I really enjoyed reading this book snuggled up with my cat. There were so many interesting facts about a cats body language . I had no idea their ability to display emotion was this extensive. The book talks about the difference between meows, whiskers, and ear and I movements. After reading about these things I feel like I can read my cats emotions more effectively. ( )

Lover of all animals and owed by a cat! I really loved this book, I never had cats as a child and never knew much about them. I love my kitty and this book tells about the independence of cats and how they communicate with their people. ( )

This book is awesome! How to talk to your cat is a must read for everyone. Want to know what all of those directed towards you from your cat mean? Pick up this book and read it and you will know everything from what they are saying, how to respond to them, and what cat body language means. ( )

Although I was saddened when I saw that Jean Craighead George died earlier this year.. I loved this cute nonfiction book that explained basics of cat behavior and how to recognize different facial and body cues in your cat, and even sometimes how you can 'talk' back to your cat. ( )

How to Talk to Your Cat isn't just about feline body language, although there are detailed sections on what different postures, tail waves, whisker positions, vocal sounds etc. can mean. It's also a lot about cat behavior, what your cat does and why, that lets you understand it better. I didn't know how far an outdoor cat could roam; according to George they can have a ranging territory of up to 2 square kilometers! I also had assumed that cats claim a patch of land and defend it against all other cats, keeping them out, but she says they're not like dogs in that regard. They keep other cats out of their particular home turf- which in this case would be my house- but in the greater ranging territory don't mind other cats using their pathways and hunting grounds, as long as they don't encounter each other doing so. They just like to keep their distance. It gave me a very different picture of what my cat does when he walks outside by himself.

One section I particularly enjoyed reading was about how a mother cat communicates with and teaches her kittens; the author had a cat who raised several litters in their house, and wrote about her observations (most things in the book are described via little anecdotes about her cats or the cats of people she knows). I can't ever picture myself allowing one of my cats to reproduce, so it was charming to read about what that's like, watching kittens be born and raised in the house.

This little book is actually an abridged version of a longer text. The opening and closing chapters talk about all kinds of animals communicating with people, and I gather that the original book then had a section on dogs and maybe a few other domestic animals too; this volume just focuses on the cat.

from the Dogear Diary ( )