The secret language of cats How to understand your cat for a better, happier relationship

Cat owners are often perplexed by cat behavior and the various ways felines communicate. What are they trying to tell us? Why do some cat noises sound so different than others? What can cat owners do to help their pets stay calm and happy? In her first book, Swedish phonetics professor and researcher Schötz attempts to answer these questions and more and uses her academic expertise to analyze her own five beloved felines. A scholar of the sounds of human language, she discovered that cats also use vocal communication. After a brief review of past studies, Schötz describes in detail her phonetic investigation of cat sounds and looks at the various ways that cats communicate, including tactile and visual messages and scent signals in addition to sounds. Schötz weaves in lovable anecdotes about her cats throughout and guides cat owners through the day-to-day challenges of cat ownership. This is a fascinating read for cat lovers who want to improve communication with their furry friends.--Melissa Norstedt Copyright 2018 Booklist

Those who love cats will also adore this book from phonetics professor Schötz. She insists that cats possess their own language (of sorts) and that, with self-awareness and patience, owners can discern some of what their pets are "saying." For example, her cat Vimsan, after receiving a bowl of food, responds "brrrt," for "thank you." Her cat Rocky, also during food prep, "lifts himself up with his front paws against my knees, where he drawls a me-aw, which I take to mean, 'Oh that smells good, I want some too!'" Shötz shares a serious discussion of her academic specialty, dispelling any notion that the book's premise is sheer fancy. To that end, she provides a chart of the various consonants she's observed cats making-approximants, fricatives, and laterals, for example-while readily conceding the inherent limits to human comprehension; "cats do not have a language that works like a human language" and "we cannot look something up in Cat." Still, chances are good that this lively title will help cat lovers achieve a surprising and animating level of understanding with their house pet. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.