Cat Sense

By John Bradshaw,

Book cover of Cat Sense: The Feline Enigma Revealed

Book description

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…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Cat Sense as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

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. 

From Jonathan's list on cats: past, present and future.

I thought I knew a lot about cats until I realized I didn’t. I needed to get up to date with what science tells us about cats. So I recommend Cat Sense because it is the easiest read of all the books about cats that are based on good science. If you work in the veterinary, rescue, or behaviour field this is a good basic text for anybody without much time for reading. It is firmly based on what we know from science about cat welfare and behaviour. Read this and the cats in your care will benefit enormously.

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