My Cat From Hell - General Discussion

[possibilities]

I agree so much about cat nutrition, but I am so used to people overlooking this or flat out denying it, that I wasn't even going to bring it up!

 

I subscribe to the philosophy here: www.rawfedcats.org which has done miraculous-seeming things for my cats, but it's a very controversial subject and I bet the show would lose sponsors if it addressed anything that might impact the cat food companies, even something less radical than raw feeding. It's a rough spot, because things like the (adorable) Puppy Bowl are sponsored by Purina, and I think Animal Planet depends on those kinds of deals also.

 

Feline dental care would be a helpful topic. I have never brushed a cat's teeth but I know someone who brushes her dog's teeth and I have known many cats who developed tartar and gum disease from eating soft (or crumbly) food all their lives (which is what 99% of cats eat). Unless he's going to advocate the raw diet (which I doubt), an annual cleaning under sedation seems like the only option. But maybe he has tips for brushing a cat's teeth?? I'd love to see that! I imagine it could be rather amusing.

[Mindymoo]

I brush my cat's teeth. I have a little silicone toothbrush that I wear on my finger, and I put a malt-flavored toothpaste on the tip of it. They actually love it, and it is cutting down on the breath stink department. In Jackson's book, from what I recall, he actually did somewhat advocate a raw fed diet for your cats. But just like he doesn't advertise his Spirit Essences on the show (which actually have worked wonders for my Floyd) I also don't see him advertising the raw diet here either.

[Mindymoo]

Here are my Figaro and Floyd. Floyd loves to paint pictures on the iPad.

[Bella]

One of my cats had diabetes. If nothing gets you going on the nutrition front, that will. I yanked the dry food and he went into remission for 2 years, then lived another 4 after that being mostly healthy.

 

But I don't think we'll see a nutrition show for the very reason Possibilities mentioned: Animal Planet advertising. Jackson has his Cat Mojo videos on YouTube, and there he addresses a lot of the issues like free-feeding, etc., that we'd like to see. However, those are only about 4-6 minutes long.

[Dagny]

Cat introductions are a bitch. I've never managed it. It's another reason to get bonded pairs from a rescue group - pairs can be hard to place, and no one wants to break them up. Plus, it's cute that they already love each other.

 

I've fallen on the bad habit of just bringing the new cat in and let the grumpiest win. Fat old cat dominated Skinny.  I gave her places to jump on to get away from Fatty. Fluff was Skinny's sister, but ended up at a different home for a year. Fluff beat up Skinny, but kept away from Fatty. More cat trees keep the peace. Skinny lost points when she walked up to Fluff, sniffed her nose, swatted her and took off.

 

I've been doing the multiple cat trees in the house and playing with the cats. It does wonders.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

I'm sorry that I expressed a wish a little while ago that this season would change up the "Fix the cat or I'm moving out!" situations. Jerk owners are not an improvement.

Hmlm, I think they've never had any shortage of jerk owners on this show, Pump's owners just being the most extreme.  There was the redhaired bearded guy that's part of the title footage, the one who was so excited about getting to use the airhorn to keep the cat out of the bedroom.  Several who like Wolfie's owner loved their cat's bad behavior because they loved the idea of being asshole, whoops, I mean badass owners of badass cats.  That dimbulb girl who had the male indoor/outdoor cat that she was unable to keep from escaping her apartment and had never had neutered.  Etc. Etc. Etc. 

 

This whole episode felt slightly phoned in to me.  Did any one else kind of doubt that much progress was really made with the two Savannahs?    Also felt that Wolfie's litterbox issues had more to do with box design and placement than the show kind of glossed over.  The most refreshingly unique aspect of the whole episode was that Jackson did NOT ulitmately jump out of a plane, as people always do on these goddamned reality shows.  Such a relief.

Edited May 1, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[Captanne]

Having been around animals all of my life (both farm and home-dwellers), it never ceases to amaze me how selfish human beings can be.

 

If the cat is behaving abnormally -- that is not for your entertainment or to weirdly make you feel somehow better about yourself.  The cat is not all about you.  The animal and is telling you something is bothering it.  Jesus, either get out of your own damned egotistical personal drama for five seconds or you don't deserve to be responsible for another independent life.

 

>snort<

 

ETA:  Now that the caffeine is kicking in, I'm adding:  Much like the court system, it's unfair to expect humans to be super-humans.  It is, however, fair to expect them to use a standard of reasonable care.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Captanne

[Bella]

 

Coco is a vicious cat; Foley the cat is dividing newlyweds Joseph and Ruth.

