My Cat From Hell - General Discussion

[possibilities]

Anyone have ideas for a cat who seems to have some sinus trouble, causing her to find her food bland? She seems peppy and healthy in general, just a little stuffy, which I think is causing her to not be able to smell/taste her food enough to find it appealing. She doesn't seem to have a cold or to be sick at all. I think it's probably more allergy than infection.

[Bastet]

How sure are you on it not being an infection, because URIs (upper respiratory infections) are common in cats.  They're usually caused by one of four viruses, herpes being the most common of those (there's a blood test to identify what's present); the virus mostly lies dormant, and then flares up when the immune system dips for some reason -- like the majority of humans harboring HSV-1 and thus getting a cold sore when our immune system is busy elsewhere, most cats have been exposed to the feline virus, and may, in times of strain to the immune system, get some or all of the symptoms including runny eyes, congestion (ranging in severity from something you can only detect with a stethoscope to something readily apparent), and sneezing, and may develop a secondary infection if left untreated.  Not being able to properly smell their food keeps them from properly eating it; this can even become a severe problem, where serious congestion leads to not eating at all, despite being hungry.  L-Lysine can knock back a mild flare-up of the virus, and a targeted anti-viral (e.g. Famciclovir) can take care of the more significant ones.

Whatever the cause of congestion, steam can help alleviate the symptom -- sitting in a closed bathroom with the cat and cranking the shower up to hot, holding her/him at a safe distance from a facial steamer, etc.

[possibilities]

It's true I'm not 100% sure. Her eyes are clear, and not runny. And she ate well today, so I'm hoping it's passing. But if it keeps up, I guess I will have to get her checked out and see if we can pin it down more. I might try the lysine, too; I always forget about that, but it's a pretty easy thing to try. Can cats handle vitamin C? I definitely have some of that around.

I'm not actually seeing any runniness or nasal congestion. I just have a feeling it's her sinuses. I could be wrong. I could also be projecting. My eyes are itchy. Something is pollinating out there and it's a bummer to breathe it.

[SRTouch]

Whoa, I had flashbacks when they showed Mr Weasley collapse. Years ago my Sammy did the same thing when she played hard. Sammy would play fetch with soda bottle caps as a kitten, run run run across the room for 30 minutes chasing  the cap, walk it back, then take off running when I threw it again. When she was about 9 months old, she collapsed, panting, and couldn't walk for a few minutes. Only happened a couple times, but scary... diagnosed with a heart murmur. At the time, she was put on meds for a couple months. For awhile she was a very expensive stray kitty, several trips to the vet for tests - at first weekly, then monthly, then a couple times a year. Like I said, the vet stopped the medication after a couple months and said she'd live a normal, though maybe not long life. She only collapsed a couple times, both times before she was a year old. Then, when she was about 13yo I came home from work and found her dead in her favorite nap spot - still love that cat.

Edited July 16, 2017 by SRTouch

[Bastet]

Cats generally don't need any extra vitamin C beyond what they're getting in their food and their body is synthesizing; deficiency is rare.  But most cats can be given a vitamin C supplement without issue, because it's water soluble -- the extra is not stored in the body, but is just peed out.  I believe there are some chronic conditions for which it's nevertheless contraindicated, though.  So, for most cats: no harm, but no evidence of benefit, either.

[LittleIggy]

3 hours ago, SRTouch said:

Whoa, I had flashbacks when they showed Mr Weasley collapse. Years ago my Sammy did the same thing when she played hard. Sammy would play fetch with soda bottle caps as a kitten, run run run across the room for 30 minutes chasing  the cap, walk it back, then take off running when I threw it again. When she was about 9 months old, she collapsed, panting, and couldn't walk for a few minutes. Only happened a couple times, but scary... diagnosed with a heart murmur. At the time, she was put on meds for a couple months. For awhile she was a very expensive stray kitty, several trips to the vet for tests - at first weekly, then monthly, then a couple times a year. Like I said, the vet stopped the medication after a couple months and said she'd live a normal, though maybe not long life. She only collapsed a couple times, both times before she was a year old. Then, when she was about 13yo I came home from work and found her dead in her favorite nap spot - still love that cat.

Aww, I know how much you must miss her. My cat Sigurd plays fetch too! He likes for me to slide poker chips across the floor for him to chase and return.

[possibilities]

I don't usually like cat clothing, but I kind of dug Weasley's tie.

I was not sure about this week's episode. It didn't really seem like either case was resolved, or if it was, we didn't see it.

