The Cat Whisperer: Why Cats Do What They Do--and How to Get Them to Do What You Want

This book is difficult to read. There is so much information written about the author that I haven't been able to get to the information that is supposed to help me with my multi-cat household. The other book I bought at the same time as this one, called ComPETability by Amy Shojai is much easier to read and I've been able to try out a thing or two from her book. And no, I don't know Amy Shojai, nor am I related to her.

I'm so grateful I found this book. I highly recommend it for solving cat issues. After reading it I realized how in the last year there were serious changes in my cat's environment and it was stressing my cat Andee out big time. She was pooping and peeing outside the litter box. She didn't always do it. This book helps you view your home through your cat's eyes. Andee is a very loving wonderful cat but easily terrified especially of noises, and strangers in the home. Even simple things like strange box left near her litter box will make her scared and go elsewhere. We adopted a new young golden retriever who was too rambunctious for her liking and while she tolerated him he invaded her space. This book made me realize that:1. I had picked up all the little cat toys because of the dog (he'll eat them) so she had nothing to play with. I've added more play time back and toys in her cat only spaces.2. I got busy with the dog so stopped maintaining bird feeders for Cat TV. Now I have two going at windows she likes to sit by again.3. She needed some dog free spaces so started baby gating a few rooms where she could have a dog free zone if she wanted to. We also have room custody arrangements she gets the master bedroom as a dog free zone all day then it's open to cats and dogs at night (Goldens want to sleep near their family and so do my cats)4. I figured out she liked white litter boxes not dark ones, and no covers please.5. The author suggested making sure litter box areas are well lit, I added night lights so my cat could see clearly. She instantly started using them more.6. I added high places for her to perch throughout the house. Including one right on my side of the bed where she can sleep at night and be out of the way of the dog. She used to sleep at the foot of the bed but the dog would hop up there scaring her off, now with the special bedside tower she is queen bee. I use purrfect post tower/scratching posts for this.7. I added several transport routes for her through rooms in the house where she can travel more than one way to get to a destination, including some hidey places along the way.8. I added the Feliway diffusers to the main rooms she frequents.9. I added more litter boxes (white of course) in more rooms so if she was scared of something near the normal location of litter boxes she'd have access to one.10. She is super bonded to me and I realized she gets stressed when I leave town and the pet sitter comes. I took steps to not close off areas of the house that she is the most comfortable with when I'm out of town, so she has all her usual hidey places when scared.11. She likes a thin layer of litter not thick and wants a clean box every time. My other cat likes a lot of litter. I have 9 boxes for two cats so they each have the box they prefer in each main area of the house. Also both cats want a different box for poop and pee so having several makes sure there is always a clean one for both things they may need to do.Read this book and start looking at your situation through a cat's eyes and I think you will be surprised at the changes you can achieve. I would have never given my cat up since I love her so much but I sure am happy to be cleaning up the litter boxes not the floors. I really can't praise the author enough for providing so much help to cat owners. I thought the situation was hopeless. Thank you.

I was just about to become guardian to my daughter's 3yo Zoey, as her roommate had just given her an ultimatum. The cat was very nervous, very aggressive, spraying all over the living room(and in the roommate's closet as the final straw) and was not affectionate at all - except sometimes with my daughter. The thought of re-homing her and never seeing her again (or worse, her not finding a home... gulp.) was breaking my daughter's heart. So, I agreed to take her for a year or two, until my daughter graduates college and gets her own place, to make the separation more bearable for both mama & kitty. I purchased this book, and read it cover to cover, before my grand-kitty's arrival. I have had a dozen or more cats in my lifetime, but all were indoor/outdoor cats - and it never occurred to me all of the behaviors/activities that indoor cats were missing out on, and that I needed to create an environment that mimics what they do in the wild, to act out all of their "cat-ness" in the house. From litter box "dos & don'ts" to toys & effective play routines, to how seeing other animals (esp cats) out the window, could upset them and cause unexplained aggression - she covers it all. I now feel like a cat expert, myself :-) She even explained why Zoey may always be more on the nervous, no-affectionate side - that she probably wasn't socialized around humans and other animals properly during a critical period(I think 7-12 weeks or something). It also explained why her behavior got much worse this past year ( going thorough feline sexual maturity). She's been at my house for about a month now, and is doing better than I've ever seen her. She hasn't scratched at us or sprayed even once, and has actually become quite a bit more affectionate and sweeter than I ever expected. I've spent around $500 so far (yikes!) on her Southwest Pet fare, vet check-up, cat towers, pheromone diffusers, toys, supplies, ect. But I know she will live probably ten years longer than an outdoor cat, and I am spoiling her as grandmas do! Hubby wasn't sure at first, but now EVEN he loves her!! She'll eventually go back to her mommy a happier cat, and I feel confident knowing I can share all of the knowledge that "The Cat Whisperer" has given me. HIGHLY recommend!

I adopted a cat that turned out to be a con artist. When I went to look for a cat to adopt, George was the most sweet, loving passive cat in the whole place. When I took him home, he slept right next to me on my pillow and didn't move. He did this for about a week. Then...when he realized he had a permanent owner and home, he turned into Dracula! He is still a fun sweet cat and I love him so much, but he gets over stimulated during play time and petting him and then he starts to claw and kick and bite. He rarely bites hard, usually just playfully but sometimes it just hurts! After reading this book I understood so much about his behavior and how to handle the situation. One thing I learned in that when he starts to go on attack mode, I shouldn't try to pull away because that makes the game more fun for him, as if he is going after prey. I put my finger into his mouth and push and he lets go. When he starts to claw, I push towards him and he stops. It is really working. It is a slow process but George is so loving and gentle most of the time and still sleeps on the bed with me every night. Thank God for cat Whisperers...I would not have known how to handle him.

Informative but not all practical as helpful as I hoped. Some advise obvious if you care...eg litter boxes on more than one floor and not near food and cleaned daily. Fact is cats can be persnickety or just fine ..hard to solve....even if you care

Great book but after reading cover to cover and faithfully doing everything we still have to get a cat rehomed as they just cannot be in the same room. Does help you understand your cat better..

Covered quite a lot of possible behavior problems in cats but unfortunately didn't cover our problem.

Perfect for insight into the mind of the cat.

: ( didn't qork for me or else my cat's bad habits were unbreakable. Book a bit much. Sorry.

This book answered a lot of the questions I had about my cat's nasty behavior. I am pleased to have it as a reference and am using it as a "family copy" so my kids can borrow it when they have questions about their cats. Particularly useful is the section about how to introduce a new cat into the household, and how to avoid the usual problems of agression when they occur. She deals with typical issues such as urinating/defecating outside the litter box, scratching furniture, etc.