This episode of My Cat From Hell contained great examples of looking deeper than surface appearances, to find the true root of behavioral problems like aggressive cats or cats who won’t stop peeing all over the house.

Jackson was happy to share some really valuable behind-the-scenes info on the cases of Pip & Red, and Autumn.

You can read all that In-Depth Mojo below.

And when you’re done, check out this companion post with more from Jackson about which holistic remedies he used for these cases.

Pip, a one-eyed black cat with cerebellar hypoplasia, and Red, his former victim.

Pip – former frustrated bully

Pip was a really interesting case because approaching the concept of cerebellar hypoplasia, not from a special-needs standpoint and “oh we should feel so sorry for this cat,” but from the standpoint of him being a bully, is something new.

He doesn’t ask for your pity.

He asks for his environment to be enriched.

He asks for his relationships to be enriched.

He doesn’t care about your pity.  And that was a really important lesson to be learned there.

On the other hand, who does deserve your pity is Red, or as he was known in the neighborhood, Cake.  He was so outside the home for the most part, that he was known by another name, which I thought was really interesting.  And they called him Cake because he was sweet as cake.  But in the meantime he was really subject to the horrors of being intimidated by this quote/unquote “special needs” cat.

One of the most integral things we found out about Pip was – and CH (cerebellar hypoplasia) to begin with – it’s of course a condition that can’t be changed, it’s a problem within his cerebral cortex…  But when you slow the thought process down, you also slow the body down.  So by inventing, pretty much, this play mat – what we called Pip’s playground – we also enriched his life in an immeasurable way.  So instead of having toys that fly around, which would actually increase his agitation, we tucked it into the loops of this carpet.  And what that did was:

• we kept the toy stationary
• and the cat hunting a stationary object
• trying to pull it out and play with them (the toys) from the loops of this carpet

Which slowed him down.

Which allowed him to achieve.

Which allowed him to succeed in hunting, when he couldn’t before.

And you saw another cat come out.

Part of, I believe, his aggression came from his frustration of not being able to catch Red.  Not being able to catch his prey. That was pretty intense and it was an amazing discovery and really exciting.

The other component to the Pip story was of course, this thing: Since Pip was being relegated to being a bush dweller, well, then we had to make the house tree-dwelling for Red.  And of course having those two worlds built, and then having points of intersection was really key to re-forming their relationship.

But again, I think the really important lesson here is that approach of these, quote, “disabilities” from a different perspective.  This is not just a pity party.  This is understanding that first of all, his actions were detrimental to the health of another animal.  But also, that it was frustration.  It was frustration leading to this acting out.  Frustration, I believe, about his own condition.  And that is, the lack of ability to succeed in the mojo sense.  And we gave him that ability.

Note: when Jackson says “in the mojo sense,” he’s referring to what he calls Cat Mojo.  The way way a cat sees, and relates, and moves through the world.  For more on this case, see Spirit Essences Report: Pip & Autumn.

Autumn – a young kitten whose spraying put big-time stress on the family.

Autumn – formerly fearful and spraying

The case of Autumn was really intense because Erin, a little girl who always wanted an orange tabby female kitten and got one, also got some trouble with Autumn.  The thing that you didn’t see in the show was not only was Autumn’s introduction to the whole home a little off and that’s what caused a little bit of a feeling of threat.  But she never had a problem in the home until she was 6 months old and she escaped the house one day.  And in this really terrifying nightmare of a trek in the neighborhood – where Mom and daughter were trying so hard to find her til 3 o’clock in the morning…she was chased by dogs and cats.  We don’t know everything that went on.  Remember, these guys (Autumn’s human family) lived in the foothills of the mountains.  She could’ve been chased by all kinds of things.  It felt, listening to the story, like a real nightmarish experience.  And from that point on, she started marking around the house.

Her territorial insecurity was fed by an evening of abject terror.  And that’s when this whole thing started.  So it was about re-constructing her home experience based around what she could be secure about.

One of the things you didn’t see in the show was why I prescribed putting a litter box on the counter.  It wasn’t just a matter of “Well she’s peeing up here, let’s let her pee someplace appropriate.”

