Catwatching

Rating:
Summary: Cats 101
Review: An interesting and concise explanation of many facets of cat behavior, organized into brief question and answer sections that make for easy reference and quick reading. Desmond Morris illuminates many fascinating aspects of feline hunting and mating behavior, as well as providing insights into their body language. The book may lack some scientific rigor in that Morris sometimes speculates on issues of cat motivation for which he has no experimental or statistical support (or at least none that he mentions), but it is clear that he respects these animals, takes them seriously, and bases his conclusions on many hours of observation. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Cats 101
Review: An interesting and concise explanation of many facets of cat behavior, organized into brief question and answer sections that make for easy reference and quick reading. Desmond Morris illuminates many fascinating aspects of feline hunting and mating behavior, as well as providing insights into their body language. The book may lack some scientific rigor in that Morris sometimes speculates on issues of cat motivation for which he has no experimental or statistical support (or at least none that he mentions), but it is clear that he respects these animals, takes them seriously, and bases his conclusions on many hours of observation. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Desmond Morris is my hero!
Review: Catwatching and his other book DogWatching are both great. You get a sense that Desmond reaches a bit when it comes to cats. His Dog book is easy since Dogs are very social animals that have Jobs within the human pack. Cats on the other hand never grow up when rased by humans. They live in a perpentual sate of Kittens depending on Mom and Dad for their needs.

A great read if you're trying to figure out what is going on in your cats head.

GENE

Rating:
Summary: Desmond Morris is my hero!
Review: Catwatching and his other book DogWatching are both great. You get a sense that Desmond reaches a bit when it comes to cats. His Dog book is easy since Dogs are very social animals that have Jobs within the human pack. Cats on the other hand never grow up when rased by humans. They live in a perpentual sate of Kittens depending on Mom and Dad for their needs.

A great read if you're trying to figure out what is going on in your cats head.

GENE

Rating:
Summary: Desmond Morris does it again
Review: Desmond Morris is nearly as incredible as such masters as Durrell and Lorenz when it comes to making nature accessible and entertaining.

This particular book is a trifle too generalized for my taste (the statement in the introduction that "going for a walk with a human has no appeal for them [cats]" is contradicted by my personal experience - I've been owned by two cats that were keen on accompanying me on hikes.) However, this book is perfect for the first-time cat owner or the person eager to learn the basics of cat psychology and behavior. It is not too complex for even a bright child, but full of tidbits interesting enough to beguile most adults.

Indeed, I would encourage first-time cat owners to get hold of a copy of this book as quickly as they can. Understanding what your cat is 'saying' to you is half the fun.

Rating:
Summary: catlovers, clear room on your bookshelves
Review: Desmond Morris, controversial author of _The Naked Ape_, writes about cats as if he could see into their souls. His prose has the air of someone who has spent a lot of time watching his pets play in the yard, chase birds, and dart around the house.

I consider him a master expositor of the inner lives of cats. He listens to these creatures, and I daresay knows them better than they know themselves.

My only disappointment is that there is no serious treatment of the very real philosophical issues that necessarily accompany this sort of project. The problem of `other minds', so unresolved in even the human case, only waxes in difficulty in the face of nonhuman species, being as they are incapable of propositional speech.

Rating:
Summary: Makes OneWonder Who is More Intelligent - You or Your Cat
Review: Having raised, owned and studied not only human behaviour but cat behaviour for over thirty years, I have found this to be one of the most beautiful and informative books available on the exquisite and highly intellectual behaviour of cats. It is simply written in a manner that answers a vast array of questions on why cats do exactly what they do. Remember, these incredible creatures are trying to figure out what you are all about, too! The coloured photographs are exceptional and ones you will be sure to treasure for years to come. What does a cat signal with its eyes? How many "tail-signals" does this wonderful feline actually have? Why does a cat drink dirty water? Can cats predict earthquakes? Why does your cat roll over when it sees you and why does it sometimes sulk? These and approximately seventy-six other questions are explained in this delightful hard-covered book. If you are a cat lover, "Catwatching" is a definite must for your library and it makes a great conversation piece on your coffee table.

Rating:
Summary: Desmond Morris knows cats... Heck, he knows everything!
Review: I love this book. I have read it several times, along with his other books (everything from The Naked Ape to Bodywatching). This book is a must-have for cat lovers, especially those who wonder why cats like to be let outside, then want to come right back in again! :)

Staci Layne Wilson
Author of Staci's Guide to Animal Movies

Rating:
Summary: Rather simplistic
Review: It was a good introduction to cats but as a long time cat lover most of the facts in the book I already knew. I had hoped for something a little more academic or something that went into greater debth on the social interactions of those colonies of semi-feral cats. I know Morris has taken part in those studies but Catwatching doesn't touch on it (except briefly in the introduction). The illustrations though are wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Informative, but a little presumptious
Review: This book answers frequently asked questions about cats, with illustrations that are often amusing. It is clearly written by someone who has spent a lot of time around cats, and the information in it can be useful.

However.

As someone who has spent a good deal of my life in situations where I could not speak for myself and others spoke -- often wrongly, if well-meaningly -- for me, I am sensitive to what happens when you assume too much about the complex activities going on in the mind of another being. And I had a lot of questions when I read this book.

How is it *known* that cats regard us as their surrogate parents? Did a cat tell someone that? All the behaviors described as signaling that attitude toward us are behaviors cats display toward other cats or toward inanimate objects. Is my cat kneading a blanket convinced that the blanket is her mother, or is it simply one of those pleasure and comfort responses that can't be adequately explained? Does my cat like being nuzzled and licked by his sister because he thinks she's his mother? How would a human feel being told that we like hugs because they resemble the way our mothers cuddled us in infancy? Isn't it more that humans and cats each prefer certain displays of affection over others?

How is it that cats would see us sometimes as mother cats, and sometimes as kittens? How do researchers know? Did a cat tell them, "When I lie on your lap and knead you while you stroke me, it's because I think you're my mommy, but when I bring you a mouse, it's because I think you're my baby?"

I credit cats with enough powers of observation to realize that human beings are not cats. They have ways of relating that are uniquely adapted to relating specifically to humans, that differ from their responses to their own mothers and kittens. They know that we smell different, look different, and sound different from cats, and they treat us differently than they treat cats, even their mothers. The complexity of the human-cat relationship cannot be easily described by claiming that humans think of cats as some specific kind of human or that cats think of humans as some specific kind of cat. We talk to our cats, but we know they are not human beings. Cats talk to us in cat-language, but they are quite aware that we're not cats. I found the simplistic reductions in this book by an otherwise clearly thoughtful catwatcher disappointing.

Because of this, I would take the descriptions of what cats are thinking with a grain of salt. There are indications as to what they are thinking, and some things are easier to guess than others -- the descriptions of why cats hate doors are much more convincing than the descriptions of why cats like humans -- but as to the more complex areas of feline thought, we humans are truly guessing and should not be ashamed to say it.

Don't be too put off by my criticism of that point, though. The rest of the book is a solid list of answers to common questions about cats, including information I had been previously unaware of even after a lifetime of reading about cats. While it's true that most of this information is available in other books, and this book has a bit of a feeling of vagueness and incompleteness, it does pack a wide range of topics into a small, affordable volume.