Katzen für Dummies

by Gina Spadafori

The most essential information for both potential cat owners and feline fanatics. Find out how to choose, housebreak, groom, and even travel with your feline friend.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Cats, Reference, Pets, Nature, How To

400 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

About the author

Gina Spadafori has been writing about animals for more than 30 years as a reporter, syndicated columnist and book author. More recently, she signed on to work as a veterinary medical writer for Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI).

She has written 16 books, many of which have been top-sellers, co-authored with “America’s Veterinarian” Dr. Marty Becker. Spadafori also wrote the first three books in the “For Dummies” pet-care line, including Dogs For Dummies. Dogs For Dummies was her first book, given the President’s Award for the best writing on dogs and the Maxwell Medallion for the best general reference work, both by the Dog Writers Association of America. The award-winning Cats For Dummies, co-authored with Dr. Paul Pion, was named one of the best moments for cats in the 20th Century by Cat Fancy magazine.

She has also edited books, managed teams of journalists and provided marketing expertise for both established companies and start-ups. She has been a frequent contributor to many top publications and media platforms, and her work is read by millions every week. Her books have been translated into many languages, including French, Serbian, Danish, Japanese, Spanish, Korean and Russian.

In 2007, she was one of a small group of journalists credited with breaking open the pet-food recall story, leading to her and her work being the focus of prominent features in USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.

In the fall of 2013, she began a new career writing for the veterinary community on behalf of Veterinary Pet Insurance. The work allows her to continue one of her favorite things: Attending veterinarian conferences and staying current on both best-practice and cutting-edge veterinary medicine.

She is also working on The McKenzie Project, a genetic project intended to reduce the incidence of soft-tissue sarcoma in flat-coated retrievers.

Convinced she was born to be a farmer, Gina recently purchased a house on a small acreage with agricultural zoning and a barn. There is room for fruit trees, gardens and all her animals — dogs, cats, horses, chickens, ducks and dairy goats. This property, which will be a work in progress for the rest of her life, is now Rancho Buena Fe´, a/k/a Good Faith Ranch.

Reviews

[Rachel Weiss]

Max would be dead if I didn't own this book.

[Cassandra]

I got this book because I'm planning to get a kitten and I've never had a cat before. It was helpful, but also unspecific and had many chapters that didn't pertain to normal care of a cat. The "for Dummies" methodology is to make every chapter stand alone, with references to related material in other chapters, but that meant that reading through the book cover-to-cover was pretty repetitive. I do feel more confident in my ability to take care of a kitten and adult cat, and comfortable in looking up further information.

[Kricket]

having just adopted my first feline, i am indeed a dummy, and this book made me feel less so. especially helpful was the chapter on feline body language. the writing is a little cheesy (these people are OBSESSED with cats and i am not quite there yet) but as far as i know the advice is solid.

[Arjen]

This book was written by veterinarians. Incidentally the word veterinarian is used 627 times throughout the book. I now know so much about how awesome veterinarians are, that future cats are very likely to die. I don't know very much about them after this book.

[Phil K]

The content was good. It had funny anecdotes. I feel like a learned a lot. I will save this book and use it for reference in the future. This book was published around the turn of the century, so I'm sure some of the technology stuff is outdated, but I'm sure the vast majority of the information is just as true today as it was 19 years ago.

This book seemed to take the position that the reasons for owning a cat were self-evident. There was nothing I read in this book that convinced me that cat ownership was a worthwhile endeavor.

But if you already have or plan to acquire a cat, then I would recommend this book to increase your knowledge. Especially helpful were insights on life-cycle, diet, getting inside the mind/motivation of cats, and the difference between cats and dogs.

[Dann]

At times Cats for Dummies seems like it's written by a crazy cat lady, but it ends up being a wealth of information. Quite comprehensive, the book covers breeds, grooming, cat-proofing homes, healthcare, and much, much more. However, authors Gina Spadafori and Paul D. Pion pass the buck on many issues by saying "ask your veterinarian" or "see how your pet responds." Additionally, the book gets rather repetitive after a while; as each section is meant to function independently. Also, the authors get a little over zealous with their cat love by gearing the tone more towards conforming to the desires of your cat than training a cat to be a pet. Still, Cats for Dummies is a solid pet manual that answers a lot of questions that a new owner would have.

[Katie]

A very basic guide to cat care. If you are looking for in-depth health and medical information, keep looking.

