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Ellen Perry Berkeley

Maverick Cats

Ellen Perry Berkeley, formerly a senior editor at The Architectural Forum in New York City, has lived for more than two decades in Vermont. Her observations in Vermont of feral cats (domestic cats gone wild) led to the writing of Maverick Cats: Encounters with Feral Cats. (hardcover, Walker & Co., 1982; paperback, New England Press, 1987). The encounters of the subtitle are partly her own, partly those of scientists and other observers around the world.

In addition to her writing on other subjects, for many publications, she has written on feral cats for Cat Fancy, Cats Magazine, I Love Cats, and Country Joumal. Her 1984 article in Cat Fancy on the neuter-and-return of feral cats was the first in an American publication on this humane method of controlling feral cats.


The value of Maverick Cats to nature enthusiasts and cat-lovers is attested to by the glowing reviews it has received:
    "first-rate in every way ... entertaining, informative, well-researched, thorough ... a definitive work" - Cat Fancy
    "amusing portraits... intriguing information" - The New York Times
    "a solid and valuable contribution to our understanding of feral cats .... With their warmth, wit, and style, [the] chapters on individual maverick cats must be classed with the finest of all writings about cats" - Defenders (magazine of the Defenders of Wildlife)
    "a great book for cat lovers, but also one naturalists will find credible" - Modern Veterinary Practice
    "an authoritative study" - Cat World International
    " one of the most important cat books of our times" - Cat Collectors Newsletter
    "should be on the 'must' list of every cat-lover" - Cat Fanciers' Federation Newsletter
    "At last - a cat book that delights without being cute" - Tucson Citizen
    "Berkeley has gone a long way toward setting the record straight." - BioScience (magazine of the American Institute of Biological Sciences)
    and on Library Joumal's annual list of "100 outstanding titles on science for general collections"

The paperback of Maverick Cats is widely available through bookstores, at $12.95, online from Amazon.com, or directly from the publisher (New England Press, P.O. Box 575, Shelburne, VT. 05482)

Re-use must be authorized by Ellen Perry Berkeley in writing

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