Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very comprehensive, much better than other general books, 7 Mar 2002
By A Customer
I own this book as well as the RSPCA cat care manual and have looked at dozens of others, and I think the KISS Guide to cat care is by far the best I have seen. It is the most comprehensive in what it covers, eg it is the only general cat care book I have seen that covers the possible risks of vaccines, encouraging owners to make informed decisions based on the individual requirements of their pet. It also has good ideas on how to prevent your indoor cat from getting bored, and how to train your cat. Other general books don't cover these topics and restrict themselves to the practical issues like what to buy for the new arrival etc - which the KISS guide of course covers as well, and it's more in-depth even on those issues I think it's probably the best general cat care book you could invest in.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't buy this unless you're getting an indoor cat, 29 Oct 2007
I found this book too simplistic, horrible to look at and very much aimed at the American market.
The author believes that as a cat owner, you are irresponsible and therefore totally to blame for any illness that your cat might pick up, any fight that it might get into and any accident it might have if you let it venture into the world outside your house.
There are four whole pages devoted to lecturing readers about the evils of letting a cat go outside, and the author doesn't hold back. I quote: "People who support letting cats outside need to think long and hard, then, about their real motivations for letting domestic felines outside and into harm's way. Are they just too busy to play with their cat indoors? I say it is more cruel to let a cat out, knowing that in doing so, you may be condemning it to a shorter and less healthy life"
Strangely enough there doesn't seem to be a mention of declawing - a very cruel procedure which is very popular with indoor cat owners in the States, but illegal in most European countries. On the plus side however,there's a whole chapter ('Hollywood Calling') devoted to teaching your cat to perform tricks.
Save your money and buy Cats - 500 Questions Answered by Dr David Sands instead.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Treats cats as objects, 9 July 2010
Throughout this text the author refers to cats as "it" as if they were inanimate objects: clearly he has no respect for them. Objectifying animals is the first step to abusing them.
If the rest of the text were a bit more substantial I could forgive this; but it's not, it's largely fluff and pictures. There is no proper index, making the book useless for reference (which it would be anyway). Important toxins such as raisins and chocolate are not mentioned, which is unforgiveable. Finally, the discussion about dry food is hopelessly inaccurate and misleading and makes no mention of the biggest danger, i.e., dehydration leading to feline urologic syndrome. I get the feeling that the book is written by someone who is more concerned about the convenience of humans than about the needs of cats.
I have written to the publishers to complain.
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