Customer Reviews

Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Shrink

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hiss and Tell is a VERY entertaining book with 16 short stories about 16 different cats and their unusual troubles. Each story is approximately 5-10 pages long and draws you in quickly. I laughed, I cried, I loved this book from the moment I started it!!

There is Freddie, who helps his owner learn his wife is cheating on him. Cassie, who's story tore my heart out. Penelope, the paper shredder. Mambo King, who hates Sundays. Ralphie, who runs head-on into walls. And many more cats that will make you smile as you learn their unique story.

Pam Johnson-Bennett is a feline behaviorist who gets her referrals from veterinarians and makes house calls to her 'patients.' Considered one of the USA's experts on feline behavior, Pam operates her counseling practice in Tennessee. Her job consists of visiting the home, determining the cause of the problem, and setting up a behavior-modification plan for the family. She is the cat expert at ivillage.com and writes a monthly behavior column for Cats magazine. Pam is also the author of Think Like a Cat, Psycho Kitty, and Twisted Whiskers.

Within this book Pam states, "I love what I do for a living and wouldn't trade it for anything. (...) Every time a cat and his owner reach an understanding, it's worth everything to me." This shows you the love that went into the writing of this book and the touch of humor as well.

I highly recommend this book to all cat lovers! (Those who are not cat lovers would enjoy it too!) Ever cat lover's shelf should hold this book!

1smileycat :-)

Pam Johnson-Bennett is an expert on cat behavior and gives great advice on raising healthy, happy cats. But in this book, she relates sixteen cases of bizarre behavior by cats. We have a cat attacking its owner only on Sunday, or a cat carefully biting an owner's boyfriend in an embarrassing place, or a cat launching itself headfirst against a wall, or - well, you get the idea. Are these cats mentally unbalanced? No! Pam, the Sherlock Holmes of the cat world, uncovers the basis for each cat's strange behavior in sixteen entertaining mysteries. We cat owners know that cats actually behave in an amazingly logical fashion. It's cat owners that are mixed up, until our calculating cats train us to their satisfaction. This wonderfully-entertaining book illustrates these characteristics. Some of the stories are hilarious. One may bring tears to your eyes, but all of them will entertain you and are well worth reading.

I had the best experience while reading this book - a purring cat curled up in my lap. I laughed at some of these stories, cried at others (especially the one about Angel). The book also reinforced for me how important it is to have interactive play sessions with your cat each day.

Pam Johnson, self-taught cat psychologist, relates 13 true cases she has had to deal with oddly behaving cats (or their odd owners). She writes that it's usual for her to be entering the owner's window now rather than going through the front door. After you read through the cases, you'll understand why. A gentle giant cat usually extroverted happy cat suddenly hiding in corners, a cat that shreds printing paper, a cat that runs itself into the wall, the cat who gets violent on Sundays, a cat that overgrooms itself so much that it gets bald, a cat that hates one of its owners when she comes home after work, 3 heartwarming stories involving owners with their cats, etc. They're so funny, so entertaining, and makes you understand that we as humans are so ignorant as what it's like to be a cat and live in a cat's world. It would DEFINITELY be great as gifts to other cat loving friends even if you buy them used/out of print. I'll definitely be keeping it on my bookshelf with my other cat books.

Pam being a cat "shrink" - she has shared here a wonderful collection of stories from her adventures of helping owners understand their wonderful whiskered friends. I originally bought this book as a gift for my mother-in-law, but I fell in love with it and bought another for myself. Be prepared to laugh and yet - there is one story that you had better have a tissue box handy. Pam writes in a way you feel as though you've tagged right along with her and you can feel those kitty cats just wrap themselves around your heart. A must read for every cat lover.

Pam Johnson-Bennett is a self-taught "cat shrink" who has much experience ( and I mean EXPERIENCES) with a collection of crazy and not-so-crazy felines. Pam gets calls at all hours from frantic and frustrated cat owners. Their wide variety of problems make for a truly funny book. Animal and mystery lovers alike will enjoy the format of Hiss and Tell. Each chapter is a self-contained cat mystery that answers a question. Why does this house smell like a dead body? Why does a normally loving cat attack its owner its owner only on Sundays? How did a female cat get pregnant when she never went outside? I enjoyed each and every cat and owner and think you will too.

Being an avid cat-lover myself (I am "owned" by 3 cats), I'm sure I'm biased. But this book was was only entertaining, but touching as well. Pam's love for, and dedication to, felines is quite obvious, in that she travels many miles in order to go to the homes of her furry patients. She is an excellent story-teller, and her book gave me insight into why my own cats behave the way they do. I hope to see another book like this one from Ms. Bennett very soon.

I am the proud mother of three cats and two kids. Sometimes we all have problems living in sync with each other. This book let me know that there are many cat owners worse off than I am. All of the chapters were hilarious except for one. I wont say which one, but I cried for ten minutes after I read it. Everyone will really enjoy this treasure and it may tell you things about your kitties you never knew. According to the book, there are no such things as bad kitties, just miscommunications between kitties/owners.

My husband got this book for me for Christmas and the next day I sat down and read the whole thing in one sitting. It is very engaging, and it gave me some insight into the zany behavior of my own two cats. Some of the stories were funny, some were sad but all were touching. I would highly reccomend this book for any cat lover.

This book is a must for cat lovers. I've owned cats all of my life and they still fascinate me. This book is full of funny and intriguing tales from a cat behaviorial specialist. I finished reading it within a few hours, it was so interesting - I couldn't stop. Even when I thought I might know a lot about feline behavior - I was surprised to learn a great deal more from these stories.