My Cat From Hell - General Discussion

[Lone Wolf]

I like this show but the presentation seems if anything to have gotten even hokier and more filler-heavy as it has continued...All the hyperdramatic pauses and repetition.

 

 

I was just saying this this afternoon while watching this ep.  The boy's tears and "if the cat goes, I go" in the Einstein and Izzy segment was OTT.  This show's rapidly building up the momentum necessary to jump the shark.

[riley702]

... it's always easier if the new cat is younger and smaller. 

Erm, not always. Maybe it's the exception that proves the rule or something, but anyway... I had a barn kitten rescue that was either dropped on his head before I got him or was bipolar or something, but he loved me until he hated me and attacked. Neutering didn't help. Only cat I ever declawed, and that was because he was literally shredding me. He switched to biting and grabbing me with his front paws while he kicked the hell out of me with his back claws. I decided he wanted company, so I got him a kitten - a girl. I figured between him being older and a boy, this could work. Despite ShuShu being the sweetest kitten ever, he devoted all his waking hours to trying to kill her. Not hyperbole - he was serious. He would even make that chirruping call to get her to come into the other room, where he would attack.

It got to the point where I would put them in separate rooms when I was asleep or gone. Somebody had to go. I put an ad in the paper and two college kids were tickled to death with him. I had named him Monster Baby by then. "Cool! Cat with an attitude!" They called a week later to say all was well and he was the best cat ever. *shrugs* And ShuShu and I had many happy years together.

[Dagny]

Is it my imagination or are most of the homes lacking in cat trees and toys? It seems like they don't even have a scratching post in the room. I don't know if the producers made them put it away, but there is something lacking in all of those houses.

 

It's like buying cat trees is a foreign concept.

[ASign]

I caught a marathon on Saturday of this show and fell in love. 

 

I think Brandon the firefighter and kitten-saver and cat-keeper should leave Tawny and marry me. 

[ASign]

Foley broke my heart. The idea that poor kitty suffered from whatever kitty thoughts made him have debilitating night terrors hurts my heart to think about. I know that cats don't think like humans and probably don't dream like humans but his fear was *palpable* . Poor thing.

[Dagny]

I've known people who just throw their two or three new cats together and let them fight it out, but I wanted my boys to have a good relationship, so I went with Jackson's advice and dare I say it, it worked!

 

My girls have a detente going.  They occasionally like to play, but most of it is keeping their distance. I put a bell on the aggressive one which gives the smaller one a heads up. The aggressive one has actually learned how to stalk without making the bell jungle. Lots of cat trees and giving love to the aggressive one keeps things within reason.

[possibilities]

I'd like some help with finding ways to stimulate and tire out a cat when you personally don't have the energy to play with the fishing pole or whatever  it is. I just don't have the physical stamina (muscle weakness for medical reasons) to do the game, and also it bores me to death. I love my cats but they have always managed to amuse themselves sufficiently. i think if i had one who needed me to wave a toy around, I wouldn't be able to do it. There must be motorized toys or some other method of exercising a cat to its limit, so you don't personally have to be its prey-substitute.

 

I'm great with grooming, medical care, food, and other cat needs. But not romping.

 

I solve this by adopting elder cats who are happy enough to be couch potatoes, but still-- it would be nice to have more ideas than that.

[Psychobunny]

I want to see him address something other than mean cats or litterbox issues.  My cat eats plastic bags.  (He's also eaten a rubber snake, a feather from his toy, a basket of paper "grass", dental floss and a penny (which cost me $3000 in cat surgery)).  His favorite is plastic, though.  He chews on the handles to the boxes of litter, and he opens up my kitchen cabinets, climbs in, opens the boxes with the garbage can liners, and eats them.  He doesn't just chew them either, he eats big holes in them.  I wish he'd address something like that.  (Don't get me wrong-I love my Boris-but no matter how much I catproof the house he finds the plastic anyway.  He even tried to eat the plastic bags I use to scoop the used litter into-while I am actually scooping!)

