This was a solid cat care book, with some interesting ideas, some of which we used with our cats, as the cats tended to fight and we were trying to find ways to mitigate the stress in the house for them.

I think implementation of some of the ideas worked, but it didn't end the fighting as we had hoped. I don't agree with all of what the author is saying, mostly the bits about cats not really having personalities, etc., though the ideas on the resources the cats use (food, water, litter boxes) and the play seemed to be very solid.

3, this has some good ideas and is worth a read, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

For the most part, this is a fun and informative book with a lot of tips and insights into feline behavior. Some seemed to miss the mark, but as anyone owned by a cat knows, they thrive by not playing by the rules. As long as you go into it knowing not every thing will apply to every cat, I recommend it!

Great read, very interesting and informative. Learned a lot about my kitty. A cat lovers bible of sorts.

I do love happy cats especially the one that is stretched out on my lap. If someone says they don't like cats, that tells me everything I need to know. The author covers some good information especially for the first time cat adopter.

People have been under the spell of the mysterious and elegant nature of the cat for thousands of years. They are one of our oldest animal companions and have been much-loved family members in households around the globe for generations. But have you ever felt that despite your good intentions and love, there are some things about your cat you don't quite understand? Do you sometimes feel like it might be trying to tell you something? That you could make them even happier than they already are? This book will change everything you once thought you knew about cats. You can use its many tips and insights to optimize your relationship with your cat.

In this book, you will be taken on an intimate journey through the world of the domestic cat, covering all their natural instincts and mysterious behaviors. The tips and tricks are the outcome of hundreds of behavioral consultations. Your relationship with your cat will never be the same.

As a cat mom of 3, I found this book to have excellent information and loved reading how I can improve my cats happiness. If you love cats as much as I do, you'll love this book!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #IloveHappyCats
Pub Date: 28 Sep 2019

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is an interesting book on how our human minions can help make us felines happy. I cannot say I agreed 100% but there was a lot of good solid science and some great observations. Part of its value is helping humans understand we are not little humans in cat suits. We are independent and noble and still retain many of the characteristics that come from our origins on the savannas of Africa.
It talks about the basic needs that we have and the basic instincts that will determine to a large extent how we perceive things. It describes how we might look at different things that our humans may think inconsequential in a vastly different way. While our humans may try to interpret our actions one way, it is very likely they have it wrong. *Sighs*. They are only human.
As a single kitty, I have never experienced other cats infringing on my territory. I am also an indoor cat so I have not had to fight my way through the big bad world. However, I cannot imagine many cat parents going through the rather long and elaborate “introduction” process recommended in this book. I think there would be far more single cat households.
One thing to which I can concur without hesitation is the observation that all cats are different and between nature and nurture, it is foolish to expect we will react the same all the time. Check the Cat Manual. It is page 2567.
Still, I give it high marks for its insights with four purrs and two paws up.

I love cats. I want to make my cats happy. I jumped on occasion to read this publication about cats, as I've already read so many on this subject (thanks to Schiffer Publishing and Netgalley for giving me this chance!). One might ask why read again something that was already said somewhere else? I say never say never to another advice and another idea, especially those concerning the care for your pets.

I like the design of the book, it is easy on eyes and quite elegant and tasteful. It is also easy to navigate through its contents. As for contents themselves, it is a mixing bag of everything. Some advice were too general for beginners, some were too detailed (well, maybe not too much, with cat-obsessives one can never go into too much detail). I had a feeling the authoress didn't want to go into much detail about things that are assumed to be well-known. If this book intends to cater to beginners as well to pros, it may be better to give more information rather than less. For an example, it is not quite wise to ask of reader to google about maintaining a healthy weight and body condition of a cat. One wouldn't read this book if they wanted to google information about this, especially as it is so a difficult topic for many cat carers.

In short, I wouldn't recommend this book for beginners, but I would for those who want to know more, as this book still offers some pretty good advice on caring about cats.

This was a very informative book on how to make life less stressful for your cat that is written by a feline behavioral specialist.

It talks about how to set up the litter box and other things. It also introduces a rule that you can use for the number of cats in your home plus the number of items that you should have.

I like that the book was very informative about the behaviors that cats have. My family and I have three cats of our own and they seem to be doing fine without the tips.

