Original subtitles

Pip suffers from a condition called cerebellar hyperplasia, overextension of

front paws, but he is a fighter.

I'm terrified of Pip.

The fights are loud. They wake me up every night.

If nothing gets better, I have to move out. I certainly will never get rid of

Pip.

Autumn is a cat peeing machine.

She peed on this.

I think the smell of cat urine is like the most toxic substance on the planet.

Oh. She pees on everything she can get her paws on.

Autumn has done a ton of damage, and it's been expensive.

This is a computer monitor, and you can still even see the pee stains on it. The

cat has created a lot of stress in the family.

And you know what you did. The only option would be to make her a full -time

outdoor cat.

Sometimes you can hear coyotes howling up in the hills.

I don't want to lose my chick.

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?

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

No!

I'm here in San Francisco, and I'm going over to see Louise and her roommate

Tara. I've got a cat named Pip, and Pip is a special needs cat, but that doesn't

mean that Pip's not a bully, too. Bullying your other cat, Red. I'm going

over there right now, try to stop that behavior.

My name is Tara.

Hi, I'm Louise.

And we're roommates.

And I have a beautiful, black, short -haired cat with one eye named Pip.

I have another cat named Red, and Pip hates them.

When Pip is aggressive, he is scary to be around.

I love Red.

He's welcome in my room anytime, but I'm terrified of Pip.

Pip suffers from a condition called cerebellar hyperplasia, overextension of

front paws, and the back legs splay out.

So he has a lot of difficulty walking.

But he is a fighter.

The fights are loud.

They wake me up every night.

The fight is a problem with my roommate. It has been a problem with previous

roommates.

I need to keep a roommate here to keep a roof over my head. If nothing gets

better, then I have to move out. I certainly will never get rid of this.

And that's enough.

I finished.

Hi! Hi!

How are you? Finally!

Oh, my God. As I walked into Louise and Tara's place, there was that immediate

vibe of relief.

This is going to be the end of the problem, which I felt good getting, but

the same time, pressure from the second I walked in.

Amazing to be here. I wish I was coming here to just hang, but we got issues.

Luis has a cat named Pip.

Okay. And he has a lot of challenges. He's not your average cat. Pip was born

into my hand. I took his mom off the streets, and she was very, very sick.

So he had a little brain damage because she was sick. So he ended up with this

condition, cerebellar hyperplasia.

Cerebellar hyperplasia, also known as CH, is a problem in the cerebellum,

is the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination.

There's no cure. There's no medication for cerebellar hyperplasia. It is what

is. They've got to kind of live with it. A one -eyed CH cat. That's interesting.

Well, I have this other cat named Red.

Somebody was getting rid of him, so I took him on with the intention of

rehoming him.

And here we are a couple of years later, and I still have him. And Pip hates

him.

He'll fly at Red. He positions himself so that he can pounce on him.

And Red's terrified of him.

Seeing how Pip is with Red kind of scares me to go near Pip. I couldn't

that a special needs cat to this degree, missing an eye and also having CH,

could even get to Red, let alone cause damage. But yet, Tara is terrified of

said special needs cat. I really love Red.

But, I mean, if push came to shove, I could never let go of Pip.

I bottle fed him, and he slipped.

Close to me. I mean, we're just bonded. What can I? I don't know how else to put

it. Well, you know, bottle moms and bottle babies.

Like this. The bond between a bottle baby and the mother is stronger than

any other I've seen between animal and human. They are your surrogate children.

You are their surrogate mother. Do you feel like Red feels home?

No.

I cannot keep him in. The slightest chance you will.

Climb out of a skylight.

No.

No. No. Red.

Then he's out. Then, before you know it, every few weeks, there's a puncture.

They abscess. And you know how nasty that is.

Yeah. I mean, it's $300 here, $400 there.

We did a parable.

Red is causing a little bit of disruption in the neighborhood. He's out

getting into fights, and somehow he can't be kept in the house. Cats really

need to be indoors these days. It's not fair to let them wander around where

predators can pick them off, where people can do things to them. We want

live long, healthy lives.

Our issue is my roommate has just about had it with me and them, and I

don't want her to move out.

Are you close?

Um, yeah.

I'm woken up.

