Customer Reviews

How to Get Your Cat to Do What You Want

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Don't think your cat can walk on a leash, socialize in public and with other animals? This book had my cat going on mile-long hikes, hanging out at LOUD college parties, as cool as a cucumber, and entertaining the guests with his antics, all the while keeping his claws to himself as he played! People would say, "He's not a cat!" or "He acts like a dog!" He also did tricks like "Bang, you're dead!" and "Shake". This book made life for me and my cat so much easier and more rewarding than the cat-person relationship most people are used to. And Eckstein's techniques are all positive-reinforcement methods, which make training fun for everyone. Anyone who wants to do more for their cat and make him/her a beloved companion instead of a living throw pillow should get this book! Isn't it time we gave our cats the love and attention we do our dogs? This book tells you why they deserve it and what you'll get in return.

This book was the quickest read I've had in a long time! Not only was it informative, but it was funny and easy to relate to! I have been around pets my whole life and have worked with them since I have been 11 years old, when I started volunteering at the local humane society. With my experience, and being a former veterinary technician, I thought I understood what cat's need and want, but this book sure put me in my place! I learned everything I always thought I knew about what goes on it those little kitty minds and I gained a new prospective on what they need to live a satisfying life. The most important thing I learned in this book was that cats are so smart that they have CONVINCED the world that they are untrainable so that humans won't make them do anything! It taught me that cats have tricked the world and that they are more intelligent that anyone gives them credit for. Since I finished the book, I can see that my cats are happier and more fulfilled, and I am happier, healthier, and we all sleep soundly at night. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has a cat, is thinking of adopting a cat, or as a gift to the cat lover in your life.

I had this book on my bookshelf, but didn't read it until the day I found an abandoned kitten in the bushes in front of the house. She had her first road trip the very next weekend. She loves car rides, wears a harness, walks on a leash, comes when she is called...I cannot say enough about this book. I grew up with cats and have always had my own cats, but until I had this book, I had NO idea what I was missing. We have three more cats, all successfully introduced into the family following this book's guidelines. Now we have rescued a colony of feral kittens and using this advice. I'm sorry anyone ever had a bad experience, but from all the cats I've known, this book is invaluable and should be handed out with every adoption!!!!!

I recently got my boyfriend a kitten for his birthday. I am not a cat person and know nothing about them, much less raising a kitten. So I bought three books, one of which was this. Of all the books, this one was by far the easiest to read, the most helpful, and the most fun. I have already trained my kitten to come to his name and to sit, thanks to the tips in this book. I can't wait to teach him to walk on a leash! It also helped me to understand that cats need variety and spice in life, much like dogs do. They deserve more than to just nap around the house all day. I highly recommend purchasing this book.

If Warren Eckstein had chosen to market this book as a collection of entertaining pet anecdotes and essays, I would have no problem giving it five stars.

However, he's attempting to pass this book off as a step-by-step animal training guide, which it is not.

I found it unstructured and impractical in terms of how to physically train a cat to do anything; perhaps the advice was hidden among the inane Kittyspeak, in which Eckstein insisted on writing? It's good that he understands that cats are intelligent and need to have their attention engaged so they don't becoming bored furniture fungus. Unfortunately he doesn't get that many readers are the same way. Both cats and humans of a bookish bent will end up languishing in their chairs and reading Nietzsche when continually addressed like four-year old children -- i.e. bored out of their skulls.

This book offers little in the way of research or references to support his perspective on animal training. There is no bibliography, and in fact, he often claims that his beliefs are to the contrary of most trainers' experience or scientific findings.

For example, he believes that cats only purr when happy, despite the fact that studies have shown the purr's frequency helps to mend broken bones (which is why cats also purr when stressed). He disses behavioral theory in such an off-hand way that I wonder if he knows who BF Skinner is at all, and that numerous modern trainers utilize the methods of positive reinforcement (for both animal and human subjects) with excellent results.

Karen Pryor's book "Don't Shoot The Dog!" was a far more insightful, contructive and beneficial read in terms of training my cat (as well as dealing with animals and people in general). I would recommend it over this ball of fluff any day.

This book helped me leash train a stray cat I adopted. Now she jumps in the cat carrier and wants to go everywhere with me! She was so difficult and on the defense when I found her I marvel at the transformation. The author actually understands and appreciates the feline spirit. This would be THE book I'd suggest to new cat owners and even veteran ones can learn alot. I'm going to buy a second copy to give as a gift. I hope it never goes out of print. I've read many other cat books and this one leaves the others in the dust.

Eckstein appears to be the Dr. Spock of cats! More insightful and easily read information than I have ever seen. Lots of information put into perspective of a cat.

Warren Eckstein is always at his best. His love for animals is so evident in all his writings. This book runs the gamut of pet safety to sex and the single cat to handling litter box problems. This is all done with humor while teaching us all we need to know to keep our cats happy, healthy, well behaved and safe. Warren at his best !

I found this book uninformative and a waste of money. I'm sorry that I din't buy a used book. This book was too cute with too many cute stories. I was more interested in learning about cat behavioral problems and how to solve them. I lost patience with this book. A very silly book.

This book is great for anyone learning to coexist with a cat. Its message, in one word, is "patience." You can train your cat to do much more by being patient, gentle and full of praise than by being impatient and hostile. In addition to providing instructions on how to deal with various kitty issues, Eckstein reminds readers of why they should take the time and effort to do it right. Time and again, he points out how special and lovable our little "furballs" are, and how much they need and deserve our attention. You might almost call some portions of this book "How to get YOU to do what your CAT wants." There is also useful information on home safety, health, etc. To be fair, all it says about my furball's habit of pouncing on my legs and biting my feet is that her chase instinct is coming to the fore, and that if I give her feathery chase toys as a substitute her desire to glom onto me will diminish. Hasn't worked so far! But she has already learned pretty well to come when called, at least when she's in the mood, and I'm working on habituating her to a harness so she can play outside as the Ecksteins suggest.