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Do Cats Hear with Their Feet? traces the evolution of cats from the time they first adapted their feline form about 20 million years ago. Exploring every aspect of a cat's life—from predation, to play, to communication—Jake Page shows us what a cat's daily life is really like. He gives us a cat's-eye view of a bird hunt in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and explains why cats will hunt even when they are full, and why no self-respecting cat would eat vegetables. In sections that will be of interest to every cat owner, Jake Page demonstrates why territory is all-important to cats, investigates cat ESP, and shows that cats have, in fact, never been fully domesticated; they've just graciously decided to reside with us. Beautifully illustrated, this engaging book is full of surprising facts. Did you know: Black cats do better in the crowded conditions of cities than any other color? Cats are as allergic to humans as humans are to cats? Cats have survived falls from heights of over seven stories?
Do Cats Hear with Their Feet? will show readers exactly why cats are such amazing creatures, and why humans have been crazy about them for centuries.
184 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2008
8 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Jake Page
68 books14 followersJake Page was a celebrated editor, science writer, and novelist who made complex topics accessible through wit and clarity. Though he never studied science formally, his role editing Natural History Books at Doubleday sparked a lifelong passion for explaining science to general readers. As science editor and columnist at Smithsonian magazine, he wrote with elegance and humor on a wide range of subjects, from aspirin to Zane Grey. Page authored dozens of books, including works on birds, earthquakes, and Native American history. His fascination with the American Southwest led to a mystery series featuring a blind sculptor-detective. Collaborating with his wife, photographer Susanne Anderson, he produced detailed cultural studies like Hopi and Navajo. His major nonfiction achievement, In the Hands of the Great Spirit, traces 20,000 years of American Indian history. Whether exploring anthropology or writing fiction, Page championed curiosity, clarity, and the belief that science was too important to remain only in expert hands.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 16, 2022
Rather a disappointing read. This book feels like something thrown together in haste, without too much effort on Page's part. At times he even seems to forget the topic is cats, not his favourite subject—dogs. Grrr!
He writes of people in Japan who used to cut off the tails of their cats. That is true. What is also true is that this practice continues to this day (tails are bobbed for reasons of superstition).
Page writes that while people eat dogs, he knows of no place where people normally eat cats. While it may be true that the author knows of no place where they eat cats, perhaps if he had done a few minutes of research, he may have discovered some.
House cats don't kill, Page asserts. He dismisses his friend, an ornithologist, who "huffily" describes cats as subsidized killers. Page prefers to cherry pick research or rely on anecdotes rather than science. If they catch birds, he decides, they only slaughter starlings and sparrows, not actual songbirds. He refers to studies of scat and stomach contents, but ignores studies which attach cameras to the little killers, which shows that domestic cats kill enormous numbers of creatures (including songbirds) but they don't eat most of them (so the victims are not revealed in the scat). They kill for sport. Perhaps the huffy ornithologist made a valid point, but we don't hear from him again.
All in all rather a lame effort. Most cat-owners, reading this book, will encounter a strong unmistakeable whiff of b*llsh*t from an author does not even have any cats (he prefers dogs).
To conclude, I would like to assert that I love cats, and in fact some of my friends would say I am obsessed with cats. Loving cats does not mean one has to be blind to the fact that house cats will indiscriminately kill other creatures.
Also, for someone who claims to love cats so much, why are most books on my cat shelf rated so poorly? It appears that my love of cats does not extend to books about cats.
He writes of people in Japan who used to cut off the tails of their cats. That is true. What is also true is that this practice continues to this day (tails are bobbed for reasons of superstition).
Page writes that while people eat dogs, he knows of no place where people normally eat cats. While it may be true that the author knows of no place where they eat cats, perhaps if he had done a few minutes of research, he may have discovered some.
