My Cat From Hell - General Discussion

[Bella]

Jackson got married last weekend.

[Lava VaVoom]

Isn't that wonderful!!  I wish them both much happiness. 

 

http://parade.condenast.com/311598/michelechollow/where-did-animal-planet-star-jackson-galaxy-get-married/

 

(hope that worked)

[Captanne]

From his book, he was at a fairly low point in his life in Colorado and sort of stumbled into a job at an animal shelter -- where he realized he had an unusual affinity with cats.

 

His life didn't turn into sunshine and roses over night, though.  He was on a pretty bad downward spiral.  

 

Getting into a profession he loved(s) and is good at changed things for the better and it looks --from an audience perspective-- like its been positive ever since.

 

I'm genuinely delighted for him and am appreciative of his efforts in the animal care and rights movement  I think very highly of him -- where he's come from and where he's headed.

[Ketzel]

Nice picture. I think he looks much better with the beard trimmed short. *shallow*  I wish them a long and happy life together!

[Bella]

 

Alyssa's cat, Tosh, terrorizes her boyfriend Andy when he moves in; Eric and Kaotar's cat, Vincent, destroys window screens and doors as he continuously tries to escape.

 

These might actually go beyond the clueless owner template. Fingers crossed!

[possibilities]

So... Andy would rather let the cat keep his balls but be consigned to a shelter? The shelter would surely neuter him, but even if that weren't so, and if the likelihood of euthanasia in a shelter was not close to 100% for a cat with his history, is that really a better life for the cat? Living in a shelter? It didn't seem like Andy had really thought this situation through.

 

I did like the little house they gave him in the music room, with the greens and what looked like it might be a velvet cushion. I hope the ending was as happy as they told us, but it seemed like a really big change of attitude without any build up along the way. It's that kind of editing that makes the show seem so untrustworthy.

 

I liked the kid in Tosh's story. I liked that she was not traumatized by the cat or angry and afraid, and was willing to meet him where he was.

 

Some of these houses look really fancy to me. In the first season, i think there was a more diverse crop of humans, and more people living in tiny apartments. This year it seems like mostly white hetero nuclear families with fancy houses. I wonder why they changed it.

[Pjxf99]

I rescued a 4 or 5 year old Siamese flame point who was abused--SO jumpy and anxious and scared to death when I first got her, I couldn't even pet her.  After several months, she would come to me and try to snuggle, but it was the funniest, most awkward thing--at least she was trying!  The shelter didn't think she would ever do well around other cats, because she was so anxious.

 

After 2 years, I got a rescue kitten, thinking he was small, and wouldn't scare her. What I didn't take into account was his energy level. yes, he was small, but he wanted to RUN and PLAY! Which freaked my older cat out. I will say, I didn't learn things directly from Jackson, but I did try to look at it like he might.  At first, I thought a sharp, loud, NO would teach the kitten not to chase the older cat.  Then I realized the way they saw it was

 

Kitten tries to play with older cat=>older cat runs=>kitten chases her--fun game!=>I yell NO=>they BOTH get scared=>older cat runs even more=>kitten gets nervous, wondering why I'm suddenly a crazy person

 

so I changed my game.  I would just quietly pick the kitten up and move him away from the older cat, play with him ALOT around her, so he got tired, and praise him and give him treats when he didn't play too rough with her. 

 

It's been a year and they adore each other now. They sleep together, share food and toys, he taught her how to PLAY, he even grooms her----it makes me so happy!

 

Now if someone could just tell me how to keep the kitten from scratching my furniture.  Ignores scratching posts of all kinds. The sticky tape works, but the other cat LOVES tape and chews it off the furniture.  The spray doesn't seem to do much, maybe if I do it more often?

also, can someone help me make these pictures smaller?!

Edited July 6, 2014 by Pjxf99

[Bastet]

In another thread, someone reported the success achieved by a redirection training technique, and it got me thinking that Jackson ought to - and perhaps he has in episodes I have not seen - get explicit about what different training methods mean.  They're thought of more in terms of dog training, and certainly the specific stimuli vary between dogs and cats, but the concepts are the same: using either positive or negative reinforcement to increase a behavior and using either positive or negative punishment to decrease a behavior.  But the terms get muddled, with people thinking of positive and negative in terms of good and bad, respectively, rather than adding or subtracting. 

