5 comments about Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat--Not a Sour Puss.

1. I always wished my cats could talk so I'd know what they were thinking. Now I can understand them a little better. Written in an easy to read humorous style this is good resource as well as a good read. If you're a cat lover you might also enjoy "A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers."



2. Pam is excellent in her understanding of the social hiarchy of felines. This book has been a life saver in a family of 6 cats.



3. This is THE book to read if you want to get inside your cat's brain. Once you read it, you will learn how to better understand your pet. Informative facts and advice to be found inside. The author's definitely done a good job on this one!



4. This book is a most excellent book for new kitty parents, and also has info useful for old kitty pros. I currently care for 7 cats, and have been owned by cats for quite some time now, but I've learned a lot from Pam's books. My first was Psycho Kitty.
   
   While I was a volunteer with our local humane society I always recommended "Think Like A Cat" to first time kitty adopters. It has all the prerequisite instructions for those who know nothing about cats and are about to be owned by their first kitty...or even the second or third...



5. In general it was alright. But some of her ideas were too bizarre. You can't teach a cat to come! And her idea of giving cat treats to get them to learn new things? Okay but if you have a cat who needs to lose weight that is not the best thing to be encouraging. Cats are not children. You can't reward them and then decide one day not to anymore. Also, the idea that if you don't play everyday with your cat that you are going to somehow ruin them? Please. I don't play with my cat every day and he is just fine. Also the idea that you have to give your cat the "Right" toys? They are CATS, not children. My cat has several "Inanimate" toys and he doesn't seem bored. Plus many of these interactive toys are not cheap and the fishing rod type toys break.
   For the person who said cats belong outside? Maybe so.But I live in an apartment and letting my cat outdoors is out of the questions.
   I skipped many parts of the book because my cat does not have those issues. And as for the litter box? I own an automatic one which she seems to frown on and I love it. It is so much easier to clean. If my cat has any problems I can still tell.
   Shoe me a cat that can learn to sit and stay and I will show you a frog who can talk!

5 comments about A Snowflake in My Hand.

1. ...this time I felt the need. Of all the books I read after my sweet black cat, Flash!, died a year and a half ago, this one meant the most. Ever since my sweet boy passed away at the ripe old age of 11 (old for a cat with FIV, I was told), I searched for a book like this one...someone who feels as I do, and Samantha Mooney captures this. My heart aches when I think of Christmas without him...spring without him...he was alive just a little while ago...where did he go? What happened to him? Ms. Mooney seems to be the only writer that shares these thoughts with me, and so this book helped me tremendously. If you're mourning a loss as deep as ours, please don't hesitate...treat yourself to this book.



2. No exaggeration here, this book is quite possibly the best book I've ever read - and I've read a LOT of books. I probably average 100-150 books per year and this book stands out like a shining beacon of what a book should be.
   
   Without melodrama or saccharine-laced manipulations, the author manages to successfully illustrate the pain, no, the agony, of watching a beloved animal slip away. She shows the behind the scenes anguish and dedication of those who care for and strive to better the lives of our furry children. Nowhere have I seen animal-human relationships portrayed with such tenderness, sincerety and respect without a trace of the maudlin.
   
   Ms. Mooney does not proselytize nor does she moralize, yet somehow she manages to bring forth a sense of the divine and everlasting bond possible with a special animal. She gives the sense also that however difficult, life does go on and that somehow, it must.
   
   One other important note about this book - With her words, her attitude, and her wisdom, Ms. Mooney does a better job than could 12 trained counselors at helping to appease any guilt a companion person may have at any decisions made out of love for an animal.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever loved an animal or even anyone who has simply had a friendship with one. This book speaks to a level rarely seen or addressed in a simple paperback book.



3. In law school, in a cinder block dormitory, Samantha Mooney's cats were a surrogate animal family for me, but such a tragic family, since death came sooner for them than for most of our pets. This was one of the very few books I carried home with me and I have never let it go in all the intervening years. If we must acknowledge that we are destined to outlive most of our pets, again and again we need a book to remind us to cherish their lives but not tether them to hopeless life when they are ready to let go. Many animals have shared their lives with me in the years since I graduated. This is the book I turn to when that sad day comes around for each of my animals in turn.



4. Hard to believe this book would ever go out of print, or that the author apparently wrote nothing else. I got this book when it first came out, and periodically reread it -- and I'm not even a cat person. A wonderful book, beautifully written, about life, love, loss and renewal. Get a copy, this one is a jewel that shouldn't be missed.



