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Turner Publishing Company - J. Stephen Lang

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216 pages

English

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Think you know everything about your feline companion?
In 1,001 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Cats, trivia specialist and certified cat fancier J. Stephen Lang puts your whisker wisdom to the test with 1,001 tantalizing trivia tidbits. From myths and legends to famous cat lovers (and haters), "catty" phrases to cartoon kitties, bewildering behavioral quirks to mating and motherhood, you'll learn about:

five U.S. presidents who adored cats . . . and one who hated them with a passion!
why cats enjoy kneading their human companions with their paws;
a breed of cat with webbed feet who swims for his seafood supper!
the most popular male and female cat names today.

With these and 997 other delicious trivia morsels, you'll discover an abundance of unexpected delights on every page!
Introduction.

1. How They Behave, and Why.

2. The Amazing Feline Body.

3. All About Breeds and Shows.

4. Keeping Them Healthy and Safe.

5. Mating and Motherhood . . . and “Fixing”.

6. Find ’Em, Feed ’Em, Change Their Litter.

7. Wild Ancestors and Wild Cousins.

8. Cats with Humans, Beginning in Ancient Egypt . . . .

9. Lies, Folklore, Myths and Legends.

10. Feline Words and Phrases.

11. Notable Cat People and Their Opinions.

12. In Books, Music and Art.

13. Silver Screen and Small Screen.

14. Cartoon Cats.

15. Cats as Marketing Tools.

16. And a Few Bits of Potpourri.

Index.

Sujets

Pets

Cats

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	21 avril 2008
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780470333402
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

1,001 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Cats
1,001 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Cats
J. Stephen Lang
Copyright 2004 by Howell Book House. All rights reserved
Howell Book House
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4447.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Lang, J. Stephen.
1,001 things you always wanted to know about cats / by J. Stephen Lang.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7645-6926-0 (paper)
1. Cats-Miscellanea. I. Title: One thousand one things you always wanted to know about cats. II. Title.
SF445.5.L35 2004
636.8-dc22
200400947
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my family, for having homes where cats were always adored
Yes, it is strange that anyone should dislike cats.
-C. S. L EWIS
CONTENTS
Introduction
How They Behave, and Why
The Amazing Feline Body
All About Breeds and Shows
Keeping Them Healthy and Safe
Mating and Motherhood . . . and Fixing
Find Em, Feed Em, Change Their Litter
Wild Ancestors and Wild Cousins
Cats with Humans, Beginning in Ancient Egypt . . .
Lies, Folklore, Myths and Legends
Feline Words and Phrases
Notable Cat People and Their Opinions
In Books, Music and Art
Silver Screen and Small Screen
Cartoon Cats
Cats as Marketing Tools
And a Few Bits of Potpourri
Index
INTRODUCTION
Nine Lives, and Thousands of Books
Your reaction to seeing this book might have been the same as that of my agent, Ed Knappman, when I proposed the book: another book on cats? My reply to him, and to you: yes, and why not? Cats are a great subject, they now outnumber dogs as pets in the United States (see entry 347 for more details) and lots of cat owners love to read about cats. Add to this the fact that a book about cats is, for me, a labor of love-I ve been a cat fancier since infancy. Finally, the 1,001 Things You Always Wanted to Know About formula has proved profitable for me in the past, demonstrating to me that readers love these tidbit books, which are perfect for browsing. So here you have it: yet another book about cats, yes, but one that I ve tried to make fun, user-friendly and browse-worthy-made to be enjoyed, just as cats are.
Cats are intriguing in form, so I ve included an entire chapter on the amazing feline body, truly a marvel of beauty and design. Naturally there is a chapter on feline behaviors-behaviors that fascinate and puzzle us (purring, grooming, mad dashes through the house) and frustrate us (clawing furniture, spraying). There is a quick tour of the various breeds of cats (all beautiful, of course), from the placid longhaired Persians to the nearly hairless Sphynxes. You ll also get an education in pedigrees and cat shows. And despite cats reputation for having nine lives, they do get sick, so there s lots of information on cat health, and on mating and motherhood as well.
Since I am a history-minded person, you ll get a nonboring history lesson in cats, including details about their prehistoric ancestors, their wild cousins of today and their early associations with the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
This is a book about cats (obviously), but, just as important, a book about human responses to cats. Thus there is an entire chapter on famous people who have doted on their cats-writers, artists, musicians, politicians and other notables. The human affection for cats has resulted in thousands of books, movies, artworks, cartoons and songs with cats as the subject as well as the use of cats as advertising gimmicks, and you ll find these items covered in this book. Both fondness for cats and detestation of cats have resulted in innumerable lies and legends about them, and there is a chapter about these stories. My favorite chapter deals with the many catty words and phrases that add color to our language-phrases sometimes rooted in reality, sometimes in misconceptions.
This book is not an encyclopedia, but it can serve as one if you make use of the index. If you are curious about how cats purr, for example, look up purring in the index to find the numbers for the entries that deal with purring. If you recall that the author Ernest Hemingway was fond of cats and you want to know more about his relationship with cats, you ll find Hemingway in the index, too. If you ve heard the rumor that the cat-loving ancient Egyptians made mummies of their deceased cats, you can confirm that rumor (it s true) and find out more by looking under mummies in the index. In short, the index is a neat alphabetical list of nearly every cat-related subject you can think of (and plenty that you never thought of).
A black-and-white shorthair named Lucy was usually just inches from the keyboard while this was being written and served as both inspiration and (at times) sedative. Given her role in the creation of this book, this purring refugee from the county animal shelter probably merits being listed as coauthor.
How They Behave, and Why

