By Mimi Pollack
LA MESA, California — There are two camps in the world: dog lovers and cat lovers. However, there are many, who like me, love and appreciate both. The popularity of cats has grown and today more households have cats, and they have questions about their cats.
Cats can be such mysterious creatures! We wonder what they are thinking when they stare at us. To help clear up this mystery, Gary Weitzman, president of the San Diego Humane Society, and Aline Alexander Newman have co-authored an informative book called, How to Speak Cat.
This book is written for both children and adults to enjoy. It is a guide for decoding cat language and what some of their body talk means. The purpose of this book is to help pet owners understand their cats’ behavior better. For example, why do cat like high places? According to the book, there are two reasons. Cats like to have a view, and they like to feel safe. A high perch can accomplish both.
Another example is why cats leave “gifts” at the front door like mice or lizards According to the book, some scientists believe that cats can feel so close to their owners that they think they are their kittens and want to feed them!.
The book has fun facts and valuable information, along with vet care and advice. There are also more than 100 photos. One chapter that I found interesting was on feral cats. In Rome, Italy, there is a no-kill law that gives feral cats the right to stay where they were born. There are more than 300,000 cats in Rome! The point was also raised about the importance of getting your cat spayed or neutered.
Like their previous book, How to Speak Dog, this book is also one that you can read from beginning to end, or open at any given page and learn something. Better communication and understanding make for a more satisfying cat-human relationship.
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Pollack is a freelance writer and a lover of animals. You may comment to her at mimi.pollack@sdjewishworld.com, or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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