All language subtitles for My.Cat.from.Hell.S3E07

What is he going to eat? What's he going
to swallow?

Our place is ruined, so now we have
everything child -proofed. It is Gus's

house, and we're just living in it. We
would like to have kids at some point.

The bottom line is that we really can't
because of Gus.

There's something wrong with him.

Stella can be very destructive.

She's a master destructor, actually.

I don't even know what the neighbors
think because I've screamed so many

out of the pain of being attacked.

And it's very upsetting. This cat could
kill me.

I'm Jackson Galaxy.

I'm a musician by night and a cat
behaviorist by day.

I've met cats with all kinds of
problems.

But I've never met one I couldn't help.

Oh, hello.

In my career, I've worked with thousands
of cats one -on -one, analyzing their

behaviors and retraining them and their
guardians.

When relationships are at an end, I
don't have many more options than to

leave. And cat guardians have reached
their emotional limit. Just get rid of

her. I'm their last hope.

Are you all right?

Harry, I don't know. Cats have nine
lives, but humans only have one.

Whoa!

Gus, give me the quinoa.

I'm heading over to Mark and Angela's
house. We've got a cat named Gus who is

basically eating anything that's not
nailed down.

And that is beyond what I've seen
before. One wrong bite, and that could

death sentence for this cat. So I'm
going over right now to see if there's

anything I can do to help him.

I'm Angela.

I'm Mark.

We've been married for three years, and
we live here with our cat, Gup.

When we got Gus, he was about two months
old, and now he's a little over two

years old. We weren't really in the
market for a cat. We were just actually

walking back from eating breakfast and
passed by the window where Gus was and

just fell in love with him.

They did warn us at the store, oh,
really, you want him? He's trouble. We

have believed them, but it was kind of
good kitten trouble, you know, just kind

of rambunctious.

But the behaviors became more
destructive when he got older.

Gussie. Guss, give me the quinoa.

Things he chews on are, you know, cords,
paper towels, hand soap, corners of our

chairs. Kitchen cabinet. Here, we're
renting, so there are concerns about

he's damaging.

Our place is pretty barren. We've made
it that way so that there's not much

he can get into.

We have to move the coffee maker to the
bedroom every day.

We would like to have kids at some
point. We're not worried about Gus

anyone because he's so sweet, but if you
have a baby in your arms, you can't

drop the baby to stop Gus from hurting
himself. If we have to make a choice,

it's going to be a human being, not a
cat.

I can't think about rehoming Gus at all.
I just can't see getting rid of him. He

certainly does add stress to our
relationship.

Jackson, we would appreciate your help.
We can't think of anything else to do,

and we love this guy so much.

So please help us.

Hello. How are you? Good, man. How are
you doing? Good. I'm Mark. Hey, Mark.

Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Hi,
Angela.

Hey, Angela. Nice to meet you. When
Jackson walked through our door today, I

felt like maybe this was the light at
the end of our tunnel.

All right, guys.

So tell me, what am I doing here?

Our cat Gus is, he's into everything.

The biggest thing is the chewing and...

potentially eating and swallowing
anything that he can get his mouth on,

paper towels to more dangerous things.

We've childproofed everything, but he
still will try to break into cabinets.

he just kind of has this energy about
him. He's always looking for the next

thing to get into.

I mean, you probably noticed that we
don't have anything on any of our

I actually did notice that. I was like,
this is a very clean place.

Really,

you hide stuff?

Yeah, we can't keep anything out.

Now, I know I walk into a lot of places
and there's no cat stuff. There's no

human stuff. There's no stuff.

It's empty. It's amazing to see what
lengths they've gone to. Your normal

days, how long have you guys gone for?

Just like 10 hours.

Oh, okay. What I'm trying to rule out
here is separation anxiety.

You leave, you don't come back to a
completely thrashed house.

No, as far as we can tell, anytime we
come in, he's sleeping. He seems to not

getting into things when we're not here.

This is what we're talking about.
There's a natural spike in cats'

see it happen a lot when their guardians
are gone for long periods of time. Then

they get home and boom, now that energy
needs to be expelled in a proper way.

And that could be a starting point as to
why Gus is chewing up everything in the

home. Has he ever shown any aggression
towards any other human being? Has he

been around young kids, like toddlers
and everything? No. No, he's very, very

sweet. Not so much as a swat or a
nothing.