Every night, sometimes multiple times during the night. Because of the fight?

Because of the fight. Tara's not getting any sleep.

She says she's woken up two, three times a night. Let's get up. Let's start

walking around. Tara's one foot out the door right now.

Sure, there's high feline stakes, but there's high human stakes here as well.

got a lot of problems to work through here.

Hi.

Hi, buddy.

Oh, my gosh, you're adorable.

Mommy's little baby.

You're adorable, even when you hit.

Hey, Mark.

What I just saw in terms of your physicality with Pip is right back to

baby. Oh, yeah.

It's a little troublesome in this context because what we have to be

for is the victim here.

And in this case, he's not the victim.

I'm completely conflicted.

Because everything in you wants to sympathize with the CH cat. And on this

I'm saying, well, wait a minute. He's also making this other cat feel like he

doesn't have a home.

He's forcing him away from the only territory that he knows.

He's a bully.

Tara, do you see the hissing a lot?

Yeah. I just try to avoid them.

Well. I just walk in from the door and straight to my room.

Louise was very protective of that cat. But at the same time, there is no

investment from Tara towards Pip. She doesn't like him. She's scared of him.

I think the thing that Louise is missing out on is that it does take a village

to raise a CH cat.

So if Tara would take ownership of Pip just a little bit, then I think we're

going to start seeing a different dynamic. But if she doesn't, Louise is

to be looking for a new roommate.

I got to see him walking around a little bit.

Oh, absolutely.

And I'll back up a little bit.

You used to be down here with me, too.

You just put him down. Let's see where he goes.

Okay, so he immediately splays. That's his thing, right? Yes. Literally. Oh,

hello, my buddy.

I'm watching Pip struggle, not just to walk, but, hell, just to get up.

And I couldn't stop thinking I'm surrounded by wood floors. What are we

about here?

It astounds me that he can get after Red.

The CH cat, the special needs cat, stalks and attacks Red. I just didn't

it. Down comes Red.

I gotta see these cats together.

Okay.

Good boy.

Good boy. It shocked me to think of this cat being tortured by a cat that can't

even get her out.

But then, I saw it.

Oh, my God.

Pip is a special needs cat. He's got cerebellar hyperplasia, which means he

can't even stand up straight. So it shocked me that Red was being tortured

cat who couldn't even get around.

Oh, he hit out of nowhere.

Man, I had seen enough today. So I got the cats to break it up, at least for

now. What happened there? Red doesn't recognize Pip as a cat in terms of his

movement. Red goes, what are you saying? What are you saying? Are you

threatening? Do you want food? What is it that you want? I don't know. I don't

know. I don't know. Red is trying to read Pip, and he can't. So let me give

some homework.

What I want to start working on is the shelves so that basically Red can go

upstairs and down here and then sit up in the vertical world and watch Pip's

body language. For Pip, on the floor in here.

Let's experiment with different types of textures.

Let's have shag. Let's have the yoga mat type of substance. I asked him to

really start building up the floor for Pip because he was slipping around like

crazy. He was insecure.

And special needs cats don't know they're different. We have to let him

his own four feet, gain self -confidence, and walk through the world

Louise, your connection with Pip, it's almost too strong.

And we don't want to break the bond. But we have to modify it. Her hand language

around Pip is not doing anybody any favors. Because kind of reassuring him

his behavior, whether good or bad, is okay with her. It's not okay.

And it's time for her to let go just a little bit. And I think the way to do

that is to get Tara more invested. Because really, at the end of the day,

wants to stay here, she's got to develop a relationship with Pip, not just Red.

Tara, I don't want you to move out. So I've got to get you involved.

You got to take ownership of Pip a little bit. I have to admit, I'm a

intimidated. Pip is just scary.

Now I'm going back to L .A. Call me when you need me, all right?

Thank you so much.

Tara's got to be invested in Pip for this to have any chance of working,

if she isn't, she and Red are going to be on the streets for good.

Bye, sister. Have a great night.

Bye.

I'm heading in for my second visit with Louise and Tara and the cats Red and

Pip.

So I took a look at Tara and Louise's video homework. They took that concept

the cat superhighway and they just really knocked it out of the park.

Now at the same time, I asked them to experiment with different types of

flooring so that Pip could feel more secure.

