1. What was the inspiration behind the book?
There were at least two factors that influenced us to write this book. For one, we know that a lot of pet owners have looked at the professional version of this book, “The Merck Veterinary Manual,” a standard reference for veterinarians for more than 50 years. We believed that a version of the book written in everyday language would be helpful for pet owners.
We also looked at a number of other pet health books and believed there weren’t any that covered as many types of pets, and that covered their diseases and disorders in as much depth, as we could with a consumer version of our professional book.
2. What was the most difficult part of putting the book together?
We worked with more than 200 veterinarians who contributed to the book. Coordinating their contributions and making sure these experts had the chance to review the revised material was a real undertaking. Also, the professional version of the book has only one illustration, so we had to develop suggestions and detailed descriptions for the many original illustrations that we wanted to accompany the book.
3. What was the most rewarding part of compiling the book?
We truly believe we are contributing to the health of pets with this book, which is definitely rewarding. Our main goal is to increase pet owners’ understanding of the causes of disease in animals and how they can be prevented or treated. Helping owners better communicate with and understand their veterinarians will lead to a better quality of life for their pets and more years of healthy companionship.
4. What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback we have received so far, including an article that just appeared in The New York Times, has been overwhelmingly positive. What means even more to us is the enthusiasm expressed by many of the pet owners who have had the chance to look at the book and always seem to respond, “I can’t believe no one thought of this before!”
5. What is your writing/editing process?
For this book, we had an original source for most chapters from the professional book, “The Merck Veterinary Manual.” That material was rewritten to remove or explain technical, medical terminology. We also added new material including illustrations, tables and sidebars to highlight aspects of the text. In some cases we consulted with other veterinarians to write entirely new chapters on topics, such as the routine care of cats or traveling with pets. Once each chapter was written, we both edited it, then had it reviewed by an expert in the topic to make sure each chapter was as up-to-date as possible.
6. Do you have any other books?
As editors, we also produce “The Merck Veterinary Manual,” a professional reference book on animal diseases for veterinarians. These books are a part of the family of manuals published on a not-for-profit basis by Merck & Co. Inc., and include best-selling human health references for physicians and consumers, such as “The Merck Manual,” “The Merck Index” and “The Merck Manual of Medical Information.”
7. Do you own a cat or other pets? Tell us a little bit about them.
Scott: I have two cats, Ben and Jerry. They’re tabby-colored littermates I adopted from a local humane society. They have very different personalities, but both like to jump on my lap whether I’m on the couch or at my desk. I also have a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Gromit.
Cynthia: Although I’ve shared my home with cats (and many other types of pets) in the past, my son and I currently have a mixed breed dog, Beau, which we adopted five years ago. He’s a 50-pound ball of energy who views his mission in life as keeping the chipmunks out of the backyard.
8. Do your pets influence your writing?
Do you mean, apart from the times they walk across the keyboard? We face the same issues as other pet owners — deciding what to feed our pets, which vaccines to give them, how to train them and when to adopt new treatments. That experience helps direct the topics we cover in our publications.