Original subtitles

We have a showgirl named Snickers. We've been showing her for about a year and a

half now.

She tends to go after the judge's hands.

Snickers raves as hell when you trim her toes.

It's usually mayhem.

I've had Dexter for a year and a half, and in that time, I've been hospitalized

about 14 times because I've got Crohn's disease.

I can't fight off simple colds, flus.

And so when Dexter plays in his fecal matter, I don't want to touch him

I don't want to get sick.

I don't want to see Jeremy's health suffer anymore because of Dexter's

Either Dexter has to change or the cat goes.

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

I'm heading over for my first visit with Rick and Laura and their show cat

Snickers. But the question is, does this cat really want to be in the show? From

the little bit of footage I've seen, I got questions about that. So I'm going

go over right now and find out.

I'm Laura.

I'm Rick. We've been married nine years.

We have a cat named Snickers who is a show cat who has some big problems at

shows.

We've been showing her for about a year and a half now, but she has major

attitude issues.

She's a pixie bob.

Pixie bobs are generally an easygoing breed. They usually like to show. They

bred to resemble the appearance of a bobcat.

Not every cat can really become a show cat.

She was a regional winner last year. Her ultimate goal would be to get a Supreme

Grand Champion, which is the accumulation of 1 ,000 points. From

to double grand, which is 2 ,000 points.

X number of finals. X amount of finals.

Triple grand is 3 ,000 points. And currently a quadruple grand. 4 ,000

and X amount of finals.

Supreme is 6 ,000 points. That would just be the feather in the cap for

Snickers.

When she showed as a kitten, she had no problems at all. We could take her

anywhere. She performed.

She was great.

Gave her some time off last winter, and Snickers decided she didn't want to

show.

At the shows, the teeth and the claws come out. She tends to go after the

judge's hand.

Part of the grooming before each show, and this is for every cat, is claws have

to be trimmed on all four feet.

Snickers raise the tail when you trim her toes.

It's usually mayhem.

We have a special bag that we put her in. It does not hurt her. It just keeps

safe. That's where she goes ballistic.

It is just more disappointing because I had really high hopes for Snickers as

far as being a really great show cat.

It would just be great to find out what's causing her to do this so she can

good show cat.

How are you? I'm fine. How are you? I'm good. I'm Jackson. Jess, I'm Laura. Come

on in, please. Good to meet you. Yeah.

I'm Jackson. I'm Rick. Hey, good to meet you, Rick.

Have a seat.

Thank you. Have a seat.

Tell me how I can help you guys today.

We have a show girl named Snickers, and she really has some very bad attitude

with the show as far as disposition,

biting at the judges, also in preparation for the show. She...

She really hates having her toes trimmed.

What was Snickers like as a kitten?

She was really great. She showed well.

We didn't have any personality issues with her as a kitten. But I kind of gave

her some time off last winter. And when I tried to take her back out, she was

like... You just want to see her be happier. I do. We actually have a show

weekend. This weekend? Yeah, it's after tomorrow.

Wow. Okay, so if you're going tomorrow, then...

What I want to see is all the things that you do, all the rituals involved in

getting her ready to get to that show tomorrow, okay? Okay. All right. Sounds

good. Let's go do that now. Let's go do it.

Laura comes around the corner with Snickers, and, yeah, she is just like

would imagine a pixie bob. She kind of looks angry, but you know she's not.

Obviously, with the toes being the major problem here, I, of course, have to see

the toes getting clipped. Okay. Sorry to say.

Okay, squirrely girl.

That's when Snickers hit. And she hit quickly.

I didn't see it coming at all. She just got sick of it and wanted it to stop.

Generally, when she starts getting a little feisty, we end up putting her in

claw control bag and muzzle her.

When I hear those words, it just makes me clench up.

Okay, you. Did we not zip you back up?

Oh. Are you going to be okay with this? Are the bat guys here?

In general, cat bags have their place, but to me, their place is in a vet

where you're trying to sedate a wild animal, feral cat, the epitome of the

resort. Here, that's not so much the answer.

Whoa.

So what's that?

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

If she gets to the point that it's this aggressive, then it's usually... You're

going to muzzle her now.