5. Lyrical, poignant, tender, this is a book clearly written by a cat lover. A slim memoir of her time as an veterinary research assistant in the oncology department of NYC's Animal Medical Center, the author is above all hopeful, despite the inevitable early demise that awaits most of her patients. She knows that while the doctors may not be able to cure the cancers of their feline patients, they can certainly improve the quality of life, allowing the cats to live out their lives as happily as medically possible. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Traveling With Your Pet, 10th Edition: The AAA Petbook (Traveling With Your Pet).

1. I first saw this book advertized in the AAA magazine we receive. They encouraged readers to order it from Barnes and Noble. $5 cheaper at Amazon! Looks good. Haven't traveled with the pet yet using this book.



2. I purchased this book to start a new adventure in our lives of traveling with our yorkie/chinese crested mix dog. The book was easy to use, but found that you still need to call ahead to verify that the hotel still accepts pets. We found several that weren't listed that did and some that said they did that no longer were. However, it made life easy having it all in one book. Even when reaching a hotel that no longer accepted pets, they were quick to tell you which of the competitors did. We also discovered that west of the Mississsippi, places are more dog friendly. Ohio is terrible for taking a dog with you. Albuquerque, NM and Santa Barbara, CA are the friendliest.



3. It's ok, not a complete list, misses quite a few hotels that I stay at that I know takes pets.



4. My husband and I just returned from our trip to Tennassee and then to Florida. We stayed in hotels the entire time and we found them all by this book, its an essential and the ratings are so very helpful. I would recommend this to anyone traveling with their dog.



5. I wish I would have known about this book years ago. I can't tell you the number of times we have pulled into a motel - exhausted - only to be told "we don't take pets"! Included in this book are the rates, exact locations, exit numbers, phone numbers, motel ratings, discount information, and much more. Everyone with a pet needs this book. Your pet will love you!!!

5 comments about Everything You Ne to Know About HouseTraining Puppies & Adult Dogs!.

1. My husband and I are "cat people" and never thought of owning a dog until our children wanted one. I realized most of the work with training a puppy was going to be the parents responsibility and I wasn't sure I was ready. I bought this book 6 months before I made my decision. The book is very straight forward and addresses everything you need to know about house training dogs. We brought our puppy home when he was 8 weeks old. I bought everything on the must have lists and followed everything exactly. By 4 months old he was completely house trained. He's now 8 months old and we couldn't ask for a better situation. He even rings a bell by the back door to signal he needs to go out to "potty". I highly recommend this book.



2. This book has been very helpful since we are first time puppy owners. I would suggest that if you are thinking about getting a puppy that you should get this book first, read through it and then get the puppy. We did it the other way around and if you buy the book first it will alleviate a lot of frustration as a puppy owner.
   I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering a puppy.



3. Lora Verni, a certified dog trainer with many years of experience, gives us the advantage of her expertise with this simple, yet highly effective book on house training puppies (and adult dogs who aren't 100% trained).
   
   She guarantees that if you follow her steps, that you will have a house trained dog within one month--I found the book so effective that my dog was trained within 3 weeks!
   
   This book, in simple and easy-to-read chapters, tells you exactly what to do to get your dog to "perform" on command, how to praise him when he's right, and how and when to correct him if he needs it.
   
   In some chapters, she tells the reader that if they've understood the just-presented information, that they need to go back and read it again. She urges the whole family to be in on the house training routine--not just one "in-charge" family member.
   
   She emphasizes crate training and why this is extremely important in training dogs not to "go" anywhere but their appropriate and special "spot".
   
   All in all, if you haven't raised a dog in a while and are feeling the need for some pointers, this book will give you those and then some. In the conversational tone in which it's written, you will feel as if you're being given tips by a friend.
   
   I would recommend it for anyone bringing home a new puppy, or an older dog who is "not sure" about it all.



4. My girlfriend and I have only read the first few chapters and already learned a lot from the book. I believe some of what the author explains is redundant.



5. Material inside is a bit dated, but it has the right idea to get the job done.

5 comments about Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals.

1. For someone who is just learning about homeopathy in general, this book not only gave me a good introductory understanding of homeopathy overall for pets and people, but also gave me some great tips and helpful knowledge that I was able to put to use right away with my sick cat. I was able to find the best way to treat my cat with homeopathy with the help of this book and my vet.



2. I'm not wild about this book. While I'm sure there's some good information in here, I haven't found it yet. What I have found are opinions that I find difficult to swallow.
   
   For example:
   
   Don't vaccinate your pets. Hmm. I understand there might be reasons to stay away from vaccinating pets, as there are for not vaccinating children. However, I also understand that if I want to board my dog, or take him to the local dog park, or take him to the groomer, or have my vet come within ten feet of him, I need some evidence that this dog has, in fact, been vaccinated. I don't see a practical way around this in this book.
   
