Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life [Hardcover]

Elizabeth M. Hodgkins D.V.M. Esq. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2007

"Dr. Hodgkins's discussions are provocative, and disturbing, and the problems they identify will not be easy to rectify quickly. Nonetheless, they are long overdue."
---Alice Villalobos, president of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians and Director of the Animal Oncology Consultation Service, Woodland Hills (Torrance, CA) and Pawspice Care Clinic (Norwalk, CA)
 
In this controversial new book, dedicated veterinarian Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, D.V.M., Esq., raises the alarm regarding the serious flaws in the commercial diets we feed our cats and the nutritional diseases that result. Your Cat turns today's conventional wisdom of cat care on its head with completely new yet remarkably easy-to-follow guidelines for every cat owner.
 
Features include:
 
The real problem with pet foodsParasites, vaccines, and litter-box trainingObesity and feline diabetesPreventative nutrition for the older catThe ten great myths of cat care
From kitten-rearing to the adult cat's middle years to caring for the geriatric cat, Dr. Hodgkins explores the full spectrum of proper cat care, as well as rampant deadly feline diseases like hyperthyroidism, asthma, skin allergies, and gum disease. She provides an explanation of the origin and thorough discussion of the very latest treatments. Illuminated by brief case histories from illness to health, this indispensable manual is one book that every modern cat owner must have on their shelf.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Advance Praise for Your Cat
 

 "A great resource for all cat enthusiasts---from the novice seeking basic information to the more sophisticated owner looking for detail. Well organized with information that is easy to find."
---Laurie Schiff, Esq., All-Breed Cat Judge and General Counsel for the International Cat Association

 

"A highly respected expert in feline health, Dr. Hodgkins has not written just another pretty book about cats. She has given us invaluable knowledge that can help us keep our felines healthy."
---Kay DeVilbiss, All-Breed Cat Judge and president of the International Cat Association
 
"Dr. Hodgkins' book should be mandatory reading for the caring cat lover and feline practitioner!"
---Adriana Kajon, Ph.D., All-Breed Cat Judge, The International Cat Association
 
"What sets Dr. Hodgkins' book apart from all others is the passionate message that she delivers---that we, as owners, can make a dramatic difference in the health of our cats by simply remembering that a cat's digestive system obligates it to eat a diet dramatically different from that provided by all commercial dry cat food. A compelling argument for change. . . . So far, my cats thoroughly approve of our own home trials!"
---Carolyn Osier, Allbreed Cat Judge, Cat Fancier's Association, and breeder of award-winning Abyssinians since 1969
 
"I would highly recommend this book for all people who have a passion and great love for cats."
---Ann Reed, D.V.M., MS, Diplomate, American College Veterinary Radiology
 
"Dr. Hodgkins offers a sensible strategy for avoiding the laundry list of serious ailments with which today's cats often needlessly struggle."
---Lisa Pierson, D.V.M.
 
"It'' more than Dr. Hodgkins's unwavering commitment to feline medicine that I admire, it's her willingness to think outside the box of conventional medicine. She's all about saving lives."
---Steve Dale, host of Steve Dale's Pet World and Pet Central on WGN Radio; syndicated newspaper column (Tribune Media Services); contributing editor at USA Weekend; and contributor to Cat Fancy magazine
 
"This plucky book should be required reading for every cat lover and veterinary professional."
---Anne Jablonski, www.catnutrition.org

About the Author

Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, D.V.M., Esq., has been a veterinarian since 1977. She currently owns and runs her cats-only veterinary practice, All About Cats Health and Wellness Center, in Yorba Linda, California. Dr. Hodgkins graduated from the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and went on to serve as the director of technical affairs at the largest proprietary pet-food manufacturer in the world. During this time, she developed the passion for veterinary nutrition that drove her later investigations into this subject, particularly the management of feline obesity and diabetes.
 
