Cats: Understanding, Training & Loving Them

Welcome to the world of Peter "By Their Cat Toys Ye Shall Know Them" Borchelt. In this inexpensive video, the animal behaviorist explains that by using what he calls a kitty-tease (basically a rod, piece of string, and something soft that can be batted around), we can tell many, many things about a pet or potential pet, including its eyesight quality, mood, level of curiosity, style and intensity of play, attention span, and learning ability. After determining all that, the same toy can be used to solve various kitty problems, including fear, aggression, and jealousy. Dr. Borchelt also provides very general tips on cat-selection, grooming, traveling, cat-play, and "elimination" routines. By his own admission, the portions of the program that were videotaped in his client's homes are not professional quality, but they do effectively display the topic at hand. Though presented in a rather unorganized and scattershot fashion, and contradictory on a few occasions (is an animal shelter filled with "lots of nice animals, really wonderful pets," or is an animal shelter a "risk" because of the unknown parental lineage of the stock?), his information seems for the most part solid, and his tape would circulate well. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (K. Glaser)