We don't have to worry about that.

Well, it's a concern for the future. We
start trying to think about having kids,

which we do want to have.

Like, how can we with Gus?

Have you guys gone there in terms of the
conversation about him versus?

I must say that we, it's a really...

Difficult conversation.

I know what it takes to have an infant
in the house, and there's just no way

that the two could coexist.

I mean, ten times a night, I'll drop
what I'm doing to stop him from doing

something, but you can't drop a baby to
stop Gus from, you know, whatever he's

chewing on or getting into.

I cannot imagine and do not want to get
rid of Gus.

It's just like saying get rid of your
kid.

Angela wants a baby, and she's not going
to hold off on having a baby for the

sake of Gus, even though, clearly, she
loves him just as much, and I could see

it in Mark's eyes. Maybe that was a
discussion they really hadn't taken to

level before. I get it. The stakes are
high, obviously.

Let's see what we can do for him.

I need to see every place that he goes
to to chew, because I want to see the

whole nine yards. More than almost any
place I've ever been to, I've got to get

a lay of the land, because this cat's
eating it. Most of the corners kind of

look like this.

That's it, Dan.

See, here's the thing for me. There's
that sort of language chewing, that ar

-ar kind of chewing that I'm sure he
does sometimes, right? But this says,

do something. That's high stress. So
that concerns me, too, because what is

that's causing it? Yeah. I think we're
dealing with pica.

Pica is a disease that's an obsessive
-compulsive disorder that animals will

just chew.

science and behavior we can't decide
what causes it could be weaned too early

could be food deficiency it could be
genetic we don't have answers we were in

the living room we heard this and came
in here and it's him trying to open it

hasn't though not on that

Taking Jackson through our home
definitely brought more to the forefront

mind, at least, how crazy the situation
is. So as I'm going through each thing

and watching his face, I'm like, yeah,
our life is really turned upside down

from this cat.

This is like completely chewed up.

Wow.

Wow, man.

Honestly, the confusion on my face had
to be palpable because I would look at

one piece of plastic, which, let's say,
the sprayer for the dishes, and it

completely chomped on. And now you have
the toaster oven with the handle that's

untouched, pristine. It doesn't add up
because Gus is discriminating. I think

there's real importance in this. What it
is, I don't know yet, but I will find

out.

So. We've made attempts.

to let him be in this room, which is why
it's kind of half God -proofed and half

not. The goal would be for him to sleep
in the bed calmly with us. He plays with

the blinds, you know, goes under the
bed, he gets in the, you know, behind

bed and everything, and we can't sleep,
so.

Yeah, I totally get it. See, what I look
for is connection points. He goes like

this, choo -choo -choo, blind -blind
-blind, I'm up, I'm up, as opposed to

kind of thing that I was seeing on the
chair, that kind of frustrated choo. I

feel like this is something I can work
with.

As we were walking out into the hall,
there was Gus. He was just sitting there

in the hallway.

So I decided to spend a little bit of
alone time with him.

Hi, Gussie.

Hi.

Good boy.

Like, my big first step with him is,
like, look at the toy and not at

else. Now, he was a little suspect of
me.

He was a little hangbackish.

And the one thing I wanted to give him
was space. I didn't want him to think

that I was a bad presence because I know
we're going to have plenty more time

together. I think you've got a pica cat.

You know, pica is an obsessive
compulsive disorder.

There are no cures as we know it for
pica.

Pika is an incredibly frustrating thing
because there is no cure. But at the

same time, it can be managed to a
certain degree with certain medications.

But I didn't want to just dick Gus on
medication right now because I'm seeing

much discrepancy in the behavior. So I'd
like to just be able to have a chance

to work with him. Any cat that's a true
pika cat, when they're exposed to their

preferred target, will go for it, you
know. The fact that he picks places.

That says something different to me.

I mean, I do want to approach it like a
pica case.

So let me start talking about the
homework that I have for you. First

first, let's get him to the doctor.
Let's get a blood test done so that we

the table. If we have to get him on
meds, we do. But we also want to see,

there vitamin deficiencies? Is there a
reason why he's going for things like

metals, which doesn't make any sense at
all? Now it's the exercise part. I want

you to commit to about 15 minutes of
exercise with him until he's at a point.

where he is like panting, that's when
you know that you have just gotten what

you needed out of him, right? Have it.

ritualize around his food. What I want
them to do is connect play to food, but

also push it as far as they can towards
the end of the night. He'll be just

ready to come down and sleep when you
sleep.

Let's start going through some toys
really quickly. This one I like because

can't chew this. Let me feel it. This is
indestructo. As you're on your way out

to work, you drop it down, and it keeps
him moving even after you're gone. And

then by the time you come home at night,
that spike isn't going to be as

desperate, you know?

And that's it. Cool, guys.

All right. Thank you so much for coming
over and helping us. Normally I'd be

giving a lot more homework, but in this
case we're dealing with a disorder that

has no known cure.

So all we can hope to do is possibly
manage it. One way I think we can do

with Gus is by expending a lot of that
excess energy that he's got. I think

may help curb the chewing.

See you guys soon, all right? Okay.
Sounds good. All right, bye -bye.

I think it's going to be a lot of work.
I think we're going to have a lot of

sleepless nights.

You know, my hope is that... We'll see a
significant change, but my fear is that

we won't. If we could get things
resolved with him, that would make us

better about the possibility of starting
a family.

I'm about to go in for my second visit
with Mark and Angela and their cat Gus,

who choose everything in sight.

I'm pretty nervous. I've never dealt
with a case this severe with a cat

destroying everything in the house.

I have no idea. If they committed to the
steps that I told them to take, maybe.

Otherwise, all bets off.

Hey, Jackson. How are you? I'm good. How
you been?

Good, good. Thank you. Good, good, good.
Hi.

We're really excited to see Jackson
today and hear his thoughts on some of

things that we have implemented.

And what other advice that he has so
that we can get closer to the goal of

having Gus be able to not endanger
himself.

So?

Something feels a little like it's not
going well or it is going well. Tell me

what's going on.

Things are getting a little bit better.
We've been working him out and using all

the toys, and we find that he's kind of
tuckered out at night and really not too

much chewing going on at night.

That's incredible.

Between mealtime and us going to bed is
where we've seen the biggest

improvement, where we're barely getting
up to stop him from chewing on the

chair. They're chewing on the knob.

This is all great news.

Play therapy worked because there's not
much happening in terms of chewing. That

proved without a shadow of a doubt in my
book that we weren't dealing with just

a garden variety pika case. He makes
choices and it's based on his energy

and his need to self -soothe and bring
him down to a grounded state.

We went to the vet and got the blood
results and all of that.

Yeah, and she did a urinalysis also.

Urinalysis, everything came out cool.
Yeah.

Now, did you commit completely to the
play thing? Tell me about playing with

him. We committed to it, but one of our
concerns and one of the things that we

want to talk to you about, when he's
jumping for the flight toys, after only

few minutes of especially when he's
jumping, he's so winded that his tongue

hanging out and he's panting.

But we're watching his breathing and
it's just going so fast.

For like...

Two hours afterwards that it's like
that. Two hours afterwards?

Yeah. I actually encourage people to get
their cats panting by the time they're

done playing.

That's the cat's way of saying, that's
right, I'm finished, I'm done. But it

should only go on for about 10 to 15
seconds.

If it's going on as long as Mark and
Angela are telling me, that's just

I have got to see this for myself.

I've got to play with Gus because if
that is happening, I've got to know

he's just a little out of shape or
whether we've got to send him to the vet

because there's a cardiac problem or a
respiratory problem.

I know.

Gus more from the marks on his chair
than I know from being anything.

I really would love to see him play I
want to see the behavior that you guys

talking about and I just don't think
it's gonna happen I think that really

problem here is

The last time I was here, Gus was really
standoffish about anything that had

anything to do with making a TV show.
And that was lights, the cameras, the

people. And in order for me to see that
panting behavior that Mark and Angela

are talking about, I'm just going to
have to send everybody else away.

It is to see if I pull out a toy, if
that helps at all. If I get a little

action.

What is that? As soon as that feather
toy came into action.

Oh, good boy.

Good boy.

I saw the cat that I haven't gotten to
see this entire time.

This insanely, amazingly invested
hunter.

Oh, this is who you are.

Come on. I don't want to get too winded,
though. I don't really want to get Gus

that elevated where he is panting. It's
highly concerning to me.

He's starting to pant, I think.

I want one good job.

Good boy.

And it'll last so long, I don't want to
work him.

It's okay. All right. He shouldn't get
to that heightened point that quickly.