Edited June 3, 2014 by Psychobunny

[Bella]

That would be a good one, Psychobunny.

 

A friend just reported that her cat peed outside the box again. He does this every 3-6 months, so it's not a persistent problem. She's in a 4th-floor apartment, so it's not cats outside. It's easier to figure out a persistent problem, imo, than something like this. I wonder what Jackson would say.

 

I'd also like to know where he draws the line at changing a cat. What in a cat makes him say, "that's just your cat"? My two hide from strangers, for example. I don't think that will ever change. I wish it would, but they're from a feral colony and I think we're doing great to have them act like what-passes-for-normal pets around me and DH. What would Jackson say? "Yeah, that's what your cats are like" or would he give me a strategy? FTR, I'm fine with them as they are. I taught them to accept and give love and affection, and they've come a very long way. But it would be interesting to get another opinion.

[possibilities]

Jackson put out one of his videos about the challenge line thing (and how he uses his hand to orovoke a cat to scratch him on the show). He says basically that he believes that he needs to do that to see exactly where the cat drawas the line, so he can help them overcome their fears. He says that we shouldn't try this ourselves, but it's the only way to see what is really the cat's potential and/or limit.

 

In another of his videos, he talks about teaching "fraidy cats" to be more social. In that one, he says that cats can and should be encouraged past their defaults, but that they will always be who they fundamentally are, so don't expect a total change of personality.

 

So, I'm guessing that he would say that we should aim for more than our cats offer us, but not have unrealistic expectations about how far they can go. I think it would be interesting to see him deal with intermittent problems, and also get more from him on how to assess what is reasonable to expect in terms of change. He seems to be dealing with people who have little to no cat experience or insight, though, so I wonder if he doesn't go there because he thinks it's more than the people can understand. I imagine that dealing with a lot of people who are completely clueless might lower your expectations for what humans can handle. I've seen quite a few humans with a "challenge line" issue of their own....

[Bella]

Oh, yeah, I could go on for hours about pushing a semi-feral cat's challenge line a little bit for 4 years to make him into a lap cat. (The girl cat came around faster.) The "challenge line" is a useful concept that goes beyond pushing a cat to scratch you. 

 

It does seem like the show is sort of dumbed down for non-cat people. But I still learn something from it on occasion.

[riley702]

I think maybe a lot of people don't buy scratching posts and cat trees. And then get all upset when the cat climbs on things and needs to scratch somewhere. Which is puzzling and maddening when they bitch about "bad cats". Don't they know what kind of animal they've brought into their home? Cats gotta climb, and have to scratch to remove the constant growth of their claws.

 

I have two cats and they have two window seats, one in a front window and one in a back window. They also have a 6 ft tall cat tree by the patio door. It's a nice forest green with brown sisal on the uprights, and is much nicer than those white carpet ones. Dirt cheap on Overstock.com! But I digress. My landlady was here a few months ago and she was flabbergasted and said I really did spoil them. Well, I do, but because I had a tree and window seats? Didn't seem such a noteworthy thing to me. I don't care if they jump up on bookcases and dressers. I expect it. They don't jump on the kitchen counter for some reason, but the dining room table is fair game. If I'm having company over who might be weirded out by the cats having been on the table, I just wipe it down and toss a cheap tablecloth on before we eat.

 

Animals are not people! They're different species, with different needs. People who don't understand that really shouldn't have pets.

Edited June 3, 2014 by riley702

[zxy556575]

Cat toys -- I had a cat who was fascinated by Q Tips. If I was using one, she'd run over and stare up at me longingly. I ended up tying one to a string to use for chasing. She's also the one who would drag toys to her water bowl to drown them after capture.

[Neurochick]

Why are so many of the men on this show, except for Jackson, such douchebags?

[Bastet]

I don't know, but when it comes to the husband of Puma's owner ... I would pee on that jackass, too.

