The Cat Selector: How to Choose the Right Cat for You

by David Alderton

Cats are popular as household companions and pets, but many people who plan to adopt a cat are unaware of the choices available to them. The Cat Selector will enlighten them with profiles of 130 feline breeds while also describing the wide variations in cats' dispositions and personalities. Author and animal expert David Alderton divides the contents of this book into categories designed to help each reader find the perfect cat to match his or her personality and lifestyle. His categories include-- Large cats * Athletic cats * Very friendly cats * Strange-coated cats * Distinctive cats * and many more The profiled breeds include-- Maine Coon * Siberian * Siamese * Turkish Angora * British Shorthair * Munchkin * Cornish Rex * Bengal * American Wirehair * Manx * Japanese Bobtail * and many more Each cat profile includes information on personality, appearance, grooming requirements, and specific health considerations. An informative text is s

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Cats, Adult

176 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

David Alderton is a UK-based writer specialising in pets and natural history topics. Growing up in a home surrounded by pets, he originally trained to become a veterinary surgeon. An allergic dermatitis acquired in his final year of study forced a change of career however, and so led him into the field of writing about pets and their care. He has since become a regular contributor of articles on this subject to a wide range of newspapers and magazines in the UK and abroad, and also participates frequently in radio and television programmes.

His books have currently sold over six million copies, and have been translated into 30 different languages. David’s titles have won awards in the USA from the Cat Writers' Association of America and the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers’ Association of America, as well as being nominated for the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize. He has also chaired the National Council for Aviculture, the umbrella organisation for bird-keeping clubs and associations in the UK, and is a member of the Kennel Club, as well as editor of the monthly magazine Practical Reptile Keeping.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on different breeds and mixes of cats. Information on color and size with a little history as well. Tells you how affectionate or talkative a breed might be. Very enjoyable book with great photos.

[Peter Wolfley · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most under appreciated parts of staying in an airbnb is being exposed to books you would never even think to read. Also you cannot truly appreciate this book until you've watched the documentary on Netflix about the competitive cat show circuit called CATWALK.

[Birdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful for learning about the many breeds of cats, their personalities and specific needs--and which kind would work best for you and your lifestyle. The tricky part is finding the kind of cat you want in real life! (Some of these breeds are very rare.) The pictures were fabulous!

[Erin Tuzuner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely researched index of domestic cats and their compatibility with your lifestyle. Great photos and illuminating(for me) information about hybrids.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a cat lover the photos of this book drew me in. There are some beautiful photos in here.

However it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The way the book is partitioned is quite odd in places, mixing colours up with breeds which I found confusing and unnecessary. Breeds are also repeated in separate chapters, and I'm not sure why this couldn't be combined as just a larger section for each breed, eliminating the need for repetition.

Overall a good book for flicking through but I guess I'm more after an encyclopedia of cat breeds.

[A.J. Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent photos. Content is redundant and ridiculous. Breeding cats is disturbing in so many ways.

[Annie Yang · Rating 1 out of 5]

All it is, is a pretty book for the bookshelf of a cat lover. The design and the photos are beautiful, and if not examined thoroughly it can actually be mistaken for a good book, but it's not. The sections of the book are separated by color, size, temperament, etc. In each of those sections, each breed is presented in no particular order. Two cats of similar breed are a page or two apart, when it would make much more sense to display a longhaired/shorthaired breed on two pages next to each other, for easier reference. So the reader is just flipping around, trying to extract needed information act purebred cats, and... the information cannot be found because the author only sometimes puts useful information on that breed's page, but most of the time, it's some irrelevant paragraph on something not directly relating to the breed, or it was already mentioned elsewhere. The book is windy, but doesn't exactly tell much. Not only that, but if the reader chooses to just simply look at the pictures, it can be hard to get a good idea of what the breed looks like because the photo was taken at angle where it can't be seen entirely, for example, a cat lying on its side. Extremely mixed bag with this one, and don't waste your time unless you like skimming useless information.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative...but a bit dry.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty cool. I like that at the end of the book it had more resources for people.