Bruce Fogle

A very enjoyable memoir by a vet, it is set in central London in the busy years of the early seventies and the animals are mostly cats and dogs - companion animals. There are some forays into more exotic creatures as these were sold by Harrods and other up-market pet stockists. There are plenty of touches of humour in all these episodes.

Bruce Fogle was a newly qualified Canadian vet when he began to get as much practical experience as he could. His glimpses of houses, jobs and people are show more fascinating. He begins to move in quite elevated circles as he meets celebrities and aristocrats in his work. He also courts the actress Julia Foster and so makes friendships in theatrical circles.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect is following Bruce Fogle's very honest account of how he, only gradually, was led to believe that pets have emotions and all mammals feel pain. As a consequence he was a leader in the movement to bring more compassionate care to his vet practice and to use better diagnostics and more humane treatments. show less

Really very comprehensive. The first section has double-page spreads with detailed summaries on the history of cats- their evolution, their relatives in the wild, how they have featured in art and culture throughout history, including folktales, superstitions, comic strips and film appearances. Next there is a section on cat physiology- everything from how their skeletal structure makes them so flexible, to how the brain responds to messages, muscular function, digestive system, show more reproduction, the skin and fur (barrier and beauty), and genetics...

Going through the pages on cat breeds- more than sixty of them- it's easy to see that many breeds which I once knew mainly for their distinctive coloring, now come in patterns brought in from other cat breeds. So there's Siamese with tortisehell points and Exotic Shorthairs with dark Siamese-influenced points, and vice versa all over the place. To me this seems a bit odd- the desire to always make one cat have the colors of another- I tend to like the classic, outdated appearances. Seems there are only a few that still have just one, two or three "allowed" colors. This book has quite a few cat types I had never heard of before- especially the ones with curly fur! Do an online search for longhair Selkirk Rex or the La Perm, they look so striking. I had heard of the Japanese Bobtail, American Curl, Sphynx and Munchkin cats before, but the Pixiebob was a new one to me. Purportedly comes from a cross of domestic cats and wild bobcats, but it's never been proven. There are other cats I was vaguely familiar with in this book that come from crosses with wildcats- the Ocicat and Bengal, but there's no page for the Savannah. Maybe in newer editions- I see a lot of different cover images for this book online and guess that there are updated versions. One of my favorite breeds is the Egyptian Mau.

Finally, at the end of the book there's a section on general care and health issues, including basic first aid in case of accident or injury, with instructions on how to do CPR and artificial respiration for a cat. I hope I never have to do so, but now I also know how to treat a cat for shock and safely move an injured one to the vet.

It's a stunning book that's very engaging to look through, with so many beautiful and interesting felines depicted. The photographs are not quite as good quality as in Legacy of the Cat, many of them a little grainy or rough around the edges, but that's a small quibble I have.

more at the Dogear Diary show less

A handy, quick to read book on all aspects of cat ownership. While brief, it goes some medical issues that other cat books don’t- which makes sense, since the author is a veterinarian. A glossary in the back helps the reader to understand the medical section better. There is also a large section devoted to the various breeds of cats that includes whether the breed is quiet or talky, friendly or aloof, active or sedate- information that can really help a person decide if the breed is for show more them or not. He also goes into cat genetics, which I enjoyed- I finally found out why it looks like my black cat has a white undercoat! (the hair is only black on the tips; the part closer to the body is white. It’s caused by something called the inhibitor gene). My only quibble with the author is his section on homeopathy- he doesn’t push it, but it’s there with vaccinations. I know a lot of people use it, but personally I think it can risk the cat’s life to use it instead of biological vaccinations or science based cures. show less

This book is a very complete guide to cats and cat behavior, with photographs that clearly demonstrate the things mentioned. Even the picture captions have excellent explanations of the behaviors the pictures are demonstrating. Though I have looked through this book before when I was much younger, it's so full of information, it's being re-added to my list.