A majority of cats in all groups were at least moderately affectionate with the children. Specified cats were significantly less likely to be very affectionate with severe ASD children when compared with the specified cats for the less severe ASD or typically developing children ( p< 0.040). However, the likelihood of the cat being quite affectionate or moderately affectionate with the child did not differ among groups. To clarify the characteristics of a cat that make it a desirable companion for a young child, we designed a 39-item web-based survey in SurveyMonkey directed toward families having an adult cat and a child diagnosed with ASD. The survey included the stated requirement that participants had to have a child within the age range of 3–12 years and a cat at least 1 year of age. We distributed the web-link and solicited participation via listservs and groups serving families that have children with ASD. The survey did not require details on the child’s diagnosis. This survey was available for responding May 2013 through June 2014. Liane Holliday-Willey, EdD, author of Pretending to Be Normal: Living with Asperger's Syndrome and Safety Skills for Asperger Women: How to Save a Perfectly Good Female Life Here's a delightful book explaining the traits of Asperger's Syndrome, with short, simple text over illustrative and cute pics of kittens and cats. It's obviously aimed at children but it wouldn't be a bad first place to start learning as an adult and it only takes a few minutes to read cover to cover. The idea probably came from the quote "Cats are autistic dogs," which is quite apt... Casey RA, Bradshaw JWS. The effects of additional socialization for kittens in a rescue centre on their behavior and suitability as a pet. Appl Anim Behav Sci (2008) 114:196–205. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2008.01.003

Parents described the special role of the cat for the child with the following sample of quotations: “When the specified child is upset, the cat will sit by or in the lap of the specified child.”“The only time we get to hear our autistic child spontaneously speak is when he is interacting with this cat.”“He is non-verbal and doesn’t sign for much, but he does sign for his kitty numerous times each day!”“My son just likes to look at the cats and talk to them.”“He will sit and read to the cats although you can’t understand what he is saying.”“The specified cat helped my child say new words.” Viau R, Arsenault-Lapierre G, Facteau S, Champagne N, Walker C-D, Lupien S. Effect of service dogs on salivary cortisol secretion in autistic children. Psychoneuroendocrinology (2010) 35:1187–93. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.02.004 Solomon O. What a dog can do: children with autism and therapy dogs in social interaction. Ethos (2010) 38(1):143–66. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1352.2009.01085.xAlthough dogs have the capacity to perform useful tasks and are more interactive with people than cats, they require more attention and care, and some parents reportedly find their ASD child is more compatible with a cat, or that a dog simply would not be a feasible companion for their child ( 2). In some other contexts, cats have been found to be a better lifestyle fit. For example, people with AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), who have cats are reported to enjoy their cats, find them comforting, and are spared concerns of many dog owners who are expected to fulfill their dogs’ needs for exercise and being taken outdoors for elimination ( 8). Middle-aged women who were caregivers at home for an elderly family member with Alzheimer’s disease reported that, for them, a cat was a more compatible and satisfying pet than a dog ( 9). Having had cats was even found in one study to be associated with fewer deaths from heart disease than having had a dog or no pets ( 10). It also states that the first signs of Aspergers are detected when the person is very young. I only partly agree, because while those signs might exist at an early age, they are often not recognized! There are many people who only discover their AS as adults. Fearfulness, toward visitors, was categorized as: very fearful (runs away and stays hidden); fearful (runs away, eventually comes out); moderately fearful (may or may not hide depending on who is present); relatively non-fearful (greets most, but not all, visitors); and non-fearful.

Now that I have known Kathy’s Cat Book for many years and have put many hours of work into translating the new edition, the question is: Have I grown tired of reading it? Compared to all the other books I have read, this is the one that made me feel good about my diagnosis. To be explained away by a label can be dehumanising – because we are more than just medical advice or science. It also does not cover up challenges as being a ‘super power’. Autism is not a fairytale. And I feel this way of thinking does more harm than good. Of the specified cats that interacted with the specified child the most, the median age range was 4–6 years. Male neutered (42%) and female spayed (42%) accounted for most specified cats. A majority of the cats (52%) were domestic shorthair. The Cat’s General Behavior with the ASD Child and Typical Children The UC Davis Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved a written informed consent waiver because of the anonymity of participating parents since no identifying information was requested in the survey. Participants were informed that they were participating in a research survey, and by completing the survey, they were consenting to the use of their responses in a study analysis. Participants were required to be 18 years of age or older to submit the survey. Delightful colour photographs of cats bring to life familiar characteristics such as sensitive hearing, scampering at the first sign of being stroked, and particular eating habits.Touching, humorous and insightful, this book evokes the difficulties and joys of raising a child who is different and leaves the reader with a sense of the dignity, individuality, and potential of people with AS. Most of the ASD children (55%) always or usually wanted to hold, pet, snuggle, or sleep with the cat (Table 2). However, the median range of time these children were reported to actually spend per day with the cat was just 1–2 h. Only 25% of these cats slept in the child’s bedroom. Despite the child’s strong interest in the cat, most of the hours of the day most cats spent much of their time apart from the specified child. Of the 19 specified cats that were very affectionate toward the specified child, not all were affectionate toward adults, as indicated by only eight of these cats (42%) being very affectionate toward adults ( p< 0.05). The same was true for other children in the family ( p< 0.05). Thus, these very affectionate cats were more affectionate to the specified child than to adults or other children in the family. Among the 19 cats that were very affectionate to the specified child, five (26%) were over 6 years of age; 31% of the remaining less affectionate cats were over 6 years of age (ns).

