As someone who had cats growing up, but is taking a first foray -- over a decade later and post-behavioral study interest -- into solo adult cat ownership, I did a lot of reading before I brought my cat into my home. The amount of research into cat behavior seems to have increased tenfold, and this book does a great job of bringing the most important points all together. It covers a lot of topics, necessarily broadly because of the breadth of topics. While none of it was particularly new information given the weeks of research I did, and at times I wish it would have gone a little more in-depth, this would have been a perfect book to have at that time, and I was gratified to see a lot of the things I had come across and implemented echoed back. This would be a great book for either a new pet owner, or someone like me, who knows cats, but may have missed out on all the behavioral research that supplements the way we know our cats. I also loved seeing all the additional reading, and the illustrations make it a very sweet read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this ARC. Here are my honest thoughts:

I would love to keep a copy of this on my student library bookshelf. It is wonderfully descriptive and speaks simply, with lots of information about cats and how to be a good cat parent. I would love to see one of these for dogs and other animals. My students are so interested in their domestic friends, and the pictures in How to Raise a Happy Cat are so cute and the advice very practical that I don't think most would find it difficult to follow.

This was an interesting read, although not much in it that i didn't already know. Would be really helpful for a first time cat owner. Really liked the pictures too.

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - Ivy Press, for the advance reading copy.

If you want to adopt a kitten or a cat and even if you are an old cat parent, this book is for you! This is a good one which provides enough information on everything related to cats and their well being: living space, food, exercise, health are covered.

The illustrations are cute but expect minimum content regarding this. However, the focus is more on the guide to their well being and health.

Quite the content I would expect.

Totally recommended.

This is very informative book for cat parents. It’s full of very helpful tips from making toys to proper feeding and training.

4,5*

Oh I loved this! As a big cat lover and personnel to 3 lovely purring furr babies, I'm always looking to improve my cats' lives. This book gives the perfect overview and introduction in how to take care of y our cat and ensure a happy life. The division between the chapters is very clear and logical, starting with taking a closer look at cats and their behavior, then following up with playing, wellbeing, food, relaxation and then rounding up with the various stages of a cat's life. It's a very complete book with lovely illustrations. I would definitely give this to first time cat parents.

To me, a lot of the information in this book was not, so for people who are familiar with the cat behavior science this may not be a super interesting book, however it's still a fun read!