The cats with pica-- what changed the woman's mind about how much work it was to pica-proof the house? And why did they stop chewing the couch and the carpet? We saw them with the tiny bit of grass, but that hardly seemed like it would be enough when they had previously been chewing the entire house.

And Good Kitty, Sleeve, and Tiny Dancer still seemed to be in conflict. The people said they still attacked every time they were in the same room. We saw Good Kitty being attacked even inside her tunnel and on her high shelf. Jackson had more faith than I did that it was a happy home just because Good Kitty hissed back two times.

I wonder about the shelter that adopted out to a suicidal person, or how the vet decided that instead of killing herself she would adopt a cat.

Is it true that dogs don't stimulate oxytocin the way cats do? I thought it was the unconditional love and the cuddle effect, not just the purring, that was responsible.

Interesting cases, but bad editing and unsatisfying storytelling this week.

[possibilities]

Anyone have a favorite lysine cat treat? I could just get the powder and put it in her food,  but I thought it might make sense to try some stand-alone treats I can give her in case she gets a stuffy nose and doesn't want to eat.

Right now she seems fine, but I decided to get some now, for the next potential sniffle.

[possibilities]

Anyone have a favorite lysine cat treat? I could just get the powder and put it in her food,  but I thought it might make sense to try some stand-alone treats I can give her in case she gets a stuffy nose and doesn't want to eat.

Right now she seems fine, but I decided to get some now, for the next potential sniffle.

[LadyNebula]

Mike looks soooo familiar.  What band is he in?

[possibilities]

This was a good episode to end the season with, all feel good and no villains.

The cat/dog friendship was, as all the "cat from heaven" segments, adorable and sweet. I've seen cats and dogs be friends before, but it was still fun to see the pictures. I like it when cats are comfortable traveling, also.

That animal sanctuary looked like a place I'd like to visit someday. And again, no villains.

In the family with 4 cats, again we see that people tried really hard, even hired professional for advice and did what they were advised, and it didn't solve their problem. Then Jackson shows up with his usual recommendations, and voila! He really needs to start a school to train other people to be cat problem solvers, because clearly there are not enough people watching the show to make a dent in the professional, nevermind lay person, level of stumpedness. I liked how one of the cats kept sticking his face in the camera and meowing at it. They usually try to pretend there's no camera around, but they left it in this time and I think it really worked because somehow that cat was so funny. You could practically hear him saying to the camera operator "Dude, stop staring! Come over here and pet me instead!"

[LittleIggy]

I had an Italian Greyhound who adored cats. I got Claudia when she was a puppy. I already had a six year old Siamese, Ming Li, who accepted her. Claudia could lick Ming Li and, later the other cats I had, in the face. They would just push her away, no claws, when they got tired of it. She would want to "kiss" any cat she met. I miss Claudia. She died 5 years ago at age 17.

Tigger and Buddy were beautiful cats. Glad they can live large as seniors with only a few "get your nose out of my butt" (good one, Jackson) moments to harsh their mellow.

Edited July 23, 2017 by LittleIggy

[Guest]

On 7/16/2017 at 1:34 AM, possibilities said:

 

The cats with pica-- what changed the woman's mind about how much work it was to pica-proof the house? And why did they stop chewing the couch and the carpet? We saw them with the tiny bit of grass, but that hardly seemed like it would be enough when they had previously been chewing the entire house.

There was about a 3 second clip of them with a bag of what I thought was edible dog toys. It went by really fast so I'm not positive.  If you sneezed, you missed it. I don't have a dog, so I don't even know if such things exist.

[katisha]

Very late to the Season 9 party but I have just finished watching the episodes over the last three or four days and I have to say I really enjoyed this latest outing of MCFH.  Thank the gods, they have stopped doing that pseudo-serious drama building thing where every house Jackson visits, it was made to feel as though there was a life or death situation of, "If I don't sort this out, there'll be a divorce/Cat X will have to be rehomed/Flatmate X is going to move out of the house/Cat Y may have to be put down/insert problem."  It wasn't believable and if I wanted fake drama there are innumerable "real" (chortle) housewives shows I could watch to get it.  I prefer my animal shows a lot more genuine. 

Too many highlights to name but I adore the My Cat From Heaven segment too.  I keep hoping that someday, somehow, Jackson will come to Australia and visit Catmantoo and his awesome kitties Didga and Boomer.  That would be absolutely beyond wonderful!

