IIPTF PET FESTIVAL PUNE Vol 12 Issue No 10 October 2019 | Page 20

Feline Behaviour
JACKSON GALAXY
ON CATIFICATION
AND CAT MOJO
HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR CATS
THE RIGHT WAY
Priyanka Tanwar, Editor – Creature Companion in conversation with Mr. Jackson Galaxy – world-renowned cat
behaviour and wellness expert and TV host of Animal Planet’s “My Cat from Hell.” Mr. Galaxy has authored four books on
cat behaviour – “Catifi cation: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!),” “Cat Daddy: What the World’s
Most Incorrigible Cat Taught me about Life, Love and Coming Clean,” and “Catify to Satisfy: Simple Solutions for Creating
a Cat-Friendly Home” and his latest, “Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life With Your Cat.” He has made appearances
as a guest expert in international Television shows “Think Like a Cat” and “Cats 101” and featured in print articles in
esteemed publications like “The Washington Post,” “New York Post,” “The New York Times” and “USA Today.” Excerpts...
N
amaste from India! Thank
you so much for taking out
the time to talk to Creature
Companion Bureau. The fi rst thing
we would like to know is if you were
into cats from a young age? What
prompted you to become a full-time
feline behaviourist at a time when
this term was unheard of?
Actually, I grew up with a dog. I never
really had cats in my life, at least not in
a very meaningful way. My girlfriend
had a cat in college and I lived with a
few cats on and off, but it wasn’t until
I started working in an animal shelter
that I began my relationship with cats.
The cats would just gather around me
and at the time the idea was if these
cats are picking me and we are being
tasked with saving their lives then
who am I to say no? That’s really what
led me to take this position on in life.
I was the cat guy in the fi rst shelter,
then I became the cat guy in a number
of shelters, and then I started going
into people’s homes to stop them from
20
surrendering their cats, and one thing
led to another to get me where I am
today.
H
ow
have
the
societal
perceptions and attitudes
towards cats changed since
you fi rst started working as a feline
behaviour consultant in the 1990s?
Let’s not even focus on just cats, let’s
take a look at companion animals in
general! At the time I started working
in the shelter system, we were killing
between 10-12 million cats and dogs
every year and we are now fi nally
down to under a million for the fi rst
time ever. The reason is humans are
now seeing animals in a different
light. We see them as family members,
not as property. We don’t just discard
them when they don’t serve our needs
anymore. That is the biggest change.
People are willing to work for success
as a family and not just give up, and
that makes my job a whole lot easier.
Creature Companion | October 2019 • Vol. XII • Issue 10 • Noida
T
ell us about your pets. What
role have they played in
shaping your life?
I think anybody would have the same
story, that when you are off on your
own away from your family and you
bring an animal into your home for
the fi rst time, you suddenly become
an adult and you now have children.
And that’s how my life was shaped,
period. I don’t have human children.
My family has had four legs for as long
as I can remember… well sometimes
three (laughs)! It has made me a
responsible person and as I detailed
in my memoir (Cat Daddy), having
animals in my life, saved my life. If it
weren’t for me working for animals
and them counting on me, drugs and
alcohol would have killed me 20 years
ago.
W
hat are the basic reasons
for behavioural issues in
cats?