Humans have lived with cats for thousands of years, and there are now more cats kept in western households than any other animal. Cherished as companions, valued as rodent catchers, their enigmatic behaviour has intrigued and bewildered us for generations. Whilst accepting the comforts of human homes, cats do seem to 'walk by themselves'. Although loved for their independence and self-reliance, myths and fables surround them, leaving them open to persecution and misunderstanding. Covering all types of cats from pampered pets to feral hunters, this completely revised new edition of The Domestic Cat shows how cats live and behave in a variety of circumstances and surroundings. With new chapters on welfare issues, and cat-cat communication, this volume penetrates the enigma that is Felis catus, sorting fact from fiction, and helping both the general reader and the specialist in animal behaviour or veterinary science to understand what cats really are.

Editors

Dennis C. Turner, Institute for Applied Ethology and Animal Psychology, Switzerland

Dennis C. Turner is Director of the Institute for Applied Ethology and Animal Psychology, Switzerland, a private faculty member of the University of Zurich (Vetsuisse Faculty) and Invited Professor at the Educational Research Center for Anthrozoology (ERCAZ), Azabu University, Japan. He has published extensively on domestic cats and is well known for his activities in international organizations concerning human-animal relationships, animal-assisted therapy and animal welfare.

Patrick Bateson, University of Cambridge

Patrick Bateson FRS is Emeritus Professor of Ethology at the University of Cambridge. He is President of the Zoological Society of London and former Vice-President of the Royal Society. He is also co-author of Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Plasticity, Robustness, Development and Evolution (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and Measuring Behaviour (Cambridge University Press, 3rd edition, 2007).

Contributors

Dennis C. Turner, Patrick Bateson, Benjamin L. Hart, Lynette A. Hart, Sarah L. Brown, John W. S. Bradshaw, Penny L. Bernstein, Erika Friedmann, James A. Serpell, Eva Waiblinger, Barbara Fehlbaum, Kurt Kotrschal, Jon Day, Sandra McCune, Manuela Wedl, Irene Rochlitz, Leslie A. Lyons, Anne Gregory, Steve Crow, Hilary Dean, J. L. Stella, C. A. T. Buffington, Elly Hiby, Harry Eckman, Ian MacFarlaine