Are cats from hell?

Animal Planet’s My Cat from Hell is back on its sixth season. The show follows Jackson Galaxy, who travels from Los Angeles to New York helping cat families in need. Jackson deals with some of the worst cases of cat-on-cat and cat-on-human aggression he has ever seen. From humans that just don’t understand their animals to cats that are in need, Jackson has one goal: to help change people’s lives, one cat at a time.

My Cat from Hell has episodes like “My Boyfriend vs. My Cat,” where reality star and retired model Adrianne Curry and her boyfriend, Todd, are living with Adrianne’s menacing Siamese cat, Billy Shears.  When Billy isn’t playing with his poop or meowing at all hours of the night, he’s destroying their 1920s art deco apartment with his scratching. 

Another episode is “Darkness Comes Knocking,” where Steev and Laura have been dating for seven years, but Steev’s cat Darkness is tearing them apart. 

In yet another episode, “Bat Cat Karma,” Justin gives his cat-obsessed mom a new kitten, Bombadil. He has no idea it will be a gift from hell.  Bombadil is pooping all over his mother’s house and he’s attacking her two other cats, Bliss and Bowie. 

This season features 10 episodes, each one showing just how bad cat behavior can be — and how Jackson Galaxy is able to deal with these cats. 

Wanting to get to know cats better, Petlife was able to do a phone interview with Jackson Galaxy. Read on to understand just what “catitude” is and how Jackson Galaxy is able to deal with it. 

PHILIPPINE STAR: You mentioned that cats and dogs actually complement each other. Can a cat actually help a dog from hell, so to speak, or a dog with a bad attitude, at that? 

JACKSON GALAXY:  Yes.  I mean, I think in an indirect way.  You know, what I’ve seen before is that the presence of a cat in a home sometimes will take a dog very anxious and help calm him down.  The same thing with the cats.  I’ve also seen it with a rabbit — that you can bring a rabbit into the home and it will calm another species down.  You’ll never know who that’s going to be.  And so, I would never want to say, if you have a dog problem, bring in a cat.  I would never say that. 

But I’ve seen examples across the board where different species act to what I call the social bridge to another animal to show them, “Look, you can interact to a few of them.  Look at what they bring to you.”  And that animal would say, “Oh, I see.  Not so bad.”  So it can definitely go inter-species for sure. 

Is there a different skill required for people to be able to bond with cats and dogs? 

Absolutely.  I mean, I think it starts from the same side.  I think it starts from the knowledge that you know they’re animal and they don’t necessarily speak English or any language that — you know, any human language.  And so, we have, to a certain degree, compromise, you know, whether it’s dog or cat.  That’s one of the things that’s really hard for human to reach across the line and do something that benefits just the animal and not the human as well.  And that’s where it all has to start. 

You have to learn the language. So whether it’s learning how to speak dog or learning how to speak cat, there are definite similarities but there’s also definite differences. You know, in a way, there are similarities between humans and dogs, humans and cats, human and pigs, humans and chimpanzees. But there’re also differences. And it’s important to learn where we’re similar but also where we’re different. It’s important for us to learn that out of their language. 

What are the biggest challenges you encountered while filming the TV show? 

Well, by far, the hardest thing is filming cat.  It is the hardest thing in the world to put a big camera on a scared cat.  And let alone, don’t forget there’s a dozen people in the room with me. There’s me, there’s the cat guardians, my show runner, two camera guys, sound guy… you know, there’s a bunch of people in the room. 

And cats are pretty seriously territorial.  They don’t like change, and suddenly, there’s a bunch of strangers in their house and that makes it really tough. That’s why so many times, you see me calling under a bed, you know, because I have to go where they are and they’re often in the bed or in the closet or something like that.  So the most difficult thing is getting them to trust that the cameras are not a danger to them. They feel — the cameras look like a predator.  So yes, it’s really hard. 

When I hear “cat from hell,” I immediately think that these are the worst kinds of cats.  So how did you come up with that kind of title?  And do you believe that there are cats that are actually beyond helping? 

Yes.  If you know me at all you know that I did not come up with the name of the show.  In fact, the day that I heard the name of the show, I almost had a heart attack. But that said, I understand completely why we named the show My Cat from Hell.  Because, you know, all of us were not 100 percent confident that people would watch a show about cats.  Remember, there weren’t any shows about cats before us. 

So it was a risky move, and I think to help offset that risky move, we just need the title as, you know, dramatic as possible so that people who didn’t want cats will still watch the show.  And as soon as you watch the show for five minutes, then the joke becomes, “Oh, well, it should be called My People from Hell,” you know, because that’s really what I’m dealing with. 

And no, to answer the other side of your question.  I have never met an animal, cat, dog, porcupine or other that I felt was beyond help.  I think that everyone deserves the dignity of being helped on their own terms.  And as long as we know what that looks like, as long as we know that at the end of the day, we might not be “fixed,” but at least you’re going to be happier than you were before.  And if cats are happier than they were when I met them, then the people are going to be happier, too. 

There’s a belief that cats are generally aloof.  Do you believe that this is true? 

Of course not.  And I guess why they’re seen as aloof.  They’re seen as aloof because they don’t speak human.  Do you know what I mean?  Their dogs wag their tail and you’d say, “Ah, I know what that is.  You’re not aloof.” Or dogs, when you walk into their house and they run up to you then wiggle and they say, “Oh, where have you been all day?”  You know, cats don’t do that so we think of them as being aloof. 

When in reality, they’re very different animals and cats express their love in a very different way.  So success for me would be if you thought of a cat as being aloof, that I could explain to you what their bodies do when they feel close to you, when they want to express love, when they want to get closer, and you’ll see.  Just like speaking cat better that they never were aloof to begin with. 

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Cats from Hell, which had its premiere telecast last July 29, airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Animal Planet.