 

And she's having a baby with him?!  Good luck ever getting him to change a diaper, and heaven help your kid if it ever messes with his stuff.

 

(I was going to start an episode thread for it, but can't find definitive info on the episode number.)

[Neurochick]

I don't know, but when it comes to the husband of Puma's owner ... I would pee on that jackass, too.

And she's having a baby with him?! Good luck ever getting him to change a diaper, and heaven help your kid if it ever messes with his stuff.

(I was going to start an episode thread for it, but can't find definitive info on the episode number.)

If he finds cat urine so disgusting, what will he do with a sick baby, child or what would he do if his wife got sick? Would he head for the hills? Edited June 8, 2014 by Neurochick

[CoderLady]

I tuned in to Animal Planet tonight to wait for the new episode and started watching My Tiny Terror while I waited.

 

Whoever pitched / greenlit this show has the biggest set of brass balls combined with a total lack of ... shame? a sense of irony? any respect for the intelligence of the audience? It's like they used a My Cat From Hell checklist to build this show:

• animal expert with odd hair who drives a shiny perfectly restored vintage American car (bonus points for it being pink)
• telegenic roommates or couple, one of whom is threatening to move out because of the other's pet
• aforementioned out-of-control pet who can easily be fixed with playtime and training, but the owner is clueless that these work
• same format: 2 stories per hour
• same music cues
• same crappy annoying dramatic edits and pauses in the interviews

 

They screwed up, though. Jackson genuinely loves cats and gets emotionally involved with the reeducation and salvation of the cats and their owners, and has enough respect for the owners not to badmouth them even when they clearly deserve it. The expert on My Tiny Terror (I haven't been bothered to learn her name) is just bossy and bitchy. In her talking head segments she talks freely about wanting to hit the dogs' owners and is borderline rude to them to their faces. It's a really poor copy of MCFH. Sad.

[Null87366638292922]

.

[walnutqueen]

If I were to guess by the way he was talking, he makes a huge production of preparing to clean the cat box, complete with heavy sighs, then rummages in the kitchen for a bag, then gags over the cat box loudly with each scoop he takes.  Continues gagging and pissing and moaning while he takes the poop bag to the trash.

[possibilities]

I think he was washing the dome lids each day. I can actually imagine that might be necessary for an aerial pee-er, because if the litter doesn't absorb it, there's not much to scoop and it isn't being buried, so it very well might have stunk if the box sides were not washed regularly. So to wash three boxes' lids might take ten minutes. However, the guy was still a drama queen. And heartless. he sees his wife loves the cat, and he never attempted to bond with him or learn anything about cats in general? The cat looked terrified, and with reason-- the man of the house hated him and was talking constantly about getting rid of him and how cats are weird and scary and useless.

 

Also, his comment about "who does that??" when he saw Jackson carried around a case full of cat toys... a cat behaviorist who does house calls, that's who does that. Jeez.

 

I liked that the other couple had been together 45 years and neither of them seemed like hateful creeps. And they took on more homework than Jackson gave them, which I thought was adorable. On the other hand, locking the one cat in the one room all the time, where she was all by herself and crying? My heart broke over that. I was surprised that they couldn't solve the problem themselves if they were such faithful watchers of the show, and wondered if they just wanted to meet Jackson and be on TV. But I still like that the show is taking different types of cases and it's not just the same stuff every week like it was starting to feel like before.

 

I was wondering if Jackson was going to talk about whether or not there were other issues besides biting, in terms of dangers to the healthier cat. Could they groom each other safely? Share a litter box? I always hope cats become friends, not just learn not to want to kill each other.

Edited June 8, 2014 by possibilities

[walnutqueen]

And yet he probably has no problem taking his (admittedly adorable) dog out for long, leisurely walks.

 

 

And presumably picking up dog shit in his hand, covered only with a thin plastic bag - some highly hones gag reflex there, eh.