Can't wait to take a look at that myself.

But at the end of the day, I did see a little clip of Red standing out in the

rain because he couldn't come in the door.

That picture is what we need to get erased because I can't stand seeing that

one.

Hi. Hello, Louise.

Come on in. Thank you. We've got lots to tell you. Good, good, good.

Right? Yeah.

Can you believe it? Yes, exactly.

I think that's an amazing first sign right there. Last time I was here, I

that you really needed to start accepting Pip into your... I've gotten a

better. Have you? Yes, I'm able to feed him now.

Whoa, that's amazing. I just don't feel comfortable yet picking him up. Tara is

really starting to get over the fear she had of Pip. I just try to avoid him.

I just walk in from the door and straight to my room.

And that is really important because at the end of the day, what I really want

is to keep Tara in this house with Louise. The next thing we're going to

up, start looking around this place. And really, let's start right here, up to

Redland. Now, the reason why I had to build all this was partially so that Red

could look down.

and watch Pip as if he was watching TV, because with CH, a cat moves in very

unpredictable ways. Now that he's within the same space but separate, he's

beginning to feel more confident around him.

Red, all he knows of Pip in the past is he doesn't move like a cat, he doesn't

act like a cat. Is he a cat? I don't know what he is. And then he's getting

attacked. Now he can watch him from a safe distance. And the best part is,

down on the floor.

Looking up at Red.

These guys are taking one another in, learning the language of the other cat

a place where threats don't happen. This is how peace begins, with dialogue.

These two are able to have that dialogue, and I loved seeing it. Now

looked up high, let's look down low.

Now, he's not getting snagged on any of this?

No, this one is looped. So we came up with the idea of putting little toys in

there that he plays with. I love...

This right at this moment. He's not a special needs cat. He's hunting like any

other cat hunts I felt very torn about pulling back from him, but the way he's

responding just makes it all come together for me Yeah, and the more he

this on something like this the less he's going to do something

on someone like that, right? This is a challenge for him. We've seen Red up

and we've seen Pip down low enjoying their life, and that's amazing, but at

same time, there's got to be some things that indicate that we're only halfway

through this process, and sure enough, as we move towards the kitchen, that's

where the challenges start to emerge.

Red went to go get some water and Pip automatically was like, hey, what are

doing down here? This is my territory.

Pip went after Red like he normally would, but this time Red had somewhere

to go. And Louise had a little mini terrarium on the dining room table with

butterfly, which was not here the last time I was here.

He didn't even reference Pip, even though they just had a fight. He was

like, hey.

Butterfly. Yeah. And off he goes, right? I'm telling you, Red was like, oh, this

is really cool. This is like outside. After you have a fight like this and the

cat's calm, that is information I can work with in a big way.

So let me give you some homework.

We're going to start working towards the collision of the two worlds, but in a

peaceful way. Start looking at places about two and a half, three feet off the

ground, just like that table by the staircase.

and start looking about how he can get around the world low.

Tara, we want to see you really still take Pip in.

Pip's playground gets brought into your room, ending in one more rug that's in

your room with the toys in it, because, again, that is a brilliant idea.

Tara's relationship with Pip is improving, but to ensure she doesn't

need her to completely get over her fear of Pip and invite him into her space.

Now, here's the biggest piece of your homework.

I want you to construct a bigger terrarium so that when Red looks at

like, this doesn't get any better. For a cat like Red, who's used to being

outdoors most of the time, cat TV is a big, big concept. It is bringing the

outdoors in for him, which represents all the things that will keep Red at

So unless you guys have any more questions, I've got a plane to catch.

to get back to L .A.

I just don't. I don't think that all of this work is going to be worth it

because I think his behavior is not going to change.

Oh, see you, Red. Getting the cats on the same level, I'm a little bit dubious

that it's going to be able to happen.

And now it's time for a kitty bit.

How much does the average U .S. cat guardian spend per year on one cat?

Eight? $201.

B, $527.

Or C, $1 ,123. The answer after this break.

How much do the average U .S. cat guardians spend per year on one cat? The

answer is B, $527.

That means the average cat guardian will spend over $7 ,700 on one cat during

their lifetime.

Money well spent.

