So, who is Jackson Galaxy and why do I love him?
First, Jackson is a man who LOVES cats. Second, he is a man who understands and
respects cats. Third, he helps people resolve seemingly impossible
behavior problems with their companion cat.
Jackson isn’t formally trained as a behaviorist. There are no initials of higher learning
following his name. His knowledge is
based upon personal experience (he worked for many years in a kill shelter),
his skill as an incredible listener and observer, and his very strong desire to
prevent the needless killing of cats who are viewed by their guardians as
impossible to live with.
Jackson Galaxy is the host and expert on Animal Planet’s My
Cat From Hell, which airs new episodes on Saturday evenings. I must admit, as someone who is catcentric, I
was leery of watching this show when it premiered. The demonization of cats is everywhere and I
am, frankly, sick to death of that mindset.
Add to that the fact that many of Animal Planet’s latest new series
focus more on the bad/nasty/evil side of animals or truly stupid reality shows,
I figured this show would fall into that category as well. Oh My Cat was I surprised, pleasantly
surprised. Jackson’s show should be
mandatory viewing for every living person on the planet.
Each week, Jackson visits two
different homes and helps the people better understand their cats and the
reason for the cats’ behavior. Nearly
every person he works with, while glad to see him initially, are skeptical and
often rebellious toward the advice he gives them. He is amazingly patient with these
people. I, on the other hand, want to
yell, scream and punch these people for their utter stupidity. While not directly saying it to the people,
he shows them that they and not the cat are the PROBLEM! It is obvious to me that, unlike me, Jackson
keeps his eye on the prize – keeping the cat alive and happy in a good
home. None of the people appearing on
the show are bad or evil people, they are just utterly uninformed and have
unreasonable expectations for their cats.
Often they attribute characteristic human behavior to their cat because
they simply know nothing about non-human animal behavior and are especially
ignorant of cat behavior.
Each new episode becomes my new
favorite. The July 21st
episode was no exception. The first cat
we meet is Finn, a handsome gray and white domestic short hair. He cries incessantly during the night,
preventing Lara and David from sleeping.
To remedy “the problem”, they close him in the guest bathroom, which
they call putting Finn in “kitty jail.”
The couple is arguing over Finn and they are on the verge of splitting
up. In the second half hour, we meet
Molly who lives with a very stylish couple and a young Abyssinian cat. The husband is frustrated with Molly’s
behavior and talks of possibly having to “terminate her.”
In addition to Finn’s nighttime
vocalizing, he urinates on the rugs in front of two bay windows. The woman tells Jackson that Finn goes
outside on the patio and recently stopped venturing over the wall surrounding
the patio. He no longer disappears for
hours at a time. They attribute Finn’s vocal
“misbehavior” to Finn “not getting what he wants”, and David says Finn is
simply “a spoiled brat.” David feels
they are bending over backwards to accommodate Finn.
Jackson suggests putting litter boxes
in both of the areas where Finn is urinating.
He also suggests building a catio (an enclosed area outside) while also
adding a motion sensor sprinkler to deter intruders. Jackson’s diagnosis is that Finn is
exhibiting territorial behavior due to a cat or cats “invading” his territory
on the patio. Lara assures Jackson there
are NO ANIMALS coming into the patio area.
The fact that Finn is “marking his territory” in response to an invading
challenger is greeted with skepticism from both David and Lara. Despite the protestations of Lara, Jackson
baits a trap to catch the outside cat or cats.
His intention is to trap, fix and return whoever he traps. And that’s just what he does.
When Jackson returns in a couple of
weeks, Finn is using the litter boxes instead of the rugs and David and Lara
have put up a screened enclosure for Finn to enjoy. Jackson is pleased with the progress and
makes a final suggestion: mimic the
natural hunt, catch, kill behavior of cats by playing with Finn to burn off
some energy, feed him and then let him groom and then sleep. With his final visit, Jackson sees a happier
and more relaxed Lara, David and Finn.
Once again there is another happy ending, thanks to the insightful
counseling of Jackson Galaxy, The Cat Daddy.
In
the second half of the show, Jackson visits Nancy and Jim whose 10 year old
cat, Molly, has become a terror to both humans and their younger cat,
Mimi. From the beginning, it is obvious
that Nancy loves her cats but she also loves her stylish home just as
much. Jim defers to Nancy’s design style,
but is barely tolerating Molly’s unpleasantness and talks of termination as a
possible solution to the problems created by Molly’s disruptive and nasty
nature. It is a classic case of “the
cat” not meeting human expectations.
Molly scratches and bites, she chews on cords and she poops outside the
single litter box. In a tightly
controlled environment, Molly is clearly “out of control.”
Jackson
listens to the list of violations, inappropriate behavior and then takes a tour
of the home. He observes Molly alone and
then with Mimi. He gets scratched by
Molly. Jackson sits down with Nancy and
Jim and gives them a “homework” list to complete before his next visit. To stop the cord chewing, Jackson tells them
to get flexible plastic tubing to cover the cords. He suggests getting several new scratching
posts, towers or surfaces to substitute for scratching on the furniture. Jackson also wants the litter box moved from
the hallway, and says to add a couple more boxes as well. Finally, he wants to rule out any physical or
health problems that could be causing Molly’s aggressive behavior and
inappropriate potty habits.
When
Jackson returns, Nancy and Jim have only done two of their assignments. There are no new scratching surfaces, nor has
the litter box been moved. They did take
Molly to the vet where she was diagnosed with arthritis, which caused her to be
in pain and exacerbated her aggression.
She also had impacted anal glands, which added to her pain when
defecating. They have witnessed some
improvement in Molly, but the situation is still untenable for all
involved. Jackson is clearly unhappy
with their unwillingness to follow his instructions fully. As is usual with the caregivers Jackson tries
to help, this couple is balking at instituting changes in their behavior. Jackson, however, is not about to give
up. He goes to his car and returns with
a litter box, which he puts in the living room.
Nancy visibly recoils at seeing a litter box in their space, not hidden
away in an unused hallway. He also
brings in two modern looking scratching surfaces. Both Jim and Nancy are surprised and
delighted when they see these more aesthetically pleasing pieces of cat furniture.
Jackson
returns in a couple of weeks and is greeted by a smiling Nancy and Jim. It’s obvious that their seemingly
irresolvable problem has been fixed.
With the addition of extra scratching surfaces and litter boxes along
with Molly’s medical problems being treated, everyone – including Molly and
Mimi – are living a much more harmonious life.
Jackson does it, once again.
There
are recurring themes throughout the episodes of My Cat From Hell. You can almost hear the clients thinking “but
I’m the human and this animal should behave as I see fit. I am the boss here.” Jackson helps his clients realize several
things:
- Every cat has a distinct personality, meaning just like
humans each cat is a unique individual.
- Cats do not behave in certain ways for no reason. It is important to understand natural cat behavior to determine the cause of the seemingly inappropriate behavior.
- Living in harmony with your cats is not a battle where the human must seek to triumph by subduing their opponent, the cat.
- Jackson knows what he is talking about. LISTEN TO HIM!
Even if you don’t have a cat, watch this show. You just might learn some lessons about
personal relationships. It’s all about
listening, observing and trying to understand each other. If we all took Jackson’s advice, we might be
well on our way to world peace. At the
very least, it’s bound to be a better world for cats.
Oh, and check out Peter Wolf's coverage of Jackson & TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) on his blog, Vox Felina: TNR in Prime Time
