Wild Cat Haven

by Mike Tomkies, Tomkies

The first authoritative account about wildcats which set the scene for later research

Genres: Nature, Natural History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1992

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a revised, updated and combined edition of two of the author's previous books, 'My Wilderness Wildcats' and 'Liane, a Cat from the Wild'. It tells of the author's experience of raising two wildcat kittens, Cleo and Patra, and his subsequent attempts to encourage them to breed. To help with this aim, he was given a male wildcat called Sylvesturr, who had spent most of his life in a zoo. Liane was the smallest kitten from Cleo's second litter, whom Tomkies attempted to tame.

At the time when Tomkies wrote his books, there was very little information available on British wildcats, and much of it was contradictory. His 'wildcat project' added a good deal of information to the stock of knowledge about this fascinating mammal. This book is interesting and informative - it also has some delightful photos of the wildcats. Recommended to anyone with an interest in Scottish wildlife and/or wildlife conservation and study methods of the 1970s and 80s. Possibly because this is an updated and revised edition of two previous books, I found it a bit less repetitive than other Tomkies books I have read.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and extremely informative read about this least known and studied animal. There were numerous times while I was reading though that I thought, What the hell is this guy doing?! :) But since I am also a huge cat fan, that I finally conceded of course he tried to do his part in saving these creatures.

[Joseph Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure about the author's attempts to tame such a wild creature, but this was a great read nevertheless. I don't know too much about wildcats, so found the book both interesting and informative. Like all tomkies' books, the reverence and respect for the creatures of the natural world shines through. Plenty of love for patra too, bless her!

[Bren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped the last 50 pages of this book, as I had been warned it was very sad. that's something I rarely do, but I'm glad I did in this case. I found some of the book difficult to read in the light of today's approaches and knowledge, but it was interesting. If the research had not taken place, maybe the Wildcat would have been lost forever.