[CoderLady]

I missed the first half but the second half with Dyna and Sugar was about exactly the problem I've been having with my own cats. If one cat is a bully and the other cat or cats are acting like prey you have to solve both problems at the same time, and just as with Dyna my resident jerk Eddie has stopped attacking the other two but they still hate his guts. I need to watch this segment again for the techniques to use to get their confidence up, because I'd really like to spend time with all of them comfortably in the same room.

 

This was so useful to me personally that for a change I didn't really notice any manufactured drama. Doesn't mean it wasn't there, just that I was getting enough good out of it that whatever bad there was didn't bother me. Nice.

[Bastet]

I missed the first half but the second half with Dyna and Sugar was about exactly the problem I've been having with my own cats. If one cat is a bully and the other cat or cats are acting like prey you have to solve both problems at the same time, and just as with Dyna my resident jerk Eddie has stopped attacking the other two but they still hate his guts. I need to watch this segment again for the techniques to use to get their confidence up, because I'd really like to spend time with all of them comfortably in the same room.

 

Thanks for this; I didn't watch the episode, but my friend is going through something similar with her three cats (one bully, one who fights back and one who won't come out from under the chair when the bully is in the room) so I will tell her to look for this episode in the hopes of getting some useful tips.

 

By the way, her bully cat?  Is almost 17 years old, and other than the two months between when her other cat died and she adopted the first of two new additions, he lived his entire life in a multi-cat household without issue.  He was the youngest of three for most of his life, then one of two for about two years when the oldest died, and then an only child for just a couple of months.  But when she brought 12-year-old Sherman home, Pharaoh acted like the idea that he should have to live with another cat was pure ridiculousness.  We get that he's old (but healthy) and entitled to be set in his ways, but his ways included being part of a multi-cat family and she did the usual gradual introduction routine rather than just tossing new cats into his domain, got adults rather than kittens, etc.  It has been a year, and she still has to separate the apartment into two wings when she's not home.

[izabella]

It's good that Jackson had Vincent's situation on the show - there are a LOT of people out there who feel the way his owner did about neutering, especially guys who identify with the male cats and cringe at the thought.  It was good information for people who are adamant about it.  And, yeah, surprise, surprise, Vincent was no longer interested in tearing through window screens after the surgery.

 

As for Tosh, he seemed more scared than anything else.  It took a long time for him to swat at Jackson.  He just kept watching Jackson's hand get closer and closer, he shrunk further into the corner, but he didn't go after Jackson until Jackson really kept at it.  Tosh took to lots and lots of petting very quickly once he felt more comfortable with the family.

[Bastet]

It's good that Jackson had Vincent's situation on the show - there are a LOT of people out there who feel the way his owner did about neutering, especially guys who identify with the male cats and cringe at the thought.

 

I'm glad it was addressed on the show, but I'm also glad I didn't watch; people with that attitude drive me crazy.

[izabella]

I'm glad it was addressed on the show, but I'm also glad I didn't watch; people with that attitude drive me crazy.

 

I hear ya!  I was yelling "dumbass!" at him the whole time. 

 

He didn't understand how neutering could stop the cat's behavior - trying to get out, marking territory, getting into fights with other cats when he'd snuck out (and coming home with injuries).  Worse, he just didn't believe neutering would stop that behavior.  So, as a public service, this was a good issue to focus on.

 

I also liked that Jackson explained Vincent could be fathering over 21,000 homeless kittens every year by escaping all the time.

[CoderLady]

I may be a bit more lucky with my pack. After a few months of behavior modification via feeding routines and fluoxetine, in hindsight it appears Eddie (3 1/2 years old) must have thought smacking the girls (17 and 14 years old) around was the most natural way to introduce himself, and now that introductions are over he's actually trying to be friendly. He gets as close as possible when I'm spending quality time with one of the girls then flops over on his back and starts purring. Or if one is sitting alone minding her own business he tries moving in slowly for a friendly sniff. Unfortunately, neither of them is buying it. There's hissing, screaming and fleeing but at least the chasing and hitting mostly seems to have stopped.

