Why Does My Cat Do That?

by Catherine Davidson, Sophie Collins

Why does your cat always head straight for visitors who can't stand feline company? Why does he chatter his teeth when he sees a bird and prefer pond water to fresh? This book helps you solve the riddles of your cat's behavior and put your own into context. Gives practical and entertaining advice as well.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cats, Animals, Reference

128 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2008

Reviews

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitty-witties for noobs. I didn't learn much new, but it's a very decent compendium of knowledge about cats, many interesting facts included.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming little book that answers some interesting questions about cats. I learned a few new things, and my cat Buddy approves of this book. 😻😻😻😻

[Freya · Rating 5 out of 5]

review to come :)

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book and if you argue with me you will lose.

[Sohvi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I considered giving this two stars, but I took one away because the author to encouraged people to keep outdoors cats. (I realize this is a heated topic, but cats are invasive species in most places, so really, not good.)

Also, just in general, I don't usually enjoy this genre. There was nothing else told about the author, except she is a "cat owner" so it leaves to question the basis this is written on. Not all of this is rubbish, I'm sure of it. In fact, quite a lot of it seemed like it might really be true. However, with books like these I am always hoping for some references to scientific research. And we do have that, on many of these subjects. So it is frustrating to read these guidebooks that wont refer to that research, and therefore you can't really tell how reliable the knowledge in these is. It might be based on something, it might not.

I really hope that someone would approach pet owner guidebooks with scientific approach. It would be really refreshing.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Den här boken är på mycket grundlig nivå. Jag trodde jag skulle få veta kattägares alla mörka hemligheter om just katter. Istället blev jag rätt paff över saker som en del kattägare tydligen inte vet. Som exempelvis"vad betyder det när min honkatt bugar med rumpan i vädret och skriker som om hon lider helvetets alla plågor? Jag trodde hon skulle dö, men en minut senare var hon som vanligt igen".

Erhm. Fniss. Någon som lyckats missa löpande kattor?

Fast som tur är fanns det saker som var helt främmande för mig och boken var allmänt trevligt lättläst. Så jag klagar inte. Frågan är vad jag som inbiten hundägare ska göra med all ny intressant kattkunskap.

[Monica Haak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schattig. Leuke feitjes.

[CaeleighL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really interesting because I have two cats. I learned a lot from Why Does My Cat Do That by Catherine Davidson. I recommend this book to all ages and to anyone who owns cats.

[Darren-lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but rather basic...

[bdr0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually very interesting facts and explanations about cat stuff I never really thought about. Even as a catlover. The cute illustrations tie everything together 🐱

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wat een verhelderend boek!

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've got one.

Now I have to figure out how it works.

As it (he) tries to sit on the keyboard while I type this, I can refer to the short chapter "Why does my cat always plonk himself on my newspaper when I am trying to read."

It helps. There are about three dozen short one page answers to the most common questions concerning the mysteries of the feline.

Beast has psychic powers, hates people food (what, no tempura?), saves the occasional sneeze for my face while I am sleeping, loves Mozart but hates Wagner ( impossible!), stares at invisible bugs on the wall, insists on watching Animal Planet all the time (I'm not kidding) and did not vote in the last election (outrage!). At least now I have a few answers for some of his perplexing behavior.

[Audrey's Book Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book was interesting and have answered to a lot of intriguing questions about cats. Unfortunately, most of the time, I wasn't satisfied by the answers. The amount of information was chosen over the value and the deepness of it.

I would recommend it to people who have never read about cats before.

[Beccaaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book that’s supposed to explain why cats do things, it doesn’t answer many questions. Summary of nearly every page: “Why does my cat scratch at furniture?” “Yes, your cat will scratch at furniture. That’s what cats do.” Little insight overall but not very much new information, even as a first-time new cat owner.

[Peter Waters · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as Christmas gift, as I am a cat person 😺 In fact, I read this book in one sitting while lounging with my cat, appropriately enough.

While anything cat-related is cute, this book I think is meant more for those new to interacting with feline friends. There's a lot of 'no duh' information here, but maybe for a dog person-convert or a previously pet-less person it has some value. Like, no duh, a cat will whip its tail when it's agitated.