I'm looking at a cat that looks like a mass murderer. If you take an animal

is used to being preyed upon and you put them in that position, man, nothing

good is going to come from that. All right, let's start getting her out of

I'm so sad right now.

We've got to find a better way of doing this, and that's something we're going

to have to work on, okay?

So we want to do the other parts of this ritual. Let's talk about the cages that

she has to be put into. Okay.

They're just in the other room. Oh.

Well, hey, let's follow her that way. Okay, come on. Go that direction.

This is a judging cage, so this is where she would stay.

while she is waiting to be judged.

So what I'd like you to do is go get her, and we're going to put her in here,

and we're going to just take her through the paces, okay? Okay. I want to see

the rest of it. I want to see every part of handling during the show, because

honestly, man, I'm not really well -versed in shows.

We can go right there.

Okay, right there.

Easy.

Okay, there you go.

I'm seeing that she's nervous. Her ears are quaking. She's starting to lick her

lips, and she's also trying to soothe herself by blinking her eyes. I have to

push this, though. I want to see what it's like myself to pretend that I'm a

judge. I'm going to remove her the same way a judge would. Okay. Ready? I'm

ready. Okay, here we go.

Hi, baby girl. I'm going to pick you up. They usually bring her up just like

that. Okay, and then I'm going to put her down here.

Generally, the ears, they check the ears and the toes to make sure that they're

clean. Clean ear here.

All right, now what?

They would check the toes to make sure that they're clipped, and then they will

pick up a foot.

Okay, that looks okay. And her heart's really going right now.

I hear you, baby.

I really was trying to push Snickers any which way I could, but Snickers was not

reacting one little bit. All right. I mean, she's doing okay. It doesn't take

much to take a cat and push them over the edge when they're surrounded by

hundreds of people, hundreds of cats, the smells and the sights, and going

one ring to another. But in this home with a controlled environment, Snickers

being incredibly patient. I know there's a ticking time bomb on their hands. I

just don't know what it is yet. All right.

Well, guys, I'd like to start working with reassociation because right now the

entire show process is a negative for her.

I want you to feed her her meals in those cages. The cages are a bad place.

from now on, meals get fed in those cages. That way, every time she smells

eats food, it's in that place. And so when she's at the show, perhaps it'll be

positive association.

Now, I also want to see her.

As you guys were saying, in her most playful, and I didn't get to see that.

Okay. I call that the no -show zone.

Next, I want to do something called the no -show zone. That means I want to see

Snickers be just a normal cat, not a show cat. When Rick and Laura tell me,

she's at her most happy. And the last piece of homework belongs to me.

I'm going to come to the show tomorrow. So that's exciting.

Okay, good.

Yeah. I need to see for myself, is this cat miserable at the cat show? Is she

saying loudly, I don't want to be here, I hate this? Or does she enjoy it and

she's just anxious by something? I got to know for myself.

I need you guys to make a deal with me, okay?

If we sit down and honestly say, I know my cat and she's miserable, then you got

to retire her from the show.

Do we have a deal?

Yeah, we do. Deal? Deal. Deal. Deal.

Right on. I told Rick and Laura that we can work towards a good resolution, but

that resolution depended on what Snickers wanted. And today, I'm looking

cat that just wants to be a house cat. I'm going to see you guys tomorrow.

Take care. You too. Thank you so much. Bye -bye. I did have some second

for a moment about retiring Snickers, but I really hope... that with chipping

away a little by little at the shows and continue to take her, that it would

maybe break that barrier in her kitty brain.

I'm in Arcadia today for my first cat show, but for me, it's not all about the

glitz and glamour. Laura and Rick, how are you?

Hey, how are you?

I'm doing fantastic. Good to see you again. Good to see you. Welcome to the

show. Thank you very much.

When I first got this case, I had my preconceived notions of what cat shows

and the people in those cat shows and how they tended to put their own desires

above their cats. But today, it's about finding out what sets Snickers off with

the judges.

Now, you walk in here. I mean, people talk really loud at these shows. A lot

cats meowing. You hear that? You've got the speakers going off at every five,

six seconds, calls to the ring.

