Living in Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat in Your Life (Without Adding To the Problem) [Paperback]

Ann K. Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

A step-by-step guide to the care of stray and feral cats. Here is everything you need to know to give your feral or stray cat a quality life, including how to care for, feed, and control the population by humanely trapping to spay or neuter. Also detailed information about taming feral cats and kittens, managing more than one stray, and caring for orphan kittens. Contains photographs and a 20 page Resource Guide to organizations, products, and additional information.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For readers sharing her concern about wild cats,this is an excellent guide for letting them know what they can do. -- Henry Berry, book reviewer, The Small Press Book

LIVING IN SHADOWS is well-written, giving the reader a clear and useful guide to loving homeless cats. I loved it! -- Jennifer LB Leese @ ASTORYWEAVERs Book Reviews©, http://www.geocities.com/ladyjiraff/aswbr.html

About the Author

Ann K. Fisher, like many others, has had a lifelong commitment to helping all types of animals. Several years ago she noticed a feral cat and her kittens camping in her yard. Ann wanted to take care of them but could find little worthwhile information (and much misinformation) about the subject. In the process, Ann became an expert on stray and feral cats. She learned to feed, tame, and care for these and many others, taming a number to become indoor pets. Ann's mission is to make a difference in the exploding cat population, and to improve both the lives of pet owners and the lives of stray and feral cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Amythyst Pub (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931395004
• ISBN-13: 978-1931395007
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,125,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Cats, Lions & Tigers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Errors and omissions make this a chancy book, August 18, 2005

By 

Gesine - cat rescuer "TNR works for feral cat... (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living in Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat in Your Life (Without Adding To the Problem) (Paperback)

We do and teach a lot of rescue/TNR, and found this book to have many errors/omissions. Some examples:

p. 19 there is *not* controversy over whether domestic cats are really domesticated. They are. Again, p. 39 -- "would you bring the same animal in the house if it was a raccoon or squirrel?" Feral cats are not wild animals as raccoons and squirrels are; this is a very significant difference, and this is a very misleading comparison.

p. 23 In discussion of "is cat a feral or stray", no mention is made of the ethical necessity to **list as found** any cat you can even remotely touch. Many lost pet cats can present as quite scared. If your cat were missing, you would want finders to err on the side of listing every found cat as found!

p. 45 Very misleading info on FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). The typical first test for FIV tests for *antibodies*, not antigen -- thus, kittens can test FIV+ from maternal antibodies. With time, they clear the maternal antibodies. We have encountered many litters of kittens who initially tested FIV+, *all* of whom subsequently retested FIV-. There's no mention here of the need to have a test/retest protocol. (For great flowcharts, see http://www.felineleukemia.org/fiv1.html).

p. 22 "Feral cats are happier in the wild and are never really happy being confined". This is a mythical overgeneralization. We have done a lot of TNR in dense inner-city settings, and have brought a number of feral cats inside in various places, because their colony habitat was being destroyed (construction, redevelopment, etc.). Most former ferals, if they are kept inside with decent care, some windows, scratching and climbing posts, cat company, do quite well. A very small percent really want to be back in their colony. We've had quite fierce tomcats sit looking out a window at a thunderstorm, and purr up a storm. One "nth generation feral" loves to be picked up and cuddled (and he was definitely a feral cat). TNR (trap-neuter-return) is the default, but bringing a cat in to your home to sanctuary as a "permanent rescue cat" is a viable choice.

There is a lot of good information in this book, but unfortunately also a lot of errors; someone new to rescue would not be able to tell which is which.

You can find good info on TNR at
Alley Cat Allies, [...]
Best Friends http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehomelesspets/resourcelibrary/feralindex.cfm

Gesine Lohr

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for the cat lover, June 27, 2002

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living in Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat in Your Life (Without Adding To the Problem) (Paperback)

That skinny cat keeps coming to your back door. When you show any interest, he dashes away. What is the kindest thing to do? Keep leaving out food? Call the local Humane Society? Trap him?
Ann Fisher offers no-nonsense guidance in what has to be one of the most unusual how-to books ever written. She doesn't mince words. Some feral cats will never be tamed. Think about your investment of time and money. Set limits.

Still, your feral cats may become part of your household, even if they live in the back yard. By spaying even one cat, you are doing a lot of good. And if you are not in a position to help a cat first-hand, Fisher provides a list of cat-saving organizations that will be very grateful for your donations.

Here's the perfect gift for your cat-fanatic friends who, like me, hope to evolve into little old ladies who live for their cats.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO HAS A STRAY CAT IN THEIR LIFE, May 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Living in Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat in Your Life (Without Adding To the Problem) (Paperback)

I recently adopted a stray cat from my neighborhood, and this guide was extremely useful when it came to trapping my new cat.

Not only were the instructions for trapping the cat easy to follow, I was even able to locate a trap by using the resource guide in the back of the book!

This book is much needed and beautifully written. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever had or is thinking about adopting any stray cat!