And it's, you know, like a dad seeing
his kid suffer.

I, you know, I'm really scared about
that. So you see his breathing.

I do know when I'm taking a cat through
two strenuous an exercise and I didn't

see it with Gus. I just don't like that.
You know?

He's panting really badly.

We've got a problem.

And now it's time for a kitty bit.

Cats have 30 teeth. True or false?

The answer when we come back.

True or false?

Cats have 30 teeth.

And the answer is true.

Cats have 30 teeth. Compare that with
dogs who have 42 teeth and humans who

32.

My second visit with Mark and Angela and
their cat Gus, who choose everything in

sight while I was playing with Gus. Mark
was incredibly stressed out by Gus's

panting. Usually you'll see about 15 to
20 seconds of Max.

With Gus, it did go on quite a long
time. There's something that's a little

about the way his body responds to being
energized.

Gus's chewing has gone down
dramatically.

On the bad side, he's panting
excessively. Now, I happen to think that

because he's so into the hunt that he
just starts panting a lot, but I'm no

and I really want to make sure they go
to the vet and rule out any serious

health concerns.

I want you to get that checked out so
that you can just feel better about the

work you're doing.

Now, let's start adjusting our play
routine with him. Get him going around

not jumping around.

Until we hear back from the vet about
the panting problem, I'm going to have

Mark and Angela adjust the exercise so
it's not as intense.

It is crucial, though, that they keep
draining off the energy in some way so

that we don't lose all the progress
we've made with Gus.

So what I'd like to see you do is take
double -sided tape.

Basically, he's going to put his face to
it, it's going to stick to it, and he's

going to be like, that's not a good
choice.

I think that if you're paying attention
to draining the energy out, that you can

start giving him enough rope again. All
I want is for Mark and Angela to start

putting things out again and let Gus
redefine himself.

That was really important.

I think that we can beat this.

I really do. So let's get cracking on
it. All right. Good.

I don't know what we're going to do at
the end of all this if things don't get

better because I really do want to start
a family, but the two can't coexist, so

we've got to figure something out, but
we just don't know what that is.

We're not going to get rid of him.

I'm on my way for my last visit with
Mark and Angela and their cat Gus.

The last time I was here, I got Gus
really out and playing. He was flying

through the air.

Unfortunately, afterwards, he exhibited
a really heavy ant behavior that went on

for quite a while, and it completely
freaked out Mark and Angela.

So I wanted them to take Gus back to the
vet to make sure he was fine, he wasn't

compromised, we could keep working. And
hopefully, when I go back in today, I

see that we've got the all clear.

So the last time I was here, I asked you
guys to go to the vet. Went to the vet.

and when they x -ray his lungs and they
see a slight, what they call a slight

bronchial pattern, is that what it is?

Could be because he's a little bit
overweight, possibly.

Gus's panting may have to do with him
being a little out of shape, and that's

why the hunting is a bit much for him.
Hey, listen, if I went to the gym

tomorrow after not going for a month and
a half and I got on the treadmill,

believe me, I'd be huffing and puffing
pretty bad.

For now, they've said that we've got to
kind of chill out on the exercise tube.

Just not doing it to the point where
he's, you know, really breathing hard

keeping him more on the ground.

And it is definitely helping. Like, as
soon as we started doing that, he is

getting into less stuff at night.

So that's amazing news, considering
where we were. As long as that plan is

place, he's not reverting back to being
Uber 2 Gus, right?

You know, that's like a touchdown
moment, I think. Yeah.

We knew from the beginning that pica is
a condition that can be managed but not

cured. But through extensive play, we
found that Gus's chewing has diminished

greatly. You could have just diagnosed
it right off the bat, given medication,

then given an action plan and hoped for
the best. We went the alternate route.

And now the payoff is there. Now let's
walk around and find out what I've been

missing, okay?

Okay, let's go.

I wanted to start with the kitchen
because the kitchen, when I first got

was a hot spot. I wanted to gold plate
that little dish sprayer thing because

that place was getting chewed up. Any
more massive hot spots in here?

No, not too much. We're keeping the
coffee maker out.

No coffee eaten?

No coffee eaten. The good news was there
were no new spots. He's not going after

the coffee grounds.

In the coffee maker, he's not going
after anything.

I thought that was fantastic.

It seems like this is proof positive
that we're on the right track with him,

that's great.