[Ketzel]

I was wondering if Jackson was going to talk about whether or not there were other issues besides biting, in terms of dangers to the healthier cat. Could they groom each other safely? Share a litter box?

My vet says the virus is transmitted by saliva basically "injected" into the tissue of another cat via a deep bite, not by casual interactions like grooming, sharing food,  or sharing a litter box. As long as Rile and Mia are either neutral about each other, or become better friends, Mia isn't in danger from Riley's FIV.

 

Guy-whose- gag-reflex-was-too-sensitive-to-clean-the-box is going to get one HELL of a surprise when he has to change his newborn. Heh.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Ketzel

[Bastet]

I had to turn away from the segment with the FIV cat, since Jackson's quest for the dramatic - "one bite could be a death sentence" - spread dangerous misinformation about the disease.  In his reasonable talking heads, he was honest about the disease -- it's only transmitted through deep bite wounds, infected cats can live long, healthy lives despite the suppressed immune system, etc. -- but he kept dismantling that with repeated scare tactics.  Appalling.

 

They got the other cat after having had the FIV+ one, right?  Why didn't they adopt another FIV+ cat instead?  Barring that, why the hell did they not follow one single protocol for introducing a new cat to an existing one?  They set themselves - and those cats - up for failure.  If they had followed the Cat Introductions 101 advice Jackson gave them here - available from numerous sources all over the internet, in books, etc. - when they first got Mia, they'd have avoided all this crap.   

 

Although Puma wasn't doing it intentionally, if I was him I would have peed on that asshole's stuff on purpose.  What an awful person.  I cannot believe his wife not only married him but is going to have a child with him.  She'll be doing 100% of the diaper changes and all other cleaning up, and heaven help that kid when he makes a mess on his father's things. 

 

And is elevator butt really not a commonly-known thing?  Lots of cats do that.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Bastet

[walnutqueen]

I had to turn away from the segment with the FIV cat, since Jackson's quest for the dramatic - "one bite could be a death sentence" - spread dangerous misinformation about the disease.  In his reasonable talking heads, he was honest about the disease -- it's only transmitted through deep bite wounds, infected cats can live long, healthy lives despite the suppressed immune system, etc. -- but he kept dismantling that with repeated scare tactics.  Appalling.

 

 

Bastet - For a moment I thought I was having a flashback to the 80s.  Ignorance about FIV is rampant, though,  When my feral aids kitty was sick I sustained a very bad bite (my error, totally, for freaking hum out and trying to muscle him into the carrier) and I went to the clinic for antibiotics.  The idiot doctor wanted to send me to the lab for an AIDS screening and start me on anti-virals.  Seriously. 

[ratgirlagogo]

 

They got the other cat after having had the FIV+ one, right?  Why didn't they adopt another FIV+ cat instead?

I was wondering this too, especially since they're common enough in shelters and a lot of people don't want cats with any kind of special needs.  They were such a sweet couple though - loving to the cats and to each other.

 

And yet he probably has no problem taking his (admittedly adorable) dog out for long, leisurely walks.

 

And presumably picking up dog shit in his hand, covered only with a thin plastic bag - some highly hones gag reflex there, eh.

 Maybe he just leaves it for someone else to pick up.  Or maybe he really does think that little Daisy's shit doesn't stink.  And speaking of Daisy, aside from the guy's problem with Puma, Daisy seemed awfully beaten down, didn't she?  More than just being afraid of the cat, I mean.

 

heaven help that kid when he makes a mess on his father's things.

Yes, especially since their house looked like it was ready for a photo layout in a design magazine.  The kid'll be "your kid" just like Puma was "your cat."

Edited June 8, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[cosmic1]

I thought the same thing about that guy. Just wait until he has to change a stinky diaper or clean up projectile vomit. Lol.

I do remember the panic in the 80's over cats with FIV. People actually thought it could be transmitted to humans.

Jackson continues to be too dramatic, but at least he didn't make anyone bite him.

[CattyTiger]

I'd never heard the term "elevator butt" and laughed out loud. 

