(Part 2) Best cat care books according to redditors

Same thing goes for cats, too. Read Desmond Moriss' Catwatching. It's why feral cats are, well, feral: unapproachable and basically wild, while house cats are much more like large kittens; purring, meowing (feral cats seldom vocalize), playing with (aka "torturing") mice (ferals tend to kill and eat immediately), enjoying games with string and laser dots, and so on. House cats are locked into a permanent state of adolescence.

Immediately buy this book and if you don't have a kindle app on your computer, download the app for free.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KNSCL7T/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

This is Kitten Lady's Tiny But Mighty and it will tell you everything you need to know about helping your little kitten. There are also good youtube groups such as TinyKittens. Much advice there.

Your kitten is hungry, do not feed it cow's milk no matter what. Get KMR (Kitten Replacement Milk) at a pet store,.

https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Wars-Devastating-Consequences-Cuddly/dp/0691167419

Paper hats for cats! Cause I want my cats to hate me.

I really want to tape piece of paper under the optical mice at work. The guys would be so upset, and have no idea what was going on.

I have been clicker training my cats using the tips in this book. I'm sure there are better books out there but this one gives the basics.

Just make sure to be consistent. Cats, especially indoor cats, like having a job just like people do. My cats are much better behaved when we do our 10-20 minutes of training after I get back from work and 15 minutes of play before bed.

Also it took me forever to find a treat that one of my cats likes. I had to throw out like 6 or 7 open bags of treats because she only likes beef flavor. Just be patient and keep trying things until it works.

Also, I love that OP uses the hand gun as a signal for hands up.

Siblings, yay! They'll already know each other which is helpful when transplanting each to a new environment.


I think this book is a helpful general guide for beginners. This one too though it has a stronger focus on wet food diets.

Get a cat feather toy and wear him out with it before you head to bed. Being a young kitten he has lot's of energy he needs to expel, and playing with him will help that, and calm him down so you can sleep at night.

Our kitty used to want to play and meow all night until we set him on a schedule, now everyday at around 5:00 or 6:00 P.M. He gets play time and afterwards dinner. Once dinner is done, he's ready to relax and groom then sleep.

Trust me just spending some time drawing out his energy and you'll have a much more content kitty.

P.S. all this info comes courtesy of Jackson Galaxy, the man is the cat whisper and I learned so much watching his show My Cat From hell. He also has a book called Total Cat Mojo

This is a brand-new book, available on Amazon, and the cat lunatics are already out in force, giving it tons of 1-star ratings.

https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Wars-Devastating-Consequences-Cuddly-ebook/dp/B01EBEIKKW/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1#nav-subnav

My mom decided to offer all three of her ebooks for free this weekend for her birthday, including her newest. I told her I'd help spread the world a little.

Echo's Voice is a project she's been working on for 15 years now. Original conceived as a screenplay, it's continued to grow since then through several experiments into self publishing over that time.

The other five parts will come out weekly in June and be around the same length. She's still trying to decide on the pricing, but each of them should have free days as well.

Also, her two other books are free this weekend as well:

Too Many Dandelions and Other Tails: A collection of short stories about pets and animals, including a particularly touching story about a group of cats named after a cartoon character.

And the Dominoes Fall: "When catastrophe shatters all that we know, can these three endure: ... A story of survival, family and faith"

Basically, they want to have their own turf. They walk around constantly rubbing their scent on everything cat-height. Indoors, this means 2+ cats will be in an eternal cold war over your house, which is stressful. Their food and litterbox are especially personal. If they're siblings from the same litter, they can stay together and be happy with it, but any other time they just want their own space. We humans tend to project our own feelings/wants/etc onto them (as we do so many things.) Even if it appears, to our eyes, like they're playing with each other or getting along, they usually don't see it that way. Cat Sense takes a scientific look at cats, but it can get pretty dense at parts.

Here's some super-careful advice from a book by Amy Shojai called ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Cat-Dog Household on how to introduce a dog to a home that already has a cat. I was about a tenth this careful when I brought my second dog home.