Now, let's head to the dining room
because that's one of our worst areas

which is the chairs. In the video
homework, Angela took the sticky tape,

on the chairs. That was fantastic.

In a couple of weeks, you'll never need
sticky tape again. This should pretty

much extinguish the problem with the
chairs.

Mark and Angela really stepped up. They
were willing to go to any length.

For their cat Gus. And we had success.

I know that you guys are going to be
fine with him. I love the fact that you

have things out here.

You have things that look like you live
here.

And that was our main goal.

When I first met Mark and Angela, they
were ruled by fear. Fear of what Gus was

going to eat. Fear of coming home to a
dead animal that led them to living in a

cave. Now they're confident. Now they
know exactly what Gus needs to make him

happy and to make themselves happy. And
I think that they have a fulfilling life

ahead of them. Yeah, we're feeling
positive about the direction of things.

mean, he's doing so much better.

Before Jackson came here, we really had
no direction. We didn't know what to do.

We had removed everything from our home,
and we feel like we have so much more

direction now. Gus has made such great
improvement in a short amount of time.

All right.

I'm out. All right.

Not only did Jackson provide that
comfort level for Gus, but for us as

Thank you so much. You know, after the
process that we've gone through with

of the tools that we now have, we do
feel a bit more hopeful about, you know,

the future, a baby and Gus being able to
coexist.

And that's really one of the things that
we're most thankful for.

Bye, Gussie.

Stella can be very destructive.

She's a master destructor, actually.
When I adopted Stella, I was in a

relationship and we split up.

I'm not sure how a potential mate would
deal with Stella.

You want to get down or do you want to
hurt me? What?

I'm on my way right now to go see
Melissa, and Melissa's a cancer

she's had a rough year of multiple
surgeries, lost her cat of 18 years, and

she got a new cat and a new boyfriend.

The new cat, Stella, soon chased away
the new boyfriend with her aggression,

biting, and her scratching.

I'm going to go over there and see if I
can help.

My name's Melissa, and I live here with
my cat, Stella. She's about a year and a

half.

Right off, I felt like Stella and I had
a connection, except she was extremely

reactive if you tried to touch her.

She would bite me and scratch me and
sometimes go into full -on attack.

It was extremely quick and pretty
vicious.

It hurt like crazy.

Stella can be pretty demanding. It's
been a conflict for me because I'm self

-employed and I work at home. And the
biggest problem is when I'm working at

desk, she jumps up and gets in my face
and starts nipping at me. Her approach

she'll rub and then she'll lick and then
she'll nibble and then she'll bite.

Yeah, it's a common occurrence.

Two years ago, I had a horrible shock. I
went for my yearly checkup, and they

said that I had breast cancer.

After having more surgical biopsies and
doing a lot of research, I realized the

best thing that I could do was to have
the surgery they were recommending,

is a double mastectomy.

I had the operation two years ago, and
then throughout that year, I had six

surgeries.

It meant really shutting down my
business and spending all my life

having to spend a lot of time resting
and in bed.

Now I'm coming back to the world, and
yet I have this cat thing that keeps

pulling me back.

I hope Jackson can help me figure it out
so that I can really move on and

embrace life more fully.

Hey, Jackson, come in. How are you?

Good to see you. Good to see you,
Melissa.

Finally, help arrived at my door. I just
felt like this was my lucky day.

Hi, Stella.

Hi, baby.

This is our troubled child?

Yep. Well, I'm going to completely
ignore her for the moment. Tell me what

doing here. Hopefully, you're here to
help resolve some issues that Stella and

have. Okay.

What's going on with her?

She... has possibly been abused by her
previous owners, and so she tends to

out. What's the worst that it's gotten
with her?

Her drawing blood every day. Every day?
Yeah, and interfering with my work.

Okay. Because most of this takes place
at my desk. You seem to be kind of

mindless, the fact that she's sitting
behind you. Are you always on guard with

her? No, because there are specific
situations where she's going to attack.

You do know when it's going to happen. I
know when the sucker punch is going to

happen. Why do you think that you're
getting sucker punched by your cat?

After we've had some kind of
interaction, and it turns out that she

with that, and I start walking away,
she'll come after me and attack.

Oh, really?

Yes. Any upheavals in the home, anything
that she's responded negatively

towards, anything?

I had a boyfriend when I adopted her,
and we parted, we stopped our

relationship. And part of it was, I
think, the aggravation that came up

us over the cat.