• It gave us insight as to what was coming around?
• What was threatening her outside in the atrium?
• What was threatening her outside in the backyard?
• It was about placement of food dishes.
• It was also about Max, the cat that was chasing her around, actually beating her up a little bit, playing really rough with her.  And she would get up on the counter and pee up there.

We did a very gradual reverse-elevation, I guess, of the litter box from the counter down onto the floor.

I’m never going to prescribe “Hey this is going to solve the problem, just putting a litter box on there.”  Putting a litter box on the countertop is also a little unrealistic to ask  people to do that.  But it did serve a very great purpose.

Autumn is doing fantastic these days.  I just got an update from them a few days ago.  She’s really reintegrated into the house fantastically.  She doesn’t pee around the house anymore.  It’s a really huge success story.  And the stakes were really high.  I mean Erin is a little girl who deserves to grow up with her cat.  One of the things when there’s children involved: it ups the stakes.  There’s not that grown-up reasoning that “we’re just going to work problems.”  All they know is: their friend, their companion is causing all this upset in the home, causing their parents to fight, causing all this upheaval.  And they just known the emotional reality, not the logistic reality.  And I don’t want this girl growing up knowing the loss of a pet because of a behavioral issue.  That’s heartbreaking, and so the stakes were definitely raised on that one and I’m glad it worked out.

Note: for more on this case, see Spirit Essences Report: Pip & Autumn.

This is part of a blog series called the Spirit Essences Report.  It contains off-camera info straight from Jackson about how he helps the cats you see on My Cat From Hell.  Many times behind-the-scenes, he has his clients use Spirit Essences holistic remedies.  They are the same remedies he formulated with Holistic Veterinarian Dr. Jean Hofve, and he’s been employing them for over a decade.

Spirit Essences are not essential oils.  They are holistic remedies, and the only veterinarian-formulated line of its kind in the world.  Jackson has developed and refined the remedies based on his over 15 years of experience and the needs of his clients.  They have been extremely successful, even in very difficult situations.  For more info, check out the holistic remedy section of store.jacksongalaxy.com

Pip, a one-eyed black cat with cerebellar hypoplasia, and Red, his former victim.

Pip – who bullied his fellow house cat Red

Issue:
Pip was a bully to Red, who took on the role of victim.  What made this scenario especially interesting is that being a one-eyed cat with cerebellar hypoplasia, Pip had permanent difficulty controlling his legs.  Because of this, cat toys that require quick jumping or pouncing are just frustrating to him, just agitating and aggravating.  He can never catch them.  He ended up bullying Red instead.  Here’s what helped to solve that dynamic.

Jackson says:
For Pip & Red we used Ultimate Peacemaker successfully for these guys.  But I also used Hyper Helper for Pip, because I was trying to slow down his reaction times a little bit, trying to get him to be grounded in the moment-to-moment.  So Hyper Helper actually worked for that as well.

Spirit Essences Jackson put to use:

• Ultimate Peacemaker
• Hyper Helper

 

 

 

 

Editorial Note: Ultimate Peacemaker is a 3-remedy set consisting of Peacemaker, Bully Remedy, and Self Esteem.  It’s formulated to help heal deep, serious, or long-standing aggression/conflicts between animals, and is one of the long-standing best-sellers of the Spirit Essences line.

Autumn – a young kitten whose spraying put big-time stress on the family.

Autumn – who was peeing everywhere, even on the microwave!

Issue:
Autumn was the source of a lot of family stress, both emotionally, financially, and time and energy-wise, too.  This was because of the incredible degree of marking that Autumn did, even peeing on the kitchen countertops, on the microwave, on the bed and couches.  It was an intense problem situation.  Here’s part of how Jackson helped solve it.

Jackson says:
For Autumn, it was all about Safe Space for Cats.  After her initial crazy freak out time outside (Note: see this post where Jackson talks more about the history Autumn had), we had to reintroduce the environment to her as being safe and that’s what we did with Safe Space for Cats.