 

What I hope to get out of the Dyna/Sugar segment are ideas for environment modification that give the girls more space options while taking into consideration their advancing age. Small, fat, round, orange Pumpkin has already become more approachable after I added a couple more ways in and out of her ground-level hiding space. Gracie is the bigger challenge. She's always been a bit of a coward and Eddie can't resist freaking her out sometimes. Jerk. I'll be looking for ways to both challenge her and make her feel safe.

 

This is the kind of thing I thought the show had been losing. I'm glad to be wrong.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

He didn't understand how neutering could stop the cat's behavior

This episode finally exploded my suspension of disbelief - I found the guy's attitude impossible to believe. I don't mean just that I found it hard to understand but that I literally did not believe that any cat owner could not know that unfixed male cats wander and get into non-stop fights and father a lot of kittens.  Also impossible to believe that he was more willing to give the cat to a shelter than to neuter him.  I know  some here have complained that much of this show seems very staged but this episode was the first one where I just couldn't believe that this whole situation "just happened."

[Ketzel]

This episode finally exploded my suspension of disbelief - I found the guy's attitude impossible to believe. I don't mean just that I found it hard to understand but that I literally did not believe that any cat owner could not know that unfixed male cats wander and get into non-stop fights and father a lot of kittens.  Also impossible to believe that he was more willing to give the cat to a shelter than to neuter him.  I know  some here have complained that much of this show seems very staged but this episode was the first one where I just couldn't believe that this whole situation "just happened."

I know, right? Even when Jackson explained in the most basic terms how and why an unfixed Tom creates exactly the kind of problems Vincent was exhibiting at home (and also a whole series of other problems as he roamed) the guy looked blankly into the camera and said, "I don't see what neutering has to do with any of this or why it would solve our problems."  Not a credible response. I did appreciate Jackson's expressed exasperation when he said something to the effect of "this guy is willing to give his cat up to a shelter rather than have him neutered, and of course, the very first thing any shelter will do is neuter him." 

[Dagny]

It's good that Jackson had Vincent's situation on the show - there are a LOT of people out there who feel the way his owner did about neutering, especially guys who identify with the male cats and cringe at the thought.  It was good information for people who are adamant about it.  And, yeah, surprise, surprise, Vincent was no longer interested in tearing through window screens after the surgery.

 

The non-fixed cat has been on in the past seasons. We are doomed to repeat the same issues over and over again.

[Ketzel]

The non-fixed cat has been on in the past seasons. We are doomed to repeat the same issues over and over again.

I guess there are a limited number of cat-human problems the producers classify as sufficiently "hellish." (1) Cat pees/poops outside of litter box; (2) Cat bites/claws people (3) Cat runs away (4) Cat scratches furniture/clothing/wallpaper etc. (5) Two or more cats in household don't get along (6)Cat yowls at night or otherwise interferes with human sleep or other human activity. I'm still hoping for a show about grooming a resistant long-haired cat, but I guess unless they find a cat that is willing to scratch the hell out of its human when approached with a grooming tool, it won't  happen. I'd volunteer my long-haired cat, but she doesn't attack me when I try to groom her. Instead, she attacks the tool in my hand - it's cute but frustrating and is why she is now sporting a professional lion clip for the summer months.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Ketzel

[CoderLady]

But that's also an issue a lot of cat owners can relate to -- how to get a cat to sit still for some important maintenance, be it grooming, claw clipping, ear cleaning or medication. None of those things is long enough for a segment but together would make a hell of a how-to show. But you're right about the lack of blood-letting relationship-threatening drama unless it's a show cat, I guess.

[Dagny]

I'm still hoping for a show about grooming a resistant long-haired cat, but I guess unless they find a cat that is willing to scratch the hell out of its human when approached with a grooming tool, it won't  happen.

 

Both my cats go for my hands when I try to use the brush. The first one gets manhandled with my hand on her head - for about a minute then we retreat to separate corners for the rest of the day.  The other one likes me to groom her with damp hands, it gathers up the hair and she digs it.  She comes running every time she thinks I'm going near any faucet. 

[possibilities]

She comes running every time she thinks I'm going near any faucet.

That is really sweet and adorable.

 

They did do a show with a sphinx (hairless) cat who needed regular bathing and didn't want it, but that wasn't the primary problem with that situation.