I'm going in for my final visit to see Louise and Tara and the cats Pip and

And last time I was here, Pip, who is a special needs cat, he's got cerebellar

hyperplasia, is absolutely terrorizing Red.

I think this needs to go back this way a touch.

So I took a look at the video homework. Let me tell you, everything I saw was

just a miracle.

I saw Red being Red.

He's using every level to come from top to bottom, which means he's meeting Pip

at his level, and he's doing it with confidence. But at the end of the day,

I want to see is Pip and Red meeting on the floor, no attacks.

If everything came together, we're going to have a happy ending.

Hey! Hello!

Hi! How are you?

What's up, Pip?

That is a nice thing to see.

Yeah. Beautiful, beautiful.

How you guys been? We have lots to tell you. Pip's got lots to tell you. So I

walk into Louise and Tara's place. Let me tell you something. I see cats in the

middle of the room, both Pip and Red.

It makes me nervous because the last time I was here, I was still seeing some

fighting in this house.

Well, well, well.

Hello, Mr. Red.

Walking around the floor.

Yeah, that's pretty remarkable.

When you consider that the first time I came here, you basically couldn't put

these two cats on the floor together without mayhem breaking out. Now, none

that's happening.

Really remarkable. How much fighting are we having right now?

I'm not getting woken up in the middle of the night to fight.

I haven't at all. There you go. I haven't at all. Pip has been going into

room on his own accord.

And now, like, just being able to be on his level, have him feel comfortable

with me is just incredible.

I've never bonded with a cat like that before.

To see Tara and Pip actually have a relationship now is enormous to me.

First day I got here, I was equally worried that you would be without a cat

without a human. And at this point?

I think I'm definitely going to be sane.

Yeah. I know, right?

Congratulations.

I'm so thankful.

Jackson, I mean, to me, it's opened up a whole, like, just a new kind of way of

living here.

Let's get up. I've got to see stuff. Let's do this. Come on.

Now, this terrarium.

I got to tell you, above and beyond.

The last time I was here as part of their homework, I had Louise and Tara

a bigger terrarium, bringing the outside inside.

We have Australian tree frogs.

Oh, my God.

And you see them at night when these little guys come alive and start jumping

all over the place and eating their crickets.

He is riveted.

Part of why Red is so comfortable at home is that we've given him every

to stay.

And I look down and there's Pip playing in his playground, feeling secure.

These guys didn't just do their homework. They really went to town on

I had them do. And the result is we have peace between these two cats. We have a

confident Red. We have a Pip who's not acting out.

That's what you get when you do your homework.

Since the last time I was here, you have added a whole bunch of things.

Really nice advance in this whole thing.

This gives the idea to a CH cat that I can conquer something.

And it relieves frustration.

And by relieving that frustration, you actually relieve the tremors themselves.

Because you lower down anxiety.

Both Tara and Louise did things that people don't normally do.

It's okay.

Tara took in Pip when she was terrified of him, and Louise let go of Pip. She

said, okay, the world can have more of him, and I'll take less so that I can

have Red as well.

Hello, Maggie.

This is a job well done. Congratulations, guys.

Couldn't have done it without you, Jackson Galaxy.

Safe flight back.

It is such a relief that Tara isn't halfway out the door as she was some

ago. I have absolutely no desire to move out now.

That's a relief to me, too.

Here's the microwave that she peed on. Totally gross.

Here she is. This is the little pee bandit. You've been a naughty girl.

I'm here in San Francisco, and I'm here to see Debra and Brian.

Debra and Brian have a cat named Autumn, and she is peeing everywhere. I mean,

if it's not nailed down, it's urinated on. It's upsetting everyone.

I'm going to see if I can calm the motions a little.

Hi, I'm Deb. Hi, I'm Brian.

And our kids are Brendan, who is 11, and Aaron, who is 9.

We own a few cats, Max, and Autumn.

We got Autumn for Aaron's birthday, and we thought we were getting a sweet

little kitten, and instead we got a cat peeing machine.

You can totally smell it.

And she peed inside there.

She's peed all over the couch, too.

I think the smell of cat urine is like the most toxic substance on the planet.

Nice puddle of cat pee.

I'd say garbage smells better than cat pee.

Oh. Right there, you peed on that. Autumn has done a ton of damage, and

been expensive.

