Original subtitles

Miko attacks everybody.

It's okay, honey.

Miko has peed everywhere in the house.

The smell just can't continue.

I am very, very much considering re -humming. I don't want to let him go.

Simone is the little tiny cat that is running our lives.

She attacks me if I'm crying or laughing.

Not one time in 20 years have I heard about a cat like this.

I have a little bit better rapport with Simone.

That kind of stirs up a little bit of a disagreement between me and Kelly.

The clients that come over are afraid of the cat. I believe it's affecting my

business.

Maybe she should be put to sleep.

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

have one.

Whoa!

Now I'm on my

way to go see Gina and her daughter Alex. Now Alex has a cat named Miko

peeing all over the house.

And Gina said that when Alex goes off to school very soon, she's going to get

rid of that cat. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen.

My name is Gina. This is my daughter, Alex. And we have a crazy cat named

He attacks everybody.

It's okay, honey.

Ow! I've seen how awful he is with everyone.

But he's just my baby.

Whenever it's just he and I in my room, he's just laying there purring, being a

sweet angel.

You have scars all over you.

That's him being so sweet.

Ow, ow, ow, ow!

He just bit me on the eye, and it hurts.

The worst attack was about two weeks ago. It was like a rattlesnake biting

He drew lots of blood, and now I'm really scared of him. But the worst

out of him is the peeing.

Miko has pretty much peed everywhere in the house.

Woke up this morning with teeth next to my foot.

Miko basically has been quarantined to her room.

My room smells like a litter box.

It certainly does.

Miko, dang it.

You and I fight pretty often about this cat.

It's very stressful to come home to that. Very stressful living in that.

Honestly, when she goes off to college, we are going to have to talk about

rehoming him.

This cat is not going to be my problem when she's gone. Hey, it's all right.

I hate for it to continue the way it's going, and I will always try to help

I want my mom to see that there is a better side to him and that there is

something that can be done. He is tearing up the whole house. I've done

everything I know how to do. I don't know what to do. We have to find a

or the cat's got to go.

Hey, guys.

How are you?

I'm Jackson. I'm Gina. Hey, Gina. Hi, I'm Alex.

Hey, Alex. Good to meet you both.

Well, guys, what brings me to Texas?

Miko. Tell me about Miko.

He's peeing everywhere.

He's attacking everybody. He seems very unhappy and aggressive.

I can't sit here for more than 30 seconds without seeing that gash on the

of your neck there. This is a scratch from his back claw. Is that something

happens a lot?

Yes.

For his first year, he was a very happy cat. Anybody could play with him. He was

really close to our Chihuahua, Tiffany.

And then she passed away, and then that's when everything changed.

The day that she passed away is when the peas...

started yes animals grieve as profoundly and deeply as humans do and we got

proof right here usually we try to corral him just to stay in my room is it

to say that at this point he's living in your room for the most part for them

yeah and he peed on me before i was sleeping what yes peed on you while you

sleeping yeah really we argue over the cat every day and it stinks It just

her so angry, but it's kind of something I've gotten. It makes you angry. It

doesn't make you angry that your cat's peeing on you in the middle of the

It's something I've accepted.

It is never acceptable for a cat to pee on someone. Now, there's definitely

something wrong with Mika, but what really concerns me is this disconnect

between Alex and Gina.

I'm not happy, for sure. I am very, very much considering rehoming.

He's going to college in the fall.

That's where it's at.

I'm sorry, what?

No, tell me.

It makes me sad that everybody feels like he's the cat from hell, but I see

completely. I mean, he attacks me, but I see a totally different side from him,

which is he and I.

Just, I don't want to let him go. I don't want something to happen to him.

This has got to be tough for you to live with on a day -to -day basis, because

it's tough for me, and I just met you guys. I'm so sorry.

There's a lot of pain going on here, clearly.

So I want to help you guys. Let's get up and show me around this place, okay?

Okay. And let's go meet him. Yep. All right.