 

Neither of our current two male cats spray and they use the litter box normally, but when our female tortie-tuxedo had a UTI she sometimes would raise her butt in the litter box and pee would go over the back.  A couple of the other females act like they are spraying on something, but no urine comes out.

 

I do wonder if Mr. Gag-reflex picks up after Daisy.  Personally, I think warm dog poo is way grosser.  He is going to have to get over his not liking gross things.  I'll look forward to their followup.

 

Gosh, I hadn't thought of the couple adopting another FIV+ kitty.  Maybe nobody suggested that to them or perhaps the second one was from someone they knew.  They were so cute and sweet and were serious about doing everything and more - lol.

[possibilities]

Often cats will come into your life when you aren't looking. Maybe Mia showed up on their doorstep or something. I have rarely "chosen" a cat, as they seem to show up on their own through various means, and once you've met and they've laid their gaze into yours, it's too late to say: I was looking for a different type. The bond happened and they're yours!

 

RE Puma peeing only on the husband's stuff, I rather thought leaving his clothes all over the place was hubby's way of marking his territory, like a dare. And Puma peeing on his stuff seemed to me to be a way of saying he owned him, like he was trying to bond in a way, and claim the territory of the guy, as much as of the house. His willingness to lick the guy's face so soon after he stopped being an actively hostile jerk, to me says Puma was trying to connect all along.

Edited June 8, 2014 by possibilities

[Neurochick]

he sees his wife loves the cat, and he never attempted to bond with him or learn anything about cats in general? The cat looked terrified, and with reason-- the man of the house hated him and was talking constantly about getting rid of him and how cats are weird and scary and useless.

 

 

I'm so glad there is a thread for this episode.  I hated that douche; what a drama puss with a gag reflex.  I guess that means he won't change diapers/pampers either.  That guy was a terrible person IMO, I mean what would he do if his child were seriously ill, or his wife or his dog for that matter?  What pissed me off was when he said that they would get rid of the cat; so, why was his word law, because he's got a penis?  Fuck him, the way he acted about that cat, he'll act that same way if a child acts in a way that displeases him; in fact he'll probably tell his wife, "Look what YOUR child did."

[walnutqueen]

I do remember the panic in the 80's over cats with FIV. People actually thought it could be transmitted to humans.

 

 

I don't remember that, just the human AIDS panic and misinformation that was rampant at the time.

 

 

Often cats will come into your life when you aren't looking.

 

 

All my cats found and adopted me.  :-)

[Bastet]

The one thing I did disagree with is that cats don't have the capacity to pee intentionally on something.

 

When I pack my suitcase the night before a trip, I learned early on that I have to shut it away in the closet overnight or Maddie will pee on it to express her displeasure that I will be leaving.  And this is a cat who doesn't even pee outside the box when she has a UTI. 

 

I loved when Jackson told Asshole Owner basically, "By the way, moron, if the cat is peeing on your clothes, pick them up off the floor and shut your closet door."

 

Ignorance about FIV is rampant, though,

 

Absolutely, which is why I was so pleased when Jackson used his introductory remarks for that segment to talk straight about FIV.  I had high hopes for an episode that could dispel widespread myths and educate people, perhaps making a small dent in the difficulty finding homes for FIV-infected cats.  But that was seriously overshadowed by the repeated "one bite could be a death sentence" drama he resorted to after that.

[walnutqueen]

He could have at least followed up the "one bite could be a death sentence" with "if the bite is sustained by the FIV kitty, and it becomes infected and you do not seek immediate medical treatment for the FIV kitty's wound". 

[Bastet]

Yeah, IF it's a deeply penetrating bite wound AND the virus is transmitted AND the resulting weakening of Mia's immune system leads to her imminent demise, then one bite could be a death sentence.  I just don't know how in one breath he points out that Riley, like all cats with FIV, may very well enjoy an average lifespan and in the next acts as if Mia will not be long for the world if she gets infected. 