You've got the energy that's just amped. She's coming up at ring four right now.

Let's do it. We can go. Let's go. All right. It is go time. It's time to see

Snickers with the judges.

All right, here we go.

Vocalization going on right now. Please be the clerk in ring four.

She's going to try a toy first.

That is not what we want.

That's not a good idea.

She's going to turn her snap.

There it is.

She's going to call us.

It's not about cat show. It's not about breeds.

It's about do you know your cat? Are you listening to your cat? What are they

saying? And Snickers might as well be wearing a T -shirt that says, I hate cat

shows. I've done my homework. I came here. Now it's all on you guys. Right

what I'm seeing I'm not too excited about. I am concerned about Snickers'

reaction today at the one judge's ring.

I'm going to take off.

I was kind of hoping things were going to get better. I'm concerned that she

not be able to fulfill.

her end of the contract, so to speak.

Rick, how are you, man? Good, nice to see you. Good to see you.

Now, as I walked in for my second visit with Rick and Laura about Snickers,

their cat, they looked in great spirits, but that really confused me, because

I'm telling you, I was at the same cat show they were at, and it was not a

pretty experience.

So, guys, the last time I saw you, it was not under the most favorable

conditions. She really didn't like that judge.

That was a bad reaction. It was pretty intense and pretty bad.

Yeah. Now, of course, we have one show coming up, and that's when our contract

kicks in. So, hey, let's take a look at the video homework.

Looking at Rick and Laura's video homework, first thing was the feeding

assignment, which you could see getting better and better as time went on. There

was that real hesitation, like, I do not want to go into that cage and eat. And

slowly over time, she was finding herself going, wait, nothing bad's going

happen in here.

I want to talk about the no -show zone. I've never gotten to see Snickers just

be a cat. She was chasing lasers. She was rolling on her back. She was playing

with balls. She was being a cat.

So I wanted to get Snickers and go and check in on these guys with their nail

trimming exercise because the last time I was here it was not a pretty

experience. So I had a surprise for Rick and Laura. I called up my friend Dr.

Cochran who also calls herself Dr. Kind Claws. She was going to come over here

and really give these guys a 101 on how to trim claws.

And this, Dr.

Cochran, is Snickers.

And hi Snickers. Hi honey.

So my preferred type of clippers for cats are these kind of scissor type. I

that I can work pretty quickly with the least amount of stress with cats. So I

have everything to the right of her head, maybe exerting a little bit of

pressure on her.

Right now, I'm just pushing her nails out.

She's doing really well, so why don't you see if she'll take a treat.

She may or may not.

Good girl.

What I'm going to do, I'm going to take advantage of this. I'm going to go in.

I'm going to do a nail. Right like that.

Oh, look at this. Good job.

I'm a little bit in shock. I've never seen her this calm getting her toes

trimmed. I want to try something different.

Rick, your turn.

Trimming Snickers nails is not one of my goals in life.

I thought that no way was this going to happen.

Laura with the treat.

Here we go.

You are the man.

You are the man.

Are you kidding me?

It was that easy. Thank you so much for your help.

I brought in Dr. Cochran to prove one thing, and that is that it's not the cat

that hates getting her nails trimmed. It's what you bring to the party energy

-wise. I thought that was really important to show them. And now, it was

give Rick and Laura some homework. Really, this is all about just building

the success that we've seen since that last cat show.

So, guys, honestly...

That was amazing work. So let me give you some new homework.

When I was at the show with you guys, I recorded a lot of the sounds that were

going on there, from the loudspeakers to the cats meowing. What I want you to do

is play that recording while you're doing this exercise with the feeding. So

we're going to have the sound of the cage, we're going to have the sound of

entire show, and we're going to desensitize that experience.

Next thing I want you guys to do is start switching roles around a little

want to see Rick being the primary trimmer before the next show, and I want

to take seriously the fact that he's got a role to play here.

It's not always the cuddler. It's not always the soother. Now, finally, and

here's the big one, I want you guys to video document that next cat show for

We're going to be able to take a look at the first show, the second show, and

then we're going to revisit our verbal contract.

Because remember, it's all about what Snickers is telling us.