This wonderful book is a well informed look at all aspects of your cat’s behaviour. It examines everything from body language through to eating habits, through to multiple cat households which can be notoriously difficult to manage. It encourages you to look harder at your cat’s behaviour and see if you can see it in a different way. Illustrated throughout with beautiful colour photography, it is a must have for anyone who would like to know and understand their feline companion a bit better!

This book is set up in chapters to give information about cats’ sight, hearing, and various parts of their body that are more sensitive than others. For instance, their whiskers serve as antenna to detect movement of their prey. Whether they are pulled back to their head or pushed to the front of their face indicates if they are frightened or related.

It goes into the very important part of socialization of a new cat to the family. This can set the stage for whether you end up with a shy or confident cat.

There are many cat behavior motivators such as food, safety, reproduction, obtaining nice things, avoiding bad things, and emotions.

There is much discussion on the number of litter boxes you should have for each cat spread throughout your house. While that sounds ideal, realistically, it’s difficult to achieve. Our homes are just so big and sometimes our kitties will just have to make do.

As a kitty mom to three delightful cats, I can say that while I found a lot of the information in this book to be interesting, I didn’t fully agree with a lot of it. Our cats are loved and pampered and are very happy. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, if you are interested in some good facts about cats and their behavior, do give this book a read. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have had cats all my life and I love cats so I was thrilled to receive this for review. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the review copy. My opinion is my own.

I enjoyed the aspects of feline behavior , play and health. There is a lot here for a new cat owner to learn from and even some for those of us that have always owned cats. The tone is a bit condescending as to "do this or you don't love your cat! ( Not true! ) And that would scare off many new cat owners which concerns me. "The information on rearranging your house was not feasible for most of us. I have large cat trees against windows, scratching post and toys in appropriate places and my cats love them all and use them frequently and I arrange them in order for my cats and I to live together and both have what we require.. The author suggest getting rid of my furniture to put all that in the middle of the room is not possible for those of us that live with our cats. My cats are perfectly happy with their own arrangement and I do not feel telling people they must get rid of their possessions to own a cat is at all accurate. I have never had to do that. That information was more helpful for a shelter situation. This could scare off potential cat owners.
The information on drinking water was good but again many cats will not drink out of fountains and some of us do not have room for one. I have a scared rescue cat with PTSD and a fountain scares her. So you take each suggestion here with a grain of "what works for me and my cat" ! Remember when reading this only you know your cat and what they prefer. Only you can do what is best for your cats and you know their likes and dislikes.
So much here for a new cat owner to learn from and some helpful tips but take it as one person's opinion and not necessarily what is going to work for you and your cats.

After finishing the book, I found myself thinking I needed to rethink everything I've been doing while owning cats for the past 53 years. Then I stopped and said, no I don't. Mine seem happy and content. And like other reviewers I had the slight feeling I was being chastised by a school teacher for most of the time I was reading it. Some of her information and tips are practical - and things I'm already doing - while others are just not and not things I could recommend to readers. She also slightly contradicts herself a few times with instructions to buy things and leave them out to see if the cat likes/will use them but then take these up if the cat shows no interest. Then in another chapter she will lecture on predictability and why a cat's environment should never be changed or else the cat will be stressed. I found myself saying, "but she just said do this and now she's saying do that..." I'm afraid this isn't a book I could recommend to new cat owners as it would suck the joy out of the experience as they struggle to obey all the rules.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