Editorial Note: Safe Space for Cats is one of the long-standing best-sellers of the Spirit Essences line.  It was formulated by Jackson and Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM to help construct an energetic “bubble” around your cat.  In other words, this remedy helps reassure the cat that her territory is safe and protected from intruders.  Users notice a drop in urine-marking, aggression toward other animals, and increased self-confidence.

Spirit Essences Jackson put to use:

• Safe Space for Cats

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deb & Brian’s mid-century modern home was designed with large floor to ceiling windows that bring the outside in. This also means that any outdoor cats passing through the yard pose an immediate threat to the cats living inside. This kind of a perceived threat can cause all kinds of problems for the indoor cats. In this case, it was causing Autumn to pee and mark everywhere in the house. Once Jackson figured this out, he knew that some Catification was in order.

The first step was to catify the existing atrium space, creating a catio. Adding climbing shelves and using the existing trees in the atrium to create an incredible climbing structure gave Autumn, as well as Deb and Brian’s other cat Max, a place of ownership and a safe retreat away from the big windows and the view of the outdoor cats.

It was also critical to eliminate any areas outside the windows that were attractive to the outdoor cats. By removing the dirt and adding rocks directly outside the windows, the outdoor cats were no longer using the dirt as a litter box, which dramatically reduced the threat Autumn was feeling and helped her stop peeing inside the house.

Have your own Catification project that you want to share? Click here to submit your photos!

The Catification column on JacksonGalaxy.com is written by Cat Style Expert, Kate Benjamin. Kate specializes in environmental enhancement for living with cats and is the founder and editor of hauspanther.com, the premiere online magazine for design-conscious cat people. Kate’s design expertise and Jackson’s cat behavior know-how combine to create cat-friendly environments that are sure to please both human and feline family members alike.

The Catification piece of Pip and Red was multi-faceted. Red needed to be given access to the vertical world so he could a) find a place to be comfortable and have a sense of ownership, b) get away from Pip to avoid being attacked, and c) be in the same space with Pip in a way that allowed them to observe one another without having a direct line of attack. Because Pip can’t climb due to his cerebellar hypoplasia, giving Red climbing shelves and perches was the perfect solution. Red went immediately “up to Red-land”, as Jackson puts it, and settled in. As we saw, over time, the two cats became more comfortable with each other and were eventually able to be together on the floor with no fighting.

In addition to creating a cat superhighway up high for Red, it was also necessary to create a superhighway on the floor designed especially for Pip.  Different floor coverings with varying textures made it easier for Pip to gain traction and move around. Louise’s idea to attach small toys to the looped carpet created the perfect challenge for Pip, giving him something to focus on and a sense of accomplishment when he frees one of the toys from the loops. Both the ability to move around more easily and the added mental and physical stimulation from the toys and textures helped to ease Pip’s stress, relieving his tremors and reducing his attacks on Red.

Finally, adding a terrarium to create “Cat TV” gave Red some entertainment that he could focus on, while giving him an outdoor fix without the dangers of actually being outside.

Have your own Catification project that you want to share? Click here to submit your photos!

The Catification column on JacksonGalaxy.com is written by Cat Style Expert, Kate Benjamin. Kate specializes in environmental enhancement for living with cats and is the founder and editor of hauspanther.com, the premiere online magazine for design-conscious cat people. Kate’s design expertise and Jackson’s cat behavior know-how combine to create cat-friendly environments that are sure to please both human and feline family members alike.

Here’s how you can start solving the problem of cats who are super-scared or super-sprayers (yuck).

We asked Jackson to share a little bit more about the cases of Lita and Princess Puffy Pants.

See below to read his comments.

And when you’re done, check out this companion post with more from Jackson about how he used his own line of holistic remedies for Lita and Puffy Pants.

Lita, who spent her days hiding under the bed and vomiting all over the house

Lita – scared and vomiting

This is one of those cases, actually, that show you that physical health is compromised by emotional stress because the only thing that caused the extreme irritable bowel disease that we saw in Lita was Buddy, was Derek.  The stress that this cat felt caused her to throw up everywhere.  The stress that this cat felt caused her to lose her bowels and her bladder and that was all that it was.

Literally, as soon as the negative energy from Derek and Buddy were jettisoned from this cat’s life, it all stopped.  We didn’t have to medicate her, we didn’t have to change her diet.  She literally got better overnight.