Objectively, we are going to let this cat make her own decisions, and we're

going to interpret.

We're going to let her decide, and we'll find out what happens.

Now, you guys are still on board with me with this verbal contract, aren't you?

Yeah, we are, 100%. I'm going to take off. All right. Thank you so much.

welcome. I'm pretty confident that we'll have a nice show cat at the end of

this.

I'm here for my final visit with Rick and Laura and their cat Snickers. Now,

when I first met these guys, I had them draw out a verbal contract, which was if

Snickers was saying loudly and clearly, I don't want to be a show cat, I want to

be a stay -at -home cat, they would retire her. Good day.

How are you? I'm great.

Now, will they live up to their end of the verbal contract?

How are you, sir? I'm doing great. Is Snickers going to be a show cat, or is

going to have a happy retirement? I'm going to find out today.

So, how's life with you guys?

It's been good. I think that from her perspective that she's definitely

That's the bottom line. The first bit of homework that I ever gave Rick and

Laura was know your cat. It's about what she wants.

And that was the verbal contract that we drew. If at the end of our time

together she didn't want to be a show cat, you had to respect that, listen to

it, and give her the life that she was asking for. We know that she had to get

her nails trimmed again.

before this last show. So how'd that go?

I think it was a success.

I managed to get him without the hood or the bag.

No bag. No bag, no hood. No mask.

And that is the biggest news I've heard so far. When I first met Snickers, I saw

Laura trying to trim her claws.

And it was one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen. Great news is

Laura told me that Rick is now taking on the job of doing some of the dirty

work, meaning he's trimming Snickers' claws successfully, I might add.

Now, we're going to see footage later on of...

The cat show this weekend.

But in the meantime, let's go get Snickers. I still needed to see how

was now in the judging cage. Remember, this cat has nothing but really

negative associations with the judging cage. And now I really wanted to make

sure that she could eat in there, have the sound simulation, and still be

successful.

There you go. Now go ahead and just put it down where it is. There we go.

There you go. It's okay.

There you go. Now back away.

The best part about this was she didn't even hesitate.

She was in the cage and went right for the food.

That's what I want to see. Look at that.

With the door open right there.

I think the eating and the homework that we've done with the volume from the

show hall and feeding her, that has definitely helped to make that a success

her. There's one thing left that we haven't done, and it's pretty important.

That's watching the footage from this weekend's cat show. Right.

I need to watch that footage. Okay.

This footage is basically going to determine the future of Snickers.

Actually, things were going okay. She was being poked and prodded. Her tail

being pulled a little bit. She was okay.

This is where she always has the problem. She put her in. She pet her.

very gentle.

And Snickers just whipped around and went for the swipe.

The swipe she took that last ring on Sunday, if you were her, is this an

expression of I want to be here or I don't want to be here? What do you see?

Probably that she doesn't want to be there.

Okay. We made a verbal contract, and I got to know if you guys are ready to

up your end of the bargain. Are we going to retire her and let her just be a

house cat?

It's time.

Wow. We pulled out the stops. We tried everything.

Yeah. And I think we made great gains in helping her. I saw huge improvements. I

don't think that we could have achieved this level of being comfortable with

Snickers and what her needs are without the help of Jackson.

You've shown me that all you care about is her happiness.

My experience with the cat show showed me that there are cats who like it. They

enjoy the spotlight. They enjoy showing off for people. That's their life.

Snickers just is not that cat anymore.

Rick and Laura get that now. Even though they presented such a desire to have

Snickers be a show cat, at the end they were gracious and they said, we just

want you to be happy and I know that she will be. And that's what made this

successful. Great. It was wonderful. Again. It was wonderful. Thank you for

everything. I'd love to be able to get that.

supreme grand champion for her. But I think that's not what it's about.

It's about the best interest of Nickers.

Nickers might not be a champion, but she's going to be happy.

I think she'll be a lot happier just being at home, being herself.

Thanks, sir.

Go lay down.

I'm on my way over right now to go see Erica and Jeremy. They got a cat named

Dexter who's meowing so incessantly that they say it's affecting Jeremy's

health. Wow.

