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Why Do Cats Do That?: Real Answers to the Curious Things Cats Do?
Award-winning author Kim Campbell Thornton offers “Real Answers to the Curious Things Cats Do” in this fun-fact book that all cat lovers will adore. Why Do Cats Do That? discusses twenty peculiar feline habits that have puzzled cat owners since the first semi-domesticated cat plopped a dead baby dodo on a caveman’s doorstep! Why do cats bring us mangled mice as gifts? How and why does a cat purr? Why do cats land on their feet? (Do they always land on their feet?) These questions and others are explored and sometimes resolved in an entertaining and instructive format. More than good fun, owners will discover the reasons behind common behavioral problems, including litter box accidents, furniture scratching, spraying, and more. Feline facts and training ideas plus lots of funny cat photos complete this Simple Solutions book.
- GenresCatsNonfictionAnimals
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 1998
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 9, 2011
I received this book as a gift and so felt obligated to read it. Having read it, I feel honor-bound to review it, but this book is really outside my area of expertise and so I have asked my cat, Buster, to step in and write the review in my place. Her comments follow:
Although reviewing books is not my usual gig, I’m happy to slide in here and help out. I note that my owner has about eight million reviews posted on this site and at least now he’ll have one that’s reasonably literate. This will be fairly brief, though. It’s approaching time for my thirty-fourth nap of the day and I get kind of surly when I don’t get enough rest. Truth to tell, though, being a cat I’m pretty surly most of the time anyhow, regardless of how much sleep I get.
I have to say that I was not all that knocked out about this book. There’s no mystery to solve; there’s no ticking clock; there’s no explosions and there’s precious little violence. Even worse, there’s almost no sex in this book, and so I had a hard time staying interested in it.
The book purports to explain the reasons why cats behave as we do, as if any mere mortal could begin to comprehend what goes on in the mind of a cat. I mean, let’s be honest here. Compared to the average cat, even somebody like Albert Einstein had an I.Q. equivalent to that of your basic cantaloupe. Still, I suppose you can’t blame the author for trying.
There’s an interesting chapter in the book that tells you how to grow your own catnip and suggests that one of the few times cats “completely lose their dignity is when they are in the throes of a catnip high.” Rubbish! In the first place, of course, cats never lose their dignity, and in the second place this whole catnip business is highly overrated. And as my owner’s friend, Kemper, could tell you, there’s at least one thing we cats enjoy a helluva lot more than catnip.
The author also describes the reasons why some cats enjoy eating houseplants and she maintains that “eating greenery is a pretty harmless activity.” She should try telling that to my owner’s wife. I still bear the psychic scars from the tongue-lashing I got six years ago, when I decided to try lunching on her philodendron.
I got really excited when I saw the title of the chapter, “Prey Play,” because I naturally thought that Lucas Davenport was about to make an appearance and finally get this party started. No such luck, though. It turned out to be a chapter about cats in pursuit of prey and it suggests that cats really get off on the “thrill of the hunt.” Wrong again! I get off on the thrill of somebody popping open a can of Tasty Treat Salmon Delight and setting it down right in front of me. I’ve got a multitude of more important things to do than hunting up my own damned dinner.
Finally, there’s a chapter on bathing your cat in which the author actually claims that “cats don’t necessarily mind getting wet.” Are you freakin’ kidding??? Any sumbitch dumb enough to get within a hundred yards of me with the intent of giving me a bath had damned well better already have a couple of gallons of blood lined up at the hospital because he’s definitely going to be needing a transfusion!
Despite these reservations, I’m giving this book three stars because I’m sure that the author is a very nice lady and I know she meant well. I’m also sure that the human beings who read this book will enjoy it and will come way from the experience believing that they do have a better understanding of the cats who deign to share their lives with them.
Personally, though, I much prefer the books of that Lawrence Block guy. There’s nothing I like better than having my owner pour about a half a pint of gin into my water bowl so that I can curl up with one of LB’s Bernie Rhodenbarr novels. I like it that Bernie has a cat at Barnegat Books, and as we all know, the cat actually runs the store, especially when Bernie is out burglarizing somebody’s home and tripping over the usual dead body. I also like it that Bernie’s best friend, Carolyn, owns a pet-grooming business. No doubt about it: Block rocks!
Of course like everyone else of the feline persuasion, I’m also very fond of the work of Lilian Jackson Braun, who is one of the few writers who really understands the true place of cats in the natural order of things. I love all her books, but my favorite is #217 in the series, The Cat Who Raised Elvis From the Dead.
Well, enough of this. It’s Sunday, and it’s supposed to be a day of rest. (Hey, aren’t they all?) While I’m slaving away in here at the keyboard, my owner is sacked out on the couch, pounding down beers and watching football. It’s time for me to slip on out there and join him and if I’m lucky, perhaps I can score a little beer for myownself. I just pray that my Steelers will put a gigantic can of whoop-ass on the Titans this afternoon so that I can get a good night’s sleep...