It’s one of those things, like what we saw with Lily and Ozzy, that as soon as Lily stopped feeling territorial stress, she stopped over grooming.  The same thing goes for Lita.  (Ed. Note: Though in Lita’s case, she was vomiting instead of over-grooming.)

Buddy was a cat that I wish I had more of an opportunity to work with.  I never saw him again although I hear he was doing fantastic.  But with him it was really about Derek not rewarding this really jerky behavior.  But y’know, the apple don’t fall far from the tree.  Derek was really obstinate, he was just determinedly a little boy about everything.  I love him because he loves his cat.  That said, he made things very difficult, and so did Buddy.  But everyone’s happier now, especially Lita.

Tools of the Trade

Confidence Building Blocks

Jackson had Ryann use these corrugated cardboard squares as “confidence building blocks” for Lita.

First, stack up the blocks to form a giant staircase.

Then, use treats to lure your cat up the levels slowly over time.  This will help your cat gain confidence and give them a positive experience of being out in the open, and getting up onto things.

For more from Jackson about how he works with scaredy cats, see this post about Lita.

Princess Puffy Pants – who was soaking Jen & Nicole’s living room and furniture in pee

Princess Puffy Pants – territorial and marking

That, I kid you not…walking into that house was a smell adventure.  It was absolutely rank.  That couch was soaked.

And it was actually a very interesting story because Puffy Pants had to go and live with Jen’s mom for a while.  Jen’s mom had a lot of cats.  And when Puffy Pants went there, she was territorially accosted by her mom’s cats, and also outdoor cats, and that’s why she came back to Jen’s world with such a sense of territorial/impending doom.  That’s why she was peeing all over the place.

She didn’t trust that she wasn’t going to have her food taken, that she wasn’t going to be attacked.  She basically — the first time she ever met multiple cats — she was attacked, she had her food stolen.  And if that’s your experience, uh, y’know, what are you gonna do?  I mean it’s the human equivalent of you having your house broken into five or six times.  You might go out and buy a gun.  And that’s exactly what Puffy Pants did with pee.

So…yes, we built Ft. Knox around the house.  When I was black lighting outside and you saw that this garden that Jen was planting had been completely peed on by other cats — they were claiming the garden for themselves — there was telltale signs all over the place that the territory was like swiss cheese.  So of course Puffy Pants was feeling bad.

Another thing — you might not have seen on the show — I used donut beds and I used them all over the house.  And those donut beds were placed at the sliding glass door, on the dining room table, at every window where she was peeing, so she could soak her scent into it.  Another thing you gotta remember: [there was] no pee, no problems at all, upstairs where the bedrooms were.   [So] I introduced something like a donut bed or lots of donut beds up in the bedroom and then we rotated them out into the “dangerous” parts of the house once Puffy Pants establishes that “OK, this (the donut bed) is safe, I can use this.”  [Once that's done], rotate it out.  So then “home” comes out into the “dangerous” part of the world.  And that worked really really well.

Also, don’t give up if your cat’s not using a litter box.  Remember you’re trying to re-associate the experience of that litter box.  That’s why we used every shape and size of litter box that you can possibly imagine and put them all over the house.  When she identified the type of litter box she liked, and a new association with a different type of litter — by the way — then we got rid of the other litter boxes and we used only that.

Tools of the Trade

Motion Activated Animal Deterrent

Jackson had Jen and Nicole use all kinds of motion activated deterrents in their yard, to keep both domestic and wild animals from encroaching on Puffy Pants’ territory.

This one works with both a spray of air and sound, and can also be used to train cats to stay off of countertops or out of plants.

Another kind uses water.

Want more?  We got you covered.  

Click here to read more from Jackson about what holistic remedies he used for Lita and Puffy Pants, and why.

This is part of a blog series called the Spirit Essences Report.  It contains off-camera info straight from Jackson about how he helps the cats you see on My Cat From Hell.  Many times behind-the-scenes, he has his clients use Spirit Essences holistic remedies.  They are the same remedies he formulated with Holistic Veterinarian Dr. Jean Hofve, and he’s been employing them for over a decade.

