Thank you for writing such an extensive book on cats. I just received your book last Sat and have almost finished it - I'm the (somewhat) proud slave of a 1-yr old Himalayan cat named Sherpa and your book provided some answers for me. I do have additional questions however, here they are:

1.  You mention in your book to never flush cat litter in the toilet no matter what manufacturers say - is there a reason for that?  I've been flushing the stuff for almost 4 months now, should I worry that the drains are going to plug up?

2.  I'm trying (TRY being a key word) to train Sherpa to use the toilet and have run into a few issues.  Although I have the book "How to toilet train a cat in 21 days...", none of their tricks worked for me.  So here's my question:  Sherpa has long hair, being the Himalayan that he is, and I think that he's uneasy about having all 4 legs on the seat due to lack of traction (i.e. afraid of slipping/falling into the container).  Would you recommend  that I trim his fur between his pads/claws?

3.  While we're on the topic of trimming... he's had one too many incidents where his #2 stays stuck in his fur.  This morning he had diarrhea which pretty much spread in his fur around his anus.  Any tips?  Would you recommend a trim in that area in order to help him stay cleaner?

Many thanks and I wish you all the best with this great feline book!

Hélène from Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Dear Helene,

So glad you got The Cat Bible and are enjoying it - it means so much to hear that years of work are paying off! And thanks for your kind words on the future success of the book - it's all about word of mouth, so pass along your enthusiasm to other cat-loving friends!

Also, I would love to send you an autographed bookplate to put in the front of the book, inscribed to your cat Sherpa. Just send me your mailing address and I'll do that.

In answer to your question about flushing litter, it isn't just the drains that can clog up, it is the septic system. Although the bags say you can do it, if you consider the bulk and weight of all that stuff going through your pipes, common sense tells you that it is not what the system was intended to handle!  If your drains are okay so far I'd be grateful and stop doing it ASAP!

As for toilet training, apparently there are a rare few cats who can actually do it but from what I have learned it is generally a gimmick that doesn’t really hold up in real life. Your cat is uncomfortable up there on a seat designed for a bare human bottom! Trimming his paw fur isn't going to make that plastic seat any less slippery or improve his courage. I think sticking to the concept of a litter box is in your future.

Trimming his feathers behind isn't a bad idea to help him stay clean; however having diarrhea is a sign of a digestive disturbance that you need to address. I don't know if you feed wet food as I urgently recommend in The Cat Bible and on CAT CHAT® - if you want to know more about it, go to CatChatRadio.com and look at all the Q & A's posted about nutrition. Once he's on the appropriate meat diet and has adjusted to it, his feces should be smaller, less frequent  and no bother to either of you.

Thanks again for your good wishes about THE CAT BIBLE

Take care,
Tracie Hotchner