House cats don't kill, Page asserts. He dismisses his friend, an ornithologist, who "huffily" describes cats as subsidized killers. Page prefers to cherry pick research or rely on anecdotes rather than science. If they catch birds, he decides, they only slaughter starlings and sparrows, not actual songbirds. He refers to studies of scat and stomach contents, but ignores studies which attach cameras to the little killers, which shows that domestic cats kill enormous numbers of creatures (including songbirds) but they don't eat most of them (so the victims are not revealed in the scat). They kill for sport. Perhaps the huffy ornithologist made a valid point, but we don't hear from him again.
All in all rather a lame effort. Most cat-owners, reading this book, will encounter a strong unmistakeable whiff of b*llsh*t from an author does not even have any cats (he prefers dogs).
To conclude, I would like to assert that I love cats, and in fact some of my friends would say I am obsessed with cats. Loving cats does not mean one has to be blind to the fact that house cats will indiscriminately kill other creatures.
Also, for someone who claims to love cats so much, why are most books on my cat shelf rated so poorly? It appears that my love of cats does not extend to books about cats.
August 4, 2009
A very very lame dumb book. Sure there was some interesting facts, but I feel that ANY other cat book (or Wikipedia) would have had the same information in it, except probably more info and better researched and sourced. Issues I had:
1) Hello padded text! If I ever am so unfortunate to read "cats' eyes are often compared to the moon" again in my lifetime I will vomit in disgust. So many unnecessary things were repeated chapter after chapter, which led me to suspect that the author had like 20 pages to meet his page quota and took some desperate steps.
2) Idiotic anecdotes. His friend has a cat that likes to listen to NPR every day at 5? Cool, but what does this have to do with anything other than cats like routine I guess. Not only were almost all the anecdotes pointless and a waste of time, there was also HYPOTHETICAL anecdotes which were especially pointless.
3) I grew to hate the author. He's rich and has a fabulous life! He also owns no cats. At one time he owned a bunch of birds but something happened to them and now it's just empty cage (going to guess his flocks of birds went out tragically like most of his cats). You learn MORE about Jake Page than you really do about cats.
4) I would never trust this author alone in a room with any of my cats. He lectures on and on about the dangers of wet cat food, promising a revealing tell about this (really it's like 3 pages at the very end and his source is some random lady's website. I'm sticking with dry)--but not only is it evident that he didn't get any of his past animals fixed (moot point since all his cats are dead), but he let them in and out of the house where most seemed to die from being hit by cars. Except for one, which he notes was a savvy city-cat. It's telling that his next door neighbor stole his cat and fled town. He notes ironically that this neighbor was a priest--I sort of think that the priest was being heroic and following his call in this instance.
5) So, you write a book called "Do Cats Hear With Their Feet?" -- obviously targeted to fellow insipid cat lovers like myself, and slap a photo of an adorable kitten on the cover. Would you feel the need to constantly warn the reader against doing horrible things to cats? For example 2/3rds of the way through the book, he talks about how some cats have survived falls as much as 7 stories because they can partially flying squirrel glide down (huh) . He then cautions us to please, please not do this, b/c cats can die from falls like this as well. Seriously? You think some crazed hoodlum would be reading this far into the book for cat torture tips? He cautions us elsewhere in the section about cats liquid-like backbones and not to test how cats can flip by dropping them over any surface other than a bed. Or the section on whiskers--that cats need whiskers and to please not cut them off. Who does he think his readers are?
1) Hello padded text! If I ever am so unfortunate to read "cats' eyes are often compared to the moon" again in my lifetime I will vomit in disgust. So many unnecessary things were repeated chapter after chapter, which led me to suspect that the author had like 20 pages to meet his page quota and took some desperate steps.
2) Idiotic anecdotes. His friend has a cat that likes to listen to NPR every day at 5? Cool, but what does this have to do with anything other than cats like routine I guess. Not only were almost all the anecdotes pointless and a waste of time, there was also HYPOTHETICAL anecdotes which were especially pointless.