This is a computer monitor, and you can still even see the pee stains on it. She

pees on everything she can get her paws on.

We had to buy a new microwave and a toaster oven cover.

We kind of have a graveyard of peed -on items.

One of the possible solutions to Autumn's problem has been to put her

and make her a full -time outdoor cat.

She's my cat.

Sometimes you can hear coyotes howling up in the hills.

That means she might get... Eatin'. We're at our wit's end. We really don't

what to do.

I really want Jackson to take care of our cat.

I just don't want our cat to be outside forever.

Hi. Hello.

How are you?

My name's Erin.

Hello, Erin. I'm Jackson. My family's in here.

Wow, look at this.

Hey, Jackson. I'm Deb.

Hey, Deb.

I'm Brian. Brian. This is you.

Hey, I'm Brendan. What's up, Brendan?

I adore working with kids. For me, it's a constant reminder that we have another

generation of people who are going to take care of animals, who are going to

their guardians, who are going to look out for them.

There must be some cat issues going on here. The cat is Autumn.

And Autumn we got for Erin a year ago as her birthday present.

Peeing started not long after that.

And then just start hitting things in the house? Just everything. So she peed,

like, all over the couch.

Anything left out.

anywhere. So the kids come home from school and they drop their backpack on

floor over there.

Bang. Bang.

These are one of those homes where the outside meets the inside. From a cat's

point of view, it's like living in a big glass box.

Not only is something outside threatening Autumn territorially, but if

Brian make her an outdoor cat, that seems something could cost her her life

well. Where are we with Autumn? Where are you, Brian? You know, the only

that we really have left would be to make her a full -time outdoor cat.

We are in coyote country here. I mean, the hills are right behind us. The

coyotes come down, along with, I'm sure, other predators.

These guys do not stand a chance. Now, that means that my job has just gotten a

lot harder, because if that's what's going to happen to this cat, I've got to

move fast.

Just to be brutally honest, I mean, you might as well rehome her.

It could be a better option. Yeah.

You'd be okay with her having a new home?

Well, I really wanted to stay here because she really likes me.

You could feel the weight of it all on a nine -year -old's shoulders, and that's

just not right.

If you don't mind, can you take me around your house? It would help me a

Absolutely. All right, come on, let's go.

So she loves to pee on the papasan chair.

The bear blanket was actually left out on the couch, and she peed on that.

Oh, God.

The smell coming off this bear rug made whatever hair I don't have stand up on

end. And then...

Over here is where the microwave and the toaster oven are.

So that's where it begins to get a little... It gets weird, right? Yeah,

exactly. We got this microwave a month ago to replace the other microwave,

we could never get the smell out of. Right.

I take a moment to look at Brian's face and make no mistake, the frustration

level is up to here. It tells me the clock is ticking. Okay, good. So we've

the... Well, hello.

And that would be autumn. That would be autumn.

Hello, my little one.

Autumn does get a little scared, but she comes right out. She wants to have her

freedom, but as soon as you give her space, she comes right to you.

She's so soft.

But she does have a lot of energy.

So we head outside, and they said they wanted to take me around the house.

Where? To the graveyard of peed on things.

With a name like that, I gotta see it.

So this is the graveyard of peed on items. Are you kidding me? So basically

these are all things that she's peed on at various times. Cat urine is built.

to break things down. People get really upset with me because I'm telling them

their carpet is stained beyond recognition, that even if they clean it,

down into the floorboards, they're going to have to rip things up. That's one

thing. When you take a look at the graveyard of Pete on things, I mean,

are electronics.

These are ovens. This is a microwave.

These are a lot of things that in terms of material goods, it's pretty far up

there. It really...

shows you very graphically what these guys have had to put up with. You've got

microwave. You've got a toaster oven.

It's frustrating dealing with it all.

It's really expensive.

We've had to replace all this stuff.

And the new microwave that we have, she's peeing on that now too. So that

end up out here in a couple weeks.

This is pretty severe.

Show me what else we got. Okay.

This is one of her zones where if she gets into this room, she'll go pee on

something. Where does she tend to go the most? She goes over here on this bed.