And that's one for the record books. I'm heading over right now to see if I can

help.

I'm Jeremy. I'm Erica.

We've been together for three years. We got connected through a mutual friend

that thought that we'd really hit it off, and we did.

I came across Dexter at a local pet adoption, and I just... I had an

connection with him. He was the perfect cat. No complaints, but now he stresses

me out to no end.

I've had him for about a year and a half, and in that time, I've been

hospitalized about 14 times.

I have a Crohn's disease.

It's an autoimmune disease set off by stress, and the problem with Dexter is

meows excessively, which keeps me awake.

This is what happens when you try to sleep.

And in order for me to get better, I need sleep.

I just got home from work, and you can already hear...

which keeps me awake.

Jeremy really needs his sleep in order to get better.

I just get mad. It's hard to be there for a cat that...

Drives you insane.

I don't want to see Jeremy's health suffer anymore because of Dexter's

We really need Jackson's help with this because my health, I'm done sacrificing

myself for a cat.

Hey, how are you? Good, how are you? I'm good.

Jeremy. Jeremy, good to see you, man. I'm Jackson.

How are you?

Erica. Hey, Erica.

So, tell me.

What am I doing here today?

Have a small furry problem.

So, what's the small furry problem's name?

Dexter. Okay.

I got Dexter from a pet adoption.

He's about a year old. When we first got him, he was the perfect cat.

Perfect cat.

Then I started going through some Crohn's flare -ups.

I've been in the hospital 14 times.

You've been in the hospital 14 times in how long?

In the last two years.

Wow. You just got out of the hospital yesterday.

Wait, hold on.

Let's back up. So you have Crohn's?

Currently, yeah.

Crohn's disease is an autoimmune problem that manifests in the gastrointestinal

tract, and it's something that's really nasty to deal with.

Dexter has a multitude of issues.

Okay. Likes to play in the toilet.

He'll like dunk his whole head and front paws into the toilet.

He likes to play in his litter box.

A lot. And he'll track stuff all over the house.

Oh, okay.

Normally, I would say that's something you deal with. You've got a cat in your

life, and he drinks the toilet water.

Well, listen, first of all, keep the toilet lid closed. It's kind of obvious.

The bacteria that lives on a cat's paws are not going to harm you unless you

ingest them. Now, what I think's going on is that Jeremy's become really

paranoid about his health, and I completely understand that, but I think

blaming Dexter for a bit too much. The main problem right now is that Crohn's

usually set off by stress.

Oh, it is? Yeah.

The cat stresses me out to no end.

He is always meowing, meowing, meowing.

So I start getting angry.

I hiss at him.

He hisses at his cat.

In order for me to get better, I need sleep.

He's got to break this chain right now because the negativity that he's

to this cat is making a negative situation worse.

When I would leave, as soon as I closed that door, he would jump up in the

window, and he would be staring at me meowing. I didn't really think much of

until he jumped out that window.

That's pretty serious business.

One thing is glaring at me right now, and that is he's got separation anxiety

like nobody's business.

There are not that many cases in my career where a cat is literally willing

jump out of a second -story window to follow the people who have left the

What's the bottom line with him?

I need this cat fixed or he's gone.

I have heard plenty on this couch, and I know that Dexter's presenting a problem

to both Jeremy and Erica and to Jeremy's health. It's time for me to get up,

walk around this space, and make sure that I can find ways to solve this

problem. I just want to check this out.

Wow.

Clearly, this is barely hanging on here, man.

He stands up on his hind legs and pushes.

Okay. But the thing that freaks me out the most is that you are on the second

floor here.

Yes. So if this speaks to one thing specifically, it's the level of

separation anxiety that this cat is experiencing.

Yeah. All right. Let's move on. Okay.

And this is... The glitter box. The glitter box area.

So... He used, well, obviously he uses his plenty.

Yeah. But the thing that I'm not seeing, see,

the thing is he buries everything, right? There's nothing here that's

I'm stepping in this and tracking it around the house. I didn't see any clue

that he was stepping in feces and dragging it across the floor.