 

[Bella]

Talk about Seasons 1-4 here.

[possibilities]

Poor Foley! Whatever vet ruled out epilepsy but didn't notice he'd had a stroke? IDIOT! Why are so many vets LAZY IDIOTS???? After all his falls, Foley probably had multiple head injuries/concussions, too. At least his people were compassionate and not idiots. I would have wnated them to make sure Foley slept on the floor, somehow (maybe a room with no higher places to go?) but Jackson's enclosed sleeping bed was a good idea, too. And the melatonin was such a simple thing; I'm glad they found something so benign to reduce the flailing. I hope Jackson puts feline stroke rehab info on his website.

 

It seemed to me that Tawny and her family (of origin) may have never had a pet before. I kept wanting Jackson to ask her if Coco was her first animal. Her husband seemed to understand the cat more, but I felt like their marriage was weird because he wasn't able to show her how to approach Coco, even though he knew how. And she was so stiff and cold, even after she said things were better with the cat; it's like the humans were not even able to fake being relaxed around each other, even when they weren't fighting about the cat.

[Captanne]

I loved the Foley story and was fascinated by the "vet".  What vet would look at that cat -- its dehydrated body and its bad hips; that was a sweet but decrepit looking indoor 13 year old -- and not think of some sort of neurological or stroke issue?

 

What?  How did that happen?

 

I tend to think this is a "phantom" visit to the vet, if you get what I mean.  Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

 

I question it mainly, because there was no mention of a second opinion.  A cat with those dramatic symptoms and one vet tells you, "Gee.  It's a mystery!" might warrant finding at least one other vet.

 

That said, I'm delighted for Foley and his family.  I liked all three of them.

 

Anyone else amused but not surprised that there is a "thing" known as "cat sleep expert"?

 

The Coco story was so formulaic, I ff'd through bits of it because, *yawn*.  Ridiculous wife, earnest husband, acting-out cat with a sob story.  

Edited May 4, 2014 by Captanne

[ratgirlagogo]

 

I tend to think this is a "phantom" visit to the vet, if you get what I mean.  Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

I'm not sure I do.  You mean they didn't really go to the vet initially, before the show, as they said they had? Or that the vet somehow did an MRI and missed evidence of a STROKE?  Or that the vet didn't really do any testing?    In any case they should permanently switch to the second vet.

 

As I wrote on TWOP:  what was the point of visiting the first couple at the fire station?  What would Jackson possibly learn from that, unless they also keep a cat there?  The only point that might have been made, and wasn't, was that likely the firefighter's wife is alone with the cat (i.e. feels trapped in the house alone with the cat)  a lot because firefighters spend so much time away from home.  The show kind of hinted at that as the problem - that it was clearly more the husband's cat than the wife's and they needed to change that.

[Captanne]

I mean they lied.

[Galloway Cave]

I can imagine there are a few vets out there who would just blow off the "night terrors" statement as 'The cat is chasing bunnies in his dreams" rather than taking the time to fully investigate the problem. I've had to change vets for exactly that reason. I guess the owners didn't realize there are crappy vets out there.

 

Foley looks just like my Duchesne, so it really broke my heart to see him in such distress. I really like that puzzle mat and need to add it to the 4,295 other cat toys in my house.

 

Coco's mom was an idiot. You can have a cat in the house, but you don't have anything in the house for the cat? It boggles my mind that these people think they can have a pet in a sterile environment and everything will be ok.

[Bella]

And now I really, really, really want to see Jackson help find a lost cat, or talk to people who've lost their cats and found them, or just find a way to address the whole topic.

 

Mine are fine, but my neighborhood listserv just posted about a lost cat. There have got to be tips he could share in a special episode or segment that would make recovery of these animals a bit more likely. Microchip, post photos all over the neighborhood with some at kid's eye-level, ask other neighbors with cats to watch to see if their animals behave as if there's another cat outside, etc., etc., etc.

 

This is very frightening, and it would be a big service for him to take this on. (Says the woman whose cat disappeared for a few hours last fall and ended up being found napping behind the dryer.)

[Bella]

I had to change vets when my old one stood up for a staff member who screwed up and lied about it. Long story I don't care to go into - it was painful and difficult, as I'd gone to this vet for 25 years and she'd worked miracles. Even good vets can make mistakes and drive owners away.

 

I can't get around to watching this episode until later today, and it's driving me crazy because I had a cat with seizures at one point and I really want to weigh in!