It is relevant to point out that cats vary a great deal in affection and aggressive behavioral predispositions toward family members. This variability is also evident when comparing purebred cats ( 11). Selecting a purebred that is genetically predisposed to be affectionate and comforting could play a role in the assessment of which cats would be most likely to be best for a child with ASD. An extensive study on cat breeds revealed that the most affectionate, socially outgoing, and least aggressive, breed is the Ragdoll. While not approaching the Ragdoll in the absence of aggression, the popular domestic shorthair also was rated as very affectionate. In terms of sex, neutered males were rated as being more affectionate than females. Although genetics and gender are important, so also are the manner in which the cat is reared and managed and the ways in which humans behave toward the cat. Castelli P, Hart LA, Zasloff RL. Companion cats and the social support systems of men with AIDS. Psychol Rep (2001) 89(1):177–87. doi:10.2466/PR0.89.5.177-187 The descriptions of autism are astute, humorous and encouraging for the autistic person and their family.’ This updated edition of the bestselling All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome provides an engaging, gentle introduction to autism. So when it came time to update my book to current terminology and sensitivities, I was faced with a very difficult task to get things right, especially knowing that word usage and correctness changes regularly.Much has happened in the field of autism since 2006, and Kathy has gently and with great care updated the book and adapted it to the societal development, which naturally affects our understanding of and approach to autism. One of the important changes is that the book is now gender neutral, as it has been increasingly recognized that autism is not gendered. The language has also been adapted to today’s social understanding and recognition of diversity. In my translation, I have had a lot of focus on the fact that this is also reflected in the Danish version. Kathy Hoopmann wrote in 2006 the classic All Cats Have Asperger’s Syndrome, a book that has a very special place in my heart. It came out shortly after my son was diagnosed with autism and the book was a huge help in introducing him to autism in a positive, funny and appreciative way. Some of the photographs are also funny. If you can’t laugh, you’re going to go mad; it is an antidote to dark times. This book provides exactly that. Bennett PC, Rutter NJ, Woodhead JK, Howell TJ. Assessment of domestic cat personality, as perceived by 416 owners, suggests six dimensions. Behav Processes (2017) 141(Pt 3):273–83. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2017.02.020

In both phases of this study, a minority of cats was reported as sometimes being aggressive with the specified child, adults, other children, or other cats. Importantly, aggression was not heightened with ASD children. Consistent with other studies, a somewhat higher proportion of cats were affectionate with adults than the specified child (Table 5). Yet, most cats were affectionate with the ASD child, a somewhat surprising result given earlier reports of cats more often approaching and spending longer times with adult females rather than other family members ( 12). Over decades, Turner ( 20) conducted extensive studies of human–cat interactions, clearly revealing that either the cat or the person can initiate the human–cat interaction, that this affects the subsequent duration of the interaction, and that both parties play very active roles in the interactions and relationship. Further studies using methods similar to those of Turner could clarify the exact nature of the interaction between cats and ASD children. of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United StatesAll-new cats take a playful look at the world of autism, and these fun feline friends will strike a chord with all those who are familiar with typical autistic traits, bringing to life common characteristics such as sensory sensitivities, social issues and communication difficulties. Woodgate RL, Ateah C, Secco L. Living in a world of our own: the experience of parents who have a child with autism. Qual Health Res (2008) 18(8):1075–83. doi:10.1177/1049732308320112 Many children seek an affectionate relationship with their cats and may benefit from the affection, but their desires are often not fulfilled. Cats that are affectionate to adults, but that are not affectionate to young children, may not tolerate attempts to be held by a child. Some well-known rearing practices of kittens, that would logically predispose cats to being affectionate to young children, are socially habituating (socializing) kittens to several young children and even dogs and other cats. The early weeks of cats’ lives are known to be a sensitive period for inducing friendly, affectionate behavior in cats ( 21, 22). In this study, Phase 1 gathered data in a web-based survey on the nature of cat–child interactions in families with an ASD child. Most behavioral questions pertained to the extent to which the cats’ characteristics were: very affectionate, or at least moderately affectionate, low in fearfulness, and relatively non-aggressive with the children. Two questions concerned the responses of the children to the cats. We then explored similar questions in Phase 2, by virtue of direct structured telephone interviews of adults in families with children who have ASD, comparing cats’ interactions with children with confirmed diagnoses of severe ASD or less severe ASD as well as a sample of families with typically developing children. Materials and Methods General Methods for the Two Studies All Cats Are On The Autism Spectrum is out today. An update of All Cats Have Aspergers Syndrome, this has been a book I have known about pretty much since the start of this blog; Jayne Dillon, the voice of Jessi Cat, mentioned this to me in an interview. And I was delighted to review the book. First Impressions