I had high hopes that this book would provide some insight into cat communication, and perhaps some additional understanding of cat behaviour. I was disappointed that the book is focussed on the analysis of cat vocalisations - precisely what they sound like - with much less insight about what they mean. The research seems to be anecdotal based on a small number of cats that the author is familiar with, rather than based on broad studies. Overall I was disappointed and skimmed most of the book.

"Every cat develops a systems-together with their humans, as well as possibly with cats they are close to-that allows them to communicate in a unique and special way."

Well researched and on-going in-depth study into understanding how domestic cats communicate with humans. The study "Melody in Human-Cat Communications" (Meowsic) explore various sounds, situations in which they occur, variation and personal experiences with the aid of video and audio recordings.

The Secret Language of Cats was a far more complex that I imagined when I selected it. While the academic approach with thorough examples and outline of the linguistics, phonetics, and animal behavior aspects of the study are appreciated, I found it quite cumbersome to read and digest so much information. I think going online to the research study's Meowsic site would be much more helpful to hear the sounds described rather than attempting to read the sounds.

A very interesting read, especially for any cat owner, but be prepared for a more scholarly read than easy non-fiction about our beloved domestic cats.

Wow, you can really tell that Ms. Schotz is very passionate about her work in the study of cats and they way they communicate. She is a pure cat lover. I am a dog lover. Yet, when I was younger there was some cats that graced our family. A true cat lover will really appreciate this book. In fact, it would make the perfect gift for the cat lover in your life. Whereas, to be honest, because I am more of a dog lover, I did like this book but maybe not as much as I should have. So, you may ask why did I read this book. It is because I did find the premise of the book intriguing and wanted to check it out.

After reading this book, you can say that I became more educated as well as well versed in all of the different expressions of the vocabulary that cats use. Ms. Schotz explains her research in a very easy and understandable way. As I said previously, I learned a lot about cats that I never knew before. Although, as much as I did like the information in this book; I did find that it seemed to be lengthy and after a while, I found it hard to focus at times. Kind of skimming at times the book.

Czytałam polskie wydanie tej książki i do tej wersji się odniosę. Książka nie zawiera wielu nowych informacji o kocich zachowaniach i nie ujawnia wielu tajemnic, jak obiecuje clickbaitowy tytuł, ale jest sympatycznym wprowadzeniem do tematu kocich dźwięków, artykulacji i melodii. Autorka posiłkuje się wiedzą z fonologii i własnych badań oraz obserwacji przeprowadzonych na własnych kotach i czyta się te części bardzo dobrze, choć momentami widać, że wiedza autorki o behawiorze kotów (np. ich zapoznawaniu) jest dość fragmentaryczna a miejscami opisy zachowań własnych kotów są sprzeczne (po ośmiu dniach koty się dogadaly... tylko potem trzeba je było trwale odizolować). Szkoda, ze wydanie ani trochę nie wyjaśnia kontekstu szwedzkiego albo nie podaje w przypisach porad dla polskiego: gdy autorka pisze o tym, co zrobić z bezdomnym kotem, jej rady są dopasowane do innej sytuacji prawnej i społecznej i w części nieadekwatne.

Książka niestety zawiera też sporo powtórzeń i fragmentów wypełniaczy. Już wolałabym więcej anegdot czy opisów dźwięków innych kotów zamiast porad behawioralnych dla bardzo początkujących. No i polskie wydanie obiecuje namiary na stronę internetową z nagraniami kotów... nawet mówi, gdzie ten adres będzie, a potem go nie zamieszcza. Ups.

Mimo wszystko sporo ciekawych rzeczy sobie uporządkowałam. Jakby jeszcze było więcej o różnych zwierzętach dla porównania, to byłabym bardzo zadowolona: może w następnej książce?

This was a fun book, however I found it VERY redundant.

She described the sounds cats make and the opening of their mouth a few times, and gave examples of when they make the same sounds repeatedly.

The author is obviously a very smart woman and very skilled in phonetics, but I am not sure it was enough information to fill a book.

I did however really enjoy her writing style. And really liked the stories she told about her cats. She is clearly a very caring person who loves animals.

Even though I didn't think there was a lot of information in the book, I really enjoyed reading it.

The author is a phonetician!!! This is a real ongoing linguistics research project by a real linguistics professor on cat-human vocal communication!! Genius. The narrator's reading of cat sounds in IPA was admirable but terrible. Includes stuff like a vowel chart w/overlaid cat mouth and acoustic analyses of purring using Pratt. Excellent if ur in the mood for escapist pop linguistics content!

Recently received this as a gift and it was rather apt given that I love linguistics and have recently taken in a juvenile cat from cat protection, having not cared for a cat in almost a decade. I found the phonetic approach to cat communication really interesting and refreshing, and the IPA transcriptions are really useful for discerning different sounds if you are able to/learn how to read it. I'd say it might not be up the street of people who have no interest in phonetics and it can be repetitive at points, which is why I went for 4 stars. But I am very curious about the funded research Schötz is currently conducting about human-cat interaction and look forward to reading more about it and learning more about my cat Freya's own vocalisations.