Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet
Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers are still on the rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, yet cats remain the most mysterious of all, even to their most adorable 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 understand us quite as well as dogs do, and probably 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 Sense, famed anthropologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the minds of the domestic cat than ever before, using the latest scientific research to dispel myths and explain the true nature of our feline friends. Tracing the evolution of the cat from a lone predator to a domesticated companion, Bradshaw explains that although cats and humans have been living together for at least eight thousand years, cats remain independent, predators and wary of contact with their own kind, qualities that often conflict with ours. Modern lifestyles. Cats still have three of their four feet firmly planted in the wild, and in just a few generations they can easily return to the independent way of life that was the exclusive preserve of their ancestors some 10,000 years ago. Cats are amazingly resilient, and thanks to the right environment they can adapt to home life with their owners, but to continue to do so, they will increasingly need our help. Bradshaw explains that if we live in harmony with our cats, we first need to understand their inherited quirks: understand their body language, keep their environments no matter how small interesting enough, and become more active in managing each of their natural hunting instincts. and their relationships with other cats.
A must read for any cat lover, Cat Sense is humane, penetrating insights into the domestic cat that challenge our basic assumptions and pledge to dramatically improve our pets' lives and ours.