[Bastet]

That would work well in an episode about a formerly-outdoor cat who is pitching a fit at being kept inside, or any cat prone to "door dashing" -- it would be a good segue into tips for finding a cat that gets out and doesn't come back on her/his own.  I'd love to see him include the trick on searching with a flashlight in the dark because the light will reflect off the cat's eyes.  I found my own cat that way when he and his partner in crime pushed out a window screen and went exploring while I was out; she came back as soon as I came home, but he was hiding behind a bush in the neighbor's backyard (ignoring the crazy lady running around the block in the middle of the night calling his name and shaking a bowl of dry food).  And among regulars on a pet forum I participate in, a surprising number of people have found their cats the same way.

[possibilities]

I'd love to see Jackson talk about this issue, because there are so many layers and side-concerns (like how to convert a cat who's had outdoor roaming privileges to an indoor-only situation, chipping, tracking, door-bolters...). I used to have a link to a site that specializes in finding lost animals, but I can't find it now. I do remember that their tips included flyering not only the immediate neighborhood, but also PHONING and flyering every vet and shelter and animal control office in a surprisingly large radius (I think it was 50 miles). Sometimes people will either find an animal and turn it in to their own vet in another town, or the cat will have traveled a shocking distance on its own. Offering a reward to someone who brings the cat home safely or gives you info that helps you do so, I think was another one-- you may have locals who've seen the cat but assumed it know what it was doing and was not lost. Also, having a current photo as well as a description on your flyer. I can't remember what else they suggested. But I think having a list of scent-trackers who would be willing to bring their dog to help search would be god, for animals that are missing for more than a short time and haven't been found yet. There is also woman here who has wildlife cameras and she found a surprising number of cats when she set them up in our neighborhood-- cats no one knew were here.

 

The way Jackson tasked Foley's people with spreading the stroke awareness info, I think his show could teach people about options like this, and it would b great if it meant there were eventually more people who did this stuff. I mean, I would never have even thought of using wildlife cameras until this woman in my neighborhood was doing it.

[possibilities]

Has anyone found the cat activity rug featured in Foley's story? I don't see it on Jackson's site or the Animal Planet store page.

[SunShine Gal]

I'm glad you all are talking about Foley. Seeing that cat flailing when asleep would make me seek help long before it got that bad. It looked like Foley was having seizures. I'm SO glad to find out that the melatonin is working for them. Foley looks like he's doing much better. Being able to truly rest while he sleeps AND having a cat bed with sides to keep him from falling. Poor little guy.

 

It's nice to see a story on this show that's different than the "HELP my fluffy is attacking me" and "Mr. Chuckles is spraying the walls and terrorizing Party Girl" stories that are the usual. Foley's problem is something we hadn't seen before on this show. Very informative. It'll help cat owners who have experienced the same problem. Also good to know the remedy is easily affordable and do-able.

Edited May 4, 2014 by SunShine Gal

[Galloway Cave]

I did a quick Bing search and found a reference to the episode where the rug made it's first appearance. Another blogger made a screen-grab of the loop rug and said the rug may have come from Target and the toys were just regular cat toys pushed through the loops. 

[possibilities]

Thanks!! I wish Jackson would explain this stuff on the show, or at least in his blog afterwards. If he wants people to be able to duplicate his solutions with their own cats, it would make a huge difference to see the up close details.

[Bastet]

Most cats that are located are found within something like a seven-house radius of home, but some travel astounding distances, so the recommendation is actually to contact all shelters within 100 miles!  And to visit local ones daily, rather than relying on the website or information given over the phone.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Bastet

[Galloway Cave]

I was thinking the same thing. The lady who does the catification stuff has some cool ideas (like the screens to block the stove hood in the first episode this season). I'd rather see some pictures about those things than cat shaming photos!

[Bella]

Jackson and the catification lady have a book coming out in the fall, which should address some of this.

 

I wonder if he's been told to hold back some of the self-promotional stuff by APL. I buy his Spirit Essences for my cats, and they work pretty well. Sometimes we see the bottles sitting on people's coffee tables, but the labels are obscured.

[Bastet]

If a vet was given a proper explanation of Foley's symptoms and didn't realize there was a neurological problem that required further investigation, that vet would have to be incompetent.  And, like every profession, veterinary medicine does have incompetents among its members.  But I wonder if Foley's owners did a poor job of explaining all Foley's problems and instead just talked about him going crazy in his sleep, without getting the point across this is not just a cat who startles himself awake from a dream and in so doing falls on the floor (which my Baxter used to do from time to time) but one who routinely moves so violently in his sleep that he falls off things -- and does not wake up even upon landing on his head.