Edited November 2, 2017 by katisha

[chenoa333]

On 11/2/2017 at 10:08 AM, katisha said:

Very late to the Season 9 party but I have just finished watching the episodes over the last three or four days and I have to say I really enjoyed this latest outing of MCFH.  Thank the gods, they have stopped doing that pseudo-serious drama building thing where every house Jackson visits, it was made to feel as though there was a life or death situation of, "If I don't sort this out, there'll be a divorce/Cat X will have to be rehomed/Flatmate X is going to move out of the house/Cat Y may have to be put down/insert problem."  It wasn't believable and if I wanted fake drama there are innumerable "real" (chortle) housewives shows I could watch to get it.  I prefer my animal shows a lot more genuine. 

Too many highlights to name but I adore the My Cat From Heaven segment too.  I keep hoping that someday, somehow, Jackson will come to Australia and visit Catmantoo and his awesome kitties Didga and Boomer.  That would be absolutely beyond wonderful!

Thanks for the link to the Catmantoo website! Awesomeness!

[katisha]

On 04/11/2017 at 8:22 AM, chenoa333 said:

Thanks for the link to the Catmantoo website! Awesomeness!

You're more than welcome. :)  I especially think it would be great if Jackson could somehow do a show with Catmantoo because it would be a way to expand upon ideas to do with cat training.  If you take Didga, who is just an ordinary rescue moggy (what we sometimes call ordinary non-purebred cats in Australia), and look at what he has been able to achieve with her in a couple of short years, I think it would give a lot of people a new perspective on the subject because people just assume you cannot really train cats much.  Oh, and I'd also love it if Jackson could visit Cole and Marmalade and their humans.

Edited November 5, 2017 by katisha

[SRTouch]

2 hours ago, katisha said:

You're more than welcome. :)  I especially think it would be great if Jackson could somehow do a show with Catmantoo because it would be a way to expand upon ideas to do with cat training.  If you take Didga, who is just an ordinary rescue moggy (what we sometimes call ordinary non-purebred cats in Australia), and look at what he has been able to achieve with her in a couple of short years, I think it would give a lot of people a new perspective on the subject because people just assume you cannot really train cats much.  Oh, and I'd also love it if Jackson could visit Cole and Marmalade and their humans.

Ah, my favorite black  (Cole) and orange (Marmalade) kitties - safe to say cuz none of my five are black or orange... ah but sorry, Didga, you may be smarter - ur, I mean better trained - but Princess and Furby are still my favorite tabby white faced kitties

[msrachelj]

when does the new season start?

[izabella]

Has anyone seen Jackson's new show, "Cat vs. Dog"?  I just watched the first episode and loved it!  He and a dog trainer named Zoe help pet owners whose cats and dogs aren't meshing well.  I really like them together.

Is there a forum for that show?  I searched, but couldn't find anything.

[SRTouch]

35 minutes ago, izabella said:

Has anyone seen Jackson's new show, "Cat vs. Dog"?  I just watched the first episode and loved it!  He and a dog trainer named Zoe help pet owners whose cats and dogs aren't meshing well.  I really like them together.

Is there a forum for that show?  I searched, but couldn't find anything.

Yep, been watching, and there is actually some discussion about the show. Thing is, to find the discussion you have to look search a little. Click on forums button, scroll down towards bottom and find Misc TV Talk, click Genre Talk and finally click on Veterinary and Animal Rescue Shows ... current discussion is, I believe, on page eight

[possibilities]

I didn't even know that show existed! Thanks for the tip!!

[Thrifty]

I have two cats, Naja Salaheem and Shikaree Z.  They are named after video game characters. 

 

Naja is a male orange tabby who is probably born around May 2016, guessing from his size when I got him last January.  So I guess he's about 1 year and 8 months old.  I got him from an ad on Craigslist.  Just bought him for 15 bucks from some girl.

 

Shikaree was born April of last year and is about 10 months old.  She still has some kitten time left in her.  I bought her at a local pet store, because I take a very dim view of pet rescues. 

 

The kitties get along pretty well most of the time.  They play fight a lot, usually one session in the morning and another in the evening.  Sometimes they fight over turf.  They have a big tall cat tree, and both cats love it on top.  Usually they're good at sharing but sometimes one cat is up there and the other one decides he wants to be up there.  It's all in good fun I can tell, because it never gets loud.  Sometimes Naja will play a little too rough, Shikaree will yowl, and Naja will back off.

 

I procrastinated in getting Shikaree spayed, then in November she went into heat for the first time.  I had never seen a cat in heat and I thought it was the cutest thing.  The yowling, the affection, the frog pose.  I hesitated to get her spayed because I loved how cute this was, but eventually she started peeing all over the place, so I went ahead and got her the surgery 2 weeks ago.  Now she's got that bare patch on a shaved belly, and it's weird to look at.