Although reviewing books is not my usual gig, I’m happy to slide in here and help out. I note that my owner has about eight million reviews posted on this site and at least now he’ll have one that’s reasonably literate. This will be fairly brief, though. It’s approaching time for my thirty-fourth nap of the day and I get kind of surly when I don’t get enough rest. Truth to tell, though, being a cat I’m pretty surly most of the time anyhow, regardless of how much sleep I get.
I have to say that I was not all that knocked out about this book. There’s no mystery to solve; there’s no ticking clock; there’s no explosions and there’s precious little violence. Even worse, there’s almost no sex in this book, and so I had a hard time staying interested in it.
The book purports to explain the reasons why cats behave as we do, as if any mere mortal could begin to comprehend what goes on in the mind of a cat. I mean, let’s be honest here. Compared to the average cat, even somebody like Albert Einstein had an I.Q. equivalent to that of your basic cantaloupe. Still, I suppose you can’t blame the author for trying.
There’s an interesting chapter in the book that tells you how to grow your own catnip and suggests that one of the few times cats “completely lose their dignity is when they are in the throes of a catnip high.” Rubbish! In the first place, of course, cats never lose their dignity, and in the second place this whole catnip business is highly overrated. And as my owner’s friend, Kemper, could tell you, there’s at least one thing we cats enjoy a helluva lot more than catnip.
The author also describes the reasons why some cats enjoy eating houseplants and she maintains that “eating greenery is a pretty harmless activity.” She should try telling that to my owner’s wife. I still bear the psychic scars from the tongue-lashing I got six years ago, when I decided to try lunching on her philodendron.
I got really excited when I saw the title of the chapter, “Prey Play,” because I naturally thought that Lucas Davenport was about to make an appearance and finally get this party started. No such luck, though. It turned out to be a chapter about cats in pursuit of prey and it suggests that cats really get off on the “thrill of the hunt.” Wrong again! I get off on the thrill of somebody popping open a can of Tasty Treat Salmon Delight and setting it down right in front of me. I’ve got a multitude of more important things to do than hunting up my own damned dinner.
Finally, there’s a chapter on bathing your cat in which the author actually claims that “cats don’t necessarily mind getting wet.” Are you freakin’ kidding??? Any sumbitch dumb enough to get within a hundred yards of me with the intent of giving me a bath had damned well better already have a couple of gallons of blood lined up at the hospital because he’s definitely going to be needing a transfusion!
Despite these reservations, I’m giving this book three stars because I’m sure that the author is a very nice lady and I know she meant well. I’m also sure that the human beings who read this book will enjoy it and will come way from the experience believing that they do have a better understanding of the cats who deign to share their lives with them.
Personally, though, I much prefer the books of that Lawrence Block guy. There’s nothing I like better than having my owner pour about a half a pint of gin into my water bowl so that I can curl up with one of LB’s Bernie Rhodenbarr novels. I like it that Bernie has a cat at Barnegat Books, and as we all know, the cat actually runs the store, especially when Bernie is out burglarizing somebody’s home and tripping over the usual dead body. I also like it that Bernie’s best friend, Carolyn, owns a pet-grooming business. No doubt about it: Block rocks!
Of course like everyone else of the feline persuasion, I’m also very fond of the work of Lilian Jackson Braun, who is one of the few writers who really understands the true place of cats in the natural order of things. I love all her books, but my favorite is #217 in the series, The Cat Who Raised Elvis From the Dead.
Well, enough of this. It’s Sunday, and it’s supposed to be a day of rest. (Hey, aren’t they all?) While I’m slaving away in here at the keyboard, my owner is sacked out on the couch, pounding down beers and watching football. It’s time for me to slip on out there and join him and if I’m lucky, perhaps I can score a little beer for myownself. I just pray that my Steelers will put a gigantic can of whoop-ass on the Titans this afternoon so that I can get a good night’s sleep...
April 12, 2015
Found this book for a dollar at The Last Bookstore. Figured why not. It's really quite short (I think I read it in about half an hour or so) and it does answer some questions. It's really more a "gift" book than a serious treaty on why cats behave as they do. But they are a mystery animal and we love them, so - why not?
October 14, 2013
I found this book to be less informative than I wanted it to be. I was really quite curious to know why cats did some of the things they did, such as go crazy for catnip, purr, etc. but it didn't provide as I had hoped. But I did, however, rather enjoy looking at the adorable pictures. :)
March 12, 2015
It was at the library book shop for $.50. Most of the stuff were questions and answers I knew already. Sadly, I still don't know why my cat is compelled to eat plastic bags and plastic shower curtains or how to get her to knock it off.
November 13, 2009
For a non-cat person great for basic info.
August 11, 2016
Well written. Index of questions and the answers are informative but short enough to hold a child's attention. Good book for elementary age child.
January 21, 2015
I enjoyed this book because it helped me know what my cat was feeling and why she rolled on her back with her stomach up.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews