Customer Reviews

How to Talk to Your Cat

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My daughter and I read "How to Talk to Your Cat" and were amazed by the number of inaccuracies stated throughout the book.

The author states that cats are "completely self-sufficient and can leave you at any time and go off and make a living." It's this kind of ignorance that contributed to the explosion in the feral cat population we face today! People pick up and move and abandon their cats thinking they can fend for themselves. Hunting is learned by watching other cats, and then putting those lessons into practice until they are perfected. Offspring of non-hunting cats rarely make good hunters themselves. In other words, house cats that have never been outdoors could never just "leave at any time and go off and make a living." They'd starve to death!

She also states that "cats are loners" and they "don't like company, including other cats." Cats are not anti-social. They have intricate social interactions with their own kind. Two of my cats are very social; they love the attention of people (even those they just meet) and the camaraderie of other felines. Feral cat colonies are found in every city and town throughout the world--the perfect example of their social nature. Cats also possess the ability to form close friendships with people. I own 8 cats and I have a unique relationship with each one. They are my babies and I couldn't imagine life without them.

She recommends only having one cat. She goes on to state "cats dislike other cats and will fight." Cats are social beings; they do like other cats and the only time they fight is to establish territory or male dominance, not because they dislike one another.

The author tells us that cats are o.k. with our leaving; they will not sulk. She doesn't know my cat Amber. Once I pull out the suitcases, she knows what's about to follow. She follows my every move when I go from room to room to gather things to pack all the while whimpering. I once had to cut a vacation short when her caretaker told me she wasn't eating or using the litter box. She was so upset by my absence.

Finally, she states that "the deeper the claws dig [into furniture], the more status the cat has." Huh? Scratching is a way of marking territory. Depth of the scratch has nothing to do with status. Feline social standing is measured by the amount of land a cat can lord over it. At the top of the hierarchy are unneutered males, followed by females that haven't been spayed, spayed females and at the bottom are the neutered males.

Her book would have been better suited for the fiction, not non-fiction classification.

I find it ironic that the author doesn't even own a cat, yet somehow she feels she has the knowledge and expertise to write a book about them.

I happen to own an earlier version of this book -- a paperback book with only black and white drawings. This book with charming and goofy watercolor cats contains all the useful and entertaining information as the first one but will be so much more accesible to children. It has helped us understand our inscrutable pets and to better meet their needs which is why we are here in the first place. A MUST for the cat lovers library.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read many books on cats and this is just about the best one. Informative yet entertaining when reading it. You will understand you cat better and have fun doing it. Very well written on a level for both young and old and not boring anyone.

This entertaining and informative book touches on the history of cats and shows young people the various ways cats communicate with their human companions. Readers discover that cats can have as many as 19 different ways to say "meow" and that their tails, ears, and whiskers play an important role in their communication with people and other cats. While much of the material is a wonderful introduction on cat behavior, the author talks about cats going outside freely at night (most humane groups advocate cats remain indoors for safety) and notes that those cats will eventually get into fights. She also mentions their eventual return home with bloodied wounds, but fails to advise the reader (supposedly young children) to get the feline proper veterinary attention. This was my only disappointment with the book, however, and it should not be dismissed on this one account, as there is good information in here for little learners.

Let's start simply and honestly, the same way these tomes approach their subject matter, and say these are the cat's meow! Jean Craighead George has penned two ultra-thin volumes on communicating with our best friends and felines, and each is a howling success. The Newberry Medal-winning author does what someone like Elizabeth Masrshall Thomas has tried to do in books tens of thousands words and pages longer and could not. Jean, by George, had found the winning ways to teach pet lovers how to chat with their four-footed pals. Her writing is sparse: "A lick is not a kiss. It is a statement that says you're a wonderful leader." Her advice is refreshing: "Growling is aggressive talk. Don't growl back. Dogs don't like that." As special as her words is the whimiscal use of arkwork: actual color photos of the animated author interacting with illustrations (by Sue Truesdell) of equally animated cartoon cats and dogs. (We just love the one of George on all fours, rubbing heads with a cat!) Four paws up!

My son brought this book home from his school library and I thought it sounded cute, so we began reading it together before bedtime one evening. At just about every page, I had to stop and say "Well, our cats are not like that" or "that doesn't sound right". My 7 year old son even agreed. The author insinuates things about cats that frankly are just not true, such as they are antisocial and do not vocalize unless they are demanding something from you. I own three cats and am under no false belief that my cats worship me. However, the implied opposite notions implied in this book I do not believe are true either. I will confess I did not finish this book (because of the mis-truths), so I can't speak for the information in the last half. I was so perturbed at the inaccuracies in the book though, that I felt more folks know before they invested in it.

This isn't even good or detailed enough to teach your child about cats. You could do better with example. Save your money or buy a more detailed book.

I have had cats for quite sometime... and I was always saying to myself and my girlfriend... "I wish our cat could talk." To be honest, she never wanted to know what they were saying, I think becuase she would be afraid of what they are saying, even though our cats love her more than they do me.
ANYWAY, this book has been a great way to understand better what our little friends are trying to say to us. I would not say that we are having conversations, but, at least I know that I should not take somethings as personal as what I was in the past.
For example, I loved to hold up our big cat, Toolsie, and put my nose to his (as kind of a kiss). Well, he let me do that without any resistance. What his relaxed body but squinting eyes were telling me was that he thinks this is fun but does not undrestand what or why i am doing this. A nice scratch on the back. Our other cat, Cuckoo, puts her paw up to my nose/face as I put my nose to her nose. It is quite funny and I was always wondering what she was thinking... well, from what I understand, Cuckoo thought I was more cuckoo and she was saying "hey, stop that, get out of my face. you are irritating me." Ok, i probably knew that without this book, but it has been good fun and i recommend it to any person who has a cat or give it as a gift to a friend that has a cat.
Keep up the conversation :)

So true.... The book captures all the communication efforts of a cat, and explains each in detail, and offers suggestions on how to communicate back.

This book presents relevant information in a simple and direct way. The illustrations are charming and make the book even more worthwhile. As a first-time cat guardian, I hope to establish a good rapport with the cat that came meowing to my door, wanting me to take her in. She's a good cat that deserves kindness and understanding, and How to Talk to Your Cat is very helpful.