 

Here are some images, behind spoiler tags because they are really big.

 

Naja

Spoiler

 

Shikaree

Spoiler

 

Both together

Spoiler

[Pippin]

Look at all these adorable fur-babies!

I have lived my life with cats, I have had eight so far who have all passed on to the Rainbow Bridge.

Now I have a little lady cat named Slavia, who was given to me by a friend.  Slavi was rescued from a hoarding situation, and apparently she spent the first two years in a house basement.  My friend had her for a while, but when she got a dog, Slavi couldn't cope.  She spent most of her time hiding, which is no life for royalty (which all cats are, let's be honest). 

So I adopted her.  The first few days she was with me, she spent it hiding in a kitchen cupboard.  I tried to think of what Jackson would do, so I spoke gently to her, gave her treats and then began gently patting her, but not for extended lengths of time. She came out of the cupboard and has not been back since.

She loves to cuddle in the crook of my arm while I'm watching TV.  She grooms me, too, and when I go to bed, she follows.  When she wants attention, she sits at my feet and ME-OOOWs!  (She's doing it right now).  She also "talks" while she carries her toys in her mouth.

Slavi is a bush cat; she doesn't seem to care to perch high up; the couch and the coffee table are high enough for her.  So I don't know whether a cat tree would be a useful investment.  And since I'm on a limited income, I have to consider expenses carefully. Any thoughts on how I can enrich her environment?  We have toys aplenty, but since she's about 8 years old, playtime doesn't last long.

I would send you a photo of my baby girl but she's completely black and since I'm a lousy photographer, all you'd get is a black blob. So you just have to take my word that she's just the bestest girl ever.

[Pippin]

Well, congratulations, Jackson.  You made me cry.  When little Mohito (sp?) the "different" kitten) found her home and then a friend, I teared up.

Sniff!

And I've seen Cat vs. Dog and liked it, too.  My experience has always been that cats and dogs get along fine, (with the cat usually being the boss) but obviously that's not always the case.

[possibilities]

Two new episodes aired tonight.

[LittleIggy]

Loved Skinny the former fat cat. Wonder if he was formerly owned by an elderly person who kept forgetting she had just fed him...

[bmasters9]

2 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Loved Skinny the former fat cat. Wonder if he was formerly owned by an elderly person who kept forgetting she had just fed him...

Could have been, therein belying his name-- it's a miracle, however, that with the hard work of that Dallas vet, he seems to no longer be belying his name. 

[TattooFan]

I loved the Cole and Marmalade segment!  I’ve been subscribed to their YouTube channel for years.  I’m glad that Jackson appreciates their spay and neuter work and that he made a video with them.

[possibilities]

I love that the show is featuring happy stories and heroic cats, to balance out the problem situations.

[msrachelj]

some of these cat guardians are really pretty ignorant aren't they? the couple with the 2 girls could't figure out their cat was a kitten and wanted to play? you know maybe adoption places, shelters and breeders should have basic cat care giving /instruction/info books to give out or sell. jeez.

felt so bad for the cat with mental health issues. i wanted jackson to ask them has this cat not ever been to vet ? had they mentioned to the vet about this "aggression" and if so, why he/she did not recommend meds?

this show is getting really too full of the "suspense" and "reality" bullshit aspect. i wish it weren't formatted like this. makes jackson look stupid. and wtf?!!!  the sitting down with head in hands for way too long, when you know after commercial it will be on the way to being solved.  the stupid moments of lingering on him or the cat parents and the mock "suspense" . lets get this show on a more realistic mature level people. this is so dumb. it really made him look like an idiot when he believed that one cat performed cpr on his owner by jumping a few times on his chest. 

this kind of idiocy is ruining a show where people can actually learn how to take care of their cats mental and physical problems , how to catify, how to play properly etc. 

[PupCal]

I don't trust the dad in the Bowie segment one bit. One more "attack" and that gorgeous cat is gone.

[LittleIggy]

It was wonderful how Johnny turned around. The foster mom did a good job with her.

[possibilities]

I had started to worry that the neighbor who brought her in was lying about her back story.

I am glad the foster mom had a mellow resident cat who could be trusted to help. I thought it was clear that the bite was because Johnny was upset to be "abandoned" again-- you're taking away my new friend! I just lost my old friend! Why are you doing this? LOOK AT ME!!!