3) I grew to hate the author. He's rich and has a fabulous life! He also owns no cats. At one time he owned a bunch of birds but something happened to them and now it's just empty cage (going to guess his flocks of birds went out tragically like most of his cats). You learn MORE about Jake Page than you really do about cats.
4) I would never trust this author alone in a room with any of my cats. He lectures on and on about the dangers of wet cat food, promising a revealing tell about this (really it's like 3 pages at the very end and his source is some random lady's website. I'm sticking with dry)--but not only is it evident that he didn't get any of his past animals fixed (moot point since all his cats are dead), but he let them in and out of the house where most seemed to die from being hit by cars. Except for one, which he notes was a savvy city-cat. It's telling that his next door neighbor stole his cat and fled town. He notes ironically that this neighbor was a priest--I sort of think that the priest was being heroic and following his call in this instance.
5) So, you write a book called "Do Cats Hear With Their Feet?" -- obviously targeted to fellow insipid cat lovers like myself, and slap a photo of an adorable kitten on the cover. Would you feel the need to constantly warn the reader against doing horrible things to cats? For example 2/3rds of the way through the book, he talks about how some cats have survived falls as much as 7 stories because they can partially flying squirrel glide down (huh) . He then cautions us to please, please not do this, b/c cats can die from falls like this as well. Seriously? You think some crazed hoodlum would be reading this far into the book for cat torture tips? He cautions us elsewhere in the section about cats liquid-like backbones and not to test how cats can flip by dropping them over any surface other than a bed. Or the section on whiskers--that cats need whiskers and to please not cut them off. Who does he think his readers are?
August 16, 2018
Do Cats Hear with Their Feet? is exactly the kind of book that non-cat owners give cat owners as a gift when they've waited too late to do their Christmas shopping, and I'd say that even if I hadn't received mine in a similar way. (Though to be honest, I likely wouldn't have read this if it hadn't been a present from Grandma.)
Jack Page, whose qualifications as a natural historian are great (founding editor of Doubleday's Natural History Press! editorial director of Natural History magazine! science editor of Smithsonian magazine!) even if his feline bona fides are questionable (he's a cat owner! well, okay, he once owned a cat...decades ago...that lived outside...), offers up a bare 184 pages on cat evolution, physiology, and psychology and one can't help but feel he's doing it more at the bidding of a publisher interested in his producing a companion volume to his previous work Do Dogs Laugh? than from any burning personal interest of his own.
There's some good information here, if nothing that's going to surprise a long-time cat owner, but I found it difficult to get past Page's paternalistic attitude and weirdly dismissive tone toward various branches or practitioners of science. Perhaps that was an unfortunate byproduct of trying to take a conversational approach, but it felt strange coming from a guy who was a science editor, and taken in combination with several sweeping statements of his I knew to be incorrect (ferals can't be domesticated? I must have been imagining every cat I've ever had) made me question his research, despite Dr. Michael W. Fox spending half his introduction to the book waxing on about how impressive Page's citations are (spoiler alert: they're not). Finally, and I admit this is a personal bias, I have difficulty taking the opinion of anyone who found Cats to be an excellent musical seriously.
My Grandma was prone to giving me things with cats on them - t-shirts, nightgowns, blankets - and I'm fairly certain she only chose this because of the adorable kitten on the front (neoteny at work, y'all). As a confirmed cat lady, I actually eschew cat clothing and tchotchkes, but while everything else feline-branded went to Goodwill, I hung onto this book, thinking it might be the exception to the useless-cat-gift rule. Unfortunately, Do Cats Hear With Their Feet? has almost nothing to offer anyone who's spent more than five years using a roller to remove cat fur from their work clothes, and is probably best presented to either neophytes or non-owners looking to learn a little about how the feline half lives.