Spirit Essences are not essential oils.  They are holistic remedies, and the only veterinarian-formulated line of its kind in the world.  Jackson has developed and refined the remedies based on his over 15 years of experience and the needs of his clients.  They have been extremely successful, even in very difficult situations.  For more info, check out the holistic remedy section of store.jacksongalaxy.com

Lita, who spent her days hiding under the bed and vomiting all over the house

Lita, former scaredy cat who vomited all over the house

Issue:
Lita hid under the bed whenever she could, and threw up all over the house, on the bed, under the bed, in the kitchen….  She was a super scaredy cat — the victim of a bully cat named Buddy, who would pounce on her every chance he got.

Jackson says:
I used Trauma-Free and Stress Stopper for Lita and Hyper Helper for Buddy.  Trauma-Free because we had to re-train Lita to have the confidence to walk through the middle of a room.   Because in her experience, if she wasn’t under the bed, she was being attacked.  So we had to show her that there was life that could be experienced and enjoyed in the middle of a room.  That’s what all the prescriptive work was about.  That’s what the confidence building blocks* were about.  [It's] about walking through experiences that represented traumatic outcomes in the past, and making them good things.  And Trauma Free definitely helps with that.  And Stress Stopper really helped when she was trapped in a world with Buddy.

Editorial Note: The “confidence building blocks” Jackson refers to are a method of helping provide your cat with a feeling of safety – and therefore confidence – in an open space.  In this method, literal blocks (made of anything sturdy, such as these corrugated cardboard squares) are stacked to form a staircase.  The guardian then uses treats to lead the cat progressively higher up each level, over time.  This helps show your cat that they can be safe and confident in getting up and onto open spaces.

Spirit Essences Jackson put to use:

• Trauma-Free
• Stress-Stopper
• Hyper Helper

Princess Puffy Pants – who made Jen & Nicole’s living room a “smell adventure”

Princess Puffy Pants, who was soaking the living room in pee

Issue:
Puffy Pants, who was once a ‘normal cat,’ began spraying, marking, and peeing up a storm in the living room.  She didn’t even use her litter box.  She was full of aggression, and went especially crazy when other cats came into the adjacent yard right outside the living room’s sliding glass door.

Jackson says:
Spirit Essences-wise for Puffy Pants, it was Safe Space for Cats, plain and simple.  Stress Stopper and Safe Space for Cats.

Editorial Note: Safe Space for Cats is one of the long-standing best-sellers of the Spirit Essences line.  It was formulated by Jackson and Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM to help construct an energetic “bubble” around your cat.  In other words, this remedy helps reassure the cat that her territory is safe and protected from intruders.  Users notice a drop in urine-marking, aggression toward other animals, and increased self-confidence.

Spirit Essences Jackson put to use:

• Safe Space for Cats

Heads-up!

The CAT DADDY paperback book tour is undergoing some re-jiggering.

Please keep checking the website for any additional updates.

Also, please contact the venue you plan to attend in advance to prevent any unpleasant surprises.

Some of these events may…

• require that you purchase a book from the venue to attend the event
• not allow previously purchased books, or books purchased elsewhere, at their event
• have limited capacity
• require tickets
• not allow cats or pets in the venue

And now, without further ado, here are the details on the book tour to celebrate the paperback release of Jackson’s book CAT DADDY: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love and Coming Clean.

The official release date was May 2, 2013.

And as with the original hardcover release, Tarcher/Penguin is donating $1.00 to the cause of helping homeless cats for each paperback or ebook ordered before May 10th.

Charities that will benefit are: Best Friends Animal Society, Stray Cat Alliance, and Neighborhood Cats.

If you’d like to preorder, here are some links where you can do so, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.

Now on to the Book Tour Details!

Shelter & rescue group appearances are in the works, along with assorted fundraisers and charity events, all along the way.

Yup…Jackson is gonna be one busy Cat Daddy!