I find myself in a delicate position because I'm starting to think that

just a little bit paranoid about what's going on with Dexter. But he's got to

start making Dexter into a positive thing in his life right now. He's just a

source of bad things.

With all the problems that we've got going on in here, I'm looking over there

and seeing his swimming pool over there. So what does he do in the toilet again?

So if you happen to have guests over or someone who does not know that Dexter

loves the toilet.

If you leave it open, he climbs on it.

When he climbs on it? He'll, like, dunk his whole head and front paws into the

toilet. As well as drink the water.

He'll dunk his whole head into the toilet? Yeah.

So he comes out wet. Yeah.

And smelling like toilet.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Are you saying that has something to do with a guest?

No. If a guest doesn't, if I don't tell them specifically, make sure you close

the toilet when you're done. He is in there like that.

He dunks his entire head in there. Yeah. Paws, drinks out of there. Yeah.

Well, you know I'm going to want to see that in action later. Oh, yeah.

Definitely. And you will do it. We will see it. All right, guys, let me just

wash my hands and we'll keep moving, okay?

All right.

I think there's a solution to this, and we'll get to that later on. Now, I want

to see Dexter's anxiety up close and personal. Okay, so I am going to have

guys leave.

I'm going to go outside, and I'm going to watch him via monitor and see what

reactions I can get from Dexter when you leave here, okay?

Okay. All right, go for it.

All right, so he did exactly what I thought he was going to do.

These guys leave. He comes out here looking for comfort from somebody that

somebody is me.

So I'm going to go outside right now, and I'm going to watch him via monitor

because that's the only way I'm going to get a true reaction out of him because

I can't leave him alone either. All right, buddy, so I'm going to leave.

Bye, Dexter.

He's in the window right now.

All we have to do is remove human attention from him, and he's immediately

that window.

Listen, I'm going to get back up there because I'm really concerned about that

screen right now, and I don't want him pushing it out and having him fall right

now.

Today I've seen a lot of things about Dexter's behavior that is concerning, so

really want to sit down, get this homework going, because there's no time

wait. We got a lot of things to work on. His separation anxiety is a big deal.

So the first thing we're going to do is take this huge cat tree and put it in

the window. For a cat, they need to be able to sit in a tree and look out the

windows. And it's also a safer place for Dexter to sit rather than leaning on

the screen or windowsill.

Next, I'm going to bring in the basket of toys here. I'm going to give you all

kinds of toys.

Because it isn't like, oh, he's going to play with all of these, but he's going

to play with something.

I'm leaving them toys that Dexter can play with when they leave home, and also

toys that Dexter can play with when Jeremy is at home but not feeling well.

is all about keeping Dexter occupied. Because Dexter's not being played with.

He's going to continue using the litter box and toilet as toys, and he's going

to be meowing all night. Now, there's one more thing I have for you, okay?

Now indulge me here.

Because this I call my perspective box.

This is an exercise in affirmations and visualization.

In this perspective box, what I want him to do is fill it up with positive

affirmations written on pieces of paper, things about his relationship with his

girlfriend, his relationship with his cat that are all about positivity.

It seems like a small tool, really, but what it does is it promotes positivity,

which is absent right now.

Jeremy's Crohn's disease raises the stakes here. That's why it's so

that Jeremy brings positivity back to his relationship with Dexter to repair

health and his cat's behavioral health as well.

I'll be back in a few weeks. If you have any problems whatsoever before then,

you know where to find me, right?

When Jackson brought out the box, I thought it was really interesting,

especially it wasn't just something for Dexter, but it was something for Jeremy.

I'm a little skeptical of the perspective box.

I'll talk to you soon, all right? Thank you. All right, take care, guys.

Seems a little strange, but you know what?

We'll see if it works. We'll see if it works.

I'm heading in for my second visit with Erica, Jeremy, and Dexter the cat.

Jeremy suffers from Crohn's disease, and he partially blames Dexter for the 14

trips he's had to the hospital in the past couple of years. I'm just hoping

with the homework I gave him, I'm going to go in there this time, and there's

just less stress all the way around.

All right, so how are things, guys?

Well, there's obviously some things that are going in the right direction, and

there's some things that still need improvement.

That was a little bit of a hesitation there.

