Catwatching: The Essential Guide To Cat Behaviour (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
I pretentiously started to read this book thinking I knew everything I needed to know about cats but of course I was wrong, and the curious stuff I could learn, are the following:- Cats scratch on sofas/ carpets, chairs bla bla to strip off the old worn-out claw shealths to reveal the new claws beneath;- If a cat rolls over on his belly for you he is saying "I trust you enough to adopt this vulnerable posture in your presence";- Feces burying is the act of a subordinate cat, fearul of it's social standing. A study discovered that tom cats, far from burying their feces, actually placed them on little "advertising" hillocks. (my cat Isolda does not cover her feces and I always thought it was because she doesn't have one eye so she doesn't have much perception of how to do it, but after all no, she just has balls ahahah, but jokes aside, this is quite weird because I don't have a dominant cat, I strongly belive my cats live in an equality based environment. They are too sweet to be dominant);- Allogrooming between two adult cats doesn't have to do with mutual hygiene but the cementing of the friendly relation that exists between them (woooooohhhhhh they love eachother so much <3 - i knew it!);- The feline hiss is a case of protective mimicry. The cat imitates the snake to give an enemy the impression that it too is venomous and dangerous (now that's weird); - Cats give freshly caught prey to their owners because they think they are hopeless hunters (lol);- A quick flick of the tongue over the lips is one of the telltale signs that a cat is becoming agitated, while at the same time being fasinated or puzzled by something;- Cats love catnip because they are junkies (? lol). It gives them a drug trip which produces similar states of ecstasy but is nocive to your cat;A special study in the US revealed that, for those whose stress has led to heart trouble, the owning of a cat may literally make a difference between life and death, reducing the blood pressure and calming the overworker heart.
Como amante de los animales y, entre ellos, de los gatos, me entretuve mucho. Siempre es entretenido saber cosas nuevas, en especial cuando tienen base científica, y en especial cuando la base es legal y no extraída de cualquier lugar, que a veces es solo una mentirota publicitaria o puramente sensacionalista.Sin embargo, por eso mismo de ser un amante de los animales, la gran mayoría de las cosas ya las sabía. Disfruté, en todo caso, como siempre, la prosa de este señor, que escribe tan bien, disfruté el amor que transmite hacia los animales y también que fuera un libro entero, y no solo artículos sueltos por ahí y por allá, como suele ser (aunque el libro esté hecho básicamente de "artículos") y creo que podría ser, junto con el de los perros, una lectura muy recomendable para adolescentes, que todavía no han tenido tanto tiempo como para navegar por toda el internet.
What do You think about Catwatching: The Essential Guide To Cat Behaviour (2002)?
As a cat lover and owner, I have several books in my library devoted to either the care of these enigmatic animals, or to their history and distributions in the world. Desmond Morris is a noted anthropologist, who has penned this neat little book devoted to the life and behaviors of the domesticated cat. He has answered many questions which are common and some one may not have thought about.For example:Why does a cat trample on your lap with its front paws? Why does a cat wag its tail? Why does a cat roll over to lie on its back when greeting you? Why does a cat chatter its teeth when it sees a bird through a window? Why do we say "He let the cat out of the bag!"? And More...For the answers to these questions do read this book!
—Barbara
This book was great to learn more about the itsy-bitsy's of cat behaviour which, as a cat owning family, we thought we knew much but this book expanded our knowledge.Everything from why does it purr, why do they come to our laps, what's with the playing and flipping of the ball, why can they seem to be 'cruel' when they've caught prey, and to their courtship and (crazy) mating acts, the history of their domestication and lots, lots more. Just as we read books on people's body language, this is the book for cat's - I know treat and understand my cat much better. Recommended reading for those who own these feline animals!Oh, and I realized that there's also another book in the series...Peoplewatching. Now, now, ain't it'll be interesting to know more about these two-legged species? ;)
—Bookworm Amir
An interesting and concise explanation of many facets of cat behavior, organized into brief question and answer sections that make for easy reference and quick reading. Desmond Morris illuminates many fascinating aspects of feline hunting and mating behavior, as well as providing insights into their body language. The book may lack some scientific rigor in that Morris sometimes speculates on issues of cat motivation for which he has no experimental or statistical support (or at least none that he mentions), but it is clear that he respects these animals, takes them seriously, and bases his conclusions on many hours of observation. Recommended.
—David Bonesteel