AUSTIN, Texas
The Austin book event has been moved from May 7 to May 27.
Please scroll down for the event info, which is in chronological order

KANSAS CITY, Missouri

May 8
 at 5:30 pm
Cat Mojo VIP Reception
Unity on the Plaza Main Auditorium
Ticket Price: $50 + $3.74 fee — purchase online
Admission includes: autographed book, light hors d’ouvres, reserved seating at author event, hosted by Rainy Day Books (following reception)
Proceeds benefit six area shelters: KC Pet Project, HELP Humane Society, Wayside Waifs, Great Plains SPCA, The Human Society of Greater Kansas City, Spay & Neuter Kansas City

May 8 at 7pm
Rainy Day Books @ Unity Temple
707 W 47th Street
Kansas City, MO  64112
(913) 384-3126

NASHVILLE, Tennessee

May 9 – 10
Animal Care Expo
(this event open to Expo attendees only)
2800 Opryland Drive
Nashville, TN 37214

ANIMAL SHELTER VISIT – 2:30pm
Crossroads Campus
1210 7th Ave North
Nashville, TN 37208

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana

May 11 at 2pm
Garden District Bookshop
2727 Prytania St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 895-2266

CHICAGO, Illinois

May 12 at 7pm
Tree House Welcomes Jackson Galaxy
Chicago Party Animals
1133 W. Fulton Market
Chicago, IL  60607
This event does not require an RSVP, but space is limited to the first 200.

May 13 at 7pm
Anderson’s Books
123 W Jefferson Ave
Naperville, IL 60540
(630) 355-2665

ST. LOUIS, Missouri

May 15 at 7pm
St. Louis Public Library-Schalfly Branch with Left Bank Books
225 North Euclid Avenue
St. Louis, MO   63108
(314) 367-4120

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands

May 16 at 7pm
Books & Books
45 Market St
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
345.640.2665

MIAMI, Florida

May 17 at 7pm
Books & Books (new address!)
265 Aragon Ave.
Coral Gables, FL
(305) 442-4408

BOSTON, Massachusetts

May 19 at 2pm
Boston Public Library – Central Branch in Copley Sq.
Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston St
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 536-5400

New York City, New York

May 21 at 7pm
The Strand – this is a ticketed event, get your tickets online
828 Broadway at 12th St., 3rd Floor (rare book room)
New York, NY  10003
(213) 473-1452
Jackson is being interviewed by Gwen Cooper, author of Homer’s Odyssey & Love Saves The Day

AUSTIN, Texas

May 27 (was May 7) at 7pm
Book People
603 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX  78703
(512) 472-5050

More events to follow.

Be notified of all the latest updates by…

• signing up to receive new posts by email
• or subscribe using your RSS reader

Jackson’s Shelter of the Month
this May is

Tabby’s Place: a Cat Sanctuary

in Ringoes, New Jersey “The Garden State”

These T-shirt designs were created especially for Tabby’s Place
with the help of resQthreads.  At Res•Q•Threads, $10 from every item
purchased is donated to an animal rescue/shelter of the purchaser’s choice.

This month – #TeamCatMojo chooses Tabby’s Place!

Thanks also to Stretch & Scratch for donating a whole case of scratchers!
And to Spirit Essences for donating a shelter sized bottle of
Stress Stopper holistic remedy.

Here’s more info about this month’s organizations.

Tabby’s Place: a Cat Sanctuary

Tabby’s Place is a cage-free, no-kill sanctuary for cats
from hopeless situations located in Ringoes, New Jersey.

Facebook.com/TabbysPlace
Twitter.com/tabbysplace

Donations accepted online

Here are a few words from the amazing people of Tabby’s Place:

It is our passion to…

Rescue cats from hopeless situations: The majority of our cats come from shelters where they were on the list to be put to sleep. We embrace these cats into the Tabby’s Place family regardless of age, most medical issues, or personality. As such, Tabby’s Place is a haven for the neediest cats of all.

Supply medical care: Tabby’s Place makes a promise to every cat in our care: once she is a Tabby’s Place cat, she will receive all the medical care she needs to have a happy, healthy life, regardless of cost. Whether young and healthy or living with Special Needs, our cats receive first-rate medical care, both here at Tabby’s Place and at specialized treatment centers.

