Pam Johnson-Bennett

Yeah, yeah, you think you have a handle on this stuff until you get that one last cat who throws your whole house into chaos. Ask me how I know this. Still, some fascinating stuff on cat body language at the beginning, and mostly good advice on introducing new cats to the household. Until you get that one superfreak cat, and then all bets are off. Harriet, I'm looking at you.

I have no idea if Pam is America's favourite cat expert, but the book is pretty good: lots of very sensible advice and lots of good information. After a lifetime of being owned by cats there was still more than enough here for me to learn to make the book a worthy purchase. About the only thing I found arguable was the importance of multiple litter boxes in a multi-cat household. I've tried this several times, and they all insist on using the same litter box every time. Cats!

Still, there show more are several tips here I'll be implementing immediately to try to resolve the ongoing 100 years cat war being waged in our house. show less

She does have products she prefers to others, is an advocate of open litter boxes, refers to readers as "Cat Parents" and there is a certain assumption of America as default, but apart from that it's not a bad read, I'm only sorry I didn't get my hands on it earlier than 1 year into the bit of a mess we're in.
Worth reading to remind yourself how to cope with a multi-cat household.

This is probably one of the best books about cat behavior that I've ever read. Pam Johnson-Bennett's approach is both compassionate and practical, and errs on the side of the cat's mental health (although there were some sections in here about cats that seemed SO messed up I'm not sure I'd be able to put up with them . . . I got through it feeling like I had pretty well-adjusted cats after all).

Pam doesn't offer any quick fixes, which is disappointing at times, and it can feel as though show more actually following ALL her suggestions could be a full-time job. Still, although I only bought this book for a few chapters (scratching, counter-hopping, move adjustments, and intercat aggression), I was so impressed that I ended up reading it cover-to-cover because in doing so, I knew I'd learn a lot about cats. Although reading it this way made some of the sections feel repetitive (it's obviously written as a book in which "chapter hopping" is common), I'm sure I'll appreciate its comprehensiveness when I continue to refer to it in the future. A reference that should be on all cat-owners' bookshelves. show less