Cats: Health and nutrition

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See also:
Cats: General
Cats: Single breeds
Cats: Behaviour
Cats: Health and nutrition
Cats: Fiction dealing with cats
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Skin & Coat Care for your Cat

Compiled by Lowell Ackerman
TFH Publications
ISBN 0-7938-0633-X

Many of the most common skin problems in cats are explained in this book by a variety of veterinary dermatologists, supported by full colour and often very graphic, photographs. There are also useful chapters on understanding the types of medications that might be prescribed for your cats’ skin problem and a helpful section on grooming techniques. Vets and cat owners alike would benefit from having this useful source of reference.

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Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets

Donald R. Strombeck
Iowa State Press
ISBN 0813821495

An invaluable resource for dog and cat owners who want to prepare food for their pets. This is a comprehensive guide from a professor in veterinary medicien, who specialises in small animals. So much has been written on home-prepared pet food, much of it questionable. This book is based on scientific research, and will help you to evaluate and devise recipes, gearing them to the individual needs of your cat or dog.

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The Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook

Delbert Carlson and James Giffin
Howell Books
ISBN 0 87695 796 2

This is a very clearly written guide to cat care and ailments, with numerous photographs to help you identify feline problems. You may find some of the photos a bit sad, but they are very useful aids to home diagnoses. This edition is the revised version, which has been expanded. It's a comprehensive guide that covers problems that can be solved without a vet, and helps you decide when to call the vet, as well as helping you to understand your vet's diagnoses and treatments. Highly recommended.

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Cat Care, Naturally

Celeste Yarnall
Tuttle Publishing
ISBN 0 8048 3025 8

There is much to interest cat owners in Celeste Yarnall's Cat Care, even if they are a little sceptical of natural cat care methods and philosophy. The information on nutrition is especially interesting and useful for those who like to prepare cat food themselves, rather than buying it in a bag or a tin. It may make you look twice at those bags and tins too! Bruce Fogle's book on natural cat care may appeal to the more sceptical, but this book is also a useful source of information.

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The Complete Book of Cat Breeding

Dan Rice
Barron's
ISBN 0 8120 9764 5

There is enough information here to interest experienced cat owners whose cats have already produced, as well as owners of their first cat. All aspects of cat breeding are covered, including deciding whether to breed from a particular cat, mating, care of the kittens, and finding homes for the kittens. The book is also well illustrated and Dan Rice writes clearly, in a way that's accessible to younger readers as well as adults.

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Veterinary Notes for Cat Owners

Trevor Turner and Jean Turner
Stanley Paul & Co Ltd
ISBN 0 09 175103 9

This book provides a comprehensive coverage of feline health and care, which will appeal to cat owners, breeders and also the veterinary profession. There are contributions from a panel of experts on subjects such as behaviour, nutrition, anatomy and physiology, diseases and breeding. It is perhaps not a book that you would sit and read all the way through, but rather it is a reference source to dip into, to tackle a particular problem, or to increase your knowledge of specific aspects of feline care.

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Cooking for Cats: The Best Recipes for Felix, Morris and the rest of the Litter

Magda Antonic
Dumont monte
ISBN 3770170563

Forget the Naked Chef, this is the cookbook for cat owners. It's extremely useful, not only as a source of recipes that appeal to cats, they are also easy on owners' pockets, and don't take much time to prepare. There is guidance on cats' nutritional needs, and help with feeding sick cats. This is a very helpful book for people with 'picky' cats, and people who worry about what might go into commercial cat food.

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Real Food for Cats

Patti Delmonte
Storey Books
ISBN 1580174094

This is more of a gourmet cookbook for cats than 'Cooking for Cats', with recipes for special occasions, and some quite fancy fare. The recipes have been checked out by veterinary advisers, which gives reassurance. The illustrations are fun. A very useful addition to the kitchen bookshelf for people who cook for their cats.

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Dr Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

Richard H. Pitcairn
Rodale Books
ISBN: 0875962432

This is a very popular and accessible guide to holistic cat and dog care. There's a lot of help with both diet and health care. Some of the recommendations on nutrition are controversial, but there are many good ideas for improving your pet's diet. All aspects of care are dealt with, including exercise, grooming, and tackling emergiencies. Much of what Dr Pitcairn says about commercial pet foods and vaccinations is not new, but the detail he gives for alternative approaches is very helpful, especially for owners of pets prone to allergies.

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Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats: The Ultimate Diet

Kymythy Schulze
Hay House
ISBN: 1561706361

This book is a very useful reference manual for people who want to give their cats and dogs home-prepared food. There is a lot of practical help, with information on nutrition, as well as menu plans, and a troubleshooting guide for dealing with health problems. It's an especially useful book for people whose pets have allergies, or have otherwise reacted to commercial foods. This is especially true in Europe, since we usually get precious little information on what goes into commercial pet food, compared to people in the US, and that can be a problem for people whose pets have food intolerances.

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A Colour Handbook of Skin Diseases of the Dog and Cat

Richard G. Harvey, Patrick J. McKeever
Manson Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 187454560X

This reference book is a bit gruesome and pricey for the average cat or dog owner, but is an extremely useful resource for any breeder, vet, or veterinary nurse. It's a practical help to diagnosing and treating common skin disorders in cats and dogs. These disorders are often very distressing to owners, because they are so visible, and they may cause distress to the animal. The book deals with 125 diseases, and classifies them according to what they look like, which helps enormously with diagnoses. There's also help with explaining to owners what is happening with their pet, as well as references for further reading. Every vet should have a copy - and if you are a pet owner and your vet doesn't have access to this book, but just scratches his head after the third treatment for your pet's skin trouble has failed to give a result, nudge him or her in the direction of this book.

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A-Z of Cat Health and First Aid: A Holistic Veterinary Guide for Owners

Andrew Gardiner
Souvenir Press Ltd
ISBN: 0285636383

This is a very useful, up-to-date reference book for cat health problems. It's clearly written, and easy to use in an emergency. While the author stresses a holistic approach, this is not intended to replace conventional methods, but rather to complement them. There's a lot of practical help in dealing with, and assessing emergencies, as well as help with preventing problems, and understanding vet treatments.

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