Provide a nurturing environment: When a cat comes to Tabby’s Place, she goes from desperate circumstances to a world of love. We provide cats with the tenderness, patience and personalized care they need to trust people, whatever their past. At Tabby’s Place, cats from hopeless situations enjoy life in bright, open suites that have been designed to meet their needs and delight their senses. Tabby’s Place’s revolutionary design was built for felines from the ground up.

Find loving homes: It is our dream for each cat that she find a loving forever home with a family of her own. Any cat who is not adopted has a home for life at Tabby’s Place, where we are honored to be her forever family.

Res•Q•Threads

Facebook Page for Res•Q•Threads
Twitter.com/resqthreads

$10 from every item purchased on the Res•Q•threads site
is donated to the animal rescue/shelter of the purchaser’s choice.

Stretch & Scratch 

As a shelter volunteer, Joan Laisney saw scratch marks on cage walls and shelving by shelter cats’ attempts to perform natural behaviors: stretching their muscles, scratching to clean their nails and scent mark with paws.

After months of testing, Joan designed a scratcher for caged cats that is sturdy, easy to install and affordable in a tight economy.

Every Shelter of the Month receives a case of these awesome scratchers!  Thank you Stretch & Scratch!

• attaches to most cage doors
• mounts on the cage wall to save floor space
• and keeps cage-cleaning easy
• keeps cats exercised and entertained
• encourages natural behavior
• provides enrichment for quarantined cats
• send scratcher home with kitty to ease stress
• add Stretch and Scratch to your shelter’s “wish-list”
• get scratchers donated by shelter supporters

Spirit Essences: Holistic Remedies for Animals

Every Shelter of the Month receives
a 32 oz. bottle of Stress Stopper.

Stress Stopper is formulated for all animals, not just cats.  It helps animals feel grounded and protected, which makes it great for the occasional, short-duration stresses that an animal faces: trips to the vet, thunder and lightning, fireworks, parties, vacuum cleaner, lawnmower, machinery, visitors and house guests, vacations (if the animal is boarded or has a pet-sitter), unusual noises (remodeling, construction, roadwork, etc.), arguments with other animals, repairpersons.  It is also good for animals who are left home alone all day, to prevent boredom and stress.

As you can see, Stress Stopper is an all-around remedy, which has made it one of the best-selling remedies in the Spirit Essences line.

This is part of a blog series called the Spirit Essences Report.  It contains off-camera info straight from Jackson about how he helps the cats you see on My Cat From Hell.  Many times behind-the-scenes, he has his clients use Spirit Essences holistic remedies.  They are the same remedies he formulated with Holistic Veterinarian Dr. Jean Hofve, and he’s been employing them for over a decade.

Spirit Essences are not essential oils.  They are holistic remedies, and the only veterinarian-formulated line of its kind in the world.  Jackson has developed and refined the remedies based on his over 15 years of experience and the needs of his clients.  They have been extremely successful, even in very difficult situations.  For more info, check out the holistic remedy section of store.jacksongalaxy.com

Buddy, a purebred Scottish Fold who had been abandoned and reverted back to a near-feral state

Buddy, the near-feral

Issue:
Buddy was a near-feral cat who wouldn’t let anyone touch him.  When approached, he would his and lash out.  He hid in small spaces, afraid to come out and be near humans.

Jackson says:
For Buddy, without a doubt, Feral Cat Rehabilitation.  And also of course, Stress Stopper.  As his world became a little more comfortable for him, we just wanted to keep that stress down.  But Feral Cat Rehab was in his food and water at all times just to help him trust the humans in his world.

Spirit Essences Jackson put to use:

• Feral Cat Rehabilitation
• Stress-Stopper

Kali the new adoptee, who was attacking fellow house cats Godzilla & Tokyo

Kali, the former dumpster cat

Issue:
Kali, a new adoptee, was incredibly aggressive to her two fellow house cats (Godzilla & Tokyo).  Kali couldn’t be in the same room with them , because she would inevitably attack and chase them down.

Jackson says:
Plain and simple, Peacemaker remedy.  And I also added for Kali, Trauma Free.  Because Trauma Free was helping her to break the cycle of how she perceived other animals in her life because of her past circumstances.

