Cats For Dummies, 3rd Edition, is divided into five parts. If you’re looking for a cat, you may want to start at the beginning. If you already have a cat, you can skip around, checking out the chapters that address your needs at any given time. Are you moving? Check out the chapter on cats and traveling. Have you taken a homeless and pregnant cat into your home? You want to review the chapters not only on care of the mama cat and her new babies but also on how to raise those babies to be good pets. And then you'll want to learn how to find the right homes that your angels deserve when the time comes for them to leave the nest.
We pack so much information into this book that we’re guessing that, in time, you’re probably going to want to read it all. How else are you going to find out just what about catnip makes some kitties crazy, why cats purr, and why your cat will love a catio? All this information — and more — is in Cats For Dummies, 3rd Edition!
You’ll find all everything you need in the main body of the book, but we’ve also worked to find interesting tidbits, recommended products and services, and material that will help you understand complicated issues if you want to go deeper. You’ll find much of this material in sidebars or marked with icons such as “Technical Stuff” and “Cool Cat Facts.”
Foolish Assumptions
You may think you know all you need to know about cats, but we’re guessing that’s not really true. You may think you don’t need to know anything more, and we know that’s not true. That’s because we know how much you love your cat, and how much you will benefit from the information provided by some of the very top experts in feline care.
Your cat is counting on you, and we know that if we help you — and we’ve written this book to do exactly that — you and your cat will both be so much happier.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout the book, we’ve put icons in place to make it easier to find the information you’re looking for and to emphasize material that’s important not to miss. If you want to go deeper into a topic, we’ve flagged that material too. Here’s how to navigate these icons:
Beyond the Book
Like every For Dummies book, this one comes with a free online Cheat Sheet that brings together some of the most commonly needed information for taking care of your cat. To get the Cheat Sheet, head to www.dummies.com and enter “Cats For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
Ready to enjoy and care for your cat even more than you do all ready? Jump in anywhere you like!
If you haven’t yet adopted a cat or kitten, or haven’t had one for awhile, you might start at the very beginning. If you’re experiencing some behavior problems, jump to that chapter. Adopted by a pregnant cat? We have you covered.
We know you love cats or you wouldn’t be reading this book. Let us help you live a better life with your feline companion, with the best information you’ll find anywhere.
Part 1
Starting to Think Cat
IN THIS PART …
Discovering the history of cats and why we love them
Learning why kittens are cute, but a grown cat may be a better choice
Expanding your choices to include some very interesting cats
Helping give “community cats” a better life
Chapter 1
Together, Forever: A History of Cats and People
IN THIS CHAPTER
Forget ancient Egypt, where the cat was honored as a god. The Golden Age of the Cat is now. More is written about cats, shared online about cats, and said about cats today than in all the generations before. Cats are the subject of musicals and movies, of research into their diseases, and of business reports that tally the billions of dollars spent worldwide to keep them healthy, clean, and amused. In the technology-heavy and time-short societies of developed countries, more people are discovering what poets, artists, and cat worshippers have known all along: Cats are much more than dog lite, they are cats: affectionate, beautiful, companions in their own right.
The cat is civilized — but never fully. As the velvety paws of a cat hide her razor-sharp claws, the sleek body, purring in contentment, conceals the wild spirit that lives in every cat ever born. The cat gave her companionship to us so that we may caress the tiger, as the saying goes, and on some level, that must surely be part of the charm. Our lives today are so far from what we were once — a people involved in the daily struggle for survival, hunters and seekers, both predator and prey. If we’re haunted by our primeval memories still, our cats are not. They live theirs every day. And we share those memories a little whenever we welcome cats into our homes.
The idea is both exhilarating and reassuring.
The feline body is a perfect package of grace and symmetry, of function creating a form that has inspired humankind for generations. For a look at the feline body — and how to tell whether things aren’t as they should be — see Chapter 16.
Although dogs and horses, cattle, pigs, and poultry — and even tomato plants and roses — have changed enormously in our hands, the cat has not. The cat has recently expanded in physical variety — different coat colors and types, different ear shapes and body types — but all such variations are relatively rare and still quite definitely cats, more alike than different. Look at the tabby-striped African Wild Cat — thought to be the ancestor of our domestic cats — and you