So the end of the relationship in part
was because of her? She wasn't a good

idea to begin with, and that I should
just give her back because it was too

for me to handle. Because I am in
recovery from breast cancer.

Oh. And I had to have a double
mastectomy. That's what they do.

Oh, my God. It was about a year of six.

big surgeries and a lot of strong drugs.

And so it was really a test.

My last kitty died at the age of 18 last
September, and it was traumatic, you

know, losing her as it always is. I had
to put my whole life on hold to deal

with these things. Having gone through
this much sickness and health.

You know, having the relationships begin
and end.

All of that.

You're laughing.

I mean, I just admire what's coming off
you right now, but I'm stumped. All I

cared about at that moment was how the
stress between her and Stella could be

sacrificing her health. Stress can take
you down physically and energetically.

I've got to make sure that doesn't
happen.

All right, so I want to go to the places
that are most significant in terms of

where you've been sucker punched the
most.

So, obviously, the first one is probably
the desk, yeah? Yeah.

Now, here's my office.

Okay. This is the main place where I
work. This is Stella's handiwork.

There's paper all over this desk that's
been chewed up to no end. How long is it

before you're sitting here that she's on
you? Pretty fast. She knows when I sit

down here that she wants to be with me.
And then on cue. Okay.

This is really important.

I have to see the behavior. In order to
work with it, I have to see it.

So then as she's doing that and you're
typing, this is normally what you have

do, I guess.

How do you get work done?

I get really pissed off.

It's hard to keep order with Pat
inhabiting the corner of the desk.

Do you worry? See? Yeah.

I mean, I knew that the attack was
coming. She was being provoked.

I'm not going to go there with you.

The only thing was that Melissa didn't
know she was provoking it. It was

completely unconscious.

She was actually presenting herself as a
fun toy. Of course, Stella got

activated, and she bit. Your desk is
absolutely catified.

That's for sure something that we would
have to work on. All right, let's keep

moving around. We went into the bedroom.
I just wanted to see if there were any

hot spots in there, anything that
happens in there that's throwing Melissa

loop. This is the only space that she
really inhabits on the bed.

So she doesn't come up to you, she
doesn't... Huh?

I know. You seem sad. You seem sad about
that. I like to cuddle with kitties.

Stella sleeps at the foot of the bed,
but never comes up there and sleeps on

Melissa's chest the way her old cat used
to do. And I believe that Melissa is in

a really silent way holding it against
Stella.

She doesn't mind when you carry her.

I can pick her out. You want me to show?
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. In a normal kind of

swoop, the way that you would normally
do it.

And when you hold her, it's usually over
the shoulder like that. Yeah.

And you are, and you are, what?

What is it? What a worry. You just keep
holding her. That's fine. See, she's

totally on guard at the moment.

Yeah. After Melissa got really surprised
that Stella tagged me a few times while

hanging out on her shoulder, she put her
down. I asked her to pick her back up

again. I need to see this behavior.

I need to see what Stella's body
language is telling us.

But you see her tail is swishing around.
Oh, sure.

For sure.

Good girl.

Oh.

See? She was mad because I was holding
her too long.

How long?

Oh, I mean... Ow!

Oh!

Let's start moving out to the living
room a little bit. I just want to see if

can get her to transfer this energy over
to other things.

Okay.

Now, we've still got tail going.

We've still got ears pretty much up and
down.

Do you present boxes to her in that way,
where you're just like, please, go to

this?

Yeah, yeah, because it's how she gets
her aggression out. Like, after she'll

a little hit and run with me, she has to
immediately come and start ripping

stuff up. Okay. She's bit in the corners
here.

Oh!

And you were saying that she doesn't
keep coming after you, but... See, she

doesn't want me to grab her toys.

If she was, like, guarding things like
her scratchers, her toys, um, yeah. See,

right now, I don't think it's like she
wants, she doesn't...

See, if I try to get that toy, she
doesn't want me to have it.

I think she's pulling it away. Try one
more thing, okay? So there's the toy for

sure. But if you just want to pet her at
this point, that's not the toy.

No.

And like I said, I'm sorry to keep
throwing you into the lion's den right

So Melissa and Stella and I came out
into the living room.

Stella attacks her all the time,
especially while she's trying to work.

saying when she sucker punches, she
sucker punches and runs.

