The Veterinarians' Guide to Your Cat's Symptoms 
To know when cats are acting oddly, you need to know what normal is. The Veterinarians' Guide to Your Cat's Symptoms starts off describing a healthy cat body, from skin, hair, eyes, ears, and teeth to the inner workings of the cardiovascular, digestive, urinary, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems. This picture of feline health is followed by a chapter on how to keep those systems healthy, with advice on choosing a veterinarian, plus vaccinations, spaying and neutering, nutrition, and litter boxes.
Part 2 does an excellent job of covering accidents, medical emergencies, and diseases that could threaten your cat. This section discusses broken bones, burns, and poisoning; conditions such as hypoglycemia, pneumonia, seizures, and pyometra; as well as infectious and parasitic diseases. For each, it tells you what to look for in your cat and when to dash off to the veterinary hospital for emergency treatment. There's a chapter on feline first aid, as well.
And if you suspect your kitty isn't up to snuff but aren't sure? Part 3 is where you can ensure that your cat's behavior is normal, with more than 130 common feline symptoms and flow charts explaining how to interpret them. Associated signs, possible conditions, and recommended actions are listed for each symptom. Perhaps your cat is showing signs of depressed appetite, with difficulty breathing and possibly coughing as well. These could be signs of cardiac disease, pneumonia, or even lung cancer, and a trip to the emergency clinic for x-rays is strongly suggested. On the other hand, maybe your cat is eating wool. The chart says this condition (termed Wool Eater, a form of compulsive behavior) is not unusual for Siamese cats, but could lead to vomiting or intestinal obstruction; the recommended action is to put the wool out of kitty's reach, and maybe see a veterinarian for behavior-modification medication. Symptoms such as depression and lethargy are treated in depth, as are diarrhea, gagging, lameness, nasal discharge, and various sorts of vomiting.
With appendices that list congenital defects and disorders, poisonous household products, and a glossary of veterinary medical terms, this is a remarkably useful reference for anyone who loves cats. --Stephanie Gold
Reviews
Worth the money if you own cats.
I read everything I could find at the local library concerning diagnosis of symptoms displayed by my cat. The technical books in the library were useless because of the plethora of technical terms that the average layman like me hasn't a clue on the meaning of. Also, the organization, or should I say lack of organization, of the other books made them tedious to follow. Many references and cross-references ad infinitum. I had to tease out answers to simple questions and, even then, didn't fully understand the points they were trying to make. I've had cats for most of my life and thought I was an expert, but I was stumped and worried about my little friend's symptomatic behavior. I needed help, and fast.
Five minutes with the guide to symptoms by Garvey, et al, answered my immediate question and led to a quick solution. The book is filled with well rendered drawings that illustrate and complement the text. The people who put this book together obviously know cats intimately and understand cat behavior. The writing is easy to understand and to the point. It also explains the "whys" behind the facts. The table at the back is both comprehensive and easy for the average reader to understand. This is a book to be USED, not just read.
No book is perfect but this one comes close and gave me what I needed. ....I'm totally satisfied with it.