Customer Reviews

Complete Kitten Care

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up this book last year, and I studied it carefully before getting my first kitten, Ginny. The title doesn't lie, "Complete Kitten Care" is exactly what you get. The three-month old female I got last August is now a happy and healthy member of my family thanks to the advice from this book.

The topics covered here involve everything essential that a kitty novice needs to know, such as vet visits, spaying/neutering, adjusting to other pets, and grooming. The most important chapters that should not go unread are the sections that deal with medical emergencies (falls, drowning, and electrocution), and recognizing/treating sick kittens. I'm lucky enough not to have applied that information to my experiences with my kitten, but it's still good to know.

On the behavior front, "Complete Kitten Care" helps you understand your kitten's way of thinking and help you fix his mistakes, particularly litterbox-related mistakes. Also very helpful is the chapter on understanding body language, and how your kitty communicates with you. I now understand all of Ginny's moods by the size of her pupils, volume and pitch of her meow, position of her ears, and how her tail is held.

This book doesn't go without any entertainment, though. There are lots of adorable kitten photos and drawings that will easily melt your heart. In the back of the book, it has cat legends and fun facts, and there are lists of cat-related web sites, magazines, care organizations, pet supply sources, and other cat books.

Highly reccomended! A+

I've fostered dozens of kittens in the last ten years and made just about every mistake there is to make. Now that I have this book, I'll never take on another little one without having it at hand. All parts of this book are valuable to the new kitten owner, but I especially appreciate the sections on recognizing and treating health problems in young animals, and the section on emergencies is priceless. It tells you how to rescue your little one from a dog or other animal, how to administer artificial respiration if necessary, even perform acupuncture to jump start a stopped heart, how to give CPR to a drowned kitty, how to slow down shock, what to do if kitty ingests a poison plant, how to treat both heatstroke and hypothermia.

There's much else in the book, including learning to play with your kitty, understand her communications, and provide the kinds of toys and equipment that will suit her needs best. Complete Kitten Care is just what the title says it is. You probably shouldn't even think about acquiring a new kitten until you have a copy.

Besides presenting a wealth of knowledge, Shojai's book is fun to read. She has an obvious love of her subject, but it's tempered with good common sense and a great sense of humor. You can actually sit down and read this book through, rather than just thumbing to the section you need at any one time--it's that readable. She has a way of making the technical stuff understandable to us folks whose only qualification is that we love kitties.

I purchased Complete Kitten Care in the Kindle version, since we have been used to adult cats for a long time, and wanted to brush up on raising kittens. The book is extremely well written, well organized, highly informative and a lot of fun to read. Amy Shojai has included a lot of adorable photos of kittens, and she writes with a fantastic sense of humor, so I enjoyed the book on many levels.

It is possible to be parents of kitties without such helpful advice, but you and your kittens will be much happier and have a better relationship after reading Complete Kitten Care. She covers everything from preparing to bring your kittens home, choosing your kitten(s), food and snacks, litterbox training, play, training in general, providing appropriate scratching targets and encouraging kitties in their use, health, travel, and plenty of information about emergencies. Some of the most helpful information will be the portions on understanding how kittens view their world and you and how to interpret kitten body language and behavior.

Whether you already have kittens or are planning to adopt some, please do yourself and your kitty children a favor and buy Complete Kitten Care. I know I will be referring to the book often for the kittens we will adopt soon.