• Ask a friend to bring the new dog into the house out of sight of the resident cat so kitty won’t associate you with the “scary” critter.
  
  
• Keep the isolation room door shut for at least the first week, and longer if necessary. Resident cats become upset at the sight of a stranger but may be curious about the smell or sound.
  
  
• Isolating Rex allows the resident cats to feel less threatened while learning to accept the new smells and sounds of that dog-behind-the-door.
  
  
• Schedule Rex’s potty breaks to keep them from seeing each other too soon. Put Sheba in your bedroom during the dog’s travels to and from the back yard.
  
  
• Offer Sheba the opportunity to check out the “safe room” while the dog is outside, to become more familiar with the dog’s smells. Just leave the door open and she’ll explore at her leisure, but don’t force her into the room. Let it be the cat’s idea.
  
  
• Next, replace the isolation room door with a baby gate so the pets can see each other, and sniff or paw pat through the opening while they’re safely separated. Your cat can control the interaction by jumping over or winding through the baby gate, if she really feels the urge to check out Rex.
  
  
• If you don’t have a baby gate, and the dog is small enough, you can place Rex inside a crate or pet carrier for the cat to approach in a safe, controlled way. Watch both pets’ reactions closely and delay taking the next step until you are satisfied they feel comfortable.
  
  
• Put Rex on a leash before removing the baby gate, so he and the cat can finally meet. Remember, these initial introductions should be between the new pet and only ONE of your resident animals, not everybody at once.
  
  
• Keep Rex under leash control but give him some wiggle room or a tight leash can make him feel tense.
  
  
• Make initial meetings as pleasant as possible. If your cat feels proprietary toward you, engage her in a fishing pole game while another family member handles Rex, so that the cat associates the dog with good things for her. You can also give each animal a plate of food on opposite ends of a room, to distract them and reward the fact they ignore each other.
  
  
• Use a dab of vanilla extract—or your favorite perfume or cologne—and dab just a bit on the back at the base of the tail, and on the back of the neck of both pets to make them smell alike. Making the new dog smell like the cat goes a long way toward encouraging Sheba to accept him as a family member.
  
  
• Whenever possible make initial meetings in an open room with lots of space, and lots of cat second-story perches available. That way, Sheba can check out the dog from her cat tree, well beyond nose-sniffing range, and feel more comfortable.
  
  
• Keep first nose-to-nose meetings to only five or ten minutes, and then give everyone a break and return the dog to his room.
  
  
• When the dog and cat willingly nose sniff, the cat cheek rubs the dog, and/or Rex play-bows an invitation to a game, that’s great! Allow play for a few minutes at a time, but interrupt before either pet becomes overexcited.
  
  
• Continue to offer planned meetings for another week, monitoring the dog until he can control himself and respects the cat even when off leash.
  
  
• Segregate the new pet alone in his “safe room whenever you are not able to directly supervise, until you are satisfied that the cat and dog get along well, and both have “safe places” they can retreat when necessary.

Yeah controls are super important. I know that study didn't "need" them for what they were looking into, but it'd be good info for consumers to have context against Purina, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Eagle Pack, etc.

I know, the stigma against this is unreal. Even in the /r/vegan sub people refuse to even consider it's a possibility, so I appreciate your open mindedness.

Here are some more brands and more.

Have you heard of Dr Andrew Knight? Here's his website, some videos, and an article he wrote. How about Pitcairn?

I agree that buying from a small supplier is scary due to potentially reduced knowledge, scale, and testing ability, but just because they're small doesn't inherently mean it's impossible for one of them to get it right. Some of those brands are also pretty large, and may offer a vegan option in addition to a more mainstream lineup.

Check out this book for some info: Dr. Jean Hofve, What Cats Should Eat.

I can't speak to what's good for dogs, but I feed my cats Nature's Variety Instinct. (That brand also makes dog food but as a cat owner, I can't vouch for it.)

They make both wet and dry foods, and believe it or not, the kibble actually smells GOOD, and my cats love it. It's a grain-free food, and there's one version called 'Raw Boost' that also has freeze-dried raw meat bits in it.

