I bought The Domestic Cat: The Biology of its Behaviour in 2000, when I was studying Feline Psychology with the Animal Care College. I completed seven of the eight modules, but as my graphic design work became busier, my studies were gradually pushed aside before I crossed the formal finish line. The qualification remained unfinished, but my interest in feline behaviour never went away. Neither did the books.
This is not a list of light, general cat-care books. These are substantial references that ask the reader to slow down, look at the evidence and consider why cats behave as they do. They overlap, but each approaches the subject from a different direction.
1. The Domestic Cat: The Biology of its Behaviour
Dennis C. Turner and Patrick Bateson, editors · Second edition, Cambridge University Press, 2000
This multi-author academic collection looks at the domestic cat from kitten development through to social organisation, communication, hunting, human relationships and welfare. Its great strength is breadth: the cat is considered not simply as a pet in a sitting room, but as an adaptable species living alongside people in many different circumstances.
My copy is the second edition. It has since been superseded by a substantially revised third edition, published in 2013, so I would not use the 2000 text as my only current source. It remains valuable as a landmark in the scientific study of domestic cats and as a record of how the field was thinking at the turn of the century.
View the second edition on Amazon (affiliate link) →
View the third edition on Amazon (affiliate link) →
2. The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat
John W. S. Bradshaw · First edition, CABI, 1992
This is the edition I owned and studied from during my Feline Psychology course. It is the more conventionally structured behaviour textbook of the two, building from domestication, physiology, development and learning into communication, feeding, hunting, social behaviour, relationships with people, welfare and behaviour problems.
Its value is the connection between mechanism and meaning. Rather than treating scratching, hunting or territorial behaviour as isolated “problems”, it helps explain the systems and motivations from which those behaviours emerge. That makes it useful for anyone who wants to understand the cat before trying to change the cat.
My well-used copy contains the first-edition text, originally published in 1992. In 2012, John Bradshaw was joined by Rachel A. Casey and Sarah L. Brown for a substantially updated second edition. That newer version retains the structured scientific approach while bringing the research and welfare discussion forward by two decades. It is the edition I would point a new reader towards today, while my original remains part of the story of how I began studying feline behaviour.
View the updated second edition on Amazon (affiliate link) →
For a structured introduction, begin with Bradshaw, Casey and Brown. For the wider scientific story and a range of expert perspectives, explore Turner and Bateson.
These are study books rather than quick-fix manuals. Some sections are technical, and older editions should be read alongside current research and professional guidance.
What has changed since 2000?
The older science has not simply been swept away, but research and professional thinking continue to develop. The 2012 Bradshaw, Casey and Brown edition updates the first-edition text I studied, while the third edition of Turner and Bateson updates the 2000 collection with newer discoveries and broader welfare coverage.
The verdict
I would not choose one winner. Together, these books offer two useful perspectives: a broad collection of scientific voices and a more systematic journey through how feline behaviour develops and works.
I will review some more beginner-friendly books and resources in the future. In the meantime, these are the two books that helped me most during my course and introduced me to a more scientific way of thinking about feline behaviour. They are not light reading, but if you want to take your understanding of cats further, they are well worth exploring.
The more closely we study cats, the less mysterious they become, and the more remarkable.
The Amazon links above are affiliate links. If you buy through one, Crafty Cat may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.