Calling all creative cat guardians! Check out our new “Catification” column showcasing all kinds of fun DIY projects for creating feline-friendly environments. We’re here to tell you that you can accommodate your indoor cat’s need to climb, perch, play and relax — in a way that makes you both happy. Catification is fun and easy — and it’s one of the most rewarding things you can do for your feline family members.
So check out the Catification column today, and be sure to submit photos of your Catification projects to share with other cat guardians. We can’t wait to see what you’ve done!
We regret that Jackson does not answer questions posted in the comments. This is due to his demanding schedule and the high volume of requests he receives. But most importantly, since he has not met your cat, it would be contrary to his approach for him to give specific personalized advice for your specific situation. That being said, general questions and issues are addressed throughout this blog, in his book CAT DADDY and of course, the show My Cat From Hell.
Love these products, love the show.
Something cute for cool cat daddy catification lounges! The DJ Cat scratching pad!
https://www.facebook.com/uncommongoods#!/photo.php?fbid=10150620061527817&set=a.154907847816.114088.44340057816&type=1&theater
I need HELP!!!!! I adopted a kitten named Kalie a couple of months ago. I have another older cat named Sushi. They are not getting a long at all and I am at my wits end. I love both of them, but my older cat is very stressed over the new cat. The little one feels that she does not have her own territory. I do not want to give her up, because she is cute as a button and sweet. I just do not want to live with two cats fighting all the time. Is not a healthy environment for no one. Any advice that any one can give me on how to smooth things over will be greatly appreciated.
Separate the cats, then get a towel and rub the older cat down with it. Then with the same towel rub down the kitty and then do the same thing (again) to the older cat. Do this 3 or 4 times and it will help their scents mix so they are not seen as invaders, especially to the older cat. Feed them at the same time near each other about 4 to six feet apart. Eventually inching them closer together. Play with them at the same time but with different toys, so they see each other not as a threat (using a toy on string with a pole will do) Also, show the older cat a SMALL BIT of favoritism at First, so he doesn’t feel replaced, but as he eases into his normal self with the other cat present, Stop the favoritism so the younger cat doesn’t start to feel jealous. I hope this helps good luck!
Kendra:
Thank you so much for your suggestions.
My exact problem since August 7, 2012. Guess waht? We were not able to evacuate in time for Hurricane Sandy and I was without power and heat with my two cats from Sunday afternoon October 28th until we left the house yesterday November 1st! It was crazy in the dark trying to keep the two separated. Mainly my older resident cat watned to get at my little one. My older girl is Minnow the new kitty is Buttons. Love them both. Right now we are displaced so I have Buttons with me at my cousins (thank God he said I could bring her) and Minnow is with my daughter Jill at a friends. Please pray for us that we will find a new home soon as our entire home is unliveable. Also that the two cats will at least co exist. I will pray for you too. Sincerely, Robyn
We love cats! All our cats are rescues and we designed a cat house using real tree to make them feel more at ease like they are outside in their own environment. They love it, and it looks great in our house!
Would love to see a picture of the tree!
hi patty
……..i want to do that soooo bad. did you have to have it kiln dried.
would u send me a pic. i’d love to know how to do that.
thanks so much
kath
All theses products are great! Cats love being high and feeling safe. Remember to invest in good toys and cat houses. Your cats are worth it!
where in the world do you get them though?
hi im alexis im 10 i love your show and my daddy says beside u i no more about cats then then any 1 else u r my hero mr galaxy i have 2 cats that fight alot and i kinda need u they get along some times but i am very scared to leve them alone and i love them both very much pless help mr galaxy i need to no whats going on i have not beeen to my bffs house for 2 months because i dont want to leave my cats they mite get hurt i love all my pets so much to contackt me mr galaxy my number is 559-916-5182 plezz help me mr galaxy thanks for reading bye bye
i just got a kitten from my mom i already have a 3 year old cat. We moved from a home with two dogs that he loved and i felt bad that he went from having his buddies to being alone all day while im at work. the kitten hates him and all he wants to do is play. what do i do
I could REALLY use some sound advise on a new rescue cat!!!!
We adopted two cats last yr from a no kill shelter. They have fit into our family wonderfully! I happened to be looking at the shelters web site and notice a pretty gray female cat ( I remembered her when we adopted the last two ) and I went in to inquire. Well she has been there for 6 years!! I took her home on a foster bases since I was told she is very shy and it will take a while for her to adjust.