That's not sucker punching and running.
But see, she just tried to sucker punch

me. She tried to. But she's holding her
ground.

I have to see the behavior.

In order to work with it, I have to see
it. You know I don't want to see Melissa

get beat up. She's already been beat up.

Way too many times.

She's had to go through cancer recovery.

She's had her boyfriend leave. She's had
her cat die. She's brought another cat

in who's beating her up. This should not
happen to you at any time.

My take on Stella is that she goes for
play in a way that I guess Melissa's not

used to. But there's another thing
that's going on here, and that is when

Melissa just keeps trying to maybe come
at her with healing energy.

Now, Stella's saying, I don't want it. I
need to go away somewhere.

And she can only go away so many times
before she starts coming at Melissa.

I think that you were actually
referencing that she wasn't as loving as

other cat.

But what I was seeing was...

love the way she follows you from room
to room not the worst thing in the world

it's just the way she expresses it that
leads to something else which is you

know echoes of uh what was i'm sorry
what was your other cat's name uh mina

i think there are echoes of mina being
sort of hoisted upon stella i have her

ashes sitting right by my desk because
i'm gonna take them and put them out in

nature you're gonna i bet you you're
gonna notice instant transformation in

terms of your relationship with her
because she is trying to heal you that's

way that you push through this yeah i'm
just going to give you a list of your

homework i think that there's a lot of
inappropriate play going on you're

sending her mixed messages when you're
sitting at the desk you're saying go

ahead and play with this paper but don't
play with this paper so i want you to

start breaking that game down for
instance you have crinkle balls in your

not on but in so that

When you see her walking around, this
comes out and boom, you throw it in the

opposite direction.

And I'd like to see you get a kitty seal
that you can put right in the window

there. So that she has her place.

When you're working, you reward her for
being in that place. Oh, good. Be

proactive in terms of her energy. The
way we do that is through play therapy.

And that means that every morning and
every evening, you take control of the

play. I'm going to leave you with a
whole bunch of different toys. Because

like you to get her moving around all
over the place until she is hooked.

And once she is, end it in her meal so
that she knows hunt, catch, kill, eat,

groom, and sleep. That's what she does.
Okay? Yeah. It could come down to this.

She's a year and a half old. She needs
to kill stuff.

Yeah. And she's just coming after you to
kill. This is an appropriate victim.

This is an inappropriate victim.
Exactly. This is an appropriate one.

Hey, you're totally welcome. I really
enjoyed it. I will see you really soon,

okay? Yeah.

Going in for my second visit with
Melissa and Stella.

The last time I was here, there was a
lot of violence. It wasn't a good

situation at all.

From watching the video homework, I got
to see Melissa play with Stella.

Great that she was playing.

However, a little bit of this.

It's not going to exhaust a cat like
Stella, so we've got to work on that. I

also got to see Melissa trying to
redirect Stella away from the desk.

No, no, no, no, no, not on my desk. Come
back here. We've got to work on that

one as well. It's a little too soft and
friendly.

I take the toy, you know, especially she
likes the one with the feathers on it.

And so I play with that with her. It's
good. It's really a big improvement.

She's a lot happier.

So the last time I was here, she got you
good.

I mean, I remember there were a couple
of different places and she got you. We

ended up.

up in that upper bicep area.

And right now, what do you see?

She's swiped at me and she's bitten, but
she hasn't drawn any blood, which is, I

know, for a week or so, it's amazing.

And I don't think I've ever had a week
in no blood. I think it's great news.

Stella is just not biting and scratching
remotely as much as she was before. And

the bad news is she's still scratching
and biting. I have to find out what

incidences are and clear them up.

I'm seeing a nice little windowsill
there. That's wonderful.

Yeah. I really like that. Now, you've
also got your crinkle balls.

And where do you keep those things?

Usually just in the windowsill. Oh, I
see.

Is that okay?

No, I want to change that.

What I want is that I want your crinkle
ball to be hidden somewhere, and the

second that you see her start to stir,
crinkle, crinkle, throw someplace else.

Redirection means she's coming this way,
and you're going, nope, this way.

You know, we didn't get to see this the
last time I was here. Where's your cat's

ashes? Are they still here, or have you
scattered them? I'll show them. I took

them from my office area into a cabinet
in the living room.

Okay. Yeah. So that could be part of the
reason why she's a little less.