[Galloway Cave]

Great, I'll have to pick up the book when it comes out. I already have some pretty impressive projects for Duchesne but I'm always on the look out for more!

[Captanne]

Bastet, that's exactly why my Bullshit Alarm is going off.  However, I was really impressed with those owners because they seemed to really love that cat, understood it is a fellow being for whom they are responsible and went to the ends of the earth (almost literally) to get him the help he needed.

 

I just find it hard to believe a vet "missed" Foley's problems, went so far as to rule out epilepsy and then sent this feeble old cat home with no diagnosis.  

 

That just doesn't compute.

 

I find it much more plausible that no vet was every really consulted.

[possibilities]

Sadly, I have dealt with numerous vets who couldn't diagnose even the sickest cats. I think they are so used to seeing cats who arrive at the clinic stressed from travel that they think all cats look wretched and miserable.

 

One cat had been vomiting bile for a week, hadn't been able to keep any food down, and to my eye looked grossly unlike herself (bleary eyed, rough fur, moving badly, etc). My preferred vet (2 hours away) had seen her already, but we needed more blood work, so I took her to a local vet for the labs. The local vet didn't believe me that the cat was sick! She was a very nice person and did the tests I asked for, but she simply did not see what I and the other vet who knew the cat from past experience thought was obvious. Finally we got a specialist to do an ultrasound and found the cause of the problem, but three different vets before that had seen her, and only one of them took me seriously or could see with their own eyes that the cat was actually sick.

 

A friend of mine took her cat to a vet because she knew he was sick and the vet denied it was anything serious. The cat died within a couple of hours.

 

So my opinion is that it is very possible to take a cat to a vet and have the vet not see what you see, or understand what you are explaining to them, especially if it is something unusual that they haven't seen before.

[Captanne]

My God, possibilities, that is the stuff of nightmares.  :-(

[Bella]

Try getting good advice with a diabetic cat. Most vets will freely admit that that's a difficult situation, and in fact most of the practical info on dealing with feline diabetes is passed along by other owners through the Internet. My Eddie lasted 6 mostly good years after he was diagnosed, and my vet was mostly useful in prescribing the insulin. Past that ... I ended up firing her for other reasons.

 

Eddie looked just like poor little Coco, btw. Why have a cat if you're not going to give it toys and an appropriate environment? 

 

And poor little Foley! Was that ever a case of needing a second opinion or what? I do believe that the owners took him to the vet, though. Just the wrong vet. Poor baby.

[Bella]

Since so many people on this show are clueless about creating cat environments, I'm showing our "tasteful" cat tree in the transition area between the dining area and living room.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Bella
image disappeared

[possibilities]

I think it's the same with kidney disease. I'm not sure why, but it seems like cat "owners" are much more likely to keep up with current research than many vets are, and therefore can be better sources of info in some cases.

[Bella]

Oh, yeah, I forgot all about kidney disease. Most vets give advice based on a 1960s study of dogs, and it's bass-ackwards! They tell you to give a low-protein diet, when you should give a high-quality high-protein diet. That was another case in which we got the numbers back down by following online advice. My vet admitted that there was controversy and she didn't know which side was right! I guess I should give her credit for her admission, because it led me to do my own research and make the right decision.

 

That's one where Foley's owners should have taken more initiative - there's lots of information online and many other owners willing to help.

[Galloway Cave]

My two cat perches. The first one includes tube, race track, perch, bookcase and Eye-in-the-Sky; the second is a series of shelves leading to the cabinet top with a condo, scratch post and tube. All for one very spoiled rescued feral cat named Duchesne.

 

http://i.imgur.com/I3HIoEV.jpg

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2014 by Galloway Cave

[cmahorror]

Thanks, Bella.  It was especially hard since my husband(who passed in 2005)and I adopted her from the shelter, and she was kind of my last link to him.

 

Condolences on your loss Smittykins. I understand completely, I lost my husband in 2006 and I had to put to sleep the dog we adopted together a year and half later (advanced stomach cancer). To say I was a wreck about it would be an understatement.

 

My first cat is Socks and I got him at 8 weeks old, 5 months after my husband passed (he was not a cat person lol). He spent his first year strictly around dogs so he used to think he was a dog. Not long after I had to put my dog to sleep, my best friend got divorced and she moved out. Her ex-husband kept throwing their cat, Freddy, outside so she asked me to take him in temporarily until she moved to a place she could take him. That was 8 years ago and he is now my cat.

 

I love my cats so much! My Freddy sleeps at my feet every night. I recently had some minor surgery and was off work for a couple of weeks and both were my constant companions - taking turns sleeping with me. When I went back to work, they looked at me with such betrayal! When I come home at night, they are both waiting at the door for me. I cannot imagine my life without them.

[Dagny]

Coco's mom was an idiot. You can have a cat in the house, but you don't have anything in the house for the cat? It boggles my mind that these people think they can have a pet in a sterile environment and everything will be ok.

 

You'd think that she would watch her husband interact with the cat and follow along.  This is how most people learn. You observe and mimic.

 

There really needs to be a go page for people on this show:

1. Cat peeing or pooping out of box? Check to make sure no outside cats, add litter boxes and change litter.

2. Cat attacking? Play with the cat more. Don't use your hands. Put in lots of cat trees and shelves.

 

The stores sell tons of cat toys. It's really easy to pick one up when buying the wrong cat food or litter. See what the cat likes to do. It is actually fun playing with the cat. Right?

[Bastet]

I did my own research on feline kidney disease when Maddie was diagnosed five years ago (my vet was quite frank that she felt the standard protocol was rubbish, but wasn't well-versed in what it should be) and wound up putting together a memo and spreadsheet on the dietary needs of a renal kitty that my vet now hands out to clients with newly-diagnosed cats.

 

People should be able to rely upon the advice of the medical experts who have knowledge and training a layperson lacks, but they also must be proactive in their own health and that of their pets.  It's inexcusable that a vet didn't spot a neurological problem in Foley, but I also fault them for just accepting the non-diagnosis.  Knowing something was terribly wrong with their cat, they ought to have sought out a second opinion and done some independent research instead of waiting until they could get advice - and air time - from Jackson.

 

But it was nice to see people dealing with an unusual problem, and one that wasn't created by their own ignorance.  I grow so tired of episodes featuring people who are complaining about behavior they could have easily avoided had they bothered to learn the very basics of cat ownership.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Bastet

[Bastet]

Baxter used to practically do a jig of glee when he realized I was staying home sick and thus he'd have me to lie on all day long.  But he was also quite an empathetic cat; when I had a migraine, he'd curl up on the pillow, forgo his usual loud purring in favor of the silence I needed and tuck a paw under the cool cloth on my forehead. 

[Captanne]

I don't mean to belabor the issue but ....  The thought process went thusly?

 

Owner:  "Hmm.  Old cat very sick.  Let's go to the vet."

 

Vet:  "Looks fine to me!  Night terrors, feeble hips, droopy eyelids* and dropping from great heights onto its head seem normal to me!  That'll be $50.  Have a nice day!"

 

Owner:  "Okay!  Thanks!  Let's see now -- cat is still sick.  I know!  Rather than go to another vet, let's make home movies and send them to a television show where we will be one of a thousand families sending in videos of their cats.  Maybe, after a few months, we'll be chosen to go on TeeVee!  And then, finally, when we are we can see a Cat Behaviourist and a Cat Sleep Expert, because, really, who needs a Doctor for this sort of thing?"

 

I mean -- that makes no sense.  None.  Not one whit.

 

*Was I the only one who noticed Foley's droopy eyelids?

 

What I'm saying, Bastet, is that along with "liking" your post, I Totally Agree.  (LOL!)  Much as I liked the owners, I cannot give them a free ride in this ridiculous situation -- the only one who suffered, after all, is poor old Foley.

 

Thank God for melanin and the Cat Sleep Expert.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Captanne

[Bella]

Just learned that my vet practice is taking part in a clinical study of an appetite stimulant for cats with kidney disease. They're in Arlington, VA. If this is something you'd want to participate in, PM me and I'll give you the link.

[Bella]

Apparently Jackson is using his fame and name recognition to help develop and promote a new line of cat toys. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/my-cat-from-hell-returns-and-jackson-galaxy-unveils-new-cat-play-products

 

The line will be officially unveiled in July and available for purchase in the fall.

 

I'm guessing that we'll see some prototypes on the show. That would explain why none of us could find that activity rug from the last episode. It will also be a good marketing opportunity for him and his investors/partners.

