MEOW: Jackson Galaxy, star of ‘My Cat From Hell,’ discusses his feline fascination

Jackson Galaxy, star of Animal Planet’s My Cat From Hell, is as memorable as they come. Tattoos with the likenesses of his favorite kitties (dubbed ‘cattoos’) running down his arms, perfectly trimmed sideburns and an iconic goatee, the man commands one’s attention. But behind his seemingly bad-boy façade is an undeniable truth that becomes quite evident only seconds after talking with him: He’s an unabashed animal lover with a specific dedication to the feline community.

On his hit reality series, which returns Saturday, June 30 with new episodes, Galaxy works predominantly with cats, but he’s also focused on changing bad human behavior. Call him the Cat Whisperer. Call him Catman. Call him Jackson Galaxy (that’s memorable enough). No matter the moniker, he’s driven by his fascination of all things “Meow!”

In a revealing interview with Hollywood Soapbox, Galaxy talks about his most difficult cat cases, the future plans for the show and what exactly is the deal with those ‘cattoos.’ Questions and answers have been slightly edited.

On the new season …

It’s an incredibly busy time right now. We’re pretty much in the 12-to-13-hour, six-day-a-week cycle right now, but it’s great. It’s amazing fun actually.

On the origins of the show …

We’re in the third season now, so the whole process started about four-plus years ago. Yeah, they came to me. I was teaching classes in Hollywood, just cat care, back then just calling it Cat Mojo 101. And a producer came and saw me teach, and it pretty much rolled down hill from there. That general vibe of, ‘This guy works with cats?’ And from that point on it was really pretty well downhill.

On the largest challenge of the show …

By far, the challenge has been working with cats on camera. I can sit around and get what I need from a cat and then be able to work with them really quickly. When they have the extra challenge of trying to get used to the entire TV crew, that’s problematic. That becomes really kind of tough. We’ve been refining our approach since the day we filmed the first pilot. … I know a lot of cats since we started this process who just when they lock eyes, so to speak, with a camera, freak out. It’s definitely been a challenge.

On finding different problem cats and families …

Well, they seek us out. We have auditions, so to speak. We put out the word, ‘Hey, if you got a cat with issues, we’ve got the guy for you.’ We narrow it down. Obviously, I put in my input, which cases really turn me on, meaning which is unique and which couples or singles really need help, and how I can help. And that’s how I bring it to production.

On changing human behavior …

With every single case, there’s a level of human behavior that has to go, or at least morph into something else, if they want to have a successful life with their animal companion. … I’ve been at this for 17 years now, and what shocks me is people’s blind spots, enormous blind spots when it comes to their animals, their own life, the people they live with, their own environment. Every time I’m in a home, I go, ‘Did you not notice this? Were you waiting for me to say this? Or is this something you knew about but didn’t want to talk about on TV?’ Because there are just these big, big glaring things.

For instance, this season, I deal with a mother-and-daughter combination, and the mother is treating her little dog like human children, with the excuse that the cat is causing this issue. And as I’m finding out, the cat is the least of the problems.

On taking cases around the United States …

Well, we are starting, knock on wood, starting to spread out. I have put out that plea early on when we started this season, and we started traveling, which is amazing. And the premiere episode, the one on June 30, features my first traveling, which will be to New York and then it’s my hometown [New York City]. I was absolutely thrilled that I was going to be able to take this on the road. And you get a whole other feel from people when you’re able to just follow the story and you’re able to follow the problem, as opposed to having to stay right around southern California, you know because of budget reasons. It is this huge eye-opening, huge refreshing shot of adrenaline. It was really, really amazing, and you’ll see those cases were really fantastic, too.

On what happened 17 years ago …

Well, I was working at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, Colo., and from the minute I was there, it seemed to be this attraction. And, of course, this is coming from somebody who grew up without cats. When I was in a room full of cats, they were magnetized toward me, and I understood them. Other people noticed and brought it to my attention that we were euthanizing a lot of cats because we didn’t understand what they wanted, we didn’t understand their needs and how to allow them to thrive in a very challenging environment. And that became my calling at that moment. And I never looked back.

On rescuing cats rather than going to a breeder …

I mean that’s my main focus in life, is reducing euthanasia in shelters. Of course, we’d all like to see a no-kill reality in this country. We’re far, far away from it, and part of that reality is choosing to save a life. That to me is one of my main rallying cries.

Listen, I spent 10 years in that system, and it’s a harsh reality. We deal with cases on this season with unneutered animals. A few girls joking about, ‘Oh yeah, our cat goes outside, and she has two boyfriends outside.’ And it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart because there will be kittens roaming around their neighborhood, and then they’ll say, ‘Oh, well, you know, those kittens will find homes.’ I can promise you one thing, those kittens who found homes, there are adult cats across town that will die because of those kittens.

And I think the same thing holds true at this point about over-bred cats as well. It’s not like I don’t love specific breeds of cats. I do, and I’m very conflicted about it. But, in the end, I think that we as people who love cats have a large responsibility at this moment in time, and we have to pay attention to and honor that responsibility.

On displaying his fascination with cats as tattoos, or his ‘body of work’ …

First of all, that’s hilarious, a body of work. Secondly, I love the fact that you used fascination because that’s exactly the take that I have. And I’ve been using that word a lot this season as well. If that fascination is contagious in any way, then that cat will stay in your home. Not only will that cat stay in your home, but then it becomes viral. Then you take it to your friends who are thinking about rehoming their cats or putting their cats to sleep for behavior problems. It all stems from fascination. If I can’t go for the love, I go for the fascination.

The cat tattoos, it was literally just impulse. The best things I’ve ever done in my life, I’ve done without thinking about them — and the worst, now that I think about it. … I needed to have cats on me, and I just went. And, of course, it’s evolved again with a fascination of how cats played roles in Japanese society and Japanese art, and then it became putting my own cats on me.

On his most memorable or toughest case …

Last season there was a cat named Penny Lane, and Penny Lane was that first case where … I was going to have to bring to light the necessity of using psychotropic drugs for cats. And it’s a very controversial thing to touch upon, especially on a big stage like mine. But there was no choice.

At that point, I think we put her on Prozac. Without that there is absolutely no way that I could have approached her, that I could have worked with her. So the challenge was to show the audience that this was a matter of being kind and being empathetic to this animal’s needs. She was suffering because of her mental problems. So that was a big problem as well. And, of course, it turned out OK.

This season I’m working with a case, a cat named Gus, and his problem is called pica. And pica is an obsessive-compulsive disorder. When the producers showed me his audition tape, I said, ‘You know, there is no cure for this. There is no way of making this a happy ending.’

I was really, really encouraged because the answer was, ‘Just work with him.’ … He’s been an incredibly challenging case. Pica cats basically eat everything. Anything that’s not nailed down a pica cat will chew on and eat and digest. And trying to keep this cat from eating everything from wood to hair to plastic has been an incredibly huge challenge.

On his own pets …

I have three cats and a dog.

On whether they get along …

Yeah, actually. That would be really embarrassing. They all get along. … Lucky for me, the personalities mesh. I’ve got an 18-year-old, 17-year-old and 3-year-old ex-feral. So basically the older ones, even if they’re grouchy, they are sort of at that place at path of least resistance. And the younger one, the ex-feral … she tries to fit in with other cats. It’s not in her nature to go against them. Yeah, that works well. The only problem is having a semi-blind 12-year-old Jack Russell terrier. She basically explores the world with her mouth, and the cats pay the price for that. But other than that, we’re good.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• My Cat From Hell returns with new episodes on Saturday, June 30 at 8 p.m. Click here for more information.