Book excerpt: Cats are cuddly and adorable, but they are often misunderstood. Sadly, many cats are relinquished to shelters or rehomed due to normal behaviors that are incorrectly treated or mishandled. In this book, Elite Fear-Free and Low-Stress Handling Certified author Alana Linsay Stevenson empowers cat parents and teaches them how to address and modify challenging feline behavior. You will begin by learning basic kitten care and feline developmental stages; how cats differ behaviorally from group animals, such as dogs and people; feline body language; and how cats handle stress. Alana provides concise instruction on how to gently handle cats: how to pick up and carry them, acclimate them to carriers, the use of towels, alternatives to scruffing, and how our body language affects cats. Packed with photographs for visual reference, this book offers clear guidelines and easily implementable strategies for resolving feline behavioral problems, such as: failure to use the litter box play aggression petting aggression inter-cat aggression furniture scratching jumping on counters obsessing about food night wailing fear of people aggression to strangers The content is organized by topic for easy access to information, as you need it. The Good Cat Parent’s Guide to Feline Behavior Modification is for anyone who likes cats and wants to learn more about them. Whether you are a veterinary professional, a volunteer or shelter worker who regularly handles stressed cats, or a cat parent who simply wants to understand your cat, you will find helpful and useful information at your fingertips to give cats a better quality of life. No cat parent should be without this book!