[ratgirlagogo]

One of my friends had an indoor cat that fell six stories off the fire escape.  A week and a half after plastering the neighborhood with posters, alerting all the storeowners, etc.,  one of the guys in the carpet store next door to her building moved a big carpet roll and my friend's cat bolted out of it.  The vet figured he must have run right into it after his fall - poor little guy was still in shock, but other than a broken canine he was OK.

 

Edited to add, yes, lost cats would be a good topic for this show.

Edited May 9, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[Bella]

Wow, that's scary, ratgirlagogo. One of my neighbors just caught her lost cat by setting out cat traps of the kind they use for feral cats. Her cat went into the trap right outside the woman's home.

 

Another topic might be how to calm cats that are in a rescue situation, like in a foster home or shelter awaiting adoption. I've done work with one of those rescue groups that goes into disaster areas to save pets, although I've yet to deploy to an actual disaster. Our stance is that by taking care of their pets temporarily, we give people one less thing to worry about while they put their lives back together. This is stressful for all of the animals, but especially the cats. How do you optimize a lousy situation like that? I'd like to get Jackson's take on that. He says in his book that he began by working with shelter cats, so he probably has lots of ideas.

[Bella]

 

Little cat Littlez is a big terror; Whisky poops anywhere, everywhere and on whomever.

 

[ratgirlagogo]

Where on earth are these poor people finding all these terrible vets?  How could a vet not pick up that poor Whisky had a physical problem?  Weren't  the couple that owned Foley (whose vet didn't pick up that the cat had likely had a stroke)  also in Austin?  Doesn't speak well for Austin's vets.

 

I think Jackson making a deliberate effort to get clawed by the aggressive cat in each episode is getting old.  The cat is terrified, you offer your hand to him, he lets you have it.  Really, Jackson, we got it the first time,

 

Also, Jackson finally mentioned his Spirit Essences on camera and acknowledged they were a product he was selling.  A new era begins.

Edited May 11, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[Bella]

I think Jackson making a deliberate effort to get clawed by the aggressive cat in each episode is getting old.  The cat is terrified, you offer your hand to him, he lets you have it.  Really, Jackson, we got it the first time,

 

Also, Jackson finally mentioned his Spirit Essences on camera and acknowledged they were a product he was selling.  A new era begins.

 

I totally agree with this. I've had my current cats for almost 4 years. The boy cat hasn't scratched me in 3 1/2 years, and the girl cat only once in that time. Could a pushy stranger like Jackson make them scratch him, though? Absolutely! The challenge line is a useful concept, but it seems to me that he finds it with each cat, then pushes beyond it deliberately and for the drama. I do not believe he needs to push the cats as far as he does with this. I've yelled at the TV "you've got the challenge line, leave the cat alone!" right before he goes in for the blood draw.

 

We use Spirit Essences with great success, so I don't mind him mentioning them as long as the show doesn't turn into a Product! Placement! Extravaganza!!! That would be even more annoying than all those exclamation points I just used.

[SunShine Gal]

ITA about Jackson needs to stop provoking the client's cat to scratch him. They do the dramatic moment where Jackson shows his bleeding wound to the camera moment, but he deserved it.

 

I too don't understand how a vet could miss big clues like "sometimes there's blood with the poop" unless these people lied and didn't really take him to the vet OR they didn't tell the vet the whole story. I felt sorry for Whiskey and am glad he finally got the help he needed. Another episode where the people aren't connecting with their cat and trying to figure it out. Maybe we should keep count.

[Galloway Cave]

I liked that Jackson spent time showing the owners how to do injections at home. So many people don't know how and are intimidated, even after the vet shows them how to do it. 

 

Jackson can show the cat is aggressive without getting within scratch range. I don't understand the need to draw blood every time. In fact, I'd be more impressed if he DIDN'T draw blood with a cat we already know is aggressive.

 

I agree, Austin vets are looking really bad at this point. But the owners were still a bit dense. Painful stinky poos should be a clue that food and health are issues. At least try switching food and get a second vet opinion on the poo. I was also not understanding how the other owner thought a can of puffed air would discourage a cat from running through a yard. The sprinklers were great but the alarm would probably piss off a neighbor at 3:00am.

 

My mom's cat gets very car sick when traveling so I may have to get a bottle of Jackson's Spirit Essence for her to try.

[Bella]

 

I liked that Jackson spent time showing the owners how to do injections at home. So many people don't know how and are intimidated, even after the vet shows them how to do it.

 

I can pill any cat that will let me pet it, and I still think giving shots is easier. That first week was rough, though. I can see where people would give up.