Outsmarting Cats: How To Persuade The Felines In Your Life To Do What You Want

by Wendy Christensen

Overview

While cat owners adore their purring, fuzzy friends, cats can have another, rather unpleasant, side. Some pee on carpets, shred upholstery, chomp houseplants, caterwaul at all hours, and scratch and bite. Skeptics will claim that it's impossible to train a cat. Happily, Wendy Christensen knows they're wrong. True, cats are intelligent, adaptable, patient, independent, stubborn, observant, and extremely quick learners. But they're also remarkably self-interested and quick to exploit a good deal. Outsmarting Cats enables you to persuade your cat that what you want is also what she wants. Whatever your specific cat problem, Wendy Christensen gives all the latest information on what works, and what doesn't. She shares tried-and-true tips and resources for resolving even the thorniest behavior problems. And she'll tell you how to head off future problems, simply by understanding how your cat thinks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762782796
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Wendy Christensen is a award-winning writer and illustrator. Her books include The Humane Society of the United States Complete Guide to Cat Care. She's written for Cat Fancy, Kittens USA, Catnip, CatWatch, Natural Cat, and Natural Pet. She lives in New Ipswich, New Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

And the Cat Came Back 1

Trouble in Paradise 2

Can Cats Really Be Outsmarted? 3

Enjoy the Adventure 10

The Fivefold Path to Human-Feline Fulfillment 11

Chapter 2 People and Cats, Together 12

In the Beginning 12

Family Felidae Appears 13

A Seed Is Planted 17

The Cat Comes Home 18

Seagoing Saviors 20

Chapter 3 The Physical Cat 22

Your Cat's Skeleton 22

Your Cat's Tail 24

Your Cat's Teeth 24

Your Cat's Muscles 25

Your Cat's Skin and Coat 27

Your Cat's Paws and Claws 29

Your Cat's Tongue 31

Your Cat's Nose and Vomeronasal Organ 33

Your Cat's Vocal Cords 36

Your Cat's Ears 36

Your Cat's Whiskers 39

Your Cat's Eyes 40

Decoding Feline Body Language 42

Outsmarting Feline Illness 49

Outsmarting Medication-resistant Cats 70

Chapter 4 The Secrets of Your Cat's Mind 75

What's Important to Your Cat? 75

Domestic vs. Wild 79

So Alike, Yet So Different 82

The Secret Cat Code 84

What Doesn't Work? 84

What Does Work? 87

Boredom and Misbehavior 90

Kitty Time-out: The Safe Hideaway 96

A Plea for Connection 98

Quick Tips 99

Chapter 5 The Litter Box Blues 103

A Frustrating and Deadly Problem 103

Why, Cat, Why? 103

Prevention: Be a Good Provider 104

When Prevention Fails 111

Diagnose the Cause 114

Cleaning Up 127

Outsmart Misbehavior by Eliminating the Cause 135

Outsmart Persistent Bad Habits 140

Outsmarting Litter Box Woes: You Can Do It, Together 147

Quick Tips 147

Chapter 6 Claws and Effect 150

Your Cat's Marvelous Claws 150

Scratching Is Not Optional! 151

Outsmarting Sofa Scratchers: What Not to Do 153

Choosing Scratch Nirvana 154

The Scratching Post 155

Outsmarting Furniture Shredders 159

Defensive Decorating 163

Is Declawing the Answer? No! 164

Clipping Claws: Is It Compulsory? 167

Outsmarting Itchy Cats 171

Chapter 7 Fractious Felines: Fighting, Aggression, Ambushes, and Biting 176

Why Do Cats Fight? 176

Escalating Conflicts 178

Bona Fide Fights 179

Making Up 181

Preventing Fights 182

Understanding and Outsmarting Aggression 186

Outsmarting Ambushes 203

Outsmarting Biting Cats 206

Quick Tips 210

Chapter 8 Food Fussies and Earlobe Chewers 211

Outsmarting Finickiness 211

Outsmarting Feline Foodies 213

Refusal to Eat 215

Feeding Do's and Don'ts 217

Water Matters 219

Outsmarting Pica (Eating Nonfood Materials) 220

Outsmarting Hair Droolers and Earlobe Chewers 224

Quick Feeding Tips 225

Quick Water Tips 227

Quick Treat Tips 228

Chapter 9 Psyching Out Fluffy: Feline Emotions and Personality Quirks 229

Understanding and Accepting Your Cat's Unique Personality 229

Outsmarting the Clingy, Needy Cat 234

Outsmarting the Stressed-out Cat 237

Outsmarting the Scaredy-cat 239

Outsmarting the Poorly Socialized Cat 242

Outsmarting the Jealous Cat 244

Outsmarting the I-Hate-All-Other-Cats Cat 248

Quick Tips 248

Chapter 10 Cat-versarions 250

What Does That Mean? 250

Cat Sounds, Decoded 250

Outsmarting the Too-quiet Cat 261

Outsmarting the Motormouth Cat 261

Quick Tips 263

Chapter 11 Shedding: Cat Hair, Everywhere! 264

Outsmarting Cat Hair 265

