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Cat Sense
by John Bradshaw

Cat Sense
by John Bradshaw

It’s not exactly a mystery: cats are a mystery. Perhaps no animal is so beguiling in its actions, its sense of itself, its mere way of being, as the domesticated cat. And all that enigma wrapped in riddle surrounded by puzzle invariably leads interested parties to both write books about cats and read books about them. No surprise, then, that this cat fancier found his way to the pages of Cat Sense, the recent exploration of all things feline by researcher John Bradshaw.

The book’s subtitle--How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet--makes multiple promises, which the text comes close to delivering. Bradshaw reports on any number of cat related phenomena using data derived from fairly rigorous scientific research; so the “new feline science” part rings quite true. That stuff about making you a better friend to your cat? Well...maybe. That may depend less upon the information presented, and more upon how you use that information--and even then it may be a dodgy proposition.


The strength of Cat Sense lies in Bradshaw’s approach to his topic. The author has taken pains to report on all aspects of cat life and personality based as much as possible upon scientific research--via archeology (in the case of the origins of cat domestication), direct experimentation and observation, even cat genetics. Thus, the information presented carries the weight of authority for the reader (at least for those readers prone to logical and/or scientific thinking); for the most part, we’re not talking here about how we feel about our cats. Thus, Bradshaw’s conclusions about cat matters, such as their use of their senses, propensity for hunting (or not), and how they relate to their human companions, come across as well-considered and convincing.

Unfortunately, Bradshaw’s strength also stands as his book’s weakness. Cat Sense is not a breezy read; whether it is due to the author’s scholarly focus, or his lack of skill at writing good prose, the casual reader may find this book to be somewhat tedious. Not difficult to read, per se; Bradshaw rarely bogs down in overly technical terms; but at times his text lacks a certain elegance. (It also includes an odd number of typoes for an otherwise well-presented work.)

This weakness extends as well to some of Bradshaw’s areas of focus and his conclusions thereon. For instance, he spends his last chapter on the “cat of the future”; i.e., the domesticated cat we need to develop if cats are to continue to be viable pets for us, given how cats’ place in human society is continually evolving. Of course, this is based on the premise that a pussycat’s place is in fact changing as rapidly as Bradshaw says it is; that assumption is never convincingly established.

Also, Bradshaw’s idea that--for pet-keeping purposes--suitable cats may become hard to find in the future rings patently untrue. As the author himself points out, lack of available homes currently leads to tremendous numbers of cats being euthanized. To put it bluntly, we are unlikely to run out of cats anytime soon. While Bradshaw’s warnings about relying on feral cats to be our breeding stock sound reasonable--ultimately, it leads to house cats with “wilder” personalities--he does not make the case that this is truly a major problem for the future. A genetic lack of a disposition to get along with people and other cats, to take readily to apartment living, and to not kill every small thing in the vicinity may make life somewhat more stressful than otherwise for cats of the future--but a stressful life still beats meeting death at the end of a needle and getting tossed in a dumpster. I suspect we’ll make do in the future with the cats we have then, not the cats we will fantasize about.

However, Bradshaw does deserve credit for the arguments he makes which are convincing. Cat Sense delivers enough compelling evidence about how stressful dealing with strange (non-related) cats can be for our pets that it has led me to reevaluate my desire to have a house full of kitties. Bradshaw also scores with his reasoned, rational dissertation on the problem of cats as wildlife murderers; he looks past the hysteria in order to search for real evidence that cats are as guilty as charged. (He finds a few suggestive studies, but surprisingly little hard evidence).

Overall, Cat Sense is probably best viewed as a step forward--not a giant leap forward in our knowledge about cats and their place in our world, but progress nonetheless. Cat enthusiasts should read it, for there is sure to be something they can take away from the book that will refine their understanding of the lions in their living rooms. For others, the recommendation depends upon the reader’s tolerance for text that leans more towards the scholarly and away from writing for the vulgar masses. Know yourself, and maybe your cat, and then you’ll know whether this book is truly for you.