Kittens For Dummies
by Dusty Rainbolt
Kittens For Dummies
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2003114615
ISBN: 978-0-7645-4150-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11
1B/TR/QX/QX/IN
About the Author
Dusty Rainbolt became involved in kitten rescue in 1986 when she cared for an abandoned pregnant cat. She found homes for Mom and the kittens but kept her two favorites: Chani and Wretched. She had no idea that one act of kindness would later bless her with a career writing about cats. She and her husband, Weems, have been raising orphans ever since. In a small way they also helped elevate the Turkish Van breed to championship status in the Cat Fanciers Association.
Today, Dusty is a member of the Cat Writers Association. In addition to her own cats, including Chani and Wretched (now both 17 years old), she cares for a house full of foster kittens. Shes the cat product reviewer for Catnip, the magazine published in coopera-tion with Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Her award- winning monthly column Dear Hobbes written with a feline muse named Hobbes (who was one of Dustys bottle babies), appears in City + Country Pets. Shes written for Cat Fancy, CatsUSA, Whole Cat Journal, Cats Magazine, I Love Cats, and PetLife among others. Her articles have won the CWA/ACFA Cat Safety Award, The Purina Nutrition Award, and The Tidy Cat Behavior Award. Dustys humorous science fiction novel, All The Marbles, which prominently features a Turkish Van cat, was released in July 2003.
Dustys husband, Weems Smith Hutto, provided the photographs for this book. His cat photos have appeared in Complete Kitten Care and The Purina Encyclopedia of Cat Care by Amy D. Shojai; as well as The Guide to Handraising Kittens by Susan Easterly. His pictures appear monthly in Catnip. His photos have also been published in Whole Cat Journal, Cat Fancy Magazine, Cats Magazine, and I Love Cats.
Dedication
To my sister, Margaret Rainbolt, who gave me my very reluctant first lesson in Felinese; to Houston, my first cat I still miss you; and to Chani and Wretched, my first kittens and my first intoxicating taste of kitten rescue. To Mary Hamilton, who stuck her neck out to save Chani and Wretcheds mother. And finally, to Streamer, the Doberman pinscher who loved his baby foster kittens.
Authors Acknowledgments
There are so many people who contributed to this book. I first want to thank Beth Adelman for recommending me, Natasha Graf for believing in me, Jill Burke for walking me through the process, Alissa Schwipps for adopting me and my book like I was always hers, Weems Hutto for his awesome photos, Kathryn Born for her wonderful illustrations, Jennifer Bingham, my copy editor, and Patricia A. Hague, DVM, for being a long-time source of information and supporter of my writing. Im delighted that you are my technical editor.
Thanks also to Nicholas H. Dodman, DVM, PhD, director of the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine; James R. Richards, DVM, director of the Feline Health Center at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine; and Jill A. Richardson, DVM, EVP, my veterinary toxicologist.
Behavior specialists: Steve Aiken, Animal Behavior Consultants in Wichita, Kansas; Peter Borchelt PhD, of Animal Behavior Consultant, Brooklyn, New York; Lana Rich of The Catsultants; Pam Johnson-Bennett, author of Think Like a Cat, dog trainer Brenda Keller; Karen Pryor, author of Clicker Training for Cats; John C. Wright, PhD, professor of Psychology at Mercer University.
Veterinarians: Edward Aycock, DVM, and Judy Johson, DVM, of Lewisville North Animal Clinic; Kelly Gavin, DVM; Johnny D. Hoskins, DVM; Laura LeVan, DVM; Robert J. Munger, DVM, DACVO; Cindy Ragoni, DVM; Bonnie Shope, VMD; Granville C. Wright, DVM; Michele Yasson, DVM, CVA, president of Holistic Veterinary Services in New York.
Rescue: Charlene Denney of Hunt County Humane Society; Louise Holton of Alley Cat Rescue; Mary C. Hill of the Humane Society of Lewisville; Tamara Kreuz-Foehring, author of the Stray Cat Handbook; Karen Moore; Kari Winters, California Siamese Cat Rescue; Sondra York, former cat chair of Animal Rescue League; Rachel Querry, Humane Society of the United States.
Breeders: John J. McGongle and Pat Chapman of Caravanserai Turkish Van Cats; Karen Hooker of Pairodoc Turkish Vans; Lee Brooke of Jeminai Turkish Angoras; Lynn Nunn of Coonunnski, Maine Coons; Sally Bahner; Maryjean Ballner, author of