This is a favorite spot. She's gone over there in the corner, and actually, it's

still wet down here. So one question I've always got to ask when we've got a

peeing in a multiple cat household is, are you sure it's just Autumn?

So you see, it starts up this high.

Are you sure it's Autumn doing all of the spraying?

Well, you know, if that's not Autumn, that turns everything on its head.

Yeah.

Now, cat pee is not like fingerprints.

You can't tell who's doing it just by looking at it. We have to catch them in

the act. So I needed to go visit with Autumn and Aaron and get some more

information.

Aaron? Yes?

Hello. Do you mind if I come in? No.

I want to meet Autumn.

Hey, she's like rented. I see her.

Aw, scared?

Good girl.

Autumn seemed to me to be a pretty normal cat, a little kiddish. Let me ask

a few questions.

You do know this cat better than anybody, I would assume, right?

Yeah. Have you worried about her not being with the family?

Yeah, I mean, cats are a family, too.

I'm glad you think that.

She's a kitten.

She can't, like, protect herself like Max can.

You play with her with toys?

Yeah, I have some I made myself.

You made toys for her? How rock star is that of you?

I like the way it moves.

Do you know that I have to teach about 99 % of my clients how to play with

cats? And out comes a toy that a nine -year -old built. I mean, that is

Hi.

It was great to hang out with Erin, talk to her about Autumn. She is really

going to be the linchpin of this whole thing.

Hey, guys.

Let me sit.

First thing, we're all going to have homework.

Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to be mistress of toys.

And before you go to bed, you're going to really play with her. I've got to

convince this cat that her world is safe.

And Erin is the one who can really facilitate that real bravery, that

confidence, coming out in a more consistent way. And having a play

think, is really going to help a lot. And the second thing, we've got to

out who's doing the peeing.

because I don't think it's just autumn. Cats, of course, are suspect to UTIs,

but before I send these cats to the vet to test for these things, I want to make

sure I know who's doing all the peeing and if it's behavioral.

Now, this is a webcam.

We're going to put this on all night long, and we're going to catch whoever

is peeing. We're not going to have to guess anymore. We're going to know.

Let's move on to what's going on around your house.

We don't know. We have to know.

because someone's outside in the backyard making them nervous. Wow.

This camera, this is a motion -activated camera. We're going to put it out

there. And any time someone comes into your yard, we're going to know who it

We've got to get a grip on this problem quickly, because if Autumn is made into

an outdoor cat, she will not make it through the week. I'll be back in a few

weeks. Thank you so much. You're totally welcome.

We have, like, raccoons and dogs, like, next door around the neighborhood.

It's really scary for me because she's smaller than them.

I'm back here for my second visit with Brian and Debra and their kids and the

cat, Autumn, who has been peeing up a storm since she was a kitten.

Now, the last time I was here, we could not figure out which of their two cats

was peeing everywhere.

Hi, Brian. Welcome back, Jackson. Thank you so much. How have you been? Good.

So, got a lot to tell me?

We do.

We have a lot to talk about.

The second I looked at their faces, I knew I was in trouble. Where are the

by the way? Oh, they're at school right now. They'll be back a little bit later.

Okay. Since you were last here, the problem has really escalated,

Got worse?

It got way, way worse. Wow.

To be honest, it got so bad that we really started having serious

about putting her in a new home.

I feel like I've been punched in the gut, because honestly, at that point,

family has said, we're not that invested anymore, and that means trouble for me

and for Autumn. How did the kids react to that?

They were sad and upset, you know? They really want to keep her here.

I really thought that when I left here, I had a grip.

Whatever I gave this cat...

moved her to do something.

So even if it went in the wrong direction, we hit something. We just got

of take it apart and find out what that was.

Now, what you guys did get for me is some footage.

It was time to take a look at their video homework.

Okay, so here we are.

And one of the homework items that Jackson gave us was to set up this wall

And by this window, there's no doubt in my mind that the black cat has been

coming at night. The black cat has been coming at night. Sure enough, in the

middle of the night, They got the proof. Can you believe that?

I did get to see Aaron building a great new toy.

Turkey feather cat toy.

Aaron playing with Autumn with these new toys on a regular basis means this

cat's confidence has returned.

That translates into territorial security.

Oh, look at her.

On the negative side, I did get to see pee everywhere.