I'll tell you what, the stakes are through the roof. There is a ticking

here about Miko. There's only one place to go, and that's Alex's room, the room

that Miko's basically been banished to.

I got a feeling I'm supposed to be scared about this.

Yeah, I might want to hold your nose. Oh, they're not ready.

Oh, my God.

Dude, the smell.

That is bad.

Immediately you feel it in your lungs.

Terrible. This can't continue. I swear to you, the only time that I have

experienced something like that is with my work in hoarding houses.

Now it's time to spend some time with Mr. Miko. Gina, I'm going to give you a

break, all right? See you in a little bit.

I'm more than a little trepidatious because Miko is known to lash out at his

only ally, Alex. So what's he going to do to me?

Hi, buddy.

Hi.

Yeah.

I'm going to move over this way a little bit.

Man, he is one tense cat.

You see how he doesn't change that position?

Mm -hmm. He's frozen.

His senses are frozen.

His anxiety level is so high. He is in a constant state of territorial panic.

That's why he is swiping at people, biting them, peeing all over the place

way he does. If I were in this room alone with him right now, all I would be

getting would be heightened, crazy aggression.

Your presence here provides grounding.

Yeah. If you don't mind, go to the other side of the bed, okay? I just want to

see what he does when he's with me. Okay.

Clearly anxious.

Come here, buddy.

Come here.

Oh.

It's okay, buddy. It's okay.

Amico didn't attack me, but he didn't calm down either. But what that does

me is that he's not a violent cat by nature.

If I don't see a difference on my next visit, we may have to take him to the

because it may be a chemical imbalance.

Now, Miko's violence, just like his peeing, is the product of a lot of

We've got the loss of his friend Tiffany, the tension between Alex and

being sequestered away in this room. All of those are things I can work with.

The big question mark here is Gina, because if I can't get her on board,

in big trouble.

I'm going to give you guys some homework.

I can't do anything in that room unless the room changes.

So you've got to pick the floor up, okay? That carpet's got to go.

By removing the pee -stained carpet, Miko will be more inclined to start

his litter box since the room will no longer smell like urine. We've got to

Miko out of that room, and we've got to give him some ownership around the

house, and then maybe his anxiety will go down.

What I want Gina and Alex to do is to get Miko out of Alex's room. He needs

territory. Now, next thing is, I've got a favor to ask of you.

Okay. This here is a contract.

It's a contract that says if the work gets done, that you'll sign this

saying you will not rehome him.

I want you to think about it. You don't have to tell me anything right now,

okay?

Are you all right?

I'm seeing a lot of emotion come out of you. I'm not sure what it is. Is it

about Tiffany? Is it about the loss of your dog?

It is.

And she meant as much to me as she did Miko.

There's absolutely nothing that feels like the loss of an animal. Nothing.

My dog, she's getting ready now. And the loss of an animal is hell, obviously,

you know.

Excuse me.

All right, guys. I want you to do something that has nothing to do with

It's about releasing the energy.

around what has happened to him. It's about letting go of old energy.

Part of that is Tiffany. And I want you to create something.

Put your heads together on that one. I'm not going to give you any more

direction other than that. I wanted to give Alex and Gina something to do

together to honor the memory of Tiffany so we can get all this negative energy

behind us and concentrate on making Nico a better cat.

I'll see you soon. Thank you.

I'm a bit overwhelmed with having to put new flooring in.

especially not knowing if it's going to work. This is our last -ditch effort for

Miko.

I'm back in Austin. I'm outside of Gina and her daughter Alex's house about

their cat Miko. And last time I was here, there was a lot of peeing. Oh,

He got it real good.

A lot of aggression.

And I want to see less of both because I left Gina a contract that said if I can

get the problem under control, then she would keep Nico when Alex went off to

college. I just hope she's one step closer to signing that contract.

I got to see Gina and Alex's video homework. Look at that. That's, like,

in tea right there. I got to see them pulling up the rug in Alex's room, and

last time I was here, that room smelled so badly that I could hardly breathe.

