Housecat: How to Keep Your Indoor Cat Sane and Sound

by Christine Church

Book Overview

Many people keep their pet cats strictly indoors. Indoor cats are healthier, safer and live longer, but they can fall prey to boredom, stress, obesity and destructive behaviour. This book shows owners how to avoid these pitfalls and create an indoor world that is stimulating, healthy and loving.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876051425
• ISBN13: 9780876051429
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Howell Books
• Length: 193 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Very informative for the cat owner, both new and old

This book provides a treasure chest of information regarding its topic. Not only is helpful advice provided on various issues such as health, litter training, indoor vs. outside cats, cat scratching trees, etc. but explanations are provided are provided as to why the advice is given. For cat scratching posts, for example, the author explains, physiologically, why cats really need to scratch and hence why it is so important to have cat scartching posts along wiht important characteristics thses things should have (i.e., heavy, lined with material that helps remove the sheath of a cat's nail as it scartches, etc.). The book intertwines this information with many personal anecdotal stories from the author that provide a human (or cat) face to her advice. It also makes the book more entertaining to read.

The dedication and introduction brought tears to my eyes!

About two years ago, I did a complete 180 and became a cat lover, having previously felt indifferent toward them. In January of this year I adopted a beautiful tabby cat from the adoption room at PetSmart (where I purchased this book also, right at the end of the cat food aisle). I am so grateful to have purchased an independent book on the subject, rather than the equivalent from the "For Dummies" or "Complete Idiots' Guide" series. Christine Church presents her suggestions, her do's and don'ts, in a very engaging and lively way through numerous anecdotes involving her own many cats. She has owned as many as eleven cats (and at least one dog). The book is informative on a number of subjects; I was enlightened to learn, for example, that not only is declawing painful, it can change the personality of some cats for the worse. Previously social and friendly cats sometimes become mean and withdrawn after losing their beloved claws. After reading "House Cat" I can safely say I won't have my cat declawed. The story of Gillie was both heartbreaking and heartwarming! What an incredible cat, to survive cancer for so long and hop around on three legs! When I see his picture on the dedication page, I regret that I never met this cat in real life. I was also quite touched by the story of Taffy, the cat who always longed to go outdoors and was granted her wish late in life when she was too frail to possibly run stray. Taffy is one of the several feline dedicatees of the book; Christine Church writes: "For Taffy, whose life brought sunshine to mine and all who knew her. I'm glad I was able to give you sunshine in the end." With excellent photos to supplement, this is a well-written book indeed.

Purrrfect Book for Cat Lovers

Never before have I seen a non-fiction book with interesting stories to start each chapter and make you want to read more... Like a novel, but unbelievably informative! If you want to know how to care for your indoor cat, or any cat, or are thinking of making your cat an indoor cat, or getting one.... Here's the purrfect reference. Also added, besides good information and interesting antecdotes, are links to excellent and informative web pages. This is truly the cat book for the 21st century!

Excellent source for broad-range of cat info

This book answered many questions I had ( & ones I hadn't even thought of yet). I am a first-time kitten owner, for lack of a better word. ("Owner" is not PC, I know.) Having also purchased at least 5 other cat behavior/care books, I was happily surprised to find a different approach in Christine Church's HOUSECAT. She goes into detail on many subjects dealing with living with and nurturing your housecats, yet her style of writing is not dry. She writes in an easily understood, matter-of-fact manner that covered everything that I wondered and worried about, my being new to housecats. Just one example: she covers the different types of cat litter on the market, explaining what the merits & disadvantages are of each. Being new to all this, litter box filler can be confusing without some specific info and opinions about all the choices that exist, and she sufficiently covered it for me.Her manner is that of an experienced cat person, having 11 herself (at the time she wrote the book), and this can be a refreshing contrast to that of a vet. (Books by vets are aboundingly helpful, but after purchasing more than a handful of them, I was interested in checking out a different perspective.) Also, having had as many cats as she has, she has diverse experience, such as living with blind and elderly cats. Occasionally, you might not agree with an opinion or two of hers, as with anyone, but anyone with a cat (or cats) of their own can probably sort out the few ideas that don't work for them. This book is worth the sorting-out.

Great for all

Bringing a cat indoors after they have lived outside all their lives is a tough decision to make. Housecat is a great book in helping give the new indoor cat owner insight and advice about all aspects of indoor cat life, not only bringing an outdoor cat in, but getting a kitten, teaching an older cat and helping an existing cat adjust. I learned more from this book than a year's worth of cat magazines.