In 2001, Dr. Hodgkins was awarded a U.S. and international patent for a novel and highly successful approach to managing feline diabetes that has effected long-term remission in well over 80 percent of her diabetic patients. She is also a breeder of internationally award-winning Occicats and exhibits her purebred cats across the U.S. Please visit her Web site at www.yourcatbook.com.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (June 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312358016
• ISBN-13: 978-0312358013
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #632,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Cats > Care & Health

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am a cat veterinarian who agrees with Dr. Hodgkins, November 8, 2007

By 

Peggy W. Larson "Peggy W. Larson" (Williston, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life (Hardcover)

Dr. Hodgkins' book is right on the money. Her background with the pet food industry makes her well informed on the subject of feline diets. Cats are obligatory carnivores which means they make most of their energy from meat, not carbs. I am also a veterinarian/lawyer as is Dr. Hodgkins and I have been recommending a meat diet for cats for the past 10 years. Clients who follow my advice have healthy cats who live long lives. My own cats live long healthy lives on the diet recommended by Dr. Hodgkins. As a lawyer, I would consider it malpractice if a veterinarian put my cat on a corn-based dry cat food. Far too long, the pet food industry has controlled pet diets without proper peer reviewed research on the contents of their pet foods. A rodent, the primal food for cats, is 3% carbohydrates, 40% protein and 57% fat, minerals and fiber. To be a healthy cat food, their diets must mimic that of their primal food source. READ THIS BOOK! Then talk with your veterinarian about improving your cat's health with a healthy, meat based diet.

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a relief that a book like this is finally out!, August 25, 2007

By 

Anne Jablonski "catnutrition.org" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life (Hardcover)

For so many years, it seemed that a lot of the sanity when it came to advice on how to properly care for, and especially FEED, a small cat, was only to be found in books published by non-vets. There are many great books out there with fabulous advice, but, sadly, many of them were never taken seriously by the mainstream veterinary community because they were written by people who lacked the 'DVM' credential.

Dr. Hodgkins' book has, thankfully, changed all that. As a lay person, I've spent years now running a website on cat nutrition and steadily beating a noisy drum to draw attention to the folly of feeding the carnivores we choose to live with foods that have no relationship to what Mother Nature intended. It's been fabulous having the support of so many people, but I've longed for -- for years -- to have a book out there by a real, live veterinarian that spoke the truth about the dangers of feeding dry food to cats and articulated precisely how it is that so very many feline diseases are entirely avoidable if we simply get the diet right.

This book is a dream come true. Aside from the wonderful, easy-to-understand style with which Dr. Hodgkins writes, it's jam packed with answers to the questions that so many of us have sought for years. Personally, I'm especially thrilled with the emphasis throughout the book on nutrition, as that really is the brick and mortar of health for cats. It's been astonishing to me over the years to see veterinary clinics fill up with more and more patients and more and more oversized bags of meat-flavored cereal (i.e., prescription dry food), with no one sitting up and taking notice of the relationship. Dr. Hodgkins' book is an extraordinarily welcome breath of fresh air.

Every veterinarian ought read this book and keep a copy or two in the reception area to educate clients. It's written by someone with impeccable credentials, after all, and there's no easy way to dismiss what it has to say. This bell can't be un-rung.

The tragedies that unfolded in earl 2007 with the massive pet food recalls began to wake people up to the dangers of blindly trusting what the pet food industry offers. But the pet food recall is only the tip of the iceberg. Even without the conspicuous problems associated with poor quality control, the sad truth is that the lion's share of commercial pet foods sold today--even when they're not 'tainted'--are terribly inappropriate for our cats (and dogs!) and contribute greatly to illness.

So if you have a cat (or three), you really owe it to yourself to invest in this book.

If I could give this book more than five stars, I would!

Anne (www.catnutrition.org)

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cat Book Available, July 11, 2007

By 

Leslie Thomas (Hobart, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life (Hardcover)

This is absolutely both the best and only cat book you will ever need. I found Dr. Hodgkins' web site for diabetic cats about 6 weeks ago and began following her instructions for diet and insulin. My 2 cats, 1 diabetic and 1 not, responded immediately! The difference in them is amazing--they are both happier and healthier than ever. No more hairballs, no more dry skin, no more dry, dull coats. Their eyes are brighter, they are more active and playful, and my diabetic cat's blood sugar is under control for the first time. It is nothing short of amazing and I am so grateful to Dr. Hodgkins. Her book outlines everything you need to know about caring for your cats. It's simple, straightforward and best of all, full of common sense. If you love your cat, read this book and follow the diet recommendations--you and your cat will be so happy you did.