The final episode of "My Cat From Hell" aired this past Saturday night, and after all the hours I spent recapping "Must Love Cats" it seemed hardly fair that I still hadn't given the new Animal Planet hit its own virtual ink, especially since I loved it just as much as its "cuddlier" predecessor.
I know a few people expressed to me they weren't thrilled with the title of the show because of its negative connotations, but I really want to stress that cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy is AWESOME, and the show isn't as much about cats spawned by a dark feline overlord, as much as it is about wayward cat owners who just needed Galaxy's helping, (cat)tooed hand to guide them in the right direction.
The show is interesting on many levels, and although Charlie and Priscilla are far from hellish, I still picked up a lot of great tips on cat behavior, and how to better interact with them. For example, did you know a great non-verbal way to communicate with your cats is to soften your eyes and slowly blink at them? Also, cats can be "bush dwellers" or "tree dwellers," and if you have a kitty that's always in hiding, it may be time to help boost their confidence by providing daily playtime along with high up spaces where they can observe from above, instead of living their lives under the bed in fear.
The three, hour long episodes of the show featured seven problem cats belonging to six different couples.
Here's the breakdown:
Cats helped: 7 (Bear, Lulu, Sully, Avery, Fifi, Duff, and Minibar)
Relationships saved: 6
Girlfriends From Hell: 1
Boyfriends From Hell: 4
Number of couples saying, "He's not what I expected" after meeting Jackson: 6
Call me a little slow on the uptake, but it took me at least one commercial break into the first episode before it dawned on me what was going on with Jackson's guitar case. Was he going to play the cats into submission? Answer: No, it's where he ingeniously keeps all his cat supplies!
Most improved cat guardian: Matt from Episode 1
Matt, a bona fide cat hater, transforms into a cat enthusiast, who even takes one of the cats out for a walk on a pink leash. At the end of the episode, he also refers to his girlfriend Sarah's kitty as "my cat," and after realizing he's done so, points it out to Jackson while giving him a high five.
(Click here if video has trouble loading.)
Most improved cat: Formally feral tuxedo cat Minibar proved that there's hope even in the most seemingly hopeless situation.
If you missed any episodes of the show, you can download them now on iTunes and Amazon for $1.99 each.
Follow Jackson Galaxy on Facebook, and check out more clips and tips, like this one about how to properly play with your cat, here.
While Animal Planet recently confirmed another six-episode run of "Must Love Cats," it's still too early to say if "My Cat From Hell" will be returning, but my prediction is that we're in store for a whole lot more of Jackson Galaxy's patented brand of kitty rehab.
In the meantime, if you'd like to help speed along the decision process, click here to let Animal Planet know how you feel!
Tell me, are you a fan of the show?
July 2011 Update! The show has been renewed for another six episodes, and will return to Animal Planet in "early 2012."
15 comments:
I loved this show (although I don't care for the name, either), and I love Jackson's approach to working with cat behavior challenges. He looks at things from the cat's point of view, and he works with the humans as much as he works with the cats - if not more! Most feline behavior problems are the human's fault, not the cat's. We expect these wonderful creatures to confirm to our idea of what makes a nice environment, and that doesn't always support our cats' needs.
If you liked the show, please let Animal Planet know you'd like to see more episodes. Here's the link to do so:
http://animal.discovery.com/utilities/about/viewer-relations.html#comments
Scroll down to #32 and click on the link. The show is not listed in the drop down menu, so you'll need to select "other" and mention it in the comment field.
I emailed Animal Planet asking them for more episodes of "My Cat From Hell". I received an email from them within 48 hours. "We appreciate your enthusiasm regarding My Cat From Hell and for taking the time to write us. Positive feedback such as yours is very important to us. We want you to know that we will pass your comments on to our program management and executive producers. Please know that each and every comment is read and taken into consideration for future programming."
LOVED the show. We admit, when we first heard the name, we thought of our sister Ivy. Then we watched and realized that Ivy is pretty civilized. MOL We hope it comes back....we love Jackson (and he gave mom some ideas about the wild child Junior too).
I have heard so much about this program and we are sad since we cannot watch it. We don't get it here on our TV. We don't have cable or a dish. But it does sound like a good program.
The name might be a bit insulting, but a bunch of kitties and humans ended up getting help. Animal Planet should continue with this show.
HATE the name, LOVE the show! I didn't realize there were only three episodes -- where did you get that info?? I sure hope they renew it because it has a lot of useful info that I think could help cat owners who watch, not just the two featured on each episode.
I love this show. I actually like it more than Must Love Cats. I just appreciate the insights into cat behavior that it offers. I've already written to Animal Planet encouraging them to renew this show.
Great wrap up, and I know I'm biased. Jackson is just as cool in person.
I hate the name but now that you told us what it is..I am so hoping to see it. I love anything that promotes true understanding of cats, The first thing being stop thinking they will act like dogs! Nothing cheeses me off more than that!
We are like Admiral - we were not thrilled with the name, and the synopsis we read for the first episode on the cable guide didn't really make us think it would be a show we would like. But it sounds like it is a lot better than we would have guessed so we think we might try to check it out.
ooh, my LL loves this show very much too! and she finally realized that I behaved like an angel after watching this show.. MOL!!
I didn't mind the name so much, because I have a cat that was just that. we inherited a kitty with bad habits from being in a family with kids. After learning how to read her moods we do much better. As we implement some of the suggestions, she gets better and better.
Simply love this show! Please keep it going.
Love this show and don't mind the name - please bring this show back for another season, after the first few episodes there I was Saturday afternoon looking on the TV schedule for more episodes - I was hooked since the first episode I saw and watched reruns to catch what I may have missed or rather just because I enjoyed it so much - so please Animal Planet - bring back for another season!!
Love this show so much.. Jackson is fantastic! The only episode that upset me was the one about Lulu and Sully... I don't blame the cat for how he felt about that creep Matt. As a female I would like to tell Sully's owner to boot the creep out.. I worked in the mental health field and see a lot in that man that is negative - not just with the cats.... He is a phoney. Never mind the cats - I worry about Amanada.
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