 

I also think he did a poor job of explaining why rehoming Mia was on the table, and hope he presented it to the woman who was already a giant bundle of nerves better in reality than he did on camera.  If the two cats could not be made to co-exist in a way that made Mia contracting the virus unlikely, creating a situation in which she is either in constant danger or locked away alone in a small room for her safety, then she'd be better off if they could find a good home for her.  He alluded to that, and I have to assume he made that clear in his un-staged conversations with them, but the way it aired gave the whiff of, "Oh, yeah, one cat with FIV and one cat without and there's aggression - you may have to rehome."  There are SO many people out there who don't think cats with FIV can live with uninfected cats, in Jackson's place I'd have been bending over backwards to avoid sounding like that was the rule rather than the exception.  And it was clear from jump that these cats had not been properly introduced, giving every reason for hope that once that was rectified the aggression would cease.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Bastet

[movingtargetgal]

This guy seems the type that when "babysitting" his child would not change its diaper and let the poor thing sit in it until mommy comes home.
 

When I pack my suitcase the night before a trip, I learned early on that I have to shut it away in the closet overnight or Maddie will pee on it to express her displeasure that I will be leaving. And this is a cat who doesn't even pee outside the box when she has a UTI.

 

When we would put the suitcases in the car Callie would poop at the bottom of the stairs before I could even get back into the house to get my purse. When we returned there would be poop on the same spot and she totally ignored us. The next morning one more poop, however, she would be on speaking terms with us and all was forgiven...until next time.

She would pee outside the box when she had a UTI.  She would strut into the room, make eye contact with me, and pee.

Cats are very smart and do know how to get their point across.

Edited June 8, 2014 by movingtargetgal

[Ketzel]

He could have at least followed up the "one bite could be a death sentence" with "if the bite is sustained by the FIV kitty, and it becomes infected and you do not seek immediate medical treatment for the FIV kitty's wound".

 

 

 

But Riley, the FIV+ cat, wasn't being attacked by Mia. Mia was the one at risk of being bitten. I thought Jackson was referring to a bite from Riley being a "death sentence" for Mia because she would then be infected with FIV. But it's clear that Jackson knows that although the virus will gradually undermine an n FIV+ cat's immune system, with proper vet care, a cat can live for many years in normally good health. So for Jackson to describe FIV as a "death sentence" is an overly dramatic description of its effects, and one that plays into the negative myths and rumors about FIV.

 

And didn't the couple say they had Riley first and then Mia "came along?" I remember thinking they must have taken in a stray, rather than setting out to adopt a second cat from a shelter.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Ketzel

[Dagny]

One thing I noticed was that when Jackson dumped out the cat toys, he didn't have to remove the essence bottles. Yup, I think it was planned.

 

I did like that the older couple watched his show and tried some of his techniques. He was annoyed that they did it, and weirdly enthusiastic when they were able to do it again.  They weren't the most clueless people on the planet. "What's a cat tree?"

[Bella]

I was away over the weekend and I will look at the episode thread situation now.

 

If you ever need or want to start a thread, have at it - I can always fix the title later. Just (as a favor) try to make sure it doesn't duplicate another thread.

[Bastet]

Chattygal, I'm so sorry about your kitty and hope you find him soon!  I'm going to post in the Small Talk thread some additional steps you may want to take.

[Moviesnob]

Jackson didn't seem to deal well with the older wife's initial emotional outburst - he realized the pressure was on! It surprised me a bit, since I've seen him teary a time or two.

[Bella]

TheTVDB.com, which is what the mods here use for episode info, has this show airing on the 14th. It didn't air as planned in May.

 

I'm going to change the episode info on this thread, and we'll see if Animal Planet sticks to the broadcast schedule this time.

[CoderLady]

If Animal Planet is truly through playing Musical Episodes, this will also be the one where they feature Lux, the Oregon cat who cornered the family.