Jack Page, whose qualifications as a natural historian are great (founding editor of Doubleday's Natural History Press! editorial director of Natural History magazine! science editor of Smithsonian magazine!) even if his feline bona fides are questionable (he's a cat owner! well, okay, he once owned a cat...decades ago...that lived outside...), offers up a bare 184 pages on cat evolution, physiology, and psychology and one can't help but feel he's doing it more at the bidding of a publisher interested in his producing a companion volume to his previous work Do Dogs Laugh? than from any burning personal interest of his own.
There's some good information here, if nothing that's going to surprise a long-time cat owner, but I found it difficult to get past Page's paternalistic attitude and weirdly dismissive tone toward various branches or practitioners of science. Perhaps that was an unfortunate byproduct of trying to take a conversational approach, but it felt strange coming from a guy who was a science editor, and taken in combination with several sweeping statements of his I knew to be incorrect (ferals can't be domesticated? I must have been imagining every cat I've ever had) made me question his research, despite Dr. Michael W. Fox spending half his introduction to the book waxing on about how impressive Page's citations are (spoiler alert: they're not). Finally, and I admit this is a personal bias, I have difficulty taking the opinion of anyone who found Cats to be an excellent musical seriously.
My Grandma was prone to giving me things with cats on them - t-shirts, nightgowns, blankets - and I'm fairly certain she only chose this because of the adorable kitten on the front (neoteny at work, y'all). As a confirmed cat lady, I actually eschew cat clothing and tchotchkes, but while everything else feline-branded went to Goodwill, I hung onto this book, thinking it might be the exception to the useless-cat-gift rule. Unfortunately, Do Cats Hear With Their Feet? has almost nothing to offer anyone who's spent more than five years using a roller to remove cat fur from their work clothes, and is probably best presented to either neophytes or non-owners looking to learn a little about how the feline half lives.
January 27, 2009
This book is divided up into 3 sections: The history of cats, cats as hunters, and cats' lives (mainly focused on how they use their senses).
I would have rated it higher, except for 3 points, which were pretty major for me: 1, the author doesn't own a cat, and in fact, talks wistfully about being able to shoot and kill wild cats multiple times (rule #1 know your audience. Learn this rule Mr. Page!) 2, the book is a lecture on the history and evolution of cats masked as something else (don't read this book if you're curious about the 'what they think of us' part of the subtitle, since it's nowhere to be found) 3, the author barely mentions indoor cats, and in fact, thinks of them as a rarity/oddity, so unless your cats live on what they have killed, the author really doesn't have any insights into who they are.
Despite my issues, I would give the book 3.5 stars if I could, because I flew through this book in 3 sittings, and came away with a lot of useless facts, which I personally love accumulating! Did you know that cheetahs went through a huge population wipeout a few thousand years ago, so that the few cheetahs left today are all genetically identical, read: hugely inbred? Did you know that there are 2 types of tabbies: one with stripes that create rings around the legs and torso (like on the cover), and one with stripes going horizontally from the head to tail, and then dissolving into spots on the back legs? (My Micah is in the second camp, crossed with Siamese.)
I would have rated it higher, except for 3 points, which were pretty major for me: 1, the author doesn't own a cat, and in fact, talks wistfully about being able to shoot and kill wild cats multiple times (rule #1 know your audience. Learn this rule Mr. Page!) 2, the book is a lecture on the history and evolution of cats masked as something else (don't read this book if you're curious about the 'what they think of us' part of the subtitle, since it's nowhere to be found) 3, the author barely mentions indoor cats, and in fact, thinks of them as a rarity/oddity, so unless your cats live on what they have killed, the author really doesn't have any insights into who they are.
Despite my issues, I would give the book 3.5 stars if I could, because I flew through this book in 3 sittings, and came away with a lot of useless facts, which I personally love accumulating! Did you know that cheetahs went through a huge population wipeout a few thousand years ago, so that the few cheetahs left today are all genetically identical, read: hugely inbred? Did you know that there are 2 types of tabbies: one with stripes that create rings around the legs and torso (like on the cover), and one with stripes going horizontally from the head to tail, and then dissolving into spots on the back legs? (My Micah is in the second camp, crossed with Siamese.)