Now, one thing I didn't like seeing was Nico lashing out at Gina.

Now, today I'm hoping to go in there and hear some good news about Miko, but I'm

also hoping to see a stronger bond between Alex and Gina.

Hopefully, these guys are now playing on the same team, Team Miko. How are

things going with you?

Good and bad.

Good and bad. Okay. Well, I want to hear good first.

Miko has not peed in my room at all. That's good news. Yeah. Good. Since

Since he left. He hasn't peed in my room at all.

He's using his litter boxes, one that is upstairs, one that's downstairs.

I have brought all of his stuff.

Down here, nothing is in her room anymore. Good.

Because Mika was confined to Alex's room, he didn't feel like he had

of any space in the house, and that's why he was peeing and lashing out. Now

that they've opened up the entire house to him, it should lessen his anxiety and

his aggression a great deal. He's being more social than what he was originally.

Love hearing that. I also love the fact that you guys ripped up that floor and

painted Alex's room.

We did.

Yeah, man. The smell, I would imagine, as you were pulling it up. Yeah, it was

bad. It was intense.

Now that Alex's room doesn't smell like a litter box anymore, and they've opened

up the entire territory to Miko, he is no longer peeing in Alex's room. Now,

that's huge.

We still are having incidents with him peeing inappropriately. Okay. He's

messing up my sofa, my laundry room, on my bed.

Oh.

That's a big question mark. He never did it before.

Mm -mm. Okay.

That's a new one.

Quantity -wise, it's down, for sure. But in terms of frustration for you, now

you see it everywhere. Yeah, I'm just fearful.

I wish if Miko had a piece somewhere in the house, it wouldn't have been on

Gina's bed. I still think it's about territorial anxiety because he hasn't

territory this entire time.

The biting and the attacks.

How are things there?

It's improved. It's still present.

When she gets home, that's when I've noticed she'll start that growling and

hissing. Miko's tacks are way down, which is great, but still somewhat

aggressive. So that tells me that Miko is still really anxious. I'm not a

doctor, but we may have to put him on medication just to level him out.

What I want to do now is get up. Let's walk around. Okay. Come on, let's go.

So, of course, the entire reason I'm here today is for Miko, and I wanted to

check in with him, but I didn't want to overwhelm him. So I left Gina behind,

and I took Alex to go visit Miko.

And there we go.

He's really trying to relax, you know?

Last time I was here, he was incredibly tense.

He is alert. He's not too overstimulated.

Nope, you're exactly right. I would love if you ate some treats for me.

Miko was a violent cat. Even Alex wasn't safe.

And the first day that I met him, his anxiety level was so high that he

basically shut down.

He was frozen, and today he's almost a normal cat. But I want to get him to the

vet to rule out a chemical imbalance.

Now, I want to show Alex an exercise that will help tighten the bond between

Gina and Mito.

This is the key to your mom signing that contract.

She's got to be able to feel physically connected to him. It is so important

that as the next couple of weeks go by, you start doing what I call the handoff,

right? So I want you to do a little pet for me.

And as you're petting, I'm going to bring my hand in.

Now you let go.

There. You see what happens?

We take the trusting touch of you and on to me. So now back to you.

There we go. Now my turn.

And I'm in.

I think we're good.

Just leave him alone for a bit. All right. Bye now.

Miko boy.

The key to this case is still Gina. She has to feel more comfortable around

Miko, and part of that is letting go of the pain she feels from the loss of her

dog, Tiffany.

Animals are so responsive to human emotions, so if Gina can let go, then

can let go. Now, the last time I was here, I had to build a memorial to

so we went to a nearby lake to have the service.

Oh, my God. Guys, you built something really beautiful.

Tiffany, when she passed away, That was the hardest thing because no matter how

mad I got, no matter how horrible of a day I had, at the end of the day, she

right there.

Beautiful. We can release Tiffany finally. I don't think that for you she

was released.

And for Miko.

If this can give me any closure, then I'm all for it.

