Let’s look at books for cat lovers, which includes informational non-fiction books about cats, books about cat behavior as well as funny cat books. This list should contain something for everyone!
A Street Cat Named Bob: How one man and his cat found hope on the streets
To quote from the description on Amazon.com*:
When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet.
Yet James couldn’t resist helping the strikingly intelligent tom cat, whom he quickly christened Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas.
This book was probably a phenomenon around 2013. It tells the true story of James, who after heroin addiction and homelessness now keeps his head above water with street music. One day he finds a sick cat and takes care of him, and this cat becomes his constant companion. He christens him Bob.
The story is, as you might expect, very heartwarming. James takes care of his new pet and Bob gives his new master plenty of affection and new courage to face life. Meanwhile there is even a movie which you can also watch on Amazon.
Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat – Not a Sour Puss by Pam Johnson-Bennett
From the description on Amazon.com*:
There are approximately eighty-five million cats owned as pets in the United States alone. And-thanks to her regular appearances in the media and at veterinary conferences and humane organizations-most of their owners already recognize Pam Johnson-Bennett as the authority on all things feline.
The award-winning author and host of Animal Planet UK’s Psycho Kitty, has continued to refine her work and techniques. From basic health care to more serious behavioral issues, from training cats to use a scratching post to avoiding litter box problems this newly revised edition of Think Like a Cat covers all of a cat parent’s most pressing concerns-and solidifies its position as the topic leader for years to come.
This book with the extremely long title is basically a detailed instruction how to take care of a cat. I have already recommended this book elsewhere, because it answers all the questions you might have as a new cat owner. Questions about diseases, nutrition, how to get two cats used to each other, behavioral problems and more are covered here.
The book also has a keyword index, so you can quickly find the right page for every problem. I read it completely from front to back before we got our cats and I definitely recommend it to anyone.
Pam Johnson-Benett is an expert in cat behavior and focuses on changing behavior through positive reinforcement rather than punishment. And as the title of the book suggests, she is all about always looking at things from the cat’s point of view. Example: Your cat is not scratching the sofa because it’s angry and wants to annoy you, but because cats need to sharpen their claws and your sofa is nice and stable. So don’t punish your cat for its natural behavior, but provide a more stable scratching post instead.
Clicker training for cats
I’d usually recommend the Katzen-Clicker-Box*, but as you can gather from the title, it’s actually in German. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend getting a book on clicker training for cats because clicker training is a good way to teach your cats some useful skills such as coming when called or going to sit in their carriers.
Clicker training can also help you teach cats to stop unwanted behavior. If you teach them to meow on command, they might stop meowing incessantly when not commanded to do so.
One prominent English book on clicker training is Clicker Training for Cats by Karen Pryor*, a behavioral biologist. You can get a cheap clicker on Amazon* to go with your book and get started right away.
Look at my short guide for clicker-training your cats to find out more about the topic.
Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle
Not exactly a book about cats, but this funny comic series by Nathan W. Pyle about aliens and how they see the world has some very funny cat cartoons. It’s a funny cat book that any cat lover should enjoy.
If you have further cat book suggestions, please leave a comment – I would like to extend this list a little bit!
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