Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds: The Comprehensive Visual Directory of all the World's Cat Breeds, Plus Invaluable Practical Information on ... (Illustrated Encyclopedias (Booksales Inc))

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

 

 

The write-up and history sections of each breed in this book are very shallow, not detailed, and in some cases inaccurate. For example, the Chantilly Tiffany breed was NOT listed or discussed. Instead, this book lumps the Chantilly/Tiffany breed together with the British Tiffanie breed (p. 206), which as accurately stated in other books, "British Tiffanies have nothing to do with the American Chantilly/Tiffany breed." The write-up in this book is just plain wrong.

Furthemore, most of the information in this book is of the level of detail about what you would expect from a middle-school or high-school book report. I was very disappointed. "The new Encylopedia of the Cat", by Dr. Fogle (DK Publishing) which we ordered from Amazon.com at the same time, is much better and has a lot more accurate and informative details. If you want one book, get Dr. Fogle's. "The Illustrated Encylopedia of Cat Breeds" is shallow and inaccurate. It was a disappointment and a waste of money.

This book met most of my expectations for a general cat breed book, that said, my standards were not set that high...

1. General information- This book has a good section on coat colors and patterns, eye shape, body type, etc. at the front of the book. It also lists some colors that are specific to certain breeds in the front section.

There is a section on general cat history, care, and other points.

2. Photographs- The photographs are in color, and of average/good quality...Not steller, but not badly done either. They are not large, most taking up less than a quarter page in size.

3. Breed specific information- Some breeds have more photographs and information than others, particularly the popular breeds. For example, the persian section (called long haired) is from page 58 - 85). If you are a rare breed fan, you may only get one page with a couple of photographs. The information, although not very indepth, is formated in an interesting way... They give the standard, faults, and some general history of the breed, along with some details about appearance (with photographs) in an in-set box. If you are looking for specific information about the particular aspects of personality or genetics of a breed, this book is not for you.

4. Which standards?
Although this book gives the points allocated for each breed in the US, Most of the breed photos and the groupings/naming of the breeds seem to be British in origin...i.e. "longhair" instead of "persian", having the less extremely short-faced persians favored in the UK, having a more "oriental" looking havanah brown, etc. The photograph captions are also not any help in determining which "style" a cat is.

The good? The bad? Who should buy this book?

Good points:
-A good amount of photographs showing color and pattern variations within some of the more popular breeds.
-Good introductory section on behavior, color/markings, health issues, etc.
-Covers some breeds that other books leave out.

Bad points:
- Not much detail on breed characteristics and behavior.
-Sad lack of info and photos on rarer and less popular breeds.
- Funky combination of american standards with british pictures and groupings.

Who should buy this book?
- If you want a general reference with many breeds in it.
- If you want some basic information on coat color and pattern.
- If you want photographs of color variations within the more popular breeds (persian, siamese, burmese, british short hair, american shorthair, etc.)

I am a vet tech student and found this book helpful for judging points, types of ears, eyes, gestation, healt concerns of felines, type of diet, how much and what type of care. Excellent for the animal student or researcher

This is the best book that I have come across dealing with the different cat breeds. It is very detailed as far as coat type, coat color and coat patterns are concerned. It also gives you a breaksdown of the different show points. A truly wonderful book with beautiful color photos to help you classify any cat!

This book was very interesting and I found much more information than I expected. I'm a student in the Veterinary Technology program, and found this book to be a very helpful tool!

This British authored book has over 100 breeds featured. The intro section covers the history of cats. The other sections include cat anatomy, physiology, cat psycology, training, showing and cat jargon. Other features are the great photos, maps and drawings that show how certain cat conformations and cat characteristics have grown into the different cat groupings that are recognized today.

There are wonderful illustrations, as well as photos, in the 256 semi-glossy pages. The illustrations are separated by the basic cat groups. The included groups are foreign breeds, orientials, semi-longhairs, shorthairs and longhairs. Also pictured are the varieties and any show variations with the breed featured. The breed standards are also given, along with the points assigned, as well as, at-a-glance care tips within that breed.

This book would be well-suited for someone who is a cat lover or someone who is interested in breeding or showing cats. The book is British authored, so there will be some differences in the breed references. All the cat breeds are not covered, but over 100 are. Overall, not a complete encyclopedia, but it doesn't claim to be.

A pretty book to add to any cat collection.

Well from the seller I got it from. The picture shows a very different book. I recieved maybe and older version not sure. It's hard cover,but all gray all around no picture on the front. The book however is great condition,doesn't tell you to much about personality traits,but does give good info and pictures on the look of the cat and the mechanics of cats in general. I have read better more informed books on cat breeds peeking inside any book if available online or in store a great idea. Still for the price can't complain to much just don't like seeing something I think I am getting and getting something different the picture should be changed for that retailer.

Excelente material, ótima capa, tente mais para o lado medico veterinario com pequenas ilustracoes sobre anatomia. Supera muito os livros nacionais. Grande variedade de racas de todo o mundo, inclusive com indices de pontuacao em campeonatos. Para quem gosta de gatos sera uma compra para o resto de suas vidas. Surpreendente.

If you want your cat to become famous then this is the book for you to read. This book explains all of the areas that cat judges are looking for when they are searching for the winners, i.e., movie stars in a cat show. Photos are in color and classic.

I am a vet tech student and found this book helpful for judging points, types of ears, eyes, gestation, healt concerns of felines, type of diet, how much and what type of car. Excellent for the animal student or researcher