The Cat Who Cried for Help: Attitudes, Emotions, and the Psychology of Cats

I'm a feline behaviorist I socialize feral cats for fun on my off time. I pulled them off the kill list at the local animal shelter, make them socially friendly and get them homes. I am always reading books if there's even one helpful tip in a book it's worth the purchase, at least to me

Okay, I am like a lot of you who thought you'd never give your cat Prozac or any mind altering drug, but listen to my story.My cat, Elsie, developed a peeing problem. She peed everywhere and I mean everywhere - the floors, the windowsills, the bed, on the fridge, on my daughter's electric piano (appropriately called the pee-ano now and I don't know if I'll be able to afford to get it fixed) as well as on the toaster (twice!!) Toast, anyone?? Ewhh.Anyway, I did everything - changed the type of litter and bought new boxes (3); changed her food so that she did not have any dry food and only ate the wet expensive kind with no grains. I started making raw food for her with supplements, but found that it made her constipated and so I switched back to a good quality canned and some chicken thigh chunks added.I also took her to the vet, where they found she had a UTI and a large hairball ($300). I was able to get her over her UTI and all, but she still continued to pee.Thus, I again took her to the vet and requested another blood test and an x-ray ($400). She was found to have nothing wrong with her!! My vet suggested Prozac as well as Dasuquin (glucosamine for cystitis - just in case).It's been 2 plus weeks on Prozac and she has only had one accident. I don't want to put her to sleep and I have been very patient; so I am hoping that she will continue to do as well. So you see, Prozac saved her life and I might not have to have her on it forever.Anyway, the thing I like about the book is that Dr. D explained why cats often do this and I realized that Elsie was doing it because she was grieving the loss of my old cat that she was friends with and would groom. I have another cat, but they are not as close. So it is good to know why and maybe someday I will get a little boy kitten for her, as I know she loves to "baby" things. We'll see, but I have to thank Dr. Dodman. Sometimes drugs are just the only thing that will help, unless you have another idea. (Oh, and I forgot to say, I tried Rescue Remedy as well as Feliway at the beginning and that really didn't do anything.)

The subtitle to THE CAT WHO CRIED FOR HELP is ATTITUDES, EMOTIONS, AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CATS. If you own a cat, you'll want to read this.This book is full of anecdotes, Dr. Dodman's experiences with cats and their owners at the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences at Tufts University. He shows over and over how cats can be trained and can be cured of annoying habits.Read this book if your cat has a habit you wish you could stop but don't know how. I think most cat owners will admit to that. Dr. Dodman probably has a story to show you what can be done.A problem you may have with this book is that Dr. Dodman's solutions often involve drugs. But they did work. If a problem with your cat is driving you crazy, you may wish someone would suggest drugs. :-)The problem I had with the book is the part you may want to skip. A woman brings a cat home that she found behind some buildings. Right away she had the cat spayed. But that didn't cure the cat's constant crying to go out. The meowing was loud and bothersome, so, would you believe, she had the cat's meow taken away surgically! Then she had the cat declawed. Then I don't know what else because I couldn't read more. I do know from the Introduction that the cat never did stop crying to go out. The woman just didn't have to listen to her anymore. The cat died.If ever there was a case for letting a cat go outside, this was one! Skip that story. It made me sick.

Definitely an enjoyable read, and read you must since there are no photographs as eye candy. The other positive reviews are justified although I would warn future readers that Dr. Dodman's opinions (and many of his comments are simply that), comparing cat species behavior to human behavior, is not substantiated in the text, and seem to serve more as punctuation marks in the prose, comic relief, or food for thought.The editorial reviews play down the book's tremendous emphasis on pharmacological solutions (i.e. prescription drugs), an emphasis which the author himself fully discloses early in the book. This chosen path is in many cases due to the unfortunate aspect of human nature that seems fixated on fast and effortless solutions that leave the owner free of blame.There are a lot of cat care books on the market but this book certainly covers new territory. If you have the time, have an issue to solve, or you are starting to wonder what lies ahead with possible new additions and life events, I'd highly recommend this book.The Cat Who Cried For Help was written in 1997 so the specific medications used in his case studies (or even his theories) may be less relevant at this point in time. It could be a classic if it was updated with a new preface or notes after each chapter to explain how the drug facilitators have or have not changed over the years. For example, did any conclusive quantitative observations result from Dr. Dodman's new access to brain scanning technology? Regardless, I think just about anyone could find a few gems of knowledge and understanding in this book.

I'm a cat behaviourist in London, [...], and bought this boy for further studies. Great buy. Very well written and researched.

wasnt quite what i expected but a good read

This is a must book for all cat lovers. Great information, easy reading and much laughter. Its a book that once you start reading you just can't put it down. I wish all animal owners would take the time to educate themselves about animal behavior and owner and animal can all live in love and harmony.

Great book! Had to read it all the way through before putting it down. It gave us a different perspective on our pets.

Excellent book for a better understanding of cats and their behavior