 

I can imagine some drama if the long haired cat who hated grooming developed gross matted fur and it became a health hazard, like her eyes were obscured or her mobility restricted or her butt was covered with poo because the mats covered her anus or something. I have never seen a cat let herself get that bad, though, and I think it would only happen if the cat were seriously depressed for some other reason. I have had long haired cats who hated grooming from humans, and they did get a few mats, but they self-groomed enough that they were never in any kind of serious horror show condition. I would like to see Jackson address the problem, though. I wish the show believed people would watch even if there wasn't always an amped up melodrama going on.

 

Maybe some family has a cat who constantly pukes hairballs and they and their vet are too stupid to figure out it's a medical problem due to lack of grooming. Maybe one person in the family thinks all cats are just constant pukers, and the other says they won't live with that. Or maybe the people think the vomiting is from stress, and they can't figure out why the cat is stressed, and Jackson explains that the cat seems perfectly happy otherwise, but needs grooming. Or, it could be a show family where just the one cat hates being groomed? None of that is as dramatic as what they usually show us, but the aversion to the brush is common enough you'd think they'd find a way to work it into the show.

[Bella]

I can imagine some drama if the long haired cat who hated grooming developed gross matted fur and it became a health hazard, like her eyes were obscured or her mobility restricted or her butt was covered with poo because the mats covered her anus or something. I have never seen a cat let herself get that bad, though, and I think it would only happen if the cat were seriously depressed for some other reason. I have had long haired cats who hated grooming from humans, and they did get a few mats, but they self-groomed enough that they were never in any kind of serious horror show condition. I would like to see Jackson address the problem, though. I wish the show believed people would watch even if there wasn't always an amped up melodrama going on.

 

Mats can pull at the skin and lead to rashes and infection underneath, and the cats really can't undo them. I've had 4 long-haired cats, and one of them had an easily matted belly. I was constantly having to snip them out with blunt-nosed scissors. Of course, she hated having her belly brushed. The other three were more adept at grooming themselves.

 

It may be that the "Kitty Bits" could be expanded into a 2-minute segment with advice on going online for further info. That might be a good way to touch on some of these issues that might not warrant an entire segment.

[Dagny]

I can imagine some drama if the long haired cat who hated grooming developed gross matted fur and it became a health hazard, like her eyes were obscured or her mobility restricted or her butt was covered with poo because the mats covered her anus or something. I have never seen a cat let herself get that bad, though, and I think it would only happen if the cat were seriously depressed for some other reason.

 

I had an outdoor cat where the poo got matted. It was bad. Luckily she allowed me to put her in a carrier and off to the groomers she went.  They returned her with a half-lion shave. They returned her with a "she got aggressive". I let her keep the tail, but I was very glad they got the poo.

 

The new ones get me darting in with short scissors and a couple of snips at the mats before I retreat for the next day.

 

Funniest thing I was was the U-shaped big pipe cleaner that "allows" the cat to groom themselves. I showed a person cleaning up hairballs on the linoleum.  I would love to clean up hairballs on linoleum, the cats usually beeline for the carpet.

[RedheadZombie]

I love that they got married at Best Friends - they took some of the most difficult Vick Pitbulls. 

[Bella]

I finally watched this episode. My thoughts:

• That litter box upset me - they clearly didn't clean it or give him enough litter
• Teresa was much worse than Lee IMO. He was "not a cat person" and behaved consistently with that line of thinking. I don't like it, but he made sense for who he was. Teresa thought she was a cat person and didn't understand that she wasn't. That's worse. YMMV.
• I'll buy that Lux had some kind of undiagnosable neuro issue, but it would be interesting to see what he'd be like living with a cat behaviorist.
• I liked the episode better than I thought I would. For all the excess drama that gets edited in, it was still nice to see a departure from the formula.
• Having said that, I wish Jackson would quit saying he's "afraid" of these cats he visits. No, he isn't. And if he pushes them to scratch him, he deserves to be scratched. I have a cat who'd scratch him, but that cat hasn't scratched me or DH for almost 3 years (we've had him for 4).