January 31, 2009
As has been pointed out, the "what they think about us" part is not addressed, the author does not own cats currently, and when he did own cats they were outside cats - and various Bad Things happened to them, which somehow didn't inspire him to start keeping them indoors. :(
Consequently, the book does not seem to realize that Velcro-Cats exist. (Kitties who want to be with their owners all the time.)
It also posits that an example of evolutionary altruism given as an anecdote in the book might be a one-off, when examples of evolutionary altruism are actually fairly wide-spread. (college biology class - sorry)
I still liked the book for its introduction to cats - if you haven't already read such a book, then this would be a start.
Consequently, the book does not seem to realize that Velcro-Cats exist. (Kitties who want to be with their owners all the time.)
It also posits that an example of evolutionary altruism given as an anecdote in the book might be a one-off, when examples of evolutionary altruism are actually fairly wide-spread. (college biology class - sorry)
I still liked the book for its introduction to cats - if you haven't already read such a book, then this would be a start.
December 13, 2014
No earth-shattering revelations here about cat behavior or the cat psyche, but this is a reasonable balance between academic rigor (which might be very dry reading if you're not an animal behaviorist) and popular "catology." Lots of interesting observations and explanations, and still plenty of mysteries. Why DO cats engage in "hallucinatory play"? And no, they don't hear with their feet--but are very sensitive to vibrations from the ground, and thus might recognize your walk as you approach the house.
Want to read
December 8, 2008If I was granted one wish I would choose to be able to understand what the heck is going on in my cats' brains. Seriously, when Rocco jumped on the counter the other day and broke the can opener with his shoulder and then kept going...what was he thinking? Or when Jupiter begs to go outside and then 3 seconds later desperately MUST get back inside, what is he thinking?
Yep, I would wish for that instead of world peace. I'm a jerk.
Yep, I would wish for that instead of world peace. I'm a jerk.
June 23, 2009
Author doesn't even own a damned cat and it shows.
May 6, 2012
I've had cats my entire life, adore my current rescue and indoor-only cat, am fascinated by their behavior, and am intrigued as to whether they are fully "domesticated" or not. That said, when I came across Do Cats Hear with Their Feet?: Where Cats Come From, What We Know about Them, and What They Think about Us, I snapped it up. As you can see, the cover is adorable so it's already using neoteny to get you to pick the book up--a point raised by author Jake Page when discussing the evolution of cats is that their retention of kitten-like (and therefore baby-like) attributes is a brilliant strategy to get humans to care for/about their welfare.
So why only two stars, you ask? An excellent question, I reply.This book purports to be a natural history of the cat, and it succeeds in some areas and falls short in others. Let me begin with the shortcomings, so that I can end on a more positive note. First, I'm totally okay with the fact that the author has his own preferences, opinions, possibly even biases. In fact, I'd expect that. One person's biases are often another person's informed opinions. So when I'm told here that indoor-only cats are "expoloited captives," that dry food is terrible for my cat's teeth and overall health (despite everything her vet has said to the contrary), or that feral cats will never make cuddly indoor lapcats (despite the four in my family alone who have made this very transition, one of them as a full-grown adult), I want some very detailed explanation to back this up. Instead, what I got in those instances were largely argument by assertaion vs. argument by demonstration. I will definitely pursue the food line of reasoning because I certainly don't want to "shoot the messenger" and have my cat suffer as a result of the fact that the news was delivered in an incomplete fashion. Moreover, it seems entirely possible that some vets are in the pocket of the pet food manufacturers in much the same way that some physicians are in the pocket of the pharmaceutical rep who recently visited their office. But to cast all--or even most vets--in this light as relates to the wet vs. dry food debate (as is suggested on p. 177), is, I think, problematic. Besides, if that's the case, then why should we trust this book whose introduction is written by a veterinarian? You simply can't have it both ways, Mr. Page.