Also, the author doesn't seem to have any actual expertise on the matter, simply described as a 'writer and cat owner' on the back. Lots of the answers to the questions refer to "research," but there isn't a single specific outside source referenced anywhere in the book.

This is simply a cute little book that you might mindlessly gift a new cat owner, but don't cite this in your research papers, kids!

[KsiazkiNaszaPasja Maa · Rating 4 out of 5]

W moich rękach znalazł się kolejny poradnik z serii: Dlaczego mój... i nie żałuję, że go posiadam,ponieważ jest równie ciekawy jak poradnik o psach, a może nawet ciekawszy,ponieważ o kotach wiem mniej niż o psach, mimo że posiadam trzech gagatków. Koty są nieobliczalne, ale jakie byłoby smutne życie bez nich i ile więcej gryzoni. Ta książka jest bardzo pożyteczna i o tym może zaświadczyć moja mama i syn, ponieważ przeczytali ją w ekspresowym tempie i wreszcie zrozumieli zachowanie swoich pupili.

Szata graficzna w takim samym stylu,co poradnik o psach. Jedna strona to rozbudowane pytanie, a druga to odpowiedź na nie. Rysunki zamiast fotografii.
Polecam każdemu miłośnikowi kotów oraz tym, którzy dopiero zamierzają sprawić sobie kota. Dzięki przeczytaniu poradnika unikną wielu pułapek wychowawczych.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose I am a terrible cat mommy because most of the questions in this book are not the ones I ask (usually of God in the middle of the night). "WHY DOES SHE KNOCK EVERYTHING OFF SHELVES?"
"WHY IS SHE ON THE SHELF??" "WHY WON'T SHE EAT THE FOOD SHE LIKED LAST WEEK???" "WHY WON'T SHE LET ME TYPE ON THE COMPUTER?" and so on and on and on.

None of these questions are addressed in this book, but I did learn some important information of feeding schedules and cat behavior history, so there's that. If you are looking for answers to the questions above, they won't be here, but you will have information likely to help you at the vet.

[Angela ledward- airey · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting and informative l give an 8 rating.it has answered several of my queries on being a devoted and caring cat owner

Although, I am not really a cat Owner,I am just the care taker of this beautiful and absolutely mad
Burmese kitten who I had the pleasure of adopting just recently!
Angie

[Jessi LaRue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book because the facts were interesting and helpful. However, I had issues with the author’s encouragement of letting cats roam outdoors. Domestic cats should typically stay inside for safety reasons; it prolongs their life expectancy, among other things. Otherwise, I found other tips and facts useful.

[Sarah Hills · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to help you with cat behaviour's and you may also learn something along the way too.
It's not too long so can easily be read in one go but also good to dip in and out of for information.
Sensibly written with good advice.
I will certainly get my new cat owning friends to read it to help with their feline relationships.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting read, and includes a good range of the commonly observed cat behaviours.
However, is this information reliable? The author is simply described as "an author and cat owner". There is no bibliography, nor is there acknowledged input from a vet or an animal-behaviour expert.

[Courtney Chappell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book. It’s written in question and answer style with different chapters for kittens, problem solving, and playtime. It was interesting to read and helped me to understand my cats more.

[Sophie Beeby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting the year as I mean to go on with some high-brow literature. When you work as a cat sitter, there’s not much about cats that you don’t end up knowing about them pretty quickly. The great thing about cats is that they are never afraid to show you their true feelings (MVPs). Consequently, there wasn’t too much for me to learn in my first read of the year, aside from why a certain beloved cat I look after likes to stick her bum near my face (0/10, dear reader, would not recommend reading this up). If you’re new to cat ownership, this litter compendium, however, could save you from many hours spent googling and is positive, unbiased and supportive.

[Eric Kalnins · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has recently adopted two sister cats for the first time I found this short book very accessible and useful.

Recommended to new, and familiar, cat owners.

01.05

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some new things about why my kookie cat behaves the way she does lol. If you are a cat owner, you might too!

[Taisia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a funny book. Most of the things are common sense.
I really enjoyed the small stories about other animals.

[Joost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge eye opener, but informative non the less.

[Tisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the book answered so many burning questions about my babies.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for dipping into and quite informative.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. Definitely not a full guide for a new cat owner, for that I would recommend browsing YouTube. But a good gift. I learned some new things about my cat.