cover image Do Cats Need Shrinks?: Cat Behavior Explained

Do Cats Need Shrinks?: Cat Behavior Explained

Peter Neville. McGraw-Hill/Contemporary, $13.55 (201pp) ISBN 978-0-8092-4051-7

Can the world possibly need another analysis of the feline psyche? After reading this authoritative and amusing cat-on-the-couch book, the answer is a qualified yes. Neville's text is arranged ``Dear Abby''-style, incorporating his long, thoughtful responses to queries received over the years from anxious cat owners: e.g., ``Dear Mr. Neville, My cat Mugs is agoraphobic . . . and I'm sure he's missing out on life as a result.'' His solution to this particular problem is ``controlled exposure to the outdoors, perhaps using the carrying basket . . . or, better still, a large, secure pen in which the cat can safely spend some portion of his day outdoors.'' Neville, a columnist for the British Cat World magazine and consultant to the Bristol Veterinary School in Great Britain, begins his book with general information and factual tidbits (for instance, there are now 55 million cats in the U.S.), then pushes on to specific behavioral topics--feline stress and trauma, aggressive behavior and the ever-popular ``toileting'' problems. This is a useful and unsentimental work, though it's to be hoped that no single owner will have to cope with more than a few of the problems described. (Apr.)