MEET DR GARY VETERINARIAN AND CAT EXPERT A CAT CAN BE your very best friend I can tell you exactly what they re It can be your muse your protector saying And in some cases it can even your little hunter or your guide Cats save lives can be predictable mysterious or've known many cats through just plain crazy But to get the most out my career In fact at the Humane out of your relationship you need to Society we have a kitten nursery ded be able to communicate Our furry icated to saving the lives of orphaned felines already speak at least a little kittens from all over San Diego Last human Now it s time for us to catch year we saved more than 1 500 kittens up to them and learn to speak cat in one summer alone Ihope every sin My name is Dr Gary Weitzman gle one of them is teaching their new and T m going to be your guide families how to speak and understand throughout this book've been a cat fluently veterinarian and animal rescuer for Throughout this book rl let you more than 20 years'm currently the in on different tips and strategies for president of the San Diego Humane communicating effectively and accu Society and SPCA in California rately with your cat your neighbor s U S A I spend a lot of time making cat or a stray that comes up to your sure animals are well cared for have door wanting food or shelter or com homes and receive medical care and pany You ll learn where cats come attention Taking care of animals from how to read cat body language goes a whole lot further when you and so much more Most import understand what they need Learning ant you ll also learn how to help cats to read their body language see into read you Cats are complex But once their eyes and listen to their sounds we know what to expect from them
and how to understand what they're saying a lot of the mystery goes away Today FOR YOUR SAFETY scientists are learning so much more about how animals think Animals are more like us than we ever thought So we shouldn t be surprised to learn that cats often our closest compan ions are trying to talk to us every sin gle day using their voices eyes ears and even tails They understand us so much better than we understand them It s time to set the record straight all animals communicate with each other with their young with predators and their prey and with us In the nearly 3 500 years since the first cats came to live with humans in ancient Egypt they ve learned how to communicate with us It's time for us to learn how to talk back So keep reading to learn about the wonderful language of cats They ll be grateful that you know how to speak to them as well as they have learned how to speak to us While National Geographic has worked to make sure the following training tips scenarios and interpreta tions of cat behavior come from the most accurate and up to date sources you should know that cats like all animals can be unpredictable No matter how careful you are no matter how many rules you follow bad stuff can happen Also much of the advice and guid ance in this book requires close observation of cats there may be nuances of behavior that the observer can miss So even though this book is packed with advice from the experts there no guarantee that such advice will work in any specific situation Always be cautious with cats that are strangers to you and careful with cats with whom you are familiar All content and information published in this book is provided to the reader as and without any warranties The situations and activities described carry inherent risks and hazards The reader must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the use of the information provided in this book including those risks associated with rel ance on the accuracy thoroughness utility or appropriateness of the information for any particular situation The authors and publisher specifically dif all responsi bility for any liability loss or risk personal or otherwise that is incurred as a conse quence of the application any contents in this book Unless otherwise labeled the cats pictured throughout this book are American or domestic shorthairs with various color patterns such as tabby or calico
WHAT IS A COAT The color length texture and thickness of a cat s coat varies by breed All white cats are uncommon which is good because they may have more health issues than cats of other colors They also can sunburn TAIL The domestic or house cat is the only cat species that can hold its tail up straight while walking Lions tigers and other wild cats either hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs when they walk NAILS Most cats have five toes on each front foot and four toes on the back Some cats known as polydactyls have four to eight extra toes The sharp hooked claws on the end of each toe can be retracted or pulled up out of the way when a cat isn't hunting or fighting Abyssinian
EARS About 20 muscles in each ear let cats rotate both ears in different directions at the same time This enable them to pinpoint the source of a sound NOSE A cat s nose contains about 200 million scent cells compared to only 5 million in humans Cats use their much stronger sense of smell to help them locate prey EYES A special structure called the tapetum lucidum in the back of their eyes gives cats excellent night vision But when the sun is shining they miss out on details and see less well than humans can 0 0 0 TEETH Kittens start to lose their baby teeth when they reach four months of age That s when their permanent teeth start to grow in WHISKERS Sensitive stiff whiskers on their cheeks help felines find their way in the dark and act like short range radar when they're hunting The whiskers let a cat know when it s in position to nab and kill its prey TONGUE A cat s tongue is a multipurpose tool Covered with backward pointing hooks it curls to lap up liquids flattens to scrape meat off bones and serves as a hairbrush duringg