   He says vaccinations weaken the species by allowing weaker animals to survive. My neutered dogs aren't contributing to the gene pool anyway, so I don't understand this argument.
   
   Then there's the thing about feeding your dog only raw meat, because dogs in the wild don't have someone cooking for them. Okay, fine. Dogs in the wild don't have veterinarians, nor do they sleep on a human's couch. If we're going to take this thought to its logical conclusion, we shouldn't have pets at all. And if we should have pets, why on earth would I want to risk their getting infected with E. coli? Or does this raw meat thing assume that I kill it myself rather than buy it?
   
   He says that a lot of meanness in dogs comes from the rabies vaccine. He cites no studies, offers no data, just says that from what he's seen, this is true. I'm sure I don't see anywhere near as many dogs as the author, but come on, I have yet to see a dog made mean by vaccines. Show me a reproducible study.
   
   There may be some valuable information in this book, but it's colored by these unsupported "facts", so it's hard to tell what's good information and what's not. There are better books on the subject. Buy one of them.



3. It's good for reference. A little difficult to self diagnois your pet and not always easy to find the treatment for a specific problem in the book.



4. AFTER REVIEWING OTHER BOOKS & BUYING ANOTHER BOOK (that was poorly written) I WAS RELIEVED TO READ THIS. HOMEOPATHIC CARE FOR CATS & DOGS GETS RIGHT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER. INDEX IS GREAT, NICE LISTING OF HOMEOPATHIC SUPPLIERS THERE PHONE, FAX & WEB SITES ( I had wondered where to get supplies but that answered it for me.) YOU ONLY RECEIVE NEEDED INFORMATION. NICE GUIDE FOLLOWS WITH EASY TO FIND REMEDIES. INCLUDES INFO ON HOW TO DECIDE YOUR ANIMAL NEEDS HOMEOPATHY OR IS IT TIME TO SEE THE VETERINARIAN. IT'S NICE TO KNOW YOUR LIMITS. I PROMISE YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK.



5. I purchased this book along with 3 others to educate myself as to various diets and medical care of my pets. I found this one so far to list anything about heartworms in cats. I live in Oklahoma and we have a lot of mosquitoes and have had 2 dogs that contracted heartworm but we've never had a cat contract it and we've had cats live to be 14, 16, and 20 years. I had my suspicions about the necessity of giving heartworm medication to a cat and Dr. Hamilton pretty well answered my questions about it in two sentences on page 332, "This is a serious disease that primarily affects dogs (it is rare in cats, despite claims by the preventive manufacturers)." and, "I do not recommend their use (preventives) in cats, as the incidence does not warrant the drug use in my opinion." Overall, I found it's a very professional yet understandable book for those of us who wish to take care of our beloved pets through more natural means.

5 comments about The Last Will & Testament of a Very Distinguished Dog.

1. My husband found this book and bought it for the time when our beloved dog passes on. A friend's dog passed on a month ago and I gave her our book. We read sections of it when 8 of us gathered to comfort our friend. The words brought tears to our eyes and helped us honor the memory of her small companion. We repurchased the book to help us get through our grief when the time comes. Definitely recommended to anyone with a beloved dog.



2. I, unfortunately, have bought this book about 12 times. I buy this as a gift whenever someone close loses a dog from their family. Anyone who has lost a canine member of the family can use this book, it becomes personal to anyone.



3. i think this is an excelint gift for someone who has lost a loved dog.



4. ...as only a master of literature can do. This is a beautifully told tale, one which I have shared with friends who have lost their best four-legged friends. O'Neill captures the depth of feeling these creatures share with us for too short a time...
   A wonderfully positive, uplifting book for anyone dealing with the loss of a beloved pet.
   A treasure.



5. I have sent this little book to dear friends who have recently suffered the loss of a canine family member. They have told me that this little book has brought them tremendous comfort at a very difficult time.

5 comments about Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs.

1. Our puppy was a serious resource guarder from day 1. Initially we couldn't get near her when she had anything, but now we easily "trade," even when she has something she loves. This book describes a nonconfrontational protocol for your dog to respect you and see you as the giver of good things, not as a threat.



2. The book arrived faster than expected and in perfect shape. The information in the book has been just what we needed for the puppy we adopted. She had some of the worst resource guarding ever. In days you could a big improvement. She went from snapping and snarling at everyone over her food to being able to chew on a kong next to my other dog.



