| | |  | Cats | Home » » » » The Cat Whisperer: The Secret of How to Talk to Your Cat | | | | | | | Description: | | Britain's leading veterinary journalist and cat expert shares her advice and experience with cat owners on both sides of the Atlantic, as she describes how to bond with a pet feline. Claire Bessant begins by explaining how cats function as cats, describing their likes, their dislikes, and their instinctive behavior. Armed with this knowledge, cat owners facing behavior problems can determine why a problem exists and decide how to solve it. A most fascinating topic that Claire Bessant explores in detail is her method of entering a cat's world through its senses—sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste, and that indefinable feline sixth sense. Readers will also find information on cat vocal and body language, feline traits determined by genetics, ways of measuring feline intelligence, training techniques, and much more. The book's final 50-page chapter is an A-to-Z compendium of cat behavior problems and their solutions. This must-read volume for cat lovers includes an eight-page insert of beautiful full-color photos. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Claire Bessant | | Paperback:
| 192 pages | | Publisher:
| Barron's Educational Series | | Publication Date:
| May 30, 2002 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0764121650 | | Product Length:
| 8.98 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.06 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.41 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.69 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.8 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 13 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 13 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
90 of 97 found the following review helpful:
 You Talk to Your Cat, and Your Cat Talks to YouJan 13, 2003
By George Webster, Ph.D.,
Claire Bessant, a British expert on cats, tells us that the intelligence of cats ranks up there with dolphins and primates. I agree. If a cat resides in your home, you learn quickly that communication with the cat is a two-way street. You communicate with the cat via words that the cat quickly picks up, and the cat communicates with you by sound and body language that sometimes takes a poor human considerable time to understand. That is why we need a book such as this one by Claire Bessant. Usually, while you are trying unsuccessfully to train the cat, that calculating cat is busily training you for maximum cat security and comfort. Bessant explains the basis for cat behavior and shows how body language aids vocal sounds in telling you what the cat wants to tell you. Her background information goes a long way toward helping you communicate with and understand a highly intelligent creature. I found this well-written book to be informative and entertaining.
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
A very good book to get you up to speed with modern theoryJul 22, 2007
By DrBig
I just brought home my first cat in 20 years, and find this book an excellent primer in getting to know this little creature & appreciate it as a friend. The book is identical to her other book titled "How to Talk to Your Cat", so no need to buy both. The book is not written in an 'owner manual' style, but rather as a long essay where the author dispenses her sage advice. All the author is doing in this book is tying together modern theory to explain what a cat is, & why it does what it does, so we can better appreciate it & have more fruitful interactions with it. Some people may prefer a more systematic & technical approach; it is all personal preference. But I agree, the title is very misleading & a slick marketing ploy.
37 of 47 found the following review helpful:
 Do Yourself A Favor And SKIP This BookJan 04, 2004
By Sylvain Garceau
I've read dozens of cat books in the last few years, and frankly I just thought this one was a waste of money. There is no new info here, no new point of view, nothing that isn't available in a dozen other cat books, and better written at that. Someone who picked up "Cats For Dummies" would get more plentiful, useful information.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
The title set some unrealistic expectations...Jan 30, 2010
By Thomas Duff
"Duffbert"
This is one of those books that sounded a lot better in concept than it actually turned out to be... The Cat Whisperer: The Secret of How to Talk to Your Cat by Claire Bessant. It's not that there wasn't anything of value here. It's just that expectations were set a bit too high when I checked it out from the library...
Contents:
A Different World; Cat Talk; Living With Your Cat; Exploring The Relationship; Cat Characters; Intelligence and Training; A to Z of Problems and Solutions
If you already have a cat that you're getting along with, there's little in here that will rock your world. The author covers the history of cats, the basics of how they communicate, the indications you can observe on how they might be feeling, and general tips and tricks on living with your feline companion. As with all situations where you're on the outside looking in, it's completely impossible to tell exactly how accurate some of the "your cat is thinking this" advice is. But overall, her observations seem to be reasonable.
I think where I had the most problem was with the title and the expectation it set. Any title with "whisperer" in it denotes some special ability to communicate with an animal that generally defies a deep bond. Add "The Secret Of How To Talk To Your Cat" as a subtitle, and I start expecting the ability to carry on conversations. I really didn't find that here. Outside of picking up on feline body language, I didn't think there was anything "secret" to be had here.
Since it's a short book, it's an OK read if you haven't spent any time thinking about how your cat may think. But don't think you're going to become the next Cesar Millan and launch your own Cat Whisperer series on TV. It's not going to happen with this book.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
38 of 54 found the following review helpful:
 The Cat Whisperer: The Secret of How to Talk to Your CatApr 27, 2004
By Laura Grabhorn
At the beginning of this book, the author attempts to get us to understand from a cat's perspective on what it must be like to live with humans by comparing cats to Eskimos who suddenly move to the jungle. I nearly couldn't read any further. It is a distracting and unappetizing comparison with which Native people may be all too familiar.Throughout the book, the author seems to go on and on about the relative popularity of dogs to cats. She includes far too much about dogs and their behavior characterstics in relation to people. If this were a book about cats and dogs that might have been appropriate. However, in this book, it was simply another distraction. There are a few interesting things, but overall doesn't cover any new ground that Desmond Morris hasn't already covered.
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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