I was curious to see what this book had to offer, Personally I have 4 cats and my mum's rescue cat has been living with myself and my cats for just under a year since her last stay in hospital and I went on holiday. My brother looks after my cats while I am away and I only had a few days to decide to move my mum's cat, who weighed in at a hefty 9 kg's in with mine as I didn't think he would do two houses! The move didn't go too bad nor did the introduction except for my eldest female who hated him on sight and still does to a degree but then he is white and deaf, she hisses and swears but he doesn't move much to her disapproval! She is now working ways to get around that but I didn't have time to do the introduction as mentioned in the book nor the space as I live in a flat. The only bit of advice I have found helpful is about the tail movement. My eldest male I adopted from a neighbour that was moving and she didn't want to take him with her. When I got him, aged 2, she said he uses these bowls and this food. No he didn't, wouldn't touch them. Didn't want to stay in and didn't like being touched. Saying that, she would leave him outside for days at a time especially if he had been naughty indoors in her eyes then she would put him outside. This I tried to change. I had him on the same cat food as mine were on then and I stroked him at every possible opportunity. I got scratched and bitten but it was power for the course and I can get some lovely cuddles out of him but now I am his property and he does like to try what I eat. He likes to smell where I have been and as he was feed on the worktop by his previous owner that is where he is fed now. Could not break that habit. I have taken into account the tail swinging and been using that to gauge his mood when stroking him and it seems to work that it settles down when I stroke him less. If if means a calmer life for him it will be better. Some of the other stuff didn't make sense at all. Mine have toys all over the place but don't touch them even if they have catnip in them. They let me know what they when they want it. They are happy and they are loved. I would have liked more pictures in the book and was disappointed there wasn't many. Mine love where their scratch post is, right in front of a window so they can lay on it and look out. Just always make sure it is safe. I don't feel like I am a bad cat mum just got different ideas to the lady who wrote the book. And the large 9 kg is now 7 kg, still mum's cat and loving every bit of being a cat family and cat cuddles. The vets are very happy with him. Also, my cats don't seem to mind if their food is near the water bowl or not and seem to prefer a water fountain as I seem to see more of them drinking the water.

A useful volume on cat behavior and how to keep your cat happy at home. Includes discussion of body language--such as a graphic with different tail positions and what they mean; vocalization; hunting; and more. Helpful tips for the cat owner on how to make your house more interesting to your cat, and make sure your cat is safe and happy at home.

This book is packed with fascinating information about cat behavior and how to provide the most supportive environment for them. I have shared my home with cats all throughout my life and I thought I understood them quite well, but this book has taught me otherwise. Whether you are like me and have always had cats or you are a new cat owner, this book is perfect for you.

There's a lot of good stuff here, especially about cat body language and how to best communicate with your cat, and how the way humans often want to communicate is not received the same way by cats. There's also quite a bit that's not new at all if you have followed Jackson Galaxy, so didn't interest me much, but might be great for readers that are looking for cat behavior 101. Lastly, there is some information in here that contradicted what I've heard from other experts, or didn't make a lot of sense. She wants me to free feed my cats dry food? Um, no. And she doesn't like cat trees but instead wants me to clear off every high surface I'm currently using for myself to see if my cat likes it? Hmmm. I also found that some of her advice seemed to assume that most cats go outside (the author is European and I think that's more common there?), and those parts were not applicable to me. Those contradictions probably illustrate why it's a good idea to search out multiple experts, knowing that none of them are infallible, and figure out what works for you. Overall, this wasn't groundbreaking for me, but I enjoyed a lot of the info and reminders on cat behavior and communication.

The aim of the book is to better understand cat behavior by explaining the theory behind their behavior. And provide practical tips to improve the relationship between you and your cat based on scientific information and experience.

I thought the author did a good job explaining characteristics and provided me some insights into cats.

I found it a little lacking on depth. I would have liked more in detail on many topics.
I'm not sure I buy into her formulas for multiple resources. Seems a little excessive. I do agree that cats need options and need to feel safe.

A cute book with some interesting hints and tips, unfortunately not always practical for a normal house or flat owner and people who work full time and can’t devote their every waking thought to their cat, yes I love mine but some points are highly unrealistic. Lovely pictures but it’s not a book I’d recommended really.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

First off, it is quite obvious that the author knows cats in and out, backwards and forwards. This was choc full of interesting tips and delved into cats’ biology and instinctual behavior. While I enjoyed ready the insight and advice, I did not find it that practical overall. Unless you have a mansion with infinite rooms, it is difficult to spread out and have multiple litter boxes, bowls of water, scratching posts, etc. In addition, much of the suggestions take a lot of time spent and work, another thing that many cat owners do not have. There was quite an emphasis on the cats’ hunting behavior. Again, this was fascinating information but I don’t really have the time and energy to act on any of the suggestions at this point in my life. And, quite honestly, do my cats really need me to change my behavior? I’ve been an owner of multiple cats for all 46 of my years and after reading this, I’ve come to the conclusion that my cats have all been very happy!

I do recommend this as a read for all cat lovers. Even if you don’t have the time to follow the suggestions, the tidbits of information make it well worth the read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Schiffer Publishing and Anneleen Bru for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Good book for new cat owners, or those thinking of adopting a furry child! I winged it with all of mine, but read books along the way as I discovered them. this one seems nice and comprehensive for a new cat owner. Everything in one neat book!