 

http://www.catster.com/the-scoop/jackson-galaxy-my-911-cat-behavior-from-hell-family-barricade-portland-lux

[Dagny]

Really? "One of Jackson's most difficult and challenging cases ever?" I do not think it means what he thinks it means. Difficult - Yes, "Ever" - he says that every time he pushed the cat's challenge line.

[Bastet]

If Animal Planet is truly through playing Musical Episodes, this will also be the one where they feature Lux, the Oregon cat who cornered the family.

 

I'm not sure I can watch.  First, they failed to properly train and supervise their kid and the cat was mishandled as a result.  Then, the husband kicked the cat, chased him when he tried to get away and kept after him as he tried to hide - and that's just the stuff to which he has admitted.  Then they wasted public resources by calling 911.  Then they didn't even dump the poor cat at the shelter themselves, they had Animal Control come get him ... but didn't surrender him, instead asking if he could stay there while they decided what to do (because an animal shelter is such a soothing place for a cat).  And only when they were offered air time on this show did they decide they wanted him back.  Fuck them; Lux deserves better.

[Bella]

I'm prepared to have to FF through this segment.

 

I'm hoping Jackson rehomes the poor little thing. Some people shouldn't have pets.

[Bella]

Okay, so the entire episode tonight is about Lux, the "911 cat" from Portland. And there's not an accurate episode description available.

 

Here are two links to articles about tonight's episode:

http://consciouscat.net/2014/06/13/jackson-galaxy-work-lux-911-cat/

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/06/jackson_galaxy_on_lux_the_port.html

 

The entire episode is going to be about this cat, Jackson breaks the standard format, and he says it's not what he expected based on what he'd read in the news. He says we'll be surprised, and that there's no distinct human "villain." He also expects to be involved with Lux for the rest of the latter's life.

 

 

[Bastet]

He can't recall, Galaxy says, whether he heard from the network or the show producers, but he says, "I heard, hey, you know, the 911 cat, the couple is willing to work with you, and if you do it, they'll keep him."

 

I hope Jackson does provide a more complete story than has been reported thus far, but the above from one of the linked articles is what doesn't sit well with me.  They didn't confine Lux to a room in the home, open up their local phone book - and their wallet - to find a behaviorist available to immediately and as regularly as necessary help them and the cat, they made him sit in a shelter cage while they waited to hear if they could get free help and air time, as shooting schedules allow, in which case they'd take him back.

Edited June 14, 2014 by Bastet

[Bella]

The thing that threw me was that the woman had bottle-fed Lux starting when he was 1 day old, as his mother had rejected him. So I'm expecting this to be a very tense "I'm never giving him up, he's like a baby to me!" situation.

 

I'm not expecting to like her husband, though. I don't care what Jackson says. Sometimes he refuses to recognize that there are jackasses. I don't share his world view.

[Bastet]

Plus, I find kicking a cat to be a pretty disproportionate response to a scratch, so I'm not particularly moved by this "he was defending his child" stuff; it's not like Lux is a 100-pound dog who had the baby's limb locked in his jaw.   And it's hard to imagine how he was defending his child by chasing after Lux.

[possibilities]

One thing that I am hoping is that the publicity around this case will cause large numbers of new viewers to tune into the show, and maybe come back for future editions, and learn something. And if Jackson can convince me that the media reports are radically messed up and actually the people are innocent, okay, great. We'll see. I'm skeptical, but it's not like it would be the only story in history that the media might have gotten wrong. But I need to see the evidence.

 

Either way, Jackson probably has to soft pedal any disgust he may feel with people, because if he criticizes them the way we do, no one would consent to go on his show.

 

I probably should have as much compassion for the humans as for the cats, but I don't. I'm working on it!

[Ketzel]

I probably should have as much compassion for the humans as for the cats, but I don't. I'm working on it!

 

I'm the same way, but that's because the humans have all the power in these situations, and the cats (contrary to what they themselves seem to believe!) are essentially helpless.