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Recommended Reading on Cats and Cat Health

by Marina Michaels

This page is especially for those who are interested in improving the health and well-being of their cats. It also contains recommendations for books that show an understanding and appreciation of the nature of cats (such as just about any book by James Herriot). For a list of books related to the spiritual ideas put forth at this site, see the separate list of recommended reading.

If you have not already read my article on the dangers of clumping clay kitty litters, please take the time to do so.

Also, you may find some information of interest at The Backyard Predator, a site offering information on cat nutrition and feeding cats a natural diet.

If you click on the links below, you will be taken directly to the page in Amazon.com where you can order the book. Order one or more for yourself or for family or friends. (Amazon.com will gift-wrap for you, and they have some very nice choices of paper.) For more about Amazon.com and The Lighthouse Online, see About Amazon.com.

Coudert, Jo. Seven Cats and the Art of Living. I didn't know whether to place this little gem on this page or on my recommended reading for spiritual fun and growth page. Jo Coudert's writing is straightforward and easy, and the book is short, but she packs a lot of knowledge into it. For one thing, she nicely illuminates how none of us, cat or human, are victims of our past; that we have choices and can keep making new choices in the face of changed circumstances, or we can stubbornly hold onto old ideas, values, and fears despite new experiences, often to our detriment. Reading this book can help a person come to understand that their cat has its own path and its own choices to make, and in understanding that, perhaps we can learn to allow both cats and humans the grace of making their own choices, instead of trying to impose upon them what we in our arrogance think is best for them.
Here's a quote from her book that goes right to the heart of it; in it, she is talking about a cat named Poppy who had been abused when young and never lost her distrust of humans thereafter:
I bore not the slightest resemblance to three hyperactive children. But Poppy saw those children when she saw me. To her, all the world remained as she had pieced her picture of it together originally. Seeing this I begin to understand why it is so difficult for one person to change another. In the past I have sometimes assumed that all I had to be was accepting and supportive enough, understanding and patient enough, and it would surely short-circuit the self-defeating behavior of the person I cared about. But however hard I tried, my behavior, even if it seemed to be just about all anyone could ask for, never made any lasting difference. I realized with Poppy that it could not. What mattered was not what I did, but how the other viewed the world. That was what had to change if the other was to change.
(Hardcover) (Paperback) (Audio cassette)
Herriot, James. Cat Stories. These stories are remarkable in their luminescence. I have read and re-read these stories, always enjoying the strengthening of my faith in human and cat kind that I experience when I read the late James Herriot's stories. This book is currently out of print, but you can get it at Amazon.com for a real bargain presently, and I highly recommend that you do.
When I was first writing the clumping litter article, Anitra Frazier reviewed the article and provided some comments and suggestions, including using plain strips of newspaper. Using the information on creating a natural, home-made diet in her book, The Natural Cat, I was able to rehabilitate the two surviving kittens from the litter mentioned in the article. If you wish to help your cat recover from health problems (for example, if you want to introduce an all-natural diet), or if simply want to know more about how to keep your cat healthy, her book and Dr. Richard Pitcairn's are the two I recommend that you own, even if you own no other books about cats.
The new edition of this book, The New Natural Cat: A Complete Guide for Finicky Owners, by Anitra Frazier. Anitra provides excellent guidelines on making homemade cat food, understanding cat nature, and solving common problems with cats, such as introducing a new cat to existing household pets. In my experience, making the homemade cat food from all organic ingredients is less expensive than buying good-quality canned or dried cat food. And, as I state in my article on clumping litters, such a diet was the only thing I found that cleared up the chronic diarrhea that was the legacy of the clumping litter in the two surviving kittens.
I have also used information in Dr. Richard Pitcairn's book, Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. Dr. Pitcairn provides useful information on dog breeds, and supplies an encyclopedia-style reference section on cat and dog health problems, including some useful homeopathic recommendations. He also discusses the natural diet and provides some recipes.
The new edition of this book, Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, by Dr. Richard Pitcairn.
And finally, I have successfully used homeopathy to treat my cats for various ailments. The books I have on treating cats homeopathically are less than ideal, though, so I am still searching for one or more better books. When I find it (or them), I will list it/them here.

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