Warren Eckstein - How to Get Your Cat to Do What You Want

Warren Eckstein is a Leo Buscaglia of the pet set. The book is filled with many simple solutions for such common cat problems as scratching, clawing, and litter box mistakes, but his message is broader.

San Francisco Chronicle

Written in an easily read format, the short chapters deal not only with the usual care, feeding, and training information, but also with feline mental health issues of depression, midlife crisis, and stress. Not a cold, clinical manual, this book gets no more cutesy than referring to cats as Kitty, he or she, and furball. It refers to them as dignified beings.

Albuquerque Journal

I would like to see this book made available to all current and prospective cat owners, for required reading.

Cat World International

A Fawcett Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Copyright 1990 by Warren Eckstein and Fay Eckstein

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Fawcett Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

Fawcett Books and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

randomhousebooks.com

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-96719

Ebook ISBN: 9780307829580

This edition published by arrangement with Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Villard Books is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

v3.1_r1

In the beginning, God created man, but seeing him so feeble, He gave him the cat.

Warren Eckstein and Fay Eckstein

In order not to insult any of my feline friends, youll find throughout this book I switch back and forth from he to she and him to her. Clearly it would have been easier to refer to Kitty as it and avoid this gender dilemma altogether. But I couldnt do that. Cats arent its. Theyre much too special for such a cold, nondescriptive label. So in the interest of fair play, for this book sometimes Kitty is a boy and sometimes Kitty is a girl. I hope Ive given them equal time.

The Ecksteins believe in using lots of praise, love, hugs and kisses. Be sure your cat is declared healthy by the vet and isnt the type that might become frightened or aggressive or scratch or bite when suddenly showered with smooches or affection. Some cats react strangely when people are extra close.

The Ecksteins encourage you to read the entire book before trying any of their advice.

INTRODUCTION

To own a cat is to understand the concept of living with a being of higher intelligence. Not amused by telephones, bills, and the mundaneness of everyday life, cats spend their entire day deciding on ways to improve their living conditions.

People dont choose cats, cats choose the people with whom they wish to live. When I hear someone say, I hate cats, I dont frown or view them with disdain. I simply recognize that they havent had the opportunity to be accepted and owned by a cat.

And how do you know when youve been picked to be owned by a cat? Thats easy. He tells you.

My cat Mowdy certainly did. In fact, Mowdy added a new dimension to the art of conversation. He showed me that a little simple conversation wasnt enough. You see, cats have the capacity for well-thought-out discussions (and actions)they just pick and choose on whom they want to use it. They outsmart us all the time.

Because I appear frequently on television and radio, manufacturers constantly send me the latest toys and gourmet foods for pets, hoping that after I try them out on my four-legged menagerie, I might mention them during one of my media appearances. So even though Mowdy had thirty thousand other people in my town to choose from, he knew that moving into my house was like moving into Kitty Disney World.

And thats what he decided to domove in. One day, popping up out of nowhere, Mowdy simply strolled into my life. Well, he didnt actually stroll inwhat he did was fuss and scream, so much so that he didnt give me much of a chance to decline his decision to relocate. I have an office in my house and Mowdy, who was unnamed and homeless at the time, positioned himself ever so cleverly atop my neighbors carwhich has a birds-eye view through my office windowputting him in the perfect place to stare me down while I was on the phone. Mowdy looked me square in the eyes and started meowing. Not just any type of meow, mind youbut short ones, long ones, and many of different octave ranges. Im sure some of his vocalizations were clearly audible to the entire neighborhoodif not the entire eastern seaboard. It was clear that Mowdy was carrying on a full-length conversation with me. I could hear it in his voice, and I could certainly see it on his face.

Im embarrassed to say that I did not take Mowdy too seriously. I was already the proud owner of too many pets. As a matter of fact, I had recently gone into debt to buy a second home, a farm in upstate New York, not for me but for my pets; my animals needed a country home. Theres only so much time you can hide a pet pig who weighs over one thousand pounds in a residential Long Island neighborhood. Sure, at first I passed him off as a very rare breed of dog. But it was easy then because he was small and I had taught him, like all my pets, to walk on a leash and harness. But with a pig there comes a point where you just cant fool people anymore. So I packed up my favorite little porker, whose name was Spotty, twenty-two rabbits, my ducks and chickens (all of whom have names and are pets), the various assorted abandoned dogs and cats I had taken in from the streets, and off we went to find them a new home of their own.

But it wasnt just our overcrowded feeling that caused me to ignore the talking feline. I assumed Mowdy had to be owned by someone in the neighborhood. He looked well fed, had a glossy coat, and seemed to be in tip-top physical condition. So because Mowdy didnt look needyand because there comes a point in even the most caring animal lovers life when you just have to say I have enough petsI tried to ignore him. But, the operative word here is triedfor there was no ignoring Mowdy. When I paid no further attention to him, he shifted gears and attacked my front door. It was as if Rambo had been giving this cat private lessons. Mowdy figured out a way to unclip the screen from the door, then managed to jump in, dumping himself between the screen door and the front door. Of course, he was stuckor so he pretended. Personally, I dont think this particular kitty could ever get himself into anything he couldnt figure his way out of. But ear-shattering meows were now echoing through the entire house. Then the meows became screams. I ran to the door fully expecting to see some sort of catastrophe. But the very instant I opened the main door,