Second, I want to note my discomfort at the fact that all of his cats have been outdoor cats. From a behavioral perspective, there are entirely different things that one sees on a regular basis in indoor vs. indoor/outdoor vs. outdoor only or even feral cat groups. But back to Page's cats. He is pruporting to tell us what we know about them and what they think about us entirely on the basis of his own cat experience with outdoor-only cats--including one "savvy city cat" who clearly wasn't so savvy and was killed by a car in Washington, DC; another who was stolen by a neighbor who made clear his intentions to retain the cat who kept visiting at his house and with whom his family had bonded; and his current crop of cats who are apparently preyed upon by coyotes and mountain lions. First, if you had indoor cats and dealt with a litter box you would never make such claims as female cats cover their poop and male cats don't. (You haven't met my Boo. She is proud of her poops and leaves them at the top of the litter for one and all to marvel at.) Admittedly, that's a minor point--and it may well be attributed to differences between indoor and outdoor cat behaviors. Or even to single-cat vs. plural cat bathroom etiquette. More important, what the heck is the matter with you?! If you truly love cats, why don't you (1) spay and neuter your cats--something not even advocated in the text (which I expected and felt was missing) and (2) bring them in at night so that they're not food for wily predators monopolizing on the fact that they have a blind spot behind them of 80 degrees (as noted on p. 109)?!
Third, and it may be a minor point, but when part of your book's subtitle is "...and What They Think About Us" maybe that should be addressed. Or, conversely, if we have no idea what--or even if--they think about us, perhaps that part of the subtitle should have been deleted?
Finally, the images contained in the book were of a very uneven quality. The obligatory cute cat shots were all photos, but anything remotely related to science or natural history (e.g., the cat's eye muscles, spatial analysis of a cat's territory, the anatomy and/or behaviors of assorted wild cats) were all line drawings--and not particularly expert ones at that. And some even contained typos.
Onward to the positive. This was a book about cats. I learned some nifty cat trivia I hadn't known previously. I think the coolest fact I learned is that up to 50% of the water a cat injests in a day is used in bathing itself. (So that's where all the water goes.) Page also had a really nice discussion of cats and ESP. Any of us who has spent a lot of time with cats knows that they are aware of things loooooong before we are. Page's observation that any perception must, by definition, be based in some sort of sensory input is an excellent one. That is, cats are aware of, sensitive and attuned to, sounds and patterns that have likely eluded us.
On balance, this was a fast read and I'm glad to have invested two evenings consuming it. I will definitely pursue the food thing but would caution any cat's human companion that you don't want to just suddenly change your cat's diet. This can be both physically and psychologically unsettling for your four-footed pal--esp. if he/she is a geezer.
So why only two stars, you ask? An excellent question, I reply.This book purports to be a natural history of the cat, and it succeeds in some areas and falls short in others. Let me begin with the shortcomings, so that I can end on a more positive note. First, I'm totally okay with the fact that the author has his own preferences, opinions, possibly even biases. In fact, I'd expect that. One person's biases are often another person's informed opinions. So when I'm told here that indoor-only cats are "expoloited captives," that dry food is terrible for my cat's teeth and overall health (despite everything her vet has said to the contrary), or that feral cats will never make cuddly indoor lapcats (despite the four in my family alone who have made this very transition, one of them as a full-grown adult), I want some very detailed explanation to back this up. Instead, what I got in those instances were largely argument by assertaion vs. argument by demonstration. I will definitely pursue the food line of reasoning because I certainly don't want to "shoot the messenger" and have my cat suffer as a result of the fact that the news was delivered in an incomplete fashion. Moreover, it seems entirely possible that some vets are in the pocket of the pet food manufacturers in much the same way that some physicians are in the pocket of the pharmaceutical rep who recently visited their office. But to cast all--or even most vets--in this light as relates to the wet vs. dry food debate (as is suggested on p. 177), is, I think, problematic. Besides, if that's the case, then why should we trust this book whose introduction is written by a veterinarian? You simply can't have it both ways, Mr. Page.