I went to pick up these placemats.

And that huge spot there is cat pee.

You know, we've been talking and we can't continue to live like this.

Look at me.

I know.

She was so hot. I was obsessed.

It's terrible stuff that's going on here. Yeah. And now I get to see it. Now

let's talk about this webcam footage.

We set up a webcam in the office that was pointing to our bed.

And it's all right there on tape. Got it on tape.

Wow. I cannot wait to see that. So if you don't mind, can we go back in the

office and watch that? You bet. Definitely. Now we have to go into the

see proof of whoever it is that's peeing.

This is the computer where we have the webcam set up, and about nine hours in,

this is what happens.

Here she comes.

I can't even begin to tell you how just seeing this webcam footage blows my

mind. Oh, she's peeing?

Mm -hmm.

So she does her business.

Now she's going to kind of clean up.

Awfully thorough.

It almost looks like she had a little... She just squirted again. She did. She

was making sure that it's everywhere, basically.

So wait a minute. She squats and she marks. It's almost like she doesn't know

what to do, but she's so anxious, she has to do everything at the same time.

then, as she's getting ready to leave, she freezes.

And she's looking at something. And I know that whatever she's looking at is

going to give me some good information.

So after I watch the video, I really want to sort of relive it as if I'm

She comes in.

She comes here.

She's facing there.

She's looking right at that backyard. That's the place that's been all this

trouble for all this time. She's just plain anxious and living in a post

-traumatic stress loop that we just have to break.

Let's go hit the backyard.

Jackson was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

He continues to just see things in the cats that we never see.

Okay. I wanted to go outside with Deb and Brian to see if there was anything

else attracting that black cat into their backyard.

Now, we know that other cats wind up right here, right? Mm -hmm. The thing I

worry about a little bit is the dirt. Yeah. And it's being used as a litter

over here. Right. Does it get used? It does, yeah.

The way this house is designed, it's like bringing the outdoors indoors.

And if you're a cat with some territorial and security problems to

boy, that's just hellish.

Oh, hey. Hey.

What's up, man?

Now that Erin and Brendan are home, what I want to see this time is Autumn

playing with that new toy that Erin built for her.

Watching Erin play with Autumn. She really does jump with that one. Oh, nice

jump. Just take her homemade toy, take my toy. Good girl.

Get that cat just jumping around. I mean, this cat was jumping around.

Oh, nice.

And at that moment, I look over at this little girl's face, and it's very

simple. It's a girl, it's her kitten, and it's the bond between them. A bond

that we would be so foolish to break up. And I'm not going to let that happen.

Okay.

Now we know what's going on. So that leads us to our homework.

We're going to talk a little bit about litter boxes.

Now here's what I want you to do. You're going to love this part.

I want you to have one of the litter boxes on the counter.

I know, I know.

It's gross to have litter boxes in your living space.

because this counter really kind of symbolizes something destructive.

Litter boxes have got to be in socially significant areas for these cats,

because when they're anxious, they pee.

Here's the other thing.

If they're being threatened by something outside, we've got to take care of that

as well.

I would put something down instead of that soil in the backyard to deny any

would -be invaders a litter box.

There's no point in letting those cats come on up here and threaten. She might

see someone through the window, get all worked up, and then pee someplace.

Now, in terms of cleaning up the mess, I use this all the time, and it's really

cool. It's a CO2 -based cleaner, and all you do is fill this up with warm water,

drop the tablets in here, and it works really, really well.

And the last thing I want you to do is build a catio.

Do you know what a catio is?

Yeah. A catio will define not just her sense of territorial ownership, but also

give her a safe retreat from outdoor predators.

Where do I want you to build it? The atrium.

Every time I walk into their home, I have to walk through that central

It's a perfect spot for Max and Autumn to play away from all the neighborhood

cats.

All right, guys. It was great to see you. Thank you so much for coming.

totally welcome.

When we brought Jackson here, we really thought, okay, we're going to fix this

problem right away.

And to have things get worse and to get so much worse was really disheartening.

And if this doesn't work, that cat's out of here.

I'm going in for my final visit with Deborah and Brian, their kids, and their

cat, Autumn. The last time I was here, we took a major step backwards. Autumn

was still peeing all over the house.