It has to be really hard to not be able to communicate with the people who control your life.

---

Lately we're seeing some "normal" cats whose people just have no idea what they're doing. It's sad. I wish there was more widespread education about this stuff. I have yet to meet a single person who watches this show or has even heard of it, and there are so many sad stories around, people just don't know what to do, and getting them information is not easy. You can't just tell someone to watch a million episodes and see if they get a better understanding. And many times they've asked vets for help and not gotten any. We need a book that really spells it out, and a widespread education initiative that really reaches into communities. It's crazy how much suffering and confusion is going on that really doesn't have to.

Edited September 9, 2018 by possibilities

[AZ Curls]

I agree with everyone here about the lame stories of, "I just got a kitten, I'm not playing with it, I'm not researching what kittens do or need, It's biting my family, It's scratching the furniture, If Jackson doesn't fix it it's going back to the shelter!" stories.  Are people really this dumb? 

And also am I the only one who looks at people's couches on this show to see if they are intact?  I have amazing cats, but my couches (made of what looks to be corduroy) are all torn up.  I've heard cats don't scratch velvet, but I don't really want a velvet couch. 

Also, that cat from heaven story with the couple who adopted siblings separately made me cry. 

[BookWitch]

So what happened to Henery? The cat that was peeing on everything for being stuck inside? I got to the part where they discovered the other cat outside that was bullying him but I had to leave before I saw the end.

[ratgirlagogo]

Why is this season not listed on IMDB?

[possibilities]

They re-air the show later the same night, if you miss the first airing.

Henery stopped peeing right away, after the following interventions:

His people played with him twice a day to "drain his hunting energy" and get his stress out.

They also put up those puffed air deterrents in the areas he was peeing, and also outside, to chase off another cat who was beating him up when he went outside, and who was hanging around the house "threatening Henery's territorial security"

They used chicken (high value treat) to train Henery to wear a harness so he could go outside on leash walks with his person.

[LittleIggy]

I loved Charlie the foster dad cat. What a sweet fella!

What are those air blowing things called? I need to get one because my cat Sigurd jumps up on my  tiny kitchen counter. Drives me nuts.

Edited September 16, 2018 by LittleIggy

[CrazyInAlabama]

To answer the velvet couch question, yes they do scratch velvet.    A friend adopted a cat as an indoor only (cat was at the shelter, declawed long before, and people wanted to adopt it and let it out) because she would never let it out.     Within a few years her antique velvet couch had bald arms, and some other places.   It looked like it had mange, but the cat still looked lovely, and happy.   Poor couch.    

I felt so sorry for the cat that couldn't even go in it's own yard because of a wandering bully.   I'm glad they helped him.

[possibilities]

That story about the cats and dogs in the prison was the best thing ever.
This show does a lot of manipulative staging, but still-- that was the best thing ever.

 

I've decided I'm glad they are showing some stories of basically normal cats whose people just don't understand them. While it's true that people with extreme problems need help, there are a lot of people who really don't know what to do with average everyday cats, and stories about those families will help a lot of people who may never actually come up against anything extreme but still aren't coping. Even people who go to the vet aren't getting any answers.

I wish Jackson would say what cat books he recommends. I find most cat books are really quite stupid and useless. When he said he was going to send books to the prison, I was hoping he'd say what authors he likes. I've found a few, but the majority are worthless.

[LittleIggy]

Otitis was beautiful. I have a blind cat. Aemon Targaryen looks different because he has micropthalmia, but his sweet face is what drew me to him. He keeps up with my other three cats just fine.

[TattleTeeny]

Loved that teenage boy with the glasses in the episode with the veteran's therapy cat--that kid was diligently keeping track of what was going on with the cats in that home! Also loved that that family had no intentions of rehoming anyone and was already committed to keep trying, with or without Jackson!

Edited September 28, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[LittleIggy]

That woman who fed her diabetic cat lasagna and other stuff was annoying. Didn’t she say she was a med student? Wouldn’t want her for my doctor.

[Chellichik]

14 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

That woman who fed her diabetic cat lasagna and other stuff was annoying. Didn’t she say she was a med student? Wouldn’t want her for my doctor.

Agreed - I can't believe she was feeding her cat Stouffer's Lasagna.  Dumb.

[SRTouch]

On 9/29/2018 at 10:54 PM, LittleIggy said:

That woman who fed her diabetic cat lasagna and other stuff was annoying. Didn’t she say she was a med student? Wouldn’t want her for my doctor.

