PETiQuette, by Amy D. Shojai

PETiQuette is a must-have book on pet behavior, whether a household contains cats, dogs, or a combination of both. This book provides the knowledge you'll need to prevent many types of behavior problems, and will be an invaluable reference when behavior problems do arise.

PETiQuette is organized into six parts for easy reference:

1. Understanding Competability
2. The Multidog Household
3. The Multicat Household
4. The Dog-Cat Household
5. Common Multipet Frustrations
6. Appendixes

From the title throughout, Shojai makes use of acronyms, to whet interest and to make the information easier to remember. For example, the P.E.T. test, stands for Physical Health, Emotional Well-Being, and Traits of Instinct as guideline phrases for figuring out the "why" of a behavior problem. Understanding the "why" can help in determining a solution.

In considering the addition of a new pet to the household, Amy offers the L.E.A.S.H. technique for making the best match to the existing tribe. L.E.A.S.H. stands for

Lineage
Environment
Age
Sexual Status
Health

The sections on cats full of tidbits of information I'd never seen before. Do you know why black cats adjust more readily to multi-cat households? Which parent a kitten will inherit "boldness" from? The two major personality types of cats? Amy Shojai provides the answers to all these questions with detailed explanations. Do you have a cat that suffers from depression or grief over the death of another cat? Is your cat a "shrinking violet," or unusually fearful? Solutions to these problems and many others are available in this book.

I highly recommend PETiQuette to all pet owners, both new and experienced.