The Habits We Like
1 The purr-fect sound of contentment
To a cat lover, it is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world: the contented vibration that we know as purring. Why do they do it? Scientists think it is a kind of homing device used by a mother cat to help her newborn kittens (whose sight, hearing and sense of smell are all underdeveloped) locate her when it s time to nurse. Purring is a kind of dinner bell to young kittens. A mother cat purrs, the kittens fasten on, and the purring stops. We can t be sure, but it appears that from kittenhood on they associate purring with pleasure.
2 Share the purr
Your contented cat may purr in your lap or lying near you, but you won t hear (or feel) him purr as he lies contented in the sun. Purring is never a solitary act; cats only purr in the close proximity of a human-or another cat. Cat experts think purring indicates not only contentment but also submission. That is, purring is the kitten s signal to his mother and the adult cat s signal to his owner that I m yours. No wonder owners take such pleasure in it.
3 They knead you
Kneading refers to a cat s habit of using its front paws to massage a person s chest or stomach. It goes back to kittenhood, when a nursing kitten uses its tiny paws to massage its mother s udder while sucking. Kneading is inevitably accompanied by purring, and both adults and kittens are clearly in cat heaven while kneading. Some cat owners love this evidence that cats can pet their owners as well as be petted. On the other hand, kneading can be downright painful to people, because a cat s claws are definitely out while kneading. Owners of declawed cats (including the author) find kneading to be a perfectly painless and delightful aspect of cat ownership.
4 There s a name for it: bunting
There s a fabric called bunting, and you can bunt a baseball. Likewise, your cat will bunt you and your furniture as part of a familiar habit: rubbing the side of his head against a person or an object. This isn t just affection; the cat is actually leaving behind some glandular secretions from his face as a kind of I was here signal to himself and other cats. We can be thankful that this form of scent marking is practiced on us instead of the much more obnoxious spraying of urine.
5 Mad dashes
It amuses us as much as it mystifies us: for no apparent reason a cat suddenly makes a mad dash through the house. Many cat owners claim cats do so after using the litter box, perhaps to express a sense of relief and release. Conversely, some do it right after eating. But often the cat s mad dash is connected to no other event. Experts in animal behavior suggest that running fits might relieve tension, but tension doesn t seem to be much of a problem for many cats. Perhaps the best and most satisfying explanation is that it just feels really good to run and frolic, even if it s just for a few seconds.
6 The I see you call
Cats vary greatly in their talkative