Second, I want to note my discomfort at the fact that all of his cats have been outdoor cats. From a behavioral perspective, there are entirely different things that one sees on a regular basis in indoor vs. indoor/outdoor vs. outdoor only or even feral cat groups. But back to Page's cats. He is pruporting to tell us what we know about them and what they think about us entirely on the basis of his own cat experience with outdoor-only cats--including one "savvy city cat" who clearly wasn't so savvy and was killed by a car in Washington, DC; another who was stolen by a neighbor who made clear his intentions to retain the cat who kept visiting at his house and with whom his family had bonded; and his current crop of cats who are apparently preyed upon by coyotes and mountain lions. First, if you had indoor cats and dealt with a litter box you would never make such claims as female cats cover their poop and male cats don't. (You haven't met my Boo. She is proud of her poops and leaves them at the top of the litter for one and all to marvel at.) Admittedly, that's a minor point--and it may well be attributed to differences between indoor and outdoor cat behaviors. Or even to single-cat vs. plural cat bathroom etiquette. More important, what the heck is the matter with you?! If you truly love cats, why don't you (1) spay and neuter your cats--something not even advocated in the text (which I expected and felt was missing) and (2) bring them in at night so that they're not food for wily predators monopolizing on the fact that they have a blind spot behind them of 80 degrees (as noted on p. 109)?!
Third, and it may be a minor point, but when part of your book's subtitle is "...and What They Think About Us" maybe that should be addressed. Or, conversely, if we have no idea what--or even if--they think about us, perhaps that part of the subtitle should have been deleted?
Finally, the images contained in the book were of a very uneven quality. The obligatory cute cat shots were all photos, but anything remotely related to science or natural history (e.g., the cat's eye muscles, spatial analysis of a cat's territory, the anatomy and/or behaviors of assorted wild cats) were all line drawings--and not particularly expert ones at that. And some even contained typos.
Onward to the positive. This was a book about cats. I learned some nifty cat trivia I hadn't known previously. I think the coolest fact I learned is that up to 50% of the water a cat injests in a day is used in bathing itself. (So that's where all the water goes.) Page also had a really nice discussion of cats and ESP. Any of us who has spent a lot of time with cats knows that they are aware of things loooooong before we are. Page's observation that any perception must, by definition, be based in some sort of sensory input is an excellent one. That is, cats are aware of, sensitive and attuned to, sounds and patterns that have likely eluded us.
On balance, this was a fast read and I'm glad to have invested two evenings consuming it. I will definitely pursue the food thing but would caution any cat's human companion that you don't want to just suddenly change your cat's diet. This can be both physically and psychologically unsettling for your four-footed pal--esp. if he/she is a geezer.
December 25, 2022
"Do Cats Hear with Their Feet? is exactly the kind of book that non-cat owners give cat owners as a gift when they've waited too late to do their Christmas shopping . . ." -- from another 2-star review. I remember basically nothing about this one, except for checking it out from the library in 2014. Except for that adorable cover-kitten!
October 26, 2012
This was fine.
I think I learned things about cat--which is nice, I like cats. But I got to be really annoyed by the authors tangents and ramblings and "we have birds" and "I have a friend with a cat and my friend wins Grammys" and "I don't like mountain lions" and "we had a dog once."
Sure these side ventures into "things Jen doesn't care about" were decently illustrative of his point, but a bit of actual science would have been nice as well. Much of the book read like a Christmas letter to friends you don't really like, but you really want to impress with how cool you are.
It's a quick read since a good bit of the book is taken by telling you two useless sentences about each cat species and listing diseases and weaknesses of each breed of domestic cat (again, useless).
It's fine to read, and since I didn't pay for it (thank you library), I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I can't help but thinking that I could have read something better.
