Customer Reviews

Whole Health for Happy Cats: A Guide to Keeping Your Cat Naturally Healthy, Happy, and Well-Fed (Quarry Book S.)

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My bookcase is full of volume after volume of cat-related reading material. Some of this material dates back several years, even decades; however, most is much more current than that, touting some of the biggest names in the "industry." Even as current as most of this material is suppose to be, I have difficulty trusting some of it, especially the discussions on diet. Many of these authors are highly regarded as experts in the animal health field, yet, I still cannot find myself trusting a lot of what I read. Actually, some of the information has even been confirmed as outright dangerous and should not even be said in the same breath as "cat," let alone be recommended for use with a cat.

Sandy Arora's book, "Whole Health for Happy Cats," fills the void that has existed for so long on my bookshelves. She demonstrates herself to be articulate and informative--(it appears she has good background and training in research methodology),-- backing up her information with plenty of documentation, references, and resources.

Being interested in nutrition most of my life, I truly appreciate her guidance on diet. In particular, her knowledge of raw feeding transcends most of what is being offered up by the expert gurus. Here is a lady who really understands what "species appropriate" means (without being dictatorial about it).

I've been practicing holistic methods with everyone in my household, furry or non, for over twenty years. I can only come to the conclusion that Ms. Arora proverbially "eats, sleeps, and *you know what*" cats (holistically, of course) because she seems to have covered just about every imaginable area of SAFE holistic cat care remedies, cat well-being, and cat health: from the nutritional end to the herbal end to the homeopathic end to, well, there is practically no end to what Ms. Arora covers in "Whole Health for Happy Cats." And her book is soooooo much fun to look at while you read it, with beautiful pictures (not just drawings) and informative sidebars and tables. (The picture on page 45 is especially amusing.) As an added bonus, I can actually go over to her discussion forum and ask her for clarification of anything in her book. (Pretty cool, eh?)

I do have one request: At the end of the book, Ms. Arora has added an appendix that outlines a few infectious diseases. You know the ones: FIV, FIP, FeLV; the ones that, when your vet diagnoses them, cause the contents of your stomach to leap into your throat. Sandy provides some wonderful info to assist those who have to bear the burden of that kind of news concerning their kitty. She helps to take away some of the feeling of helplessness that seems so prevalent with these diseases. And she gives the reader treatment options to help extend not only the life, but the quality of the infected kitty's life. My request? Please, Ms. Arora, if you have another book in you, take this subject of disease/illness/conditions and expand upon as many as you can, extending what you have already hit upon in your appendix and nutritional sections: FIP, FIV, FeLV, IBD, CRF, diabetes, and cancer, to name a few that you've touched upon already. It would be wonderful to have a "trustworthy" up-to-date cat-specific book that details different diseases and conditions, holistic treatment options, and nutritional support. It would probably save a lot of kitty parents a lot of grief and frustration, and give a lot of ill kitties a higher quality of life.

"Whole Health for Happy Cats." I would think your cats would indeed be happy if you followed Sandy Arora's advice. Less trips to the vet, tastier, healthier food choices, beautiful fur and skin, healthier teeth, healthier immune systems, and, most importantly, HAPPIER CATS: 'Cause "If kitty ain't happy, noooooobody's happy................"......or something like that.

I received my copies of Sandy Arora's book last night and I was up until midnight reading it ~ and I had to get up at 5am!

I am at a loss to describe how fantastic I think this book is...um, since I am hardly ever at a loss for words, let me try: it is *especially* informative with regards to information on using more natural means to care for our kitties by the use of a more natural meat-based diet and holistic/homeopathic remedies (just to name a couple examples ~ 'cause it is jam-packed with tons of info), it is easy to read and understand for us "lay persons" not well-versed in homeopathy, the presentation is thoughtfully well-laid out, the photos are incredible, it is too hard to put down <sigh> because you become so engrossed in it, it is colorful ~ where most kitty books in the genre of holistic/homeopathic are somewhat dull by comparison, and you want to keep reading and reading and learning and learning!

This is the most treasured book for kitties that I own by far. Kitties everywhere are thanking you, Sandy; as are their parents! And Boo is purring with happiness for his mama giving back to other kitties in his honor...

