I'm currently reading a book ("Cat Confidential: The Book Your Cat Would Want You to Read", but a German copy) written by the British cat counsellor, Vicky Halls, and I have to admit it makes me feel a bit guilty, and bad.
The author is very much against keeping cats indoor. According to her, most behavioral problems are a result of indoor keeping, and after reading her book, it seems to me that it's impossible for an indoor cat to be happy.
Another thing that confuses me it that she's also very sceptical when it comes to multicat households. In her opinion, living with other kitties means a lot of stress for a cat, as it's an unnatural arrangement. She states that if cats get along fine with each other, it's just their great adaptability to unnatural environments.
Also, she seems to doubt that cats love us. She said at some point that this is just wishful thinking...
Anyway, I look at my Luna and I see very well how stressed she is when Lily is stalking her, and I know that her bladder problems could very well be stress related. I know that she has also stopped playing when Lily moved in. But there are also times when they are snuggling, or washing each other! So does Luna really hate having Lily around?! And speaking of Lily, maybe she's only stalking Luna because the life of an indoor cat is too boring and unstimulating for such a smart kitty? Reading this book really makes me feel like a bad, irresponsible cat mommy who did everything wrong!
However, I just read some of the reviews on Mrs. Halls' books on amazon.com, and obviously I'm not the only one who feels that way. Is there anyone here who has read one of her books, too?
Kirsten
Bookmarks