Insane about getting up there. Yeah. The
last time I was here, Stella was

reacting in this very unpredictable,
strange way around the desk. Now, here's

the crazy part. Her old cat, Mina's
ashes, were sitting on that desk. And I

sure that Stella was actually speaking
to this situation and telling Melissa to

move forward.

Toys. Which one of these is she the
craziest about?

She likes this one with the feathers on
it.

Good.

Okay, now, we've got her kind of
activated.

Let's come down to her level for a
second.

Do you see where she's at right now? I
feel like we're not getting real true

movement from her to the point where
she's going to be exhausted. I'm not

seeing her breathe in a shallow way
right now.

See? Active.

Just that one movement. And we have to
start getting that energy taken care of.

Because if you leave her alone at this
moment, there it is, that look.

This is going to get you bit. This is
going to be problematic. By the time

done, done, she should be on her side.

Good girl.

She's amazing at this, actually.

And again.

And another one. Oh, my God.

There you go.

It was a wonderful moment when I was
playing with Stella, demonstrating to

Melissa how Stella could just be totally
engaged and present with a toy. And I

look over at Melissa, and she was
actually laughing. And that symbolized

something.

Hi. What color do you like better?

The blue. I like.

Well, then you get the blue. Thank you.

These are walking sticks.

We're going for a walk. Oh, cool.

You still have ashes in this home? Yes,
I do. And I would like to be with you if

it's okay.

Yes, I would really enjoy that if you
could join in that. I'd feel good about

that. Have you thought of what you would
do?

I want to take them to a special place
that I've been going to for years out in

nature. Until I let go and say goodbye
to Mina, I don't feel like I'm

prepared to wholly embrace the next
phase of my life, if not now, when.

Today, I'm going on a hike with Melissa
to scatter the ashes of her cat Mina who

died a few months ago.

Now, Melissa has survived cancer.

She has gone through relationship
breakups and the death of cats, but it's

death of that cat that was almost too
much for her to bear. It's time for her

release Mina, to move forward.

When I put Mina's ashes into the water,
it was sad because I remembered what a

special little friend she was to me for
all those years, and yet I was glad to

release her.

It was something I'd wanted to do when
she died last September, but I just

wasn't ready yet.

Being a part of being able to say
goodbye to Mina was a huge thing for me.

fact that Melissa had made offerings to
make her journey to the next world

peaceful, these are things that we need
in order to be brave and walk through

the kind of grief that we only know.

when losing an animal pain is included
but still is great watching melissa go

through it in such a beautiful way was
inspiring to me and i hope to be able to

bring just a touch of that to people
that i work with in the future thank you

much for letting me come thank you made
it all the more special

i'm about to go in for my final visit

with melissa and her cat stella We've
made a lot of progress in the weeks that

I've known her, and hopefully that
progress has taken, but you never know.

I have some video homework showing us
what you've done since the last time I

you. Let's take a look at it. Okay.

I can't wait.

First thing, of course, that I saw.

was the fact that she's playing with
Stella and playing in a much more

way. When I first met Melissa, she was
very much about just waving things

around, hoping that Stella bit, which,
of course, she didn't. She learned a lot

from me and a lot about how to be the
prey, and now we have successful daily

play, which means a complete reduction
in Stella's aggression.

She's relaxing in her beautiful new
window perch.

Stella, look.

Melissa gets the concept of redirection,
and she's using it really effectively.

And off we go.

Good girl.

And a jump. And wow!

You are a little acrobat. During the
play time, I looked over at Melissa and

saw a level of relief from her that I
don't see all that often. And you got to

think about Melissa surviving cancer,
getting Stella after the death of Mina,

losing her boyfriend over Stella, and
finally to be able to walk.

through the rest of her life with this
cat. And to see the relief come over her

makes my job not just worth it, it gives
me a sense of purpose for tomorrow

because there's people like Melissa out
there today.

And you see how she's doing the shallow
breathing? Yeah. She's got that

happening. From going through this
period of my life with all these trials

tribulations and trauma, it's amazing
how things work out. Reaching out to

Jackson and Jackson coming into our
lives has turned that around.

Finally, I can get back on my feet and
start reclaiming my life, which unless

you've been through this, you have no
idea what it's like.

I'm feeling great. There have been no
attacks at the desk. And now I have more

work. I'm really busy right now.

So I'm deeply grateful to Jackson.

And see you later.

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