-Dog Household) this should be an absolute must reference. It's more than a quick read. It's loaded with info that you'll want by your fingertips as the dynamics of your feline household change for day to day and year to year. Read more ›

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous book! April 23, 2012

By C. Davis

Format:Kindle Edition

If you're lucky enough to share your life with a cat - or multiple cats - this terrific title needs to be on your bookshelf. "ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems in Your MultiCAT Household" covers a wide range of topics including feeding challenges, litterbox issues, hairball horrors and introducing a new cat to your existing feline and/or canine family.

It's easy to tell how much the author loves cats. She takes the time to help you understand exactly how cats think, a critical component to a happy and healthy human/feline relationship. Sprinkled throughout the book are lots of fun and interesting facts. For example, I had no idea that the color of a cat's coat could impact their behavior. It turns out black cats may adjust more easily to living with a group of felines - which explains a lot about the black kitties who shared my life!

Amy speaks with a voice that is easy and engaging. You feel like you're sitting out on the deck, listening to a good friend talk about the fabulous felines who share our lives.

I highly recommend this great book. You...and your cats...will be glad you bought it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent May 26, 2013

By Vandi J. Clark

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have 2 territorial females who have needed this book for a long time. With the help of this book, they are finally getting to know each other.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Competently written and informative May 16, 2013

By EAVG

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like the way the material is presented and the sympathetic but not overly sentimental way it is written. I had not encountered before this exact slant on the subject of pets so I found some information which was entirely new to me, although I have read a number of books on cats and many of them are repetitious. An interesting book which I recommend.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Feline Resource! May 13, 2013

By D Brixey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household", by Amy Shojai

"ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household", by Amy Shojai, is part of a series to help those who have multi-pet households. It was published by FurryMuse Publications in 2012. As the title suggests, this book is a resource for those who have more than one cat. As Ms. Shojai is a pet behaviorist, she is more than qualified in this area. Years ago she began her crusade for animals by becoming a veterinary technician. Almost naturally, she became a pet writer. She has won more than two dozen awards for her writing.

ComPETability for multi-cat homes is a great resource book for new cat owners, as well as those who have had cats all their lives. It is a book that can be read from cover to cover, or just by topic. The cover is very appropriate as it has two cats that look to be fighting over who is the dominant one. Amy goes into this problem extensively. The obvious play on words in the title shows Ms. Shojai's delightful sense of humor. She uses her wit throughout the book to keep the reader enthralled. The book is in four parts. The first part is an overview of the book, cat specific details, and behavior and training. Part Two covers problems and solutions. Amy uses the P. E. T. Test to find out why cats are having behavior problems. "The acronym stands for Physical Health, Emotional Well - Being, and Traits of Instinct. Only by knowing what triggers a `bad' behavior can you devise a plan to address the situation." Part Three is my favorite part, "Common Multipet Frustrations". This part covers the reasons why cats do the things they do. The last parts of this book are the Appendixes.

We all know how mysterious cats can be.... This book helped me to think like a cat. Even though my house has been a multi-cat home for close to 20 years, this book has taught me quite a lot. For instance, years ago I had two cats, Tiffany and BoBo. They became like sister and brother; cuddling when they could and even grooming each other. Tiffany became sick and eventually had to be put down. Bobo grieved for months, and began to become very needy. I found that this is quite common and I probably would have made the grieving process a little easier for him had I let him see Tiffany's body before burying it.

I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover and I am sure that it will be my go-to book in the future. As usual, Amy Shojai entertained me with her "ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household". You, too, can be entertained by this book. I bought the Kindle version on Amazon.com for $5.99. Read more ›

More About the Author

Amy Shojai, CABC a nationally known authority on pet care and behavior, is a certified animal behavior consultant, a spokesperson for the pet products industry, and the author of 26 nonfiction pet books. She is also the author of the dog-centric thriller LOST AND FOUND and writes THRILLERS WITH BITE. Her award-winning work appears in the Herald Democrat newspaper, http://www.puppies.About.com and cats.About.com and she's published several thousand articles and columns during her career. She appears twice-monthly on the "Pet Talk" segment at KXII-CBS, and hosts the weekly "Pet Peeves" at PetLifeRadio.com and is an expert on Animal Planet DOGS 101 and CATS 101.

Ms. Shojai addresses a wide range of fun-to-serious issues in her work, covering dog and cat training, behavior, natural and allopathic health care, nutrition, first aid, aging pets, "the bond" and cutting-edge medical topics. Her work has been honored with over three dozen writing awards and she is a two-time recipient of the "Friskies Writer of the Year" award.

Ms. Shojai's work empowers pet lovers by providing the information they need to make informed decisions for their cats and dogs. The former veterinary technician specializes in translating "medicalese" into easily understood jargon-free language, making it accessible to all pet lovers.

Ms. Shojai has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and in USA Weekend, The New York Times, Washington Post, Reader's Digest, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Woman's World, and many other leading newspapers and magazines. She has also been a featured pet care expert on Animal Planet Dogs 101, Cats 101, Petsburgh USA/Disney Channel program, Good Day New York, Fox News: Pet News, NBC Today Show, WGN-Chicago "Pet Central" and "Animal Planet Radio" and many others.

Ms. Shojai is a certified member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, founder and Past President of the Cat Writers' Association, a member of the Dog Writers Association of America, and Past President and Honorary Lifetime Member of Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. She frequently speaks to groups on a variety of pet-related and writing issues, lectures at veterinary and writer conferences, and conducts training and behavior demonstrations around the country.

She and her husband live with Seren(dipity) the Siamese wannabe, Magic the German Shepherd, and other assorted critters at Rosemont, their thirteen-acre "spread" in north Texas. Find more information about her work at www.shojai.com.