I don't suppose it was Life and Adventures of Five Kittens in the Attic - Gogo and his siblings by Fee Fee The ?

> In a cold rainy December night, five cute kittens were born in the attic of a house: Bezar, Lulu, Gogo, Chity Jr. and Jacko Jr. They lived happily and peacefully with their so loving and attentive mother Chity and their strong and very brave father Jacko. Until one day mother Chity and father Jacko left them all alone in the house attic. Days and nights they waited for their return hopelessly. So what would happen to five little kittens living on their own? An adventure story of fighting for survival, of love, of friendship and rivalry. The story of five very young kittens learning to grow up and taking responsibility for their survival.
>
>With rich and colorful as well as black and white illustrations. It is a lovely book to read for children and adult, and for all to treasure. It is not only touching, it teach children that challenges are given to help us learn and grow. This story is based on and inspired by true five living kittens that were born and grew up in the attic of a house.

You may want to try the resources listed on this blog post from the NYPL.

http://www.amazon.com/Kittens-3-D-Yoneo-Morita/dp/0062039571?ie=UTF8

Eh, I didn't really have a reason for picking that genre, though it does have a tendency for absurd plots/titles:

http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Wars-Earthfall-ebook/dp/B004IWQXKW/

http://www.amazon.com/Cygnius-sedonai-Caper-Noir-ebook/dp/B004HILQMC

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/fantasy-book-covers.php

I think the hardest thing about making a sci-fi book called "Duke of the Metal Jewellery" would be making an equally ridiculous cover to go with it.

Cats take care of themselves quite well. They communicate a lot through body language. They need a place to scratch their claws and mine loved to chase toys. I recommend this book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catwatching-Essential-Guide-Cat-Behaviour/dp/0091883113 it helped me understand my cats better. Post some photos when you have them!!!

I saw this yesterday at a bookstore and immediately added it to my Amazon wishlist. XD

http://www.amazon.com/Catwatching-Desmond-Morris/dp/0517880539

http://www.amazon.com/Catlore-Desmond-Morris/dp/0517880571

If you’re interesting in diving into the issue in depth, this is a very informative book on free-roaming cats

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

I... I might buy that.

http://www.amazon.com/Kittens-3-D-Yoneo-Morita/dp/0062039571

I was pretty certain that after a certain amount of time you could not make a feral cat friendly, and to make a cat person friendly they needed to be handled frequently before a certain time. At least that's what I read in CAT SENSE

this book is worth reading. He's one of my favorite scientists and also loves cats

https://www.amazon.com/Catwatching-Desmond-Morris/dp/0517880539

Not a vet, but an owner of an elderly cat myself. I wonder if some of what may be happening is arthritis? It seems fairly common in older cats and could explain some of the behaviors -- grooming less, peeing outside the box, losing muscle mass (b/c sleeping more, moving about less) -- and it doesn't come across in blood work. This is something the vet may be able to diagnose and there are things to do, both to help with the joints (glucosamine, fish oil) and, if needed, the pain.

Also (and, again, just from experience and not from being, you know, a vet), does he like wet food? To get more fluids into my elderly cat I'll give her wet food with some extra water mixed in. She loves it and she gets more fluids than she otherwise would have.

Finally, if you're the sort to find comfort in reading up on these sorts of things, someone recommended this book to me and I've found it helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Older-Cat-Nutrition-Veterinary-ebook/dp/B003P9XHVW/

Cats are the most wonderful creatures on the planet but they do require a specific commitment.
I would recommend reading this book to help answer as it is very informative and if you did not grow up with cats helps to learn what all they need daily.
If you are unsure if you are allergic or not try spending some time at your local animal shelter playing with their kitties, it is fun and may lead to finding a cat you want to bring home.
Going to go hug my cats now.

I honestly don't know but I know I got the [Complete Kitten Care] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Kitten-Care-Amy-Shojai-ebook/dp/B003I851O6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499777483&sr=8-1&keywords=kitten+care) book when my family got a new kitten in May. I liked it, I didn't get very far into it since it was a present for my sibling but she enjoyed the book and said it helped her through the tough baby stages.