Spirit Essences Jackson put to use:

• Peacemaker
• Trauma Free

On Season 4, Episode 4 of My Cat From Hell, Jackson faced some incredible “firsts” in his career as a cat behaviorist.

This episode dealt with almost literally “wild” cats.  Cats who were near-feral, or who had issues in a domestic setting as a result of their history in “the wild.”

• How can you go about ‘taming’ a near-feral cat like Buddy?  (A purebred Scottish Fold who had previously been abandoned.)
• What kind of attitude helps when working with such an aggressive cat like Kali?  (Who was constantly attacking her fellow house cats Godzilla & Tokyo.)

The following transcript of Jackson’s thoughts on Buddy and Kali contains valuable behind-the-scenes info and answers both those questions.

Buddy, a purebred Scottish Fold who had been abandoned and reverted back to a near-feral state

Buddy

Of every case I’ve ever worked in my life, this one pretty much takes the cake.

I’ve never worked with a cat who was:

• purebred
• abandoned
• tried to be reclaimed
• all but feral
• and working with a woman who would stop at nothing to make him a part of her family

The mixture was combustible at times for sure.

When I had to make a decision about the status of his life or death, that was a first as well.

Buddy will remain to me, one of the most special animals I’ve ever come across, because he carried his entire history in his eyes from the first time I met him.

He had been abandoned.  Before his abandonment, I can guarantee he was abused, judging by his absolute distrust.  He was hit by a car, dragged down the street, put back together again, almost barely. FIV positive…all his other health challenges.

And yet the outcome is so unbelievable to me, still.

To see updates of Stephanie and Buddy together.

To see the commitment of Bob in this whole story was just so incredible to me.

Buddy’s re-entry into the world of being a companion animal is one of the things I’m most proud of being a part of.

“Red Carpeting”

The biggest challenge with Buddy was to actually get him in the house.

What you didn’t see in the show was the entire concept of what I would call “red carpeting” him into the house.

He was not ready to use a cat door, so we had the cat door open and leading directly into a tunneling area that we built underneath a table.

And really, another thing you didn’t see in the show was that there was a junkyard across the street and that’s where Buddy would choose to spend all of his time.  So I went over there at night and just explored the area itself and saw y’know, exactly what makes a cat like Buddy attracted to that area, which is tight spaces.  Which is a no-brainer in terms of feral behavior, but that’s why he kept choosing that.

So I wanted to make sure that when he came into the house it was never too overwhelming.  So the “red carpet” treatment led him first to his food right by the door and then there was sort of just this ‘invitation’ underneath that table — through tubes and whatnot — that eventually just deposited him out into the living room.  And that method worked perfectly.

Again, we had to tempt him through that area, where there was always that assurance that he could be enclosed until it was his choice not to be.  We just made it so that the obvious choice was to be uncovered and part of the world, and that worked really well.

Kali the new adoptee, who was attacking fellow house cats Godzilla & Tokyo

Kali

I think one of the most important things about Kali is to remember her story.

Every cat has a very specific story, just like every human, or any other species, has a very specific story.

And with Kali, the reason she was so “anti-cat” was not just because she didn’t like Tokyo and Godzilla’s face.  She had a history.  And that history — from what I decided from the evidence and a little bit of imagination — was that she was a dumpster cat.

About Dumpster Cats

Dumpster cats and ferals in general are gonna be really heightened about their food source and their protection of their food source.

Other cats in that particular [dumpster cat] arena are not your friends.  Especially if you’re just going into dumpsters, you’re just trying to get food.  So when it came to reintroducing Kali, Godzilla and Tokyo using food, you couldn’t have picked a more volatile way to do it.

And the fact that these cats succeeded in learning how to trust again, or learning how to trust for the first time, even if those steps were tentative, were pretty impressive.

Angela and Gloria made a commitment when they adopted Kali, to keep her with them.  And it was a hard commitment to keep.  And as it was, when I left these guys, they had really only cleared a couple of hurdles, and I’m sure there are more to clear, but I was proud of the work they did.

(For more on Buddy & Kali, and how Jackson used holistic remedies in both their cases, check out this Spirit Essences Report.)