All the cats have been introduced and seem to be fine with each other but after two weeks CECE the new kitty pretty much stays downstairs and hides all day. Litter boxes are down there( and her food). She only seems to eat at night. We have a cat door to the upstairs where the rest of the family/pets spend most of their time. Im afraid she will never come up to this level of the house! she will let me pet her if I happen to catch her just the right time laying on a pillow etc and she is very loving. But mostly she runs off and hides. I’ve tried treats, toys etc nothing seems to spark her intrest. She won’t let me pick her up yet either.
I’m sure after 6 yrs of being in a confined area it will take her some time. But I want to be sure I’m “getting it right the first” time for her sake. If there is something I should actively be doing or if it is just her personalitly and leave her be. Thanks in advance for the help!
Hi MommyP!
I totally understand what you are going through. I currently have 6 cats, 5 of which were feral when they came to me. I know all about cats being skittish and hiding
While you can try using food to help Cece associate you with good things, my best advice is give it time. It can take along time and alot of patience when you are trying to build a relationship with a cat that has fear issues. Minou was my first cat, and was feral when I brought her home. It took the better part of 6 months of patient working with her gently until she actually gave me a good sniff. From that point, it was baby steps until we built the relationship we have today. We don’t know how old Minou was when I adopted her, but I have had her for 9 years. ANd the truth is, our relationship is still growing. While after about 5 years together she slept with me and would sit with me on the couch for scratches and all that stuff, it was only a few months ago that for the very first time she finally jumped in my lap. Of course, now I can’t sit down anywhere without her in my lap 
Just give it time, don’t force her, and let her get used to the pace of you and your home. Keep giving her positive attention when she is nearby, and lots of love if she is in the mood to accept it!
Just saw your show on Polly the Cat and Rex the toddler. Polly the cat was given a “garden” for plants that she can eat such as Parsley and Sage. What are the other plants in Polly’s garden for her “salad”? My cats like to eat my Spider Plants.
Just about a month ago i found a cat in our farm field, cold, hungry, full of mats, fleas and worms. Later i found she had a tattoo, so i looked it up, called the vet where she was from (2 hours away from where i found her) The lady called the old “owners” and they stated That she is my problem now…. AKA they dumped her at our farm, found out she is 8 her name, had her shots fixed ect. We tried to have her at the barn but there is a big tom cat there and he would pin her in the corner for days and she would get stuck in trees and didn’t know how to get down, so i convinced everyone to let me bring her in the house. Now we have a boy cat who is 6 and fixed, we use to have an older girl cat but it has been a few years scene she has passed. So i had her shaved to get rid of the mats, make her feel a bit better, we went and seen the vet, got a dewormer, a flea removal ect, also found out that she has a neurological disorder that causes her to go blind on and off in dim lighting and she has little episodes that causes her to freak out.
Now she is on the mend but we have found that she keep attacking my other cat, he will see her and run and hiss and get all grumpy towards us. They have had one spat where i have had to pull her off of him and clean up alot of hair. I always watch her when she is out and if i hear anything go running to break it up. I did the slow introducing, rubbing towels, feeding beside each other and playing but most of the time my boy cat just runs and hides…. i need some help, no one is going to take her if she keeps this up. and i want to give her a better life than she had before.
Sadly, our 11-year-old cat (who had lived with us since he was a kitten) had to be put down the day after Christmas, making our 18-year-old cat (who has also lived with us since he was a kitten) an “only cat” once again. Would the 18-year-old be too old now to tolerate the addition of one or two kittens, should we consider adopting again down the road? (Would it make more sense to adopt two kittens, as they’d spend more time entertaining each other instead of bothering the older cat, like one kitten would?) Thank you for your response in advance!
I think it would depend on your cat and the personality of the new cat, GinnyC. My neighbor adopted another cat for their seemingly submissive one after her “partner in crime” passed away. She was very dominant toward him for the first 6 months until he became comfortable in his new home. He had spent 7 of his 8 years in a shelter and never really had human contact. Now, he stands up for himself and she hides because he won’t let her be in charge or bully him. Mine is going to be 10 years old this summer and has been an only cat for 9 years. I started fostering shelter kittens the other year and for the most part she’s mad at us for letting them in and doesn’t like them. There have been only two kittens out of all of them that she has tolerated; one male and one female fostered at different times. She hissed at the male kitten when he ran right up to her or scared her the one time, but she never moved to attack him and they would be in the same room together. I think this was because he was very submissive and never tried to assert dominance over her; she is definitely an alpha female. The female kitten that I was fostering at the same time with the male kitten was much more dominant and mine would actually spit at her. But I do know that fostering two kittens at once was much easier than only one. They would play with each other and wear each other out instead of us (the first few weeks are always rough for me because of their tinyness). I think it would also worth considering adopting an older cat since they have usually mellowed out for the most part. Some rescues/shelters will have notes on a cat’s personality and how it gets along with other animals.
