Jackson Galaxy Considered by Some to be a Crazy Animal Hugger

Jackson Galazy
Jackson Galazy
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats
Jackson Galaxy, when delivering a speech the Animal Care Expo 2014, Ocean Center, Daytona Beach on May 20, admitted that some people considered him to be a crazy animal hugger. I can understand that. There are a lot of people who don’t understand the kind of relationship a person can have with an animal and how beneficial it is to both parties. There is certainly a disconnect between a large section of society and people like Jackson Galaxy (and myself and other PoCers for that matter). It doesn’t matter which country you live in but perhaps this difference in attitude towards animals is highlighted in the USA, where Jackson Galaxy works and lives.

However, the good news is that Galaxy did say the following:

“People who actually give a rip about animals is actually growing.”

He means that there are more and more people in the United States of America who are beginning to care about animal welfare and their relationship with companion animals. This is surely a good thing for both people and animal. It is optimistic news. Perhaps it will impact upon the declawing of cats and one day make it unacceptable. It may also impact beneficially on the keeping of wild cat species as pets.

There are some wonderful people in America, in senior positions in society, who genuinely wish to improve animal welfare. Another such person is Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. She makes it a habit to take a shelter dog to state-level cabinet meetings held around Florida with the intention that the exposure will assist in the adoption of the dog. Well done Pam. You are a great lady.

There is no doubt that Jackson Galaxy has broken down barriers and made it acceptable for many people who would not normally care about animal welfare to start caring.

Jackson Galaxy’s television show “My Cat from Hell” is about Jackson educating cat owners how to overcome perceived cat behavioural issues. In truth they are often people behavioural issues and Jackson knows it.

As I read the situation, Jackson converts people from the attitude of “get rid of that cat which drives me crazy” to a fresh attitude which is “I want to keep my cat. How do I do it?”

Jackson makes the good point that good cat caretaking is about making sure that the raw nature of the domestic cat is satisfied. It is about satisfying the innate and instinctive behaviour drives and motivations of the domestic cat. Then the cat is happy and will no longer be aggressive or pee in the wrong place whereupon the cat owner will be happy to – an upward constructive cycle. This is something that the regulars on PoC and myself have been banging on about for a very long time.

There’s no doubt that Jackson understands the domestic cat and how to care for the cat. It is interesting to note that Jackson Galaxy grew up with dogs and goldfish!

He came to learn about the domestic, stray and feral cat while working at the animal shelter in Boulder, Colorado.

He wanted to reduce the number of cats that were euthanised due to behavioural problems and therefore he learned about cat behaviour. He wanted to reform cats who were considered to have behavioural problems.

At the time he had a drug problem and it would seem that in his mission to help the vulnerable cat he helped himself in beating his drug problem to become highly successful and a role model in cat ownership.

His greatest achievement I feel is this: Jackson Galaxy breaks down barriers and encourages people who would not otherwise be particularly fond of animals to start considering animal welfare and their relationship with companion animals.

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15 thoughts on “Jackson Galaxy Considered by Some to be a Crazy Animal Hugger”

  1. The issue I have is with some of the remedies promoted on his show. The company producing the remedies will sell them to you even if you don’t need it – suggesting to me that they are snake oil. I have a correspondent whose cat has a low tolerance of being petted, combined with owners that need to learn when their cat has had enough and let it walk away. When they asked the marketing company about the remedies featured on the show, they were told they need to buy two types for their cat. I tried to persuade them to save their money and to modify their own behaviour because the “remedies” recommended won’t alter their cat’s (normal!) behaviour. JG could do without that sort of salesmanship attached to his name.

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    • I agree. The one big downside to Jackson Galaxy is that he is a commercial enterprise and when you combine cat welfare with financial profit you get problems, compromises etc. There are numerous examples.

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