To Tiffany, rest easy.

And now we can rest easy, yeah?

That was beautiful.

Thank you.

It's still got work to do.

We got Miko to save, so I got homework for you. So let's go back. Come on. I

need help.

Give me your hand.

Let's go.

So we get back to the house first thing. It's time for me to give Gina and Alex

their homework for this week. Now, first thing I'd like is for you to get more

litter boxes.

I want them to add more litter boxes around the house because if Miko's going

pee, at least he'll have options.

His panic level is inappropriate.

So now I want to send him to the vet. He's internalizing his fear and his

and his loss, and hopefully mood -stabilizing medication will help him

tremendously. Alex, this is about you.

Okay. What you need to do is take ownership of the fact that Miko's overly

attached to you, so you have to teach your mom the handoff exercise.

Gina, have you signed the contract saying you will not rehome him?

I have not.

And it sounds like you're not ready to yet either. I'm not ready to.

Stakes are high still.

If Miko does not get better, I don't know that I can sign that contract.

We've got to get this last hurdle jumped.

Okay? Okay.

All right, guys. Lots of great work today.

If you need me, you know where to find me, right?

Right. Take care. Thank you. Great to see you again.

And you, take care, okay? Thank you.

Bye, guys. Bye. See you in a few weeks.

I am feeling much more confident. I feel like he is going to get better and we

are going to see a drastic change. I'm not confident. If I had to make a

decision right this very minute, Mika would not be in the clear.

Now it's time for a kitty bit.

A cat's purr can help relieve stress in humans. True or false?

The answer after this break.

And now it's time for a kitty bit.

A cat's purr can help relieve stress in humans.

And the answer is true.

Research has shown that a cat's purr helps reduce stress and relieve anxiety.

And it's also been known to help fight depression.

I'm here in Austin for my final visit with Gina, her daughter Alex, and their

cat Nico.

It's been a tough day.

Nico turns every time we twist. It's hard to get a beat on this guy, but

at Alex and Gina's video homework, there were great things to pull out of it. I

see they added some more litter boxes. Now I'm just hoping that he used them.

Also, I saw that they took Nico to the vet, and I can't wait to hear what the

vet had to say about putting him on the mood -stabilizing meds.

What I didn't see was the handoff exercise, which is essential for Gina to

develop that sense of loving Nico.

Why, hello.

Guys,

tell me how it's going.

Any pee whatsoever?

I think maybe one time, which is really good.

Since we started him on the meds, we saw improvements which gave me hope. That

is so fantastic.

We're home free. We're home free. I'm really happy that Miko hasn't peed on

anything. We couldn't be happier.

You got the meds from the doctor?

We saw the drastic change in Miko almost immediately. You're right. Yeah. Now,

they tell me they went to the vet, and just as I suspected, the vet said that

Miko would benefit from being on mood -stabilizing medication.

Now, Miko appears to be a cat that suffers from a chemical imbalance.

The meds are working, which in turn helps him to no longer pee

Last time I was here, we talked about the concept of the handoff. Were you

to do that?

Yes, and she's been able to pet him. We're starting to see him be more social

with the family. That is a relief to me. The handoff exercise is essential, both

in a physical and emotional sense. For Alex to be able to let go of Miko and

know that he's going to be well taken care of, and for Gina to develop that

sense of loving Miko, not just having to take care of an animal, but to love

that animal, Has this experience done something to your relationship?

I understand my mom's frustration. I don't blame her for getting as mad as

does. I think that Alex and I are more on the same page. We kind of become more

of a team about it. So here's what I want to do. Last time I was here, I gave

you the handoff exercise.

So Gina, you and I, let's sit down. Alex, you want to go grab Nico? Yes. And

let's try this exercise.

The reason I had them do the handoff exercise was to see how Gina and Miko

reacted to each other, but with Alex there, it provided some safety for both

them.

Show me what you guys were doing, all right? So now we would have you doing

pet.

Gina, how are you feeling right now?