My word, this woman was hard to watch. Did she just say that cat got up to 25 lbs? Granted she's not a little cat, but she's not a Maine C*** - she's just plain FAT! Wonder what she weighed during filming - they may have told us while I was fast forwarding through this nonsense. Not sure why they showed this cat - I guess maybe as a wakeup call to folks owned by fat cats? Thing is, nothing Jackson could say was new to her - obviously she knows the cat is fat and that what she's feeding is all wrong. Even if she didn't already know, the cat is under a vet's care - no doubt her vet has already told her everything Jackson said (geez, she tests blood sugar several times a day and it's sometimes too high to even register as anything except HIGH!!! Watched just a few seconds of the second visit. Right after Jackson says the cat looks as fat as ever, as he's reaching to pull out his tablet to view the homework - there's the cat eating from a bowl on the freekin' couch!  Anyway, that was when I bailed and hit FF and skipped the rest of this "Owner From Hell"

Edited October 2, 2018 by SRTouch

[Bastet]

I only saw the final minute or two as I waited for the next show to start (I used to love this series, and still love Galaxy's work, but drifted away from the show for the repetitiveness and the faux drama) and I couldn't believe how high an insulin dose she was happy to be down to.  Yes, it was an improvement over the even-higher starting point, and that's great, but holy shit.  That was FAR more insulin than the average insulin-dependent diabetic cat needs, which means she was not feeding him properly.

Sometimes diet - ultra-low-carb, moderate fat, and high protein (a caloric composition which several high-quality commercial foods supply better and via far better ingredients than the prescription stuff, so there is NO reason to shell out for that junk food at gourmet prices) - isn't enough to get a diabetic cat off insulin, but it often is.  You're just a straight-up ass if you don't try, because even some cheap foods might help.  Lasagna?!

At least she, per posts about scenes I didn't see, was testing the blood glucose level, because at that high an insulin dose, and especially if she's tinkering with his diet, the risk of hypoglycemia is higher, and she needs to be on top of it rather than flying blind.  But, damn.  Feeding lasagna - a food which does not remotely comport with a cat's natural diet - to any cat, but to a diabetic cat?  That's frightening.

Edited September 30, 2018 by Bastet

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I only saw the final minute or two as I waited for the next show to start (I used to love this series, and still love Galaxy's work, but drifted away from the show for the repetitiveness and the faux drama)

Same here - tonight was another example of why I am drifting away - 1st case was simply telling the woman with the obese diabetic cat to get her head out of her a$$ and to do what she already knew to do - and no doubt what her vet had been telling her all along - 2nd case same old story of a cat peeing because of cats (and other critters) coming into his territory with the usual catification/expanding his territory and putting out deterrents to keep others off the doorstep/porch/patio.

[LittleIggy]

I think “Garfield’s” mom just wanted to be on TV. She sure piled on the makeup for her little update video.

[Rlb8031]

On 9/30/2018 at 1:03 AM, SRTouch said:

My word, this woman was hard to watch. Did she just say that cat got up your 25 lbs? Granted she's not a little cat, but she's not a Maine C*** - she's just plain FAT! Wonder what she weighed during filming - they may have told us while I was fast forwarding through this nonsense. Not sure why they showed this cat - I guess maybe as a wakeup call to folks owned by fat cats? Thing is, nothing Jackson could say was new to her - obviously she knows the cat is fat and that what she's feeding is all wrong. Even if she didn't already know, the cat is under a vet's care - no doubt het vet has already told her everything Jackson said (geez, she tests blood sugar several times a day and it's sometimes too high to even register as anything except HIGH!!! Watched just a few seconds of ghe second visit. Right after Jackson says the cat looks as fat as ever, as he's reaching to pull out his tablet to view the homework - there's the cat eating on the freekin' couch!  Anyway, that was when I bailed and hit FF and skipped the rest of this "Owner From Hell"

My impression is that this year the cats are far less "from hell" with exotic mental or physical issues or breed specific behavior issues and are more like what an average vet would see in their practice/ cat owner would complain about. I feel like Jackson is saying: "Yes, there are tons of obese cats. They are obese because of the crap their owners feed them. Even seemingly "smart" people (like med school students), can be dumb, clueless and myopic when it comes to their pets. Do better stupid people."

[possibilities]

I think it's helpful to showcase common problems, and not only the extreme cases. It might help more people with run of the mill problems to find solutions.

I really like this season. It still has some of the signature Animal Planet manipulative editing for drama, but they've toned some of that down, and I like the mix of happy stories added to the problems.