So, if you love kitties and you don't have a copy of this book, please get one or two (or more) and share them with other kitty lovers!

This book is gorgeous! Well laid-out and informative and all those pictures of cats! The photos make it a delight to look at, the text makes it a delight to read.

This book is a gift to cat-lovers by a woman who combines her passion for cats, talent for research, and desire to communicate knowledge she has painstakingly gained, both through study and personal experience, to help all cats.

My sweet Maine coon cat, Emma, benefitted from advice in the first chapter. Em came to me several years ago traumatized from years of abuse, not the least of which involved litterbox use/non-use. Em learned that the litterbox is a filthy, stinking disgusting mess and a source of pain and humiliation.

Emma's better about using the litterbox now than she was when she first joined us. I make sure it's not a filthy, disgusting mess and do NOT hit, kick, or scream at her for not using it. When she first joined us, I tried every litter on the market. She didn't use any of them equally.

The ONLY method that has had any effect on her litterbox use has been positive reinforcement. I sweep her up, which she loves, dance around with her singing our "litterbox song" when she uses it. She loves the attention and almost laughs out loud, she's so happy to receive such lavish praise.

After reading Sandy's book, I realized that the litter I was using *could* be problematic. Obviously, I'd thought it was okay or I wouldn't have used it. Digging through a closet, I found a bag of clay litter and dumped some in two of Em's six litterboxes. When I showed it to Em, she looked at it, touched it with a paw, walked around the litterbox and used in it!

I was flabbergasted. Has Emma's "problem" all these years been that she didn't recognize the litter as litter? I realized that when I'd tried out all the litters Em was in no shape to make any decisions or choices. She wasn't ready for such a "test." Em wants clay litter? Em gets clay litter. I'm hoping to switch to something more environmentally friendly but, for now, we're going with what works.

So, Sandy, thanks again and again! I'm not claiming Emma's problem is "solved," it may never be, but the prognosis for mutual happiness is better.

Whole Health for Happy Cats has become my cat bible. It lives in the kitchen with my `human' recipe books. Like them, it's covered in...ahem... `stuff', as I refer to it so often, particularly with regard to making nutritionally-balanced, cat-appropriate food.

My three cats are benefiting greatly from the info on nutrition and gentle holistic means for treating illness and disease. I'm also benefiting by saving a fortune on vet visits and expensive drugs that often just treat the symptom, not the cause. I feel so much more empowered knowing that I can treat common ailments myself, using items readily available from most health food stores. The book also explains when I should go to the vet without delay. The book is thoroughly researched using the latest information available. For this reason, it's far more useful than older books on the subject.

Without this book, I wouldn't have the confidence to make my animals' food myself. This book has all the information I need to know that the food I'm giving them is not only enjoyable for them to eat, but is nutritionally balanced, based on the latest research in cat nutrition. Given the tragic pet food contamination that killed thousands of cats and dogs, I can sleep at night knowing that my guys won't be the victims of less-than-optimum quality control and cat-inappropriate `filler' ingredients that are in so many commercial pet foods.

I particularly love the `mix and match' table which shows you how to nutritionally balance various types of meat with the other things cats' need.

For those who don't want to make their cats' meals, the book includes details on what to look for in commercial cat food, and what to avoid.

The book covers a whole raft of issues including diet, first aid, treating minor ailments, behavioural issues, reducing stress during vet visits, cat-toxic plants, how to introduce cats to each other to minimise hissing, spitting and flying fur, solving toilet troubles and how to resolve conflict in multi-cat households. There's even a recipe for safe, cat-appropriate tooth paste to maintain good teeth and gum health (I'm psyching myself up to try that out) and a gentle tummy soother.

The book is very easy to read, with lots of gorgeous photos, side bars, graphs and tables and interesting facts and figures. An absolute winner. I've given copies of this book to others and it's also in my public library.

My cats are healthy, lean, purring machines and they have this book and the author's extensive knowledge to thank for that. Every purrson should have a copy.