I think I learned things about cat--which is nice, I like cats. But I got to be really annoyed by the authors tangents and ramblings and "we have birds" and "I have a friend with a cat and my friend wins Grammys" and "I don't like mountain lions" and "we had a dog once."
Sure these side ventures into "things Jen doesn't care about" were decently illustrative of his point, but a bit of actual science would have been nice as well. Much of the book read like a Christmas letter to friends you don't really like, but you really want to impress with how cool you are.
It's a quick read since a good bit of the book is taken by telling you two useless sentences about each cat species and listing diseases and weaknesses of each breed of domestic cat (again, useless).
It's fine to read, and since I didn't pay for it (thank you library), I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I can't help but thinking that I could have read something better.
March 17, 2009
This book was more evolution/science than I expected from the cutesy title. It was fairly interesting, but really provided very little insight into theories about what is actually in the mind of my cat or how my cat might interpret the world. The best part of the book was an examination of feral cat "society" and the strange social order that has become established in some cat groups. Glad that I borrowed this from the library rather than purchasing it as it's definitely not a book that I'd refer back to.
July 4, 2009
I thought this would be a cute book that would explain my cats' behaviors. There was some of this type of info but almost half of this book was spent describing cats from the beginning of time and how they have evolved. This may be interesting to some but not the type of book I was expecting. When there is a picture of a cute kitten on the cover, people will be disappointed reading about prehistoric cats for almost 100 pages before any info about current housecats is started.
March 13, 2009
I only gave this three stars because the kitten on the cover is just so darn CUTE...and looks very much like my now fully grown (and huge!) kitty when he was a baby.
The book itself was nothing new. I've read several other informational books about cats and others were far superior to this one. But, again, the kitty on the cover really is adorable!
The book itself was nothing new. I've read several other informational books about cats and others were far superior to this one. But, again, the kitty on the cover really is adorable!
November 12, 2012
This book was okay. I didn't care for the author's style ~ his attempts at humor came off condescending, and there really wasn't much new here that I didn't already know. He references Stephen Budiansky's "The Character of Cats," which is IMO the definitive work on cat behavior and studies. Why the author felt he needed to try to add anything to the field is beyond me.
December 22, 2008
I really wanted to like this book, because I love cats and am always eager to learn more cat facts, but all the stuff about ancient cats put me to sleep, and I couldn't make myself keep going. Maybe I'll return to it someday.
January 2, 2009
Great info about cats - and I am a big fan of cats!! The section on feeding has led me to change my cats' diet. As of now, they aren't too impressed - but I can be as stubborn as they are:)
April 10, 2009
this book bit. i think mostly because i was expecting something more 'readable' from the sweet cover. (never judge a book..blah blah blah.)
April 26, 2009
really gave me some good insight into cats.
May 29, 2009
I recently adopted 3 kittens and I loved reading his tales of cat lore and behavior, although his language and writing leaves a little to be desired. Too colloquial by far.
A fun and fast read.
A fun and fast read.
November 9, 2010
This book did not answer (nor address, nor even mention save in the title) the question of "Do Cats Hear with Their Feet?"
I am disappointed.
I am disappointed.
August 4, 2011
Some interesting evolutionary facts about cats and cat behavior. my rating is based in part on the author's transparent animosity toward mountain lions. I quickly grew impatient with it.
August 10, 2011
A few bits of interesting information mixed in with a lot of fluff. The title and cover photo are the best part.
September 16, 2011
A nice life history of the cat. It was a very quick read and I was never bored.
January 31, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. It was short, and easy to read, but packed with interesting tidbits about the history of cats. The author's writing voice is friendly and humorous.
August 22, 2014
occ interesting fact.
June 8, 2015
The kind of book I think of as a palate cleanser between more serious fare. Any new information? Maybe not much, but I enjoyed the author's style of writing.
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August 4, 2012Really great. It's got science but also a very personal touch.
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