Okay, so last time I was here, you know, one of the things that concerned me was

the level of separation anxiety that he had. What do you notice now when you're

leaving for work?

He's not meowing anymore.

The tower?

Yeah, so we moved the tower from the other side. Right. It was on the other

side. Hi, Dexter.

And when I drive away and when I drive up, then he's sitting in there staring.

I mean, that's fine. As long as he doesn't go spilling out into the street,

totally cool. All right, where's the bad news?

I'm still playing in the litter box excessively.

That's kind of one thing I'm having a lot of trouble with. Yeah.

Seems to me like the litter box holds a lot of weight for you.

Yeah, because it's... You have the sound. You're not getting enough sleep.

It's not hygienic.

And that all affects your health. Yeah.

Because of my Crohn's, I can get sick very, very easily.

And I don't want to touch him.

And I don't want to interact with him.

So that really has to be something we concentrate on today.

All right. Well, all around, I'm really encouraged. But I want to see some of

your progress.

through your video homework, so let's take a look, huh? Okay.

The last time I was here, I left Jeremy with his perspective box. I really

wanted him to just list all the affirmations that he could put down

Dexter, and I got to see Jeremy using it.

I want to play fetch with you again.

Loved it. Great.

You know what I can't believe?

I can't believe on my second visit I've got to talk about the toilet again.

Really. It doesn't take a genius. Just put a sign next to the toilet saying,

keep the lid down.

I also got to see Dexter playing. More playing equals less meows. Less meows

equals more sleep for Jeremy.

Wonderful. Really.

I think that Jackson's advice has been helpful so far, and things have been

really improving around here.

Really improving it.

You use bigger adjectives to explain bigger, happier adjectives than I am. So

I don't want them to get the wrong idea.

But I have a more positive outlook on life.

For the most part, the video homework gave us a lot of positive news.

But I'm hearing things from you that are still concerning you, and they concern

me as well. So let's go take a look around.

All right.

This... Still is one of our biggest problems. Litterbox is an issue.

Yeah. When he scratches us, it is so incredibly loud. It wakes me up in the

middle of the night. I can see right here the scratch mark.

Yeah. Nails on a chalkboard at 3 a .m. To be honest with you, I've never dealt

with this kind of problem before. I mean, how exactly am I supposed to train

Dexter to say no to playing in the litterbox and yes to using the litterbox

yes to finding another playground?

I'm going to have to think on my feet on this one.

Okay, so the last thing that we want to do today is a little bit of playtime

with Dexter. All right, you go for it, man. You show me what you do. All right.

Feel free to move around a little bit.

This is not play.

In what world is this play? No wonder Dexter's never tired.

Now, let me grab from you. I want to demonstrate a few things for you.

And that is just instant fun right there.

There you go. Good boy.

Right? We're getting him around the room. We're doing both mind and body. We

went up on the cat tree, down on the floor, scattering all over the place. 20

minutes of this, and this cat will really be tired, and that's what we

Let's kick off the homework. You ready?

Sure. Let's see what we've got to do. The first thing, I got you an alarm

The cool thing here is that this alarm clock has nature sounds on it, a fish

sound and also birds.

I'd like you to keep this going when you're not here. It gives him something

that's soothing. It just gives the sense, even though a person's not here,

the routine is staying the same.

The next thing, our big, big challenge, was the litter box.

Dexter is still scratching around in there, keeping Jeremy up all night long,

rolling around in there. It's like his personal playground.

This is the litter box I want you to use, and this is a disposable litter

So what I want you to do is cut it down almost in half, okay?

When you cut it down, basically that means he walks in, he does his thing, he

walks out again. You only use it a couple times, and then you switch it

And that's great in terms of the sanitary concerns that you have. And

functions as the no.

No, you do not have a playground with litter in it. The yes comes right next

door to it.

I want him to look over and say, no, that's a choice. I want you to find

toys that, again, just like we had with when you leave those toys.

So the space itself will hold play, not the litter box itself.

The last thing that I've got for you, I want you to change the perspective of

your box. And instead of just what you envision.

