The Cat Who Cried for Help

The Cat Who Cried for Help:
Attitudes, Emotions and the Psychology of Cats
By Dr. Nicholas Dodman

My human is always trying to convince me that veterinarians actually like animals, but I don’t buy it. Perhaps it’s not their fault—maybe vets have some sort of mental quirk that turns them into sadists who enjoy poking around innocent and unassuming creatures. In any case, I know the truth about vets—they are all very strange people who don’t seem to mind spending their days in weird-smelling buildings while dogs and cats cower in cages, full of fear, misery and trepidation. Well, except for this guy, Dr. Dodman. Judging from this book, he not only likes cats, he actually understands something about us! This is quite exceptional for a human. Dr. Dodman is in charge of the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, and he’s seen it all—inappropriate elimination from every angle, acts of aggression, destructive and sometimes psychotic behavior. But in the cases he relates in this book, he’s managed to straighten out these issues, and the cats are always relieved that their humans have stopped their bizarre antics. Oh… you thought I meant that the cats were responsible for all those aggressive, destructive things? You should know me better than that. Although Dr. Dodman is writing for humans, it’s clear that he knows (as do we cats) that often the real source of the problem is the human. When the crafty Dr. Dodman gives the humans instructions to modify their behavior (play with us more, make the litter box more inviting, etc.), we cats magically seem to respond. Occasionally medication helps, which only proves how stressful it can be living with these big, almost hairless creatures. For a human—and a vet at that!—Dr. Dodman has a lot of knowledge about cat behavior, and any human who has a cat, or is thinking of acquiring one, really should read this book.