[Michelle]

Very informative, but a bit dated. I've had cats all my life and I still learned from this book. But it was written in 2000 so I noticed a few things that are no longer true.

[Mirjana Đ.]

Quite useful, I'll keep it just in case.

[Katia]

He vivido toda mi vida con gatos, y aún así he aprendido MUCHÍSIMAS cosas con este libro.

[Cece]

I find "...for Dummies" book really amusing and easy to understand. Having a stand-alone style of writing, I can skip to chapters that I want to and/or have to read. This book is really useful for me especially in making sure my cat is well, happy, and healthy.

[Shareen Ghabrial]

I never understood or appreciated cats until this fun read. Another game-changing book!

[Inge]

Wel heel informatief en leerzaam maar niet leuk genoeg geschreven of vormgegeven. En ook wel veel bangmakerij. Het kostte mij redelijk wat moeite om hier doorheen te komen.

[The Itsy Bitsy]

The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because of the incredible amount of repetitiveness when it came to altering and indoor vs outdoor cats, but a lot of that has to do with the style of the series and they're important enough points I can't blame the authors too much. Extremely straightforward, not overly cloying or dismissive of issues in its attitude towards the subject matter (all too often devoted hobbyists tend to gloss over negative aspects of their favorite pet).

[Lene]

I suppose since I am going to be a cat owner on Friday, I should learn something about them. This is going to be an adventure :)
Soooo, I can't read an entire book about cats. I'll use this as a reference if I need help with the ole kitty, but it's so boring that I can't take it. Maybe that makes me a bad cat owner, but seriously.

[ron!e]

Bought at a yard sale for a dollar. Surprisingly contains no informations pertaining to cats and christmas trees. Although the only problem i've ever encountered concerning this is that they like to sit on the presents. oddd...<3.

[⚔️Kelanth⚔️]

Il massimo dell'utilità, come tutti i libri della serie "for dummies", massima comprensione, tanti consigli utili, informazioni chiare e precise.

Se come me state per prendere un micio per farvi compagnia, vi consiglio di partire da qui.

[Brittany Perry]

the photos could have been better but all in all it was not a bad book. Very informative and the section debunking cat myths was amazing. from kittens to elderly cats I would keep a copy of this book handy for reference on illness and other emergencies.

[Suzie]

GREAT!! A must own for cat owners.

[Lisa James]

Another great book in the Dummies series. I have been a cat owner since before I can even remember, & I laughed & learned all the way through this book.

[Lucas]

CATS

[Teresa]

Informative and well-organized. The book's chapters can be read on their own and make total sense. A good reference book.

[Heather]

Loved it! I want to actually buy a copy to keep for reference. it was very useful info

[Kiki]

I thought this book was informative on cats. It listed different breeds along with pictures.

2014-Summer-Reading-Review

[Abraham Ray]

great book about cats!

[miguelangelgc]

Interesante y sin duda -amén a la "fama" de la colección Dummies- aporta información adecuada y acertada para inicarse en el mundo de los felinos.

[Jenje]

Great information and ideas and worth a read, but in sore need of an update!

[Bonnie Ustaszewski]

Disclaimer: I read the original version of this book, published in 1997 so many of the references listed are out of date. They mention American Online throughout. I do plan on purchasing the updated version in order to have more up-to-date information and references.

I did enjoy reading this book and thought it had a lot of good information on a number of topics related to obtaining and caring for a cat. It also included some interesting information about different breeds and the cat show circuit. My only complaint is how kitten focused it is when choosing a cat, but that is from my own personal experience of adopting all my cats over the years as adults who transitioned from stray to house cat. Every....single....one. And they all had my heart.

[Fran Alsaud]

Quería ilustrarme sobre el tema de los gatos ya que tenemos dos mininos muy jóvenes y deseo tener una buena relación con ellos. Aquí informan de forma detallada, bastante minuciosa sobre los aspectos indispensables a considerar cuando se va a adoptar o comprar un gato, joven o no, macho o hembra, el sitio donde irá a vivir, si debe encerrarse o no, alimentación, higiene, enfermedades, entre otros. Pocos detalles escaparon de esta guía, como las raciones de alimentos y frecuencia, dónde dormir. Sin embargo, está bastante completa.

[Linda Is on her way]

Or 3.5 . It is repetitive as an audiobook or reading it from start to finish. But mostly it contains sound information, nothing too deep but pretty broad. I'd say it's definitely a good book for knowing a bit or having at least heard of many topics concerning cats. It is definitely a good thing to read if you are thinking about getting a cat