Customer Reviews

Is Your Cat Crazy? : Solutions from the Casebook of a Cat Therapist

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wow! What a great book. With a background in experimental social psychology and more than a passing interest in animal behavior, this book did a great job of applying psychological principles I've learned to cat behavior problems. Most times I don't find this in books on animal behavior.

I found this book to be really interesting. In fact, now I'm wondering if his is a career path I would like to follow. I think Dr. Wright's career is fascinating and intriguing. I really loved the way he first completely presented the cat problem to us and then gave us the solution he used. I found myself trying to figure out what the solution was before I read it. Alas, most of the time I was stumped, but after reading the solution, it made complete sense.

If you love trying to understand your cat, or if you have behavior problems, then this book is for you! It's a must if you are serious about your cat!

This is the first book about pets that I actually read from start to finish. It had a lot of great case studies, which provided excellent examples of symptoms cats produce (urinating on furniture, refusal to eat, etc.), and how to overcome this "crazy" behavior. I recommend this book to anyone who has a cat(s) and wants to better understand them. If you want suggestions for training your cat, this book is great! Biggest lesson learned: Don't punish your cat; there are better, more effective solutions to change your cat's behavior.

I've read a lot of books about cats and their unusual behavior. This is the first book that truly clarified for me why cats do what they do and why it makes sense to them. This book was like a lightbulb illuminating overhead with the message "of course that's why she does that, why didn't I see that before?"

My problem with "Is Your Cat Crazy" is that its a much thicker book than it needs to be. What information is there is good, but we get case after case of the same problems with the same solution. Probably 75% of the book is about litter box problems. There's one chapter devoted to the topic, and its a good chapter, but then virtually every other cat he encounters has litter box problems and he explains, again and again ad nauseum, what he did to solve them.

Aside from litter boxes issues, his advice is this: don't use physical punishment of any kind, distract the cat from bad behavior by throwing a toy, and administer anti-anxiety medicine or sedatives until the cat improves. If your cat is using his/her litter box, I just saved you $10.

This book has helped give me specific, easy to apply techniques to use with my cat's behavioral problems. Not only was it informative, but a very enjoyable read. The content was well presented, easy to understand, and humorous at the same time. I'm looking forward to more books by Dr. Wright!

I have been struggling with how to get my male cat to stop spraying around the house, a very frustrating problem. This book is very helpful in that it discusses specific examples that are similar to my own situation. I finally know why my cat is spraying and what to do about it. The book has also helped me deal with other issues, i.e., multiple cat household, health problems as a possible source of behavioral problems etc. I think every cat owner should have this book.

The only reason that I've rated this nine and not ten is that no book can hope to cover all the strange quirks of behavior that our cats can come up with. But this one comes close and has some great solutions. I handle the questions and answers section of a national cat club web site and when I have a behavior question that I need a resource for, this is my book of choice. It is also the one I recommend when someone needs more help than I can reasonably give via email. If your cat is crazy (aren't they all?), you'll want this book

While the cover may look a tad light hearted the contents are well researched and written by a professional. My vet recommended and I was not disappointed. I only wish that the TOC were a bit more thorough so I could easily skip to sections on relevant issues for my pets.

A fellow cat-lover friend gave me this book about a year ago, and I just picked it up and read it recently. As background, we have three cats (just got our third one 10 days ago) and I have grown up with cats ever since I was a child. I love cats (even worked for a feline non-profit agency). I also have a psychology and social work background. I just say this to emphasize that I'm not a novice to cats, nor to behaviorism.

I really liked this book. It was very well-written (easy to read, down-to-earth, conversational style) and explained a lot of cat behavior, including solutions for behavior owners found problematic.

My cats don't have any behavior problems and I still read this cover-to-cover. I highly recommend this book.

p.s. Another POV: My husband, also a cat-lover, but not nearly as avid as I, started reading this book. About half-way through, he lost interest, saying it was repetitive.

Had this book recommended to me when I inherited someone else's problem cat who refused to go in the box.

This book explained how the kitty brain works! I was able to watch and observe my kitty, get inside her head, and give her a box she would go in!

You must supply your own patience of course!