The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care

Anitra Frazier knows her kitties! When I lived in NYC I got to work with her for the health of my adopted strays. She, through her book, her personal hands on with my one kitty at her home, (she taught me how to properly bathe my male kitten ever so lovingly who was covered with ringworm, which is a fungus, which he caught from my 6 week old kitten who was carrying it but showed no signs of it). She opened my eyes to so many wonderful things about how cats behave that I never knew. For example, that cats don't go outside of the litter box because they are angry or for spite. No, it's because they are such clean little critters that they cannot stand to place themselves in a stinky litter box! Keep that litter box clean like it's supposed to be, and see what happens. And also they do not like the perfumed or scented litters. Their sense of smell is many more times sensitive to odors than us humans! Cats do not do things out of spite.. they aren't human and don't think, they just react to things.There is a wealth of knowledge in this book and I wish every single soul on this earth who has anything to do with cats, from vets to groomers and all cat owners could have this book. You'll be doing both your kitties and yourself a lot of good by reading it, and then implementing what you learn.The cat that Anitra helped me with, and the younger one passed away a couple of years ago. They both lived to be about 18 yrs. old. I miss them still. I thought I could never get another one because of the grief I felt.. they were with me their whole lives! But then we moved to another state, and one day as we were out looking for a house to buy, a little bundle of orange Tabby long haired fluff came bounding up to me. He was so dirty his fur was gray with grime. He was infested with fleas and had worms. Well, I took him in. He's one happy camper now, and so am I. I wish there weren't so many strays.. it's sad that most people seem to think that they are like wild animals and can survive outside on their own, but they are not wild, they are domesticated animals and like dogs, cannot live without the intervention of humans. Someone was feeding this little kitty. A man from the house next door to the one we were looking at told me to take him, he belonged to no one, and that he feeds him. God bless all the people out there who find it in their hearts to feed the starving cats, and take them in to their hearts and their homes. I wish more did.

I was disappointed in this book.It’s not user friendly and it’s not entirely well researched.For example. In trying to figure out what to do for the scabs all over my cat I had to spend 15 minutes hunting through the book- there wasn’t a place for skin issues - it was about fleas. This directed me to bath instructions which were - no joke - 9 pages of leisurely opinions and guidance on how to bathe your cat. For the retired person this is great. For the working person with a life this is not great. It’s nice to have all the leisurely information but give me a list of key info, bullets, do’s and dont’s, key products to use. No. You have to read 30 paragraphs to get your answer. The book has no user friendly highlights or key info. Up front or at the end. Just many many pages of ruminations and options. Why not do both for those of us who have 4 minutes to figure out how it works? It also has tons of homeopathic solutions you can make yourself. Realistically - recommend a good oatmeal shampoo and go ahead and tell me how to make one. But do both for those us who can’t go hunting for a dozen ingredients for every possible ailment our cat may have or get.Most disturbing by far was the way she lumped feline leukemia and FIV into the same category with the same treatment never clarifying that you contract them in completely different ways. She further perpetuated the myth that FIV is highly transmittable by telling readers to separate litter boxes water and food for FIV and non-FIV. All this has been debunked. If FIVs is transmitted through blood, feline leukemia is transmitted through casual contact. It’s dangerous to promote the myth that it is highly infectious. It gets FIV cats put down all the time.Look the book has lots of good and useful information but it’s for a retired cat nerd who wants 30 paragraphs on how to bathe a cat and to play homeopathic pharmacist by making your own concoctions. It’s not for the “I love my cat but have to juggle a busy life too” person.” I think with some good editing it could be both.

This oversized volume is chock full of helpful information yet it is also littered with dubious advice that doesn't stand up to reality.Ms. Frazier must exist in a charmed wonderland of compliant kitties who are eager to surrender their open mouths to pills, syringes, and oral hygeine. In the real world, the average cat will react defensively when its mouth is invaded, no matter how nicely you "ask permission." In fact, my vast experience with cats has shown me that the minute I start bargaining or explaining my actions to them, they sense that I'm about to meddle with their personal space and they make a quick exit to the nearest hiding place.Also, the author's suggestion to find a holistic veterinarian or one who will work via phone consult with a standard vet is not realistic. In the San Francisco Bay Area holistic vets' prices are prohibitive, especially for the multi-cat owner. And western-medicine oriented vets are very rarely accomodating to networking with outside sources whose views on nutrition and healthcare are at odds with their own.I also question the author's suggestion for allowing/encouraging tomato products for cats. Cats have a natural aversion to tomato products. A for a good reason: they are night shades, related to the lily and also eggplant, which cats will run from.The book, however, has many nuggets of valuable information, especially the argument against dry food and free-feeding. In my love-hate relationship with this 500+ page manual, I must say that in the final assessment it has enough good advice to earn a permanent place on my bookshelf.And I'm not asking my cats for their permission either!

This book and it's update version, is perfect for the cat owner. The things you didn't think you needed to know are in it. You will learn much more than justbfeeding your cat.

I've owned cats my whole life. I've had three pure bred Ragdolls. I have an allopathic Vet and a Holistic Vet. I belong to many cat groups that focus on whole cat health. This is what this book does. It focuses on the whole care of the cat. If you want your cat to be a healthy cat, or to identify when it is sick. You need this book. If you want your cat to eat the best diet available that is natural to them as hunters, this is the book for you. If you want your cat to live a long life, filled with love, health and lots of play this is the book for you. Thank you to the authors of this book of putting forward a very comprehensive guide to cat care.

This is a very interesting book from a woman who has had years of experience in caring for her own and others cats. While providing basic knowledge, some of her approaches are quite unconventional. If you are interested in how to care for your cats and understanding her behaviour through the 'nature' of the cat and enjoy an esoteric touch, you will certainly enjoy this book.Proposed alternatives will definitely give food for thought and some of the anecdotes in the book are compelling.I have found it not to be perfect because it is mainly tailored to the United States.

I am replacing my 1980s copy!

When I need to know something, I look in the book and find it. The author is very thorough and works with natural veterinarians. She talks about pretty everything you can encounter having cats. You can tell she has a lot of experiences and wisdom with the felines. Great reference book.