Outwitting Cats: Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Persuading the Felines in Your Life That What YOU Want Is Also What THEY Want

Haven’t finished the book yet but it is well written and easy to understand. It provides the history of cats and then how to understand your cat & his/her behavior, and methods on how to react to different situations. I purchased this because my cat peed on my couch, which she’s never done anything like that in over 6 years. We had just moved & I know she was scared & stressed but I wanted to see if there was a way to understand her actions more. I was happy that the author provided ways of cleaning the mess & wats to avoid it in the future. I feel like I understand my cat a little more.

I have been looking for the cat complement to Dr. Fogel's wonderful "The Dog's Mind" ("The Cat's Mind" isn't it!). This book fits the bill. For someone who knows virtually nothing about cats and did not intend to have one, the introduction to the physical and mental nature of felines is indespensible. The behaviors covered are exactly what is needed as well. The author is obviously a "cat person" and gets a little biased, but the info is still solid. And it is so well-written that I had a hard time putting it down!Whether or not you agree with the title ("Outwitting" is a series, BTW, and authors had to kinda retrofit their writing to fit the theme - Outwitting Dogs is another excellent entry in the series), this book holds nothing but useful information.

I have owned cats for most of my life but when my senior 21 year old cat passed away and we adopted two new kittens from the ASPCA I realized that I had forgotten a lot. This guide helped me immensely and I have since purchased it as gifts for two friends who are new kitten owners. We all love it for the practical advice and the humor.

had some helpful advicefor dealing with cats not getting along

This is the best book on cat behavior (and how to deal with it) we have ever seen. The author knows cats and how to deal with them productively so that bad habits do not get started. Laced with humor and insights the book is a manual for helping your cat be the best it can be.

Im a dog person so really needed some quick insight into how cats think to figure out this kitty we recently adopted. I picked this up at the library and realized I wanted to have it on hand so bought a copy. Im sure I will re-read parts of it from time to time!

A must have for every cat owner no matter how much you think you already know.

This was a gift for my Sister, a new cat owner. She absolutely loves this book and considers it her "cat bible".

I did something I've never done before with this book; I put it in the recycling bin to withdraw it from circulation!I'd bought this book intending to give it to a friend new to cat-keeping because so much of getting along with cats is about learning how to read them and how they understand their environment. Let's just say that friend went into adopting a cat thinking of it as a mysterious, little dog. If you're reading this you're likely to have a cat and be shaking your head at the notion! I read the blurb and thought that this book sounded ideal to help my friend get into the psychology of cats. It arrived and I did that thing where I thought I'd flip through the book first and I'm glad I did. I would not recommend it to UK based cat-lovers, even if you prefer to have indoor only cats.I must admit that the author immediately put my hackles up with her fantasy account of the domestication of the cat. It's all wrong from the sub-species she identifies to her description of Bronze Age vessels. Okay, I thought, one can be brilliant with cats without giving a fig for history, so I set my prejudices aside and read on.First off, if you've ever looked up anything about cats online you'll know that Americans have VERY strong views about things, especially that letting a cat go outside is tantamount to abuse whereas most British, and dare I say European , cats are indoor/outdoor creatures, indeed, no local shelter to me will allow anyone to adopt a cat to be solely an indoor cat if it cannot be proven that it's always been an indoor cat. I think the publisher made the author put in the line where she grudgingly acknowledges that cats are sometimes let outside because her solution to your cat being aware of neighbours' cats outdoors is TO TRAP THEM AND TAKE THEM TO A SHELTER TO REHOUSE THEM ELSEWHERE and she mentions this more than once. It's clear her goal is to rid the locality of outdoor cats. Let's be clear, she does not mean strays but your neighbours' cats.The second thing that lost her credibility in my eyes is the authors approach to cleaning up vomit or hairballs. She recommends letting them dry in situ before lifting! Urgh!!!! She also seems to take a dim view of restricting cats from any surfaces such as kitchen bench tops. I love cats and love sharing my home with cats but I would not want to ever visit the author's home. The thought makes my skin crawl.The third major reason is more nebulous. Her observations and subsequent interpretation often jars with my own experiences. I don't think I'm alone because there are other cat authors out there whose writings accord well with my lived experiences and observations of groups of cats.That's not to say that there aren't little gems of wisdom here and there but if they were edited into a standalone document it's be a few A4 sheets of paper at most and when balanced against the not applicable to the UK, things that will get you in trouble with the police, and things that in my experience don't apply to any cat I've ever met the book is more a harm than a help. There were better books published before this one and better ones published since, not to mention a wealth of information online these days. I was glad to put this book "beyond use."

Obviously written by someone who has spent a lot of time watching cats, which I seem to do as well, would love to know what goes on in their little heads.