Your Healthy Pet: A Practical Guide to Choosing and Raising Happier, Healthier Dogs and Cats

Marder, the pet columnist for Prevention and a professor at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, takes on issues of ``whole-body fitness'' and good manners (one of her chapters is titled ``How to Tame a Jealous Pet'') in addition to standard physical matters. Sometimes, she observes the obvious. ``The holidays are wonderful times for people and their pets,'' the author writes, and later cautions: ``Try to hang your ornaments and tinsel far out of your pet's reach.'' However, in many cases Marder gives common sense free rein--to the shared benefit of pet owners and their pets. For instance, she loses no time in recommending sand-based cat litter and hoodless litter boxes (cats seem to prefer them); wisely, she advises a minimum of 15 minutes of (supervised) feline exercise daily. Her counsel on coping with fleas is succinct and reasonable, without seeming too optimistic. Moreover, the book considers the basic span of pet ownership, from initial choice (and suggestions on the requirements and distinctions of different breeds) to the problems brought on by ageing. However, the book offers no real surprises or improvements on familiar information. Prevention Book Club alternate. (Feb.)