[walnutqueen]

I miss Dogtown.   :-(

[RedheadZombie]

Just saw another news story about a couple calling 911 on their cat.  I could not believe this happened again.  The owners' showed leg scratches, and claimed it took three police officers with guns and batons, and an animal control officer to rescue them.  The attack was preceded by one of the owners accidentally stepping on the cat.  The story ended with the husband saying that if Cush couldn't be fixed, they were going to re-home him.  Yeah, I'm sure there are endless numbers of people looking to adopt a cat that's been demonized.

 

Please forgive me for going off-topic, but I have a story to contrast the one above.  Working in the recovery room as a nurse, I took care of a little girl (about seven years old) who'd just had surgery to repair a dog bite (from her dog) to her face.  As soon as she woke up she began crying.  Her first words - "I think I hurt my dog".   The dog had been sleeping on the floor, and while wrestling with her sister, the little girl fell off the couch and onto the dog.  The dog bit instinctively out of pain and surprise, and this little girl was more concerned about her dog than herself.  The dog was a larger breed so he was ok, and as far as I know, the family kept him.

[Bella]

Great, just what I need - something to make me even crankier when I'm already having a "people are stupid" day.

 

One of my previous cats would fling herself at me, all teeth and claws, if I stepped on her brother's tail by accident. (He was often underfoot.) It was a perfectly reasonable response. They're sentient beings. They react to things.

 

Some people should never have pets.

[Mindymoo]

I saw that story on VICE's "Cry-baby of the Week" feature that they post on Fridays. People are morons and should have to have a license to own pets. (I think they should with children too, but I digress.) The story is the first of the two cry-babies at the following link. http://www.vice.com/read/cry-baby-of-the-week-kanye-west-rape-cat-attack-911

[Bastet]

That litter box upset me - they clearly didn't clean it or give him enough litter

 

I mentioned the litter box in one of my rants about the episode, but forgot to ask, and maybe since it's fresh in your mind you'll remember:  Did Jackson say anything about it?  I know there were bigger fish to fry, but that was appalling, especially since he was shut in the room with that stinky thing.

[Bella]

In the episode, he didn't mention it at all, @Bastet . However, any animal-lover with a nose and some common sense would have said something about it, so I have to think that the producers just took the "a picture says 1,000 words" approach, especially since they focused on it at least twice.

 

To me, this was more evidence that this family - and especially Teresa, the purported cat lover - shouldn't have pets.

 

The other thing was that Lee looked like he was recovering from a black eye, and the dog was wearing a cone. It all made me wonder what on earth was going on with these people. Granted, there could have been perfectly legitimate reasons for both (said the woman who gave herself two black eyes as a child flying off of a swing set). But still, it's the old reality TV thing of wondering about what it is that you're seeing - and I saw a man with a black eye, which isn't common.

[walnutqueen]

(said the woman who gave herself two black eyes as a child flying off of a swing set)

 

 

Same here, Bella - stepped on a rake.  :-)

[Bella]

No description.

 

 

Mod note: I'm going to be away from the forums for a few days. The awesome mod known as will be available if you need to contact a mod between now and the 18th. There haven't been any reports from this forum, which is great. So cuddle your pets, hope that Jackson does something different this episode (for a change), and have a great week!

[Bella]

Btw, this is not showing up on my DVR, so I don't know if it's a Comcast mistake or if Animal Planet is up to their old tricks of messing around with the schedule. Maybe we'll all have to hug our cats without the TV on as background.

[walnutqueen]

It isn't showing up on my Uverse schedule, either, @Bella.  See you next week!

[CoderLady]

Nor on Charter. The only new episodes are for Bad Dog! and America's Cutest Dog. Well, any excuse for some extra cat hugging is a good excuse. Cheers!

[CattyTiger]

I will be happy to apologize if I'm wrong, but I can't help but think this latest 911 cat call were these owners wanting publicity or even a call from Jackson.  I mean really, what would be the odds that 2 cats have the same condition so close in time?

[CattyTiger]

Bella, I hope your being away is for pleasure.  See you back soon!:)

[CattyTiger]

I could not believe that couple lived with all the spraying everywhere for years, ruining their stuff when fixing Vincent could have solved the whole problem.  Shoot, I've taken in cats that were a little older so late on getting fixed and still sprayed some, but at least the smell wasn't killer.