I have only one problem with how-to books. I don't read them. I buy them. I just don't read them--or instructions, or manuals, or recipes. And if there was one I didn't think I needed to buy or read,it was one on cat care.
I've had dozens of cats--weaned, unweaned, rescued half-dead, purchased from breeders, easy-going lap-cats and neurotic curtain climbers. I've always been proud that in the end my cats were sassy and long-lived. However, I recently purchased a Burmese kitten
I brought him home and planned to spend my Christmas break getting to know him. It did not go well. He immediately darted under a bed and scrambled into a corner of the mattress frame. From there he began a yowling heard throughout the house. The very sight of me sent him into a frenetic shelter search. He was so scared and angry that he growled, yowled, and ate at the same time. By the end of the first week, he was still yowling and I could only get near him if I lay on the floor half under the bed for an hour with a tablespoon of tuna in my hand.
I was ready to take him back where he came from, if I could catch him, but I couldn't admit defeat. I finally broke down and bought Amy Shojai's Complete Kitten Care, AND read it.
Through Shojai's Complete Kitten Care, which is straight-forward, well written, and covers absolutely everything you need to know about kittens, explained everything I'd been doing wrong, and even why another way was better. I had people traipsing in and out, adult cats were prowling about, and the little guy was absolutely lost in my three story farm house. Ten days after I read it, my kitten was on my lap or on my shoulder, tangled in my hair and purring. He offered me a good grooming from time to time, and if he scaled a bare leg with his tiny, needle sharp claws on occasion, it was worth every scratch.
The bonus is that besides the information I was looking for, I found much that I needed but didn't know it. I discovered the technical aspects of kitten nutrition, why I should feed a kitten a number of small meals a day rather than one or two large ones, and why it wasn't a good idea to give a them tuna or cow's milk. I got a lesson in cat hierarchy and its difference from that of other animals, a section that has been extremely valuable in teaching me why my grown cats do what they do. I now know how and why they groom themselves, how to teach them to, if not love, at least to tolerate baths.
Now Barney, as he became, is the clown that chases and is chased, that climbs into my bed and under my blanket, and wakes me up with his nose on mine. He's everywhere and into everything. My method might have worked eventually, but really, I might not have had sufficient years left to wait.
Shojai's book is filled with information, and, as I said is extremely well written. In addition, she conveys information in a knowledgeable but conversational tone. It was such a joy to read that I may read another how-to book someday.
Nah. Probably not.

If you can't take cat expert Amy Shojai home with you to care for your kitten, the next best thing is to buy this book. Amy is a longstanding pet authority and writes with reassurance and good humor about the joys and challenges of raising a kitten. Well researched and engaging, this is a book that should be on the shelves of every cat lover.

Really eased my fears and concerns about being a new cat parent. Used most techniques/suggestions and must say that my kittens are a real joy. I don't think I would have had such a positive experience if it were not for this book.

Very good information. I haven't had a kitten in 27 years (since my first cat). Usually, I have adopted young or full grown cats from rescue organizations. Kittens are like having a different breed of animal, and I didn't want to put my kitty in harms way from ignorance (cords, water...all kinds of stuff). Also, I didn't want train in bad behavior which may be cute while their he's a kitten, but won't be when he grows up to be a cat. Great book!

Our last "new kitten" is now 13 and a cranky old lady, so when we decided to add a kitten to our feline family I was thrilled to find this little book so affordable on Kindle. It really does cover everything -- vet visits, which vaccines you need and which you might want to skip (and why), how to choose your new pet, how to introduce it to the other members of the household, carrying for rescued newborns if you find yourself having to do that, training, even cat lore and legends. Everything seems accurate and the parts we've needed to consult have been very helpful. the info on cat behavior and social interaction is fascinating and useful. Plus, cute kitten pics! Shojai clearly loves cats and writes in a pleasant, chatty style.

Amy Shojai never ceases to amaze. She keeps coming up with better and better books that educate and uplift all of us who love cats and kittens. But because love isn't always enough, Amy gives us all the other "stuff" we need to be good pet parents. This new Kindle edition of her award-winning book Complete Kitten Care is updated and techie -- an instantaneous guide which like its predecessor, answers almost every imaginable question about kitten care. It's informative, well-written and easy to understand. Kudos!

Amy Shojai has once again written a book full of practical advice to make life with your very own furry friend even more fun. The book is fun to read, even if you don't have a cat, but beware. Before you finish the book, if you don't have a cat yet, you soon will.