Now it's about gratitude. It's a gratitude box. What is it about your

you're grateful for? I want you to stay in that reality because your

relationship with him is so important because I see it. I see it being a

lifelong bond that will keep you healthy. I got to keep pushing

Jeremy. I got to take his mind off of his health problems and put them on the

things that count. You've got a beautiful girlfriend.

Your cat is damn near perfect. Your health is getting better.

Now, of course, if you guys have any questions over the next few weeks, you

know, call me, okay?

I think the things that are going to be harder are the things that actually

involve Dexter.

It's going to be a challenge because Dexter loves playing as Letterboxd. All

right, guys.

Good spending time with you. You too. Talk to you later.

Going in for my final visit with Jeremy and Erica today. I'm just hoping that

everything is better in there. On Jeremy and Erica's video homework, we saw a

lot of attention being paid to the litter box area.

I saw Jeremy break out that disposable litter box that I left with him last

so that the hygiene problem was taken care of. Also in the video homework, we

saw that alarm clock that had really novel sounds to it. He really digs that

bird. He takes the birdies a lot.

Finally, I got to see the writing up of positive statements for the gratitude

box. And I got to see some really cool things on there. Hey. Hey, Jordan. How

are you?

Now, I just want to make sure that we're getting a little bit of resolution

about anxiety and health, and then I'll be happy.

So, guys, how's life in Dexterland?

It goes well.

It goes well. Oh, yes. There he is. There he is. Hello, Dexterland.

Look at him. No, he's completely running around.

So, Dexter's at...

Anxiety seems to be going down.

He's spending less time in his litter box, scratching and running his head

through it. Good.

And, you know, I'm getting more sleep.

Wow. Yeah.

That's the biggest thing for us. Oh, yeah. The stress is down, and me and

Jeremy, our relationship is better.

Dexter's feeling better, so he feels better, so I feel better. So you feel

better. Exactly, exactly. Good.

Overall, the stress is down in the home because Dexter is not waking up Jeremy

in the middle of the night anymore.

Dexter's meowing is down. The separation anxiety is down, which means Jeremy's

sleeping. And that's a big piece of news because his health was really in

question when I first met him. First time I met you, you had... Literally,

gotten out of the hospital. Remember, you had the bracelet on still.

Tell me, how are you doing? You've been back to the hospital. Are you okay

health -wise?

Yeah, doing good health -wise, and I haven't been back.

Yeah. He has. I'm so happy.

Congratulations. Thank you.

Congratulations. Thank you. We had really just gone through a lot of great

information. Now, the final test and the most important test of the day, as far

as I'm concerned, is to really gauge where dexterous separation anxiety is

Okay, guys. We want to get you to go outside here.

Drive away. I'm going to walk out there with you. I'm going to watch through a

monitor, and we're going to see how the boy does with nobody around, okay?

Jeremy and Erica, go down the stairs.

Drive away.

And I want to see on my monitor a cat that just goes about his life. First day

was here, I did this exact same thing. Came down, sat down with this monitor,

and looked at a cat that was sitting in the window wanting to jump out of it

because his separation anxiety was so bad.

Hang out anywhere but that window and I'll be happy.

Oh, see? He just played with a toy.

Attaboy. This boy was on the floor playing with a toy while his dad just

away.

We have a winner.

Today, he didn't appear in the window once after you left, and I got to watch

him playing in the middle of the floor. The separation anxiety is a thing of the

past. I think Dexter has really benefited from Jackson's help. He's less

stressed out, a lot more affectionate. He's a great cat.

Do me one big favor.

You've got your gratitude box, your perspective box down there. Let me hear

more piece of gratitude, and I'm going to be out of here.

I am very glad to have a beautiful cat.

It's been kind of eye -opening to see small changes make a big difference.

Because there's less stress with Dexter, there's less stress in my life, there's

less stress in Erica's life, which means my health continues to get better and

better. It's been a pleasure working with him and with you guys.

Thank you so much.

You're totally welcome. You guys were really great to work with.

Thank you. Have a great time with him, okay?

Okay. All right, guys, take care.

So I've learned from this experience that a happy Dexter is a happy F.

Now Dexter doesn't have to leave, and everything's just coming together.