I got a kitten (Bella) two years ago. She has been an awesome cat, no problems. She was one of two kittens in the litter. The other kitten went to a man who died when she was only a few months old; she was then passed around in his family and not well cared for. I got a chance to get her when she was about 5 months. She was half the size of Bella and we were told she was a boy cat. Quickly I learned that she too was a little girl that we named Baby. She was scared to death. Little by little she has become more trusting and is now the same size as Bella. They are adorable together. They cuddle together, clean each other, etc. But I have one BIG problem. Baby will not consistently use the litter box. She scratches around the box and then will often urinate in the box but poops everywhere. I have tried everything. I have tried tons of different litter and litter boxes, showing her what to do, not scolding, pet training pads, cleaning with odor removing detergents, spraying with things that are supposed to deter littering, with no real sustained success. She has ruined the carpets in my house and I am to the point that I need to get new carpeting, but don’t want to get new carpet until I have solved the problem. HELP. I do not want to give her away but I am really not sure what to do next.
Hi! I am no Jackson Galaxy, but I do have 6 cats, all of which share a litter box (I know they tell you to have 1 more litterbox than the number of cats, but 7 litterboxes just won’t fit in my 800 sq foot condo). All of my cats came to me individually over a number of years, 5 of which were feral and had no litter box experience. It has been my experience though that cats are hard wired to use a litterbox. My cats have all just figured it out and used it from the start. So if your cat is using the litterbox to urinate, but not to defectae, there is something wrong with your litterbox. As she is fine for urination, its obviously an okay size to her. Maybe she doesn’t like to defectae if there is already other poop in the litterbox. You may have to clean the box more frequently than you are. Is it a covered box? If so she may be afraid to spend the time defectaing when there is only 1 entry point to the box and another cat might get at her. I would recommend losing the lid and seeing how that is. Finally, is she fixed? If not, get her fixed ASAP and your problems will end. ALl the best!
I have had 3 cats and just adopted a 4th from the shelter I volunteer at. Ages are 8, 6, 5 and new one is 6. The new cat is female and others are 2 female and 1 male(all spayed or neutered). The new cat is best described as hyperactive. She is a sweetheart but she goes after the other 3 cats — racing at them or growling at them. This ends up in mad chases through the house with lots of hissing, snarling, shrieking. My 8 year old female is the only one who is not intimidated. She stands her ground which tends to diffuse the situation with her and the new one. The other 2 mind their own business until the new cat comes near them as if to annoy and intimidate them. Then the mad chases with all the vocals start again. The new cat just continues to annoy and antagonize the others. I’ve been leaving them alone to let them sort it out with hopes that all will calm down eventually. I really love this new cat but she is a major trouble maker. Any suggestions?
My nice took in a cat that was 7 years old an small she has a cat that is nine and picks on the new one she put the new one in her bedroom with food and a litter box cause the old cat picks on the new one when she used the litter box how can we get them to try to get along if possible
Awesome ideas! Jackson, you’re a true friend of the kitties. Thank you!
I have a Question about My cat?? for Jackson and anyone who can answer it?? I have a Cat that Is deathly afraid of Bags mostly Plastic but even Paper Bags when I get a bag to put the litter pile’s from her box I could be across the room with the bag and she runs like i am trying to get her with the bag. and I have never done that she was like this when i got her and the same goes for the people i got her from
other thing too is taking her to the vet is a bit of a chore too she hates getting in her travel crate… what do I do about these things ???
Why not do a couple My Cat from Heaven shows? It would be a nice change for Jackson to visit some homes with cool cats that have unique abilities or a unique setup. Maybe it would even broaden his techniques when he gets back to the Cats from Hell.
i have an older cat and a kitten i just took in and my older cat hates the kitten runs from it and growls at it but doesnt attack and she hates me to my older cat how can i make her love me again with out giving up my kitten
Please help me. My vet says i should allow him to shave my cats. However i am not sure if this is good for my cats or not. I dont want them to be stressed or get anesthesia for nothing. Shall i get them shaved or not ???