ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats: Everything You Need to Know About Choosing and Caring for Your Pet

by James Richards

Indispensable for both first-time and experienced cat owners, the ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats is the one place to turn for up-to-date information on feline health and behavior, including detailed advice on feeding, grooming, veterinary care, litterbox training, and the special needs of kittens, older cats, and cats from a shelter. With more than 450 illustrations and photos, and an easy-to-use guide to the personalities, characteristics, and idiosyncrasies of the fifty most popular breeds, this handy volume offers real, reliable answers to all of your questions about cats.

Genres: Reference, Cats, Nonfiction, Animals

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

DVM

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very handy guide to have around the house for reference! I'm glad I got it for Christmas.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was skeptical -- I mean, comprehensive knowledge is a bold claim. But yeah, I trust that James Richards got it all.. Oh and spoiler alert, you know all those terrible diseases that our species is always going on about? Turns out there are kitty versions of pretty much all of them. But, uh, on the bright side, if you adopt a cat with AIDS (God forbid) you can rest easy knowing it's not contagious to your kids :D

Clearly, I could say more or less (haha), but to wrap things up -- yeah, the ASPCA is probably a pretty good authority on the topic and the book is adequately well-written on all fronts. 5/5.

[Kailynn Ayers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative I now know how to take care of my cats.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good introductory to cats. It covers a broad range of topics with a good amount of detail. I am an animal sciences major and we used this as a textbook in one of our courses, so that should tell you something about the quality of information.

There are definite points of view expressed in this guide, but I've found them to be in line with everything else I have learned from the veterinary community as well as animal shelters. People may disagree with some of the stances taken by the ASPCA, but there is good evidence for those expressed in this book.

The companion guide for dogs is identical in format, and some of the information in the health section is almost word-for-word the same. The two are very comparable in quality.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked reading this book because I love cats and because it's fun learning about them too. I got to learn about my cats breed, and how they are known to act. I also loved learning about other cat breeds and how there can be so many different ways a kitten can turned out. I got to learn what furs and patterns are dominant for certain breeds. It's layout was like a science text book and I liked that. It would say like "the percentage of a cat turning out to be black is show in figure 7." This book also told you the best way to take care of, brush, play with and train your cat. I liked reading this book because you didn't have to read it in order. You also could just read one page really quick and stop there, without thinking your stoping in the middle of the chapter.

[Christopher Prosser · Rating 4 out of 5]

becca

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the history of the feline was interesting, this book can only be recommended for people who have never owned a cat, in my opinion. Was very basic.

[Hoyt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info for the impending cat. A huge portion of this book is devoted to describing the various breeds though, so not as useful for probable mutt owners.

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book

[Amanda]

very helpful for those with a cat.