That huge spot there is cat pee.

And what does that mean? It means the concept of rehoming this cat is still on

the table. What I'm hoping is these guys did their homework, and that concept is

gone.

What's up, guys?

Hey. Hey, Jackson. Good to see you.

So, how's life?

We've been completely pee -free for days.

Yay! Yay!

That's amazing.

That's really great. A round of applause for this family. Very good. Take a bow,

please. Thank you very much.

Having Jackson come here and really help us figure out some solutions was really

key. I mean, it's really amazing what he can do just by watching cat behavior.

Let's take a look at what we've got going on here.

So, we are working on the catio.

One of the first things that struck me was the building of the catio. Now,

guys put a lot of work into it.

Right here, we're going to put like a giant big board.

This board right here. Yeah, that board right there.

Okay. And then we also did the flashing so she can't get on the roof.

All you've got to do is put bendable steel right around the tree itself, and

flashing discourages the cat from shimmying all the way up the tree.

Okay, big, big day today.

We are going to clean up the cat poo, and it's going to hopefully keep the

neighborhood cats away. Right, guys?

Right. All right, let's do it.

So, we are all done. No cat would ever want to go poo there.

They changed out all the topsoil that was out there with rocks. What does that

mean? It's not a friendly place to put a marker down if you're a cat.

And there is the X graveyard of pedon items.

Better soak it good.

I will.

Cool. Good work.

Now listen, I want to get up and walk around a little bit. Great. Sounds good.

We took a storage container.

And with a top.

So, voila.

Asking anyone to put a litter box on their kitchen counter is something

usually met with a lot of resistance. They went with it, and since then, she

hasn't gone on the counter. That's big news.

So here's the caveat.

You make it to a week. Yeah. We start getting rid of that.

Oh, yay. Really?

Yes, yes.

That was very exciting, actually. Yeah, we were putting it up there for the

first time.

The thought wasn't going through my head of how long is this going to be up

here? Is this like a permanent thing?

Come on. Let's go take a look at that catio.

Oh, my God.

Guys, this is exactly what we were talking about last time.

You have a catio.

I'm really proud of you guys.

So we're out on the catio, and I'm watching Autumn take shelf after shelf

catio. And you know what she never does?

She never looks behind her. She never wants to see who's out to get her. She's

different cat than the first cat that I met just a few short weeks ago. She's

not a hunted animal anymore. And because of that, Autumn has been peeing in the

litter box.

Talk about this one.

So you are absolutely 100 % on the right track.

You've got to be pretty happy.

I would hope.

I'm happy that Autumn stopped peeing everywhere because if she never stopped,

then we wouldn't have her today.

I just want to make sure that Autumn is going to spend the rest of her life with

you guys. Is that true? Autumn is going to spend the rest of her life here with

us. That's all I need to hear, and I'm a happy man. And I think that the reason

why Autumn is here, it's because of you.

And now listen, before I leave, I got something. Give me one second, okay?

I just wanted Erin to know how proud I was of her.

Oh, my God.

Erin, I just wanted to present this to you.

I wanted her to know that her work was not going unnoticed. I brought her in a

craft pack, something so she could build some more toys. I was blown away. When

I first came in here the first day, she had bamboo with a string and a feather

on the end of it, and she was playing with Autumn with a toy that she made.

is Erin's toy building toolbox.

Oh, that is awesome.

Erin's really creative, and she's always coming up with ideas.

And so that's one of the things that she was really enthusiastic about.

You got all that you need in here to build toys. We got some more sticks for

you. I know that you prefer bamboo, so you can do that whenever you want. But

also in here, we have all the tools that you'll need.

We have toys.

We have Velcro in here for you to get all that stuff down.

I'm keeping it.

You're keeping the whole thing.

I'm going to make toys for the cat.

And enjoy growing up with your cat.

You've got a lot of years left with her. Her kids and the cat are going to grow

up together.

They're going to be companions for one another, and that is so invaluable for

both human and animal.

Let me know if you need me for anything, okay?

All right. Thank you for coming.

Jackson, we just want to say thank you so much for coming all the way up to San

Francisco. You've really helped to save a cat and reunite a cat with a little

girl. There's Autumn sleeping on Aaron's bed, so we're very happy about that.