Cat Behaviorist Jackson Galaxy is an entrepreneur, Animal Planet star, YouTuber and book author with an entire line of cat-care products. He adores all animals, but cats hold a special place in his heart. He made it his life’s goal to save every homeless cat in the country and gained the well-deserved title of Cat Daddy. Although he spent much of his life advocating for the happiness of cats and cat guardians, it was not Galaxy’s lifelong dream to be the Cat Daddy, nor did he initially intend to devote his entire existence to cats. Let me tell you a tail.
Galaxy’s journey began with a job at an animal shelter owned by the Humane Society in Boulder, Colorado. He started cleaning kennels and feeding animals. Soon, he took on more duties, including enduring the process of euthanizing many animals, mostly for the mere fact that nobody wanted them and shelters had limited space. The tasks were heart-wrenching as well as daunting. Still, he pushed himself through all the hardships to help as many animals as he possibly could.
After watching helplessly as these lonely animals were euthanized one after another because of their misunderstood behaviors, determination consumed Galaxy. He started spending his spare time learning all he could about cats through observation and research. Galaxy spent hours experimenting with different types of play therapy and positive reinforcement, including the famous “Cat I Love You” technique he learned from Anitra Frazier’s book “The Natural Cat.”
Galaxy did all of this work with the intent of getting each and every cat to open up to the point they would reach their paws through the metal bars of their cages in search of human affection from a window-shopping adopter. Galaxy’s peers witnessed how the cats interacted with him more positively. As time passed, they began to rely on him for cat advice, asking Galaxy how best to interact with them and make them happy and comfortable at the shelter. The cats’ fascination with him, the skills he attained and his success led to his peers nicknaming him Cat Boy.
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At this point, Galaxy felt pretty confident in his feline behavior interpreting skills and set out on his path to becoming an animal ambassador for cats. He held various positions in the shelter before he finally gained the role of Cat Behavioral Consultant. His job was to help shelter visitors with questions or concerns about their cats to reduce the number of returned cats. Eventually, Galaxy began accepting house calls. In the aftermath of his time at the shelter, he decided to become an entrepreneur as a cat behavioral consultant, not realizing how large his enterprise would become.
Galaxy met numerous troubled cats throughout his life, which further deepened his love and understanding of them. One extraordinary encounter led to his first cat foster and eventually a new member of his family. Benny, a grey tuxedo cat, was the most complicated cat Galaxy ever met and the most fur-midable teacher he ever had. But with Benny’s help, Galaxy gained a great deal of knowledge and skills needed to truly understand the feline mind.
Galaxy’s popularity eventually led to the Animal Planet TV series “My Cat From Hell” and his YouTube channel. Through these platforms, he continues to help cat guardians learn how to strengthen their relationship with their beloved feline family members by sharing many techniques he has mastered over the years. Across the country, cat guardians can learn how to understand better the wants and needs of their beloved felines from the comforts of home. Viewers can also submit their questions to Galaxy directly through his website.
One of the significant steps he shares with every client is catification, or “the art of creating an enriched space for both human and cat.” Galaxy introduces cat guardians to many furnishings they can add to their house to catify their home: cat trees, swings, shelving, beds, perching, etc. These cat essentials create a 3D environment for cats to hide up high or down low so they feel safer and in control of their environment
Another essential term Galaxy shares from his “Cat Daddy Dictionary” is cat mojo. Galaxy deems the subject so crucial that he wrote an entire book about it, called “Total Cat Mojo: Everything You Need to Know to Care for Your Favorite Feline Friend.” He said, “Cat mojo is what propels a cat forward through this lifetime with confidence, with security, with the knowledge that I am doing what I was put on this planet to do.” Galaxy pressed the necessity of playing with cats, finding out what they like and making time to play with them every day, explaining that “It’s about as important as walking your dog.”
Almost 30 years ago, Jackson Galaxy began working with cats and for cats. In 2014, he founded “The Jackson Galaxy Project,” with the mission to improve the lives of animals at risk and help the people who care about them. Galaxy and the rest of his team continue to work hard to save the lives of animals across the country through his company, charity, products, YouTube channel and his ongoing TV series. In a hopeful message to the world, the Cat Daddy said, “Humans are incomplete without animals, and it’s my job to let people know that.”
