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My cat from hell
jerseyporter
Posts: 2,332 Forum Member
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Has anyone else caught this programme on Sunday nights on Animal Planet? Ok, it's an American import, but it's no less fascinating for that!
Rock star by night (complete with tattoos, shaved head and funky beard!) and cat behaviourist by day (carrying the tools of his cat training trade in a guitar case!) Jackson Galaxy sorts out the most extreme forms of unsociable cat behaviour (which, unsurprisingly, also means often sorting out their owners!). It's been fascinating learning about the dos and don'ts of looking after, and handling, a cat. Last night's episode included the work he did with a feral cat which a couple had adopted from an animal shelter - having been told by the animal shelter that the cat was "70% domesticated..." only to find out the cat was totally wild! But with Jackson's help the cat went from being totally terrified and distrustful of human contact to being happy to be petted in a matter of weeks. Considering the owners had thought about returning the cat (called Minibar) to the 'pound' (to be put down) that was a result for the cat!
Anyway, if you're a cat owner it's worth a look!
Rock star by night (complete with tattoos, shaved head and funky beard!) and cat behaviourist by day (carrying the tools of his cat training trade in a guitar case!) Jackson Galaxy sorts out the most extreme forms of unsociable cat behaviour (which, unsurprisingly, also means often sorting out their owners!). It's been fascinating learning about the dos and don'ts of looking after, and handling, a cat. Last night's episode included the work he did with a feral cat which a couple had adopted from an animal shelter - having been told by the animal shelter that the cat was "70% domesticated..." only to find out the cat was totally wild! But with Jackson's help the cat went from being totally terrified and distrustful of human contact to being happy to be petted in a matter of weeks. Considering the owners had thought about returning the cat (called Minibar) to the 'pound' (to be put down) that was a result for the cat!
Anyway, if you're a cat owner it's worth a look!
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Didn't think it would be my cup of tea, but i must admit i watch it too now.
(And eyeing up some spaces on the walls where i can put up some 'cat shelves', lol) :eek:
Though is it me or do americans not let their cats out of the house - no wonder they are all 'barking' if you pardon the pun
Some don't - some American's have apartments and so the cats can't be let out - however, when it is a kitten, they take their front claws out so they can't scratch the furniture, thats illegal in the UK though... My cousins wife is American and has a cat with its claws taken out - it gets in terrible situations, stranded on beams or balconeys, with my cousin having to get the ladder and coax it down. Once it fell off a balconey and you could see all these scratches on the wall - from the back claws, awwww. Its always fine though XD
Trust me declawing is strongly frowned upon in the US. Most cat lovers wouldn't even consider it. It easy enough to clip their claws (like a dog's) whenever necessary, just provide them with loads of attractive scratching posts and you'll hardly have any problems. My two are house cats, and are very happy:D.
By the way. I do love the show :cool: It's a shame it's finished for now.
LOL, you just need to feed the fella :rolleyes:
I'm kidding, I've got cats all my live and now it just seems natural to get them. Their behavior is not that difficult once you get the idea of what is what a cat wants...
luck with the show
I've had a cats most of my adult life too and I agree with you, most of it is common sense. But as with people they are individuals with different personalities. The cat I have at the moment is easy, hunt, food, fuss, sleep. But I had a problem cat previously, a ginger she cat, she was high maintenance.:eek:
Is the series over now?:(
Series 1 was made in 2011 (3 programmes), series 2 was made in 2012 (6 programmes) , series 3 was also made in 2012 and featured 10 programmes.
The newest series from 2013 is currently being aired and there will be 16 programmes in total.
A one off "Where Are They Now" programme was also made in 2013, featuring cats from previous series.
As you can see, it does seem to be getting more popular.
I have been a cat lover and 'owner' all my life and have met all types of cats (I actually believe that EVERY cat has it's own personality) and this programme genuinally shocked me.
I have NEVER come across such shocking behaviour from a cat in my entire life.
I recommend this programme to every cat lover. There are cats out there who wait until humans are in bed asleep and then viciously attack them, some cats will properly chase, hunt and pounce on their 'owner', their 'owners' new partner who s/he doesn't like or other cats in the house. These attacks are not at all playful and proper deep chunks have been taken out if humans and other cats...and then there are the cats who will vomit out of anger or urinate out of spite.
Next time your cat annoys you by playing a little too roughly, just remember what it is actually capable of if it put it's mind to it and meant it.
Enjoyable, informative, interesting, educational but VERY shocking to watch.
Seriously though this is a great show i watch it on Animal planet od (you'll need a vpn) and find it very helpful too.
LOL
As this programme is on a pay channel, so that everyone can see what the programme is all about, here is a link that gives some more information and video clips
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/my-cat-from-hell
We still watch Jackson whenever the shows are on Animal Planet - whilst we are amazed at some of the owners' apparent lack of common sense, we have also learned a lot and are thankful for the confirmation that we aren't doing so badly...
... because what I forgot to say in my OP at the time is that we were relatively new to the cat owning world then, and entered it through re-homing cats from the JSPCA (like the RSPCA, only in Jersey!) so weren't that different to some of the owners featured on 'My Cat from Hell' in that respect, but somehow seem to have got it more right than wrong using our common sense and instincts and a lot of research! However, it has meant we have paid more attention to any story that features a re-homed cat.
Back when I started the thread we had just the two cats, brothers (Lucky, an all-black half Maine **** and Sylvester a black and white half Maine ****) who were both 6 (their owner had gone into an old people's home and the cats had to be given up) but after two years we felt the time was right to adopt another one...
...Unlike some of the owners (the ones with choices, not the ones who are forced to make cats live together because of their owners' relationships, for example) we put some thought into it, figuring two 'older' boys (they were 8 by that time) would need a young female to not feel threatened in their position as the older boys of the house. We went back to the shelter, not expecting to find a cat that day, considering we were looking for a particular gender and age (and our then-14 year old daughter joking that it would have to be black, or black and white to fit in with the colour scheme!) but lo and behold they had a year old (they guessed) stray female they'd named Missy... and she was black and white! We brought her home the same day. :kitty:
A year later (in June this year) we felt the urge again (it's like children - if you've got three, four doesn't make much difference to costs!) and just like before, didn't expect to find a cat the first day we went down... but there was Tosca who was 7 and had already been handed in to the shelter twice because of owners moving away from the island
Unfortunately, our lovely Lucky got run over in October (by a stupid speeding teenager who didn't even stop, according the person who found him) and for my two teenage girls it was their first real taste of bereavement - we were all crying
Apologies for being a 'cat bore', but honestly, it's like having quad sometimes, you don't know which cat it is unless you can see their faces, they're all black and white, but they all have their personalities (Sylvester is a night-time hunter, Tosca's mostly a house-cat with little 10 minute forays into the garden), Missy's a day-time only cat when it comes to going outside, and Smudge can't yet make up his mind!
What shocked us on 'My Cat from Hell' (as it seems to have shocked others) is the fashion for de-clawing that we hadn't really known anything about before seeing the results on a recent episode. It's so badly named when you read up on what it entails - you're maiming your cat, and for no reason whatsoever when the cost of a decent scratching post or two and a bit of training will come in at a fraction of the cost of a trip to the vet to maim your cats' paws >:( And talking of vets, we have only adopted cats we can afford to insure and pay vets fees for - we feel it's only fair to be able to afford to take care of them if we have them.
And with that I'm off to feed four cats who sure know when it's dinner time!! :kitty: