Although I’m a cat lover, I’ve spent my career studying the evolution of lizards. As my career progressed, it never occurred to me to investigate cats. They’re too hard to study (ever tried following one?), plus, I thought there was no interesting cat research being done. Then I learned I was completely wrong—cat scientists are conducting great work using cutting-edge techniques. So I decided to teach a freshman class on the science of cats, hoping to lure in cat-loving students and then teach them how scientists study nature, using cats as the vehicle. The class was a success, but something unexpected happened: I became hooked on cat science myself!
I wrote...
The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa
John Bradshaw, arguably the world’s foremost cat scientist, leans on his years of experience to provide an engaging presentation on all things cat. Bradshaw is, first and foremost, a behaviorist, and so much of the book focuses on why cats do what they do, with many useful tips on how to be a better cat servant/companion.
I particularly liked how Bradshaw weaved in stories from his own research projects and even those of his beloved pet, Splodge. In addition, I appreciated that he not only summarized other scientists’ findings but wasn’t shy about presenting his own views, critical or not.
Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. Unlike dogs, cats evolved as solitary hunters, and, while many have learned to live alongside humans and even feel affection for us, they still don't quite get us" the way dogs do, and perhaps they never will. But cats have rich emotional lives that we need to respect and understand if they are to thrive in our company. In Cat…
In this lively and entertaining book, Tucker brings a journalist’s perspective to explaining how scientists and conservationists conduct their work to understand cats and their impact on the natural world. I particularly liked how she traveled to places around the world to see first-hand both the scientists and the cats.
Most amusingly, while discussing the cat-transmitted disease toxoplasmosis, which causes mice to be attracted to the scent of cats, she wonders whether climbing a small, boulder-packed hill in Africa where lions may have been lurking was evidence that she herself was infected.
A New York Times bestseller about how cats conquered the world and our hearts in this "deep and illuminating perspective on our favorite household companion" (Huffington Post).
House cats rule bedrooms and back alleys, deserted Antarctic islands, even cyberspace. And unlike dogs, cats offer humans no practical benefit. The truth is they are sadly incompetent mouse-catchers and now pose a threat to many ecosystems. Yet, we love them still.
In the "eminently readable and gently funny" (Library Journal, starred review) The Lion in the Living Room, Abigail Tucker travels through world history, natural science, and pop culture to meet breeders,…
Ever wondered what your cat is saying? I have. And this is the book to explain what Jasmine is trying to tell you.
I loved the charming way that Schötz detailed her elegant studies of feline phonetics and linguistics based partly on recordings of her own five cats. No wonder she received an Ig Nobel Prize, given to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think."
Do you speak to your cat? Do you feel your cat understands you and vice versa?
Cat lovers across the globe know cats can speak. In this compelling new book, Susanne Schotz - a professor at Sweden's Lund University - shares insights into her long-standing cat communication research. Proving that cats not only speak to one another, but also to their human caretakers.
This clever book teaches us how to better understand our cats by translating their sounds, recognising their meaning in different situations and giving practical tips to understand them better.
In this concise, easy-to-read, and lavishly illustrated book, the late Juliet Clutton-Brock recounts the history of cats from their humble origins in the African bush to our beloved and diverse companions today.
I particularly like how Clutton-Brock, one of the leading zooarchaeologists of her time, blends historical accounts with her own observations on both ancient and modern-day moggies.
They can be found in pyramids, laid to rest alongside pharaohs, or mummified within the walls of superstitious British homeowners. Going to sea in a pea-green boat or fading to a Cheshire smile, they grace the pages of literature from Aesop to Eliot. They curl up on the hearth, they prowl the bar, they haunt the alleyway. With us since the dawn of culture, cats nonetheless have the shortest history of all domestic animals, a history that circumstances of breeding and temperament have made all the more elusive. What can be known about these creatures, so common yet so enigmatic,…
This charming book is a bit different from my other selections. Couffer, an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer and director, provides delightful details of the lives of the cats living on the remote island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya.
With a sharp naturalist’s eye and a delightful voice, Couffer engagingly describes the escapades of several rival colonies of cats as they seek to eke out a living among the fisherpeople and town inhabitants. As well as enjoying the book so much that I could barely put it down, I found it thought-provoking as an example of how the earliest cats may have started associating with humans and began their journey to domestication…or at least as domesticated as cats have become.
Situated off the east coast of Africa, the L amu archipelago is home to a species of feral cat, possibly descended from the domestic cats of Egypt. Jack Couffer''s il lustrated study documents the lives and relationships of the se special cats. '
My book is about the past, present, and future of the domestic cat: where cats came from, why they do what they do, and what the future may hold. And critically, it discusses how we know what we know and how the latest tools in science are combined with old-fashioned observations of cat behavior to understand the lives of our household friends.
Rather than a dry recounting of research, I visit with fellow scientists to learn how their studies unfolded. And I conduct my own DIY research, swabbing Nelson-the-cat’s cheek for DNA and using a kittycam to see what he gets up to. And then there are the cats themselves, both alley and showcat varieties. The book is a celebration of curiosity, both feline and scientific.
Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks left by browsing deer, predatory weasels, and inquisitive bears, skunks, and raccoons. Master tracker Kim A Cabrera provides photos and illustrations.
Winner of the prestigious John Burroughs Medal, Russell also writes about community, a sense of place, and a renewed connection with the nonhuman world. She explores the health of…
What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs
Did a red fox pass this way? Could that be a bobcat print there in the dirt? Do those tracks belong to a domestic dog or a coyote? Combining lyrical memoir with an introduction to wildlife tracking, What Walks This Way explores the joys of learning to recognize the traces of the creatures with whom we share our world.
The nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife-mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice-near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. With wit and compassion, she guides readers through…