3. Resource guarding, dogs growling or biting when food, toys, specific locations, etc. are approached is an extremely common problem. Jean explains in easy to understand terms how to modify this problem behavior. A must have for any professional trainer or any owner of a dog that resource guards.



4. It arrived very quickly and was brand new. I would order from this seller again.



5. I am so glad I finally found this book! It's a bit smaller than I would like but worth getting.

5 comments about A PocketExpert Guide to Marine Invertebrates: 500+ Essential-to-Know Aquarium Species.

1. This is an excellent quick guide to help you making your invertebrates "wish list", and also very helpful to carry it when going shopping for new inverts. Each page provides a picture and useful information about the portrayed invertebrate, compatibility with fishes and other inverts, etc.
   
   It could be a little better if the author gave a score from 1 to 5 like the author from "A PocketExpert Guide to Marine Fishes" did. Also, a better clarification on light levels would be important. Just saying "bright", "medium", etc isn't enough for a beginner like myself.



2. clear, well done and with clear explanations....Since invertebrates can be very hard to identify, specifically corals, this book takes a lot of the guess work out of it.



3. This book has it all when looking for invertebrate information. When looking to learn about corals, starfish, or anything else that is not a fish this book will be a great resource. With its compact size you can take it to the fish store and have an unbiased source of information you can count on.



4. A necessary reference for Reef Keepers! Unfortunately as the title says it only covers 500 marine invertebrates! Dr. Shimek offers great information and recommendations!



5. Excellent for anyone who has a saltwater fish tank. I've had fish tanks for 20 years and wish I had this resource to let me know in advance what requirements certain fish, corals and invertebrates have as far as size of tank, salinity, etc...which corals/invertebrates are easy to keep and which require way more than I could hope to provide. This is a must have.

5 comments about The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation through the Way of the Horse.

1. I wasn't sure what this book was truly about when I purchased it, but it sounded interesting. Interesting doesn't even begin to describe it! I have learned soooooooooooo much already, and I'm only 1/2 way through the book! I would love to meet this woman. I highly recommend this book to anyone who knows there is more to a horse than meets the eye...



2. One of the best books I have ever read. And I've read a lot. Exquisitely written. Profound in it's simplicity, and simply profound. Get it. Read it. Experience it. Love it.



3. I have been interested in this topic for a while now but as I start working toward my dissertation, I know that I need more factual and scientific information for anyone to take me seriously. This book is packed with anecdotal portions to keep you interested and tons of "scientific" information to back it up. I'm not finished with it yet but there is a ton of information for me to use. I'll be reading it again for sure!



4. I picked this one up, based upon the mostly favorable reviews. I enjoy reading accounts of people who have been able to connect with their spiritual natures, whatever the medium.
   
   And there is some interesting material -- maybe 50 pages of interesting information. The other 300 pages are extremely repetitive, and sadly, just like many other new-age books, preachy. This could have been a wonderful book, had the author simple recounted her experiences with horses. But, unfortunately, she launches into tirades. It's just not worth sorting out the gems from the weeds.



5. I have been riding and training horses for 60 years, and while reading this book, I had my memories come back, and she spoke for me. Any women who loves horses, and has felt their power, would feel inspired while reading this book. Beth Morris

5 comments about Another Piece of the Puzzle: Puppy Development.

1. very useful and important little book. I had to buy a second copy after giving mine to the vet at the local dog shelter, hoping she would understand why puppies shouldn't be isolated, what and when the fear periods are, and much more important information for a dog's first months, that will change your life and his/her's, all scientifically backed-up. Anyone who owns a puppy or a dog, looking to understand their companion,must this book, which I also loved and enjoyed.



2. An outstanding book! Pat Hastings, ably assisted by co-author Erin Ann Rouse, once again shows her astonishing depth of knowledge about dogs gleaned from her years as a dog breeder, professional handler, and dog show judge. A worthy follow-on to her seminars and acclaimed video, The Puppy Puzzle, this book clearly delineates the stages of puppyhood and outlines the interactions that a puppy's human should be providing throughout each stage. I liked this book so much that I bought more to give to every new "parent" for my recent litter of eight puppies.



3. We have bought a lot of books regarding puppies and training, and we still got a lot of information out of this book. It's a whole lot of useful information in a short book.



4. I have been raising and showing dachshunds for 48 years and am a dog show judge but enjoyed reading and learned a few new tricks so you can teach an old dog and an old lady new tricks. Enjoyed it very much.



5. This book is a wonderful guide in "remembering" what it was like to have a puppy, its critical periods, and training so that the puppy has all its effective tools to become confident and a social member of the pack. Good information detailing development and training of puppies!!