I love my cats and always want to do what is best for them. Imagine my surprise when the author proved logically to me that I wasn't helping keep my pets happy and healthy.
One of my cats has food allergies, and I thought I would have to deal with his sensitive stomach for the rest of his life (15+ years, hopefully). My other cat is overweight. Now they are on a raw diet (commercially produced). Even though it took some persistence, both cats are healthier and happier. Our sensitive stomach cat has thrown up a grand total of once in the last six weeks (when he started the raw diet); he used to throw up at least every other day, even on the hypoallergenic food. Our fat cat has lost weight and has much more energy. She still gets dry food at night, but we treat it like dessert and she only gets a tiny amount.
Both cats also have terribly anxiety about going to the vet. We have successfully used Rescue Remedy (suitably diluted) to calm their stress. My vet thinks I'm crazy, but she can't argue with the results.
Thanks, Ms. Arora, for helping me improve my cats' quality of life. If my cats are happy, I'm happy.

It is so wonderful to finally have a current, throughly researched book on natural cat care. So many other books either treat cats like they are little dogs, or they are simply outdated.

The recommendations in the book are terrific There is something for everyone in this book. Even if a reader is not prepared to go to a full raw diet, there is great information about what to look for in a quality commercial product.

The book is in an easy to read format, and the pictures are beautiful. I would strongly recommend this book to all cat guardians. There is such a wealth of information and layers that the reader can take as much as they want to from the book.

I got this together with Your Cat by Hodgkins and the Natural Health Bible because I was considering feeding raw/cooked. I liked reading this book, it was glossy and had a lot of nice pictures that made it easy to read. It also advocates a raw natural diet. It was not very scientific (I think Natural Health Bible is the most detailed and scientific) and it was difficult to cross-reference because some of the information that was important was in sidebars in random spots (like I wish the vitamin requirements were by the recipes and not on another page). They do have one page with a mix and match diet recipe which I find very useful. But if you want to do cooked and not raw diet, it says "cooking destroys many important vitamins" etc but does not say how these can be restored or what the vitamins are. As far as I can tell it is mainly taurine, which can be supplemented in a greater amount. But it was nice reading and just for that mix and match recipe it is worth buying. My cats now eat all natural cooked food. I would transition to raw but we have no place to buy organic meats.

To another pet parent looking for a balance between nutrition and ease of sticking to the routine, this provides guidance sometimes omitted if just dealing with a vet on an annual basis. Our Moxley's 11.5 years young and we almost lost him to urinary cystitis over six years ago. Luckily, his vet succesfully performed a perineal urethrostomy and he's been trouble free since. Although excessive ash in his food was allegedly to blame, it made me re-evaluate what he was eating. He also had slight allergies and some dry spots over his eyebrows which we were told were untreatable as they did not respond to prescription creams. Otherwise, he seemed healthy. Since then, he eats home made food, often raw, with fish capsules squished into the commercial food he gets as a treat. His fur is glorious, eyes clear, dry spots forgotten and he is focused on getting the most out of his life. (If you want to see the sheen of his fur, check out YouTube for Moxley cat spanking). We recommend this book as a great addition to a home library and to share with other (less enlightened) pet owners. When the horror of the pet food recalls happened, we felt safe and grieved for others' loss. No one should blindly trust "corporate strangers" in their pet's welfare. This book will help you take control of it with ease.

This is the best book on cat care and diet I have ever seen. The focus of it is on a species appropriate diet of real meat-that in itself prevents most of the chronic diseases that cats suffer from when fed a commercial diet of bagged dry cat food loaded with grains. But she's not preachy or self righteous about it. She also speaks to those who are not comfortable feeding totally raw meat. She talks about natural home remedies for cats-from eyewashes to natural worm medicines. Excellent. The only bad thing about this book is that there is not more of it. I wish it were longer. I wish she had gone into more detail on everything, especially recipes and cooking for cats. But overall this book is essential to anyone that takes care of cats.

Well, here's another satisfied customer! :)

I just finished reading Sandy's new book last night & it is wonderful.
It is a very easy read w/clear info. Finally, a book that includes info regarding a species appropriate raw diet that is specific to a feline's nutritional needs. The photos are beautiful, as well. I think this book would be good for anyone who loves cats, not just those who prefer to practice holistic care. I encourage anyone who cares about kitties to
invest in this economical resource chocked full of important &
interesting cat-specific info.

Thanks, Sandy, for offering this very well written & much
needed book!