 

I had one long haired cat, Scorpio, who I'd found outside, and with where I lived, he would still go outside but he would eat anything - popcorn, Krystals, french fries and apparently strawberries from my neighbor - wth?  I had to take him to the vet to have his butt shaved a few times from bad diarrhea.  Lovely.

 

One of my other long haired cats, Ness, had no problem with me cutting mats off him or rubbing his belly, but with the other one, Tristan, I had to wait until he was sleeping and would cut as he would let me.  He did not like me getting anywhere near his privates or rub his belly. 

 

It was my fault they had gained weight so couldn't groom.  I'd gotten them hairball control food and they porked up.  I just didn't know any better and felt so awful.

Edited July 12, 2014 by CattyTiger

[formerlyfreedom]

Hi, guys! I'll be around if you have questions. As far as scheduling, it's not showing up on my cable guide either, and when I went to the web site, it said there was no info on future episodes. So maybe they pushed it back?

[riley702]

Yep. Famewhores R us.

[riley702]

I have two long-haired cats now and neither mind me rubbing or brushing their tummies. In fact, I can't remember ever having a cat that minded me touching their tummies, tail or ears. The one with the most hairball problems absolutely refuses to eat the hairball remedy. So of course the one that has always had fewer hairballs would polish off the entire lick stick if I let her.

 

Then I read somewhere that coconut oil was good for hairballs, and they both love it. But there was a slight learning curve on how much of it to give them. And I didn't know at the time to start with small doses. I gave them about a teaspoon that first day, and Swiffer soon had matted poop all over her butt and tail. She didn't like it, but I gave her a bath using those thick elbow-length dishwashing gloves. I was able to loosen it up enough to remove them. Now I give them a half teaspoon or less several times a week. I think it is slowly improving how often they yak up a hairball. Still doesn't stop them from shedding, though. I swear I vacuum enough hair each week to knit myself a new cat.

Edited July 13, 2014 by riley702

[possibilities]

Yeah, there's learning curve for most of us, I think. It's kind of amazing how cats can bounce back from our human errors, but I'm grateful for it.

[riley702]

I felt SO bad. I was my fault she had diarrhea, which led to the dreaded bath. Thank goodness she either hasn't figured it out, or doesn't hold a grudge! ;) She's pretty smart, so it might be the latter. 

 

When a friend of mine first got married, her new husband thought it was entertaining to tease the cats. Nothing mean or harmful, but just messing with their heads. She warned him that they were smarter than he thought and they WOULD get even, but he blew her off. She tells of watching him fall asleep while watching TV, and setting his glass of iced tea up on the bookcase headboard before doing so. She then watched one of the cats winding back and forth on the headboard, carefully nudging the glass closer and closer to the edge until finally knocking it off so that it landed on his head. He came up sputtering and she laughed at him and said, "I TOLD you they would get even." He was ticked that she just let it happen, but she told him she figured he had it coming. He had a lot more respect for the cats after that!

[Dagny]

I swear I vacuum enough hair each week to knit myself a new cat.

 

I once washed a blanket the cats loved and I swear another cat popped out of the dryer's lint trap.

[Bella]

I have a housecleaning service come in once a month - they charge about what I make in 3 hours of work for a client, and if I cleaned nonstop for a week, I could never get the house as clean as they do in a short visit. I pick up cat toys before they get here, and I vacuum once or twice a week. And they still laugh about how much cat hair they pull up from the carpet. They should see what's in the lint trap on the dryer!

[CattyTiger]

I have put things that the cats have lounged all over - clothes, blankets, sheets - in the dryer before washing to catch all the cat hair before putting them in the wash.  I have a front load washer and sometimes I have to get hair out of the front seal, too.

[Bella]

I spent some time on Google, and while I can't see that the show has been cancelled, the Animal Planet website indicates that there are no episodes set to air. Yet I believe this season was supposed to have 4-6 more.

 

I think they've done this before - inserted a mid-season gap - but this does not make me confident. I believe the ratings were good, but I could be wrong.

 

Then again, we've all been pretty frustrated with the rigid formula. 

[riley702]

Ooh, did not think of that. Good idea!

[Captanne]

I know I've checked out of the show.  I still lurk here and will post (like I am now) in the conversation but I've stopped watching the show.