Hairy Cleanups 267

Cat Hair and Computers 268

Problem Shedding 270

Outsmarting Hairballs 273

Quick Tips 276

Chapter 12 COOPs (Cats Out Of Place) 278

Outsmarting Counter Cruisers 279

Outsmarting Trash-can Tippers 280

Outsmarting Plant Chompers 280

Outsmarting Furniture Loungers 282

Outsmarting Bookshelf Scalers 283

Outsmarting Curtain Climbers 286

Outsmarting Toilet Paper Hobbyists 286

Outsmarting Bedroom Bounders 287

Outsmarting Armpit Nuzzlers 289

Outsmarting Keyboard Tappers 291

Outsmarting Monitor Perchers 292

Outsmarting Kittenish Claw Scramblers 292

Chapter 13 OPCs (Other People's Cats) and NCs (Nobody's Cats) 295

Indoor, Outdoor 295

Whose Cat Is That? 295

Approaching a Cat You Don't Know 297

Outsmarting Troublemaking OPCs and NCs 300

What about Feeding Strays? 316

Zoonoses: Rabies and Other Cat-borne Illnesses 317

Chapter 14 Helping Cats in Your Community and Beyond 325

Be a Role Model: Spay and Neuter Your Own Cats 325

Be a Resource for Others 327

Make Your Donations Count-Give Locally 327

Fostering and Socializing Kittens 328

Reaching Out to the Global Cat Community 339

Chapter 15 Better Safe Than Sorry 340

Is This an Emergency? 340

Warning: Lovely Lilies Are Cat-killers 342

Quick Tips 343

Resources 349

Index 373

Editorial Reviews

"Wendy Christensen gets it; she has spent her life watching cats, being in the company of cats, sharpening the focus on her cat-colored glasses. In Outwitting Cats she brings that knowledge and empathic focus to bear, giving the reader real-life tools with a little something extra - what I call a good dose of cat mojo!" —Jackson Galaxy, host of Animal Planet's "My Cat From Hell," and author of Cat Daddy"No need for a cat at my house — I do all the napping, laying around, and turning up my nose at perfectly good dinners. However, this book is a pretty good guide to outwitting me." —P. J. O'Rourke"Never before has so much feline wisdom appeared in one place. Outwitting Cats is to most cat books what War and Peace is to Dick and Jane. Bastet herself might have written it. As the owner of four formerly destructive cats (three quite bad, one not so bad) I greeted Outwitting Cats with a certain skepticism but nevertheless put Christensen's advice to the test. The results were amazing. In very little time my four demons became sweet tempered pussies, my marriage was saved, and when I enter a room people no longer sniff the air and ask how many cats I have. All of us are living happily ever after, and we have Wendy Christensen to thank for this." — Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of Tribe of Tiger and The Hidden Life of Dogs"This book is the answer to the prayers of every cat owner—and every cat. But it's also fascinating reading even if you are unfortunate enough to lack a cat in your life at the moment. Wendy Christensen understands housecats like no other human I know. As a result, her brilliant Outwitting Cats is wise and funny, its advice comprehensive, humane, and marvellously effective." —Sy Montgomery, author of The Good, Good Pig, Spell of the Tiger, Journey of the Pink Dolphins and Walking with the Great Apes"Christensen takes us into the mind and spirit of the cat as few writers can, leading us deep into the cat's world, helping us know our cat's thoughts and know his 'inner wildcat.' With a sure hand she lets us see ourselves through our cat's eyes, too, and teaches us how to charm him into the behavior we'd like. A delightful read, filled with all the facts you'll ever need to be a good cat "parent." A must for every cat lover." –Shirley Rousseau Murphy, author of the Joe Grey Mystery series"Wendy Christensen is a talented and lyrical writer. This book is filled with solid information designed to help feline advocates make responsible choices. As usual, Wendy's concern, compassion, dedication and love for cats shine through every word. I am a fan!" — Amy D. Shojai, president emeritus of the Cat Writers Association and author of over 20 pet books"Wendy Christensen offers advice in your cat's best interest. She has tips you've never thought of. Wendy is a guardian angel for cats." — Steve Dale, Tribune Media Services syndicated columnist, host syndicated "Animal Planet Radio" and "Pet Central" on WGN Radio, senior columnist, Pet Life magazine."Libraries with small or outdated collections will definitely want to add this one, while those with more expansive collections should seriously consider purchase." — Library Journal

From the Publisher