I'm okay.

Okay.

You take over.

That's it. Gina, that's great.

To see Nico calm and relaxed and to see Gina petting Nico without getting

attacked was amazing.

I mean, the first couple times I met him, he was a dangerous cat.

Today he's not. That's a huge step that he needed to take.

And you, my buddy, are making me very happy.

Now listen, we still have a contract to talk about.

Yes, we do. So let's go on downstairs. At the end of all this, this crazy day,

this crazy couple of weeks, it's a matter of this contract.

I can't leave this place until I know that Gina's going to sign this contract

because I need to know that Miko's got a home.

So, the contract, that dreaded contract that I gave you the first day I met you,

this here is a contract saying you will not rehome him.

Now it's for you to decide if we're getting someplace with Miko.

That's what it all boils down to, right?

It was just like, oh my gosh, she just

signed that. I didn't think she was going to after we were going to talk

it. So it makes me feel good.

Both of you guys, you're amazing.

You really are. Came in here to work with a difficult cat, a violent cat that

was tearing a family apart.

I leave and the family has not been torn apart. They've been sewn together

tighter than ever.

Gina is committed to keeping Miko around, and Alex can go off to her first

of college knowing that Miko is safe. So I couldn't be happier. All right, guys.

Take care. Bye. Bye.

Jackson, thank you so much for coming because I feel secure going to college

now. I definitely feel like my mom is going to give Miko compassion and love

just like I would. At the end of the day, she and I are on the same page, and

want the same for Miko.

She attacks me if I'm crying or laughing.

She doesn't like anybody except for myself.

The clients that come over are afraid of the cat. I believe it's affecting my

business. Maybe she should be put to sleep.

I have come all the way to Austin, Texas for cases just like this one. I'm on my

way to Kelly and Pete's house. They've got a cat named Simone. Now, get this.

Every time you laugh, you cry, she goes for your face.

In 20 years, I have never seen anything like this.

Hi, I'm Kelly.

I'm Pete. We've been married for 18 years.

And we're the owners of Simone.

Life couldn't be any better right now except for the crazy cat.

We adopted Simone 15 years ago. She was a stray.

She has been getting increasingly aggressive towards us and other people.

I've actually got several scars, you know, where she's bitten me.

She's a little tiny cat that is running our lives.

She doesn't like anybody except for myself. I love Simone.

When we had guests come over, we were at the point to where we would simply just

lock her up.

We take Simone with us when we go camping because we tried boarding her.

asked us not to bring her back for boarding.

I run a business out of my home. We have candles, and when the clients come in,

I have to meet them out on the front porch.

Hey, Kelly, I'm here to get my stuff.

Oh, come on in.

No. I believe it's affecting my business.

Maybe she should be put to sleep.

I'm afraid that Simone is going to hurt me. I fear for Kelly getting disfigured.

Just please help us.

Knock, knock.

Hey, Jackson.

How are you guys?

How are you doing, buddy? I'm good.

Hi, Kelly. How are you?

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, Kelly.

Tell me, guys, what's going on here?

Our cat, Simone, she has gotten more aggressive over the last few years, and

it's becoming an issue.

How old is she? She's 15.

We've got an angry senior on our hands. Yes. If I cry or laugh, she'll try to

attack my face.

Oh, is that fresh?

Yeah, this is from her.

It's a pretty crazy situation.

A cat who attacks people when they laugh or cry.

Not one time in 20 years have I heard about a cat like this.

I run a business out of my home, so now I have to meet people out on the porch

because she'll come up to them. She's on a mission to bite people, and she's all

over them.

Regular repeat customers refuse to come over because of Simone.

That's just an immediate loss of revenue.

Simone is just too aggressive.

She literally just attacked Kelly's face.

If she was to bite you, you could lose your eyesight.

So what if I didn't come over here today?

We would have to lock her up in the bedroom.

Wow. For a senior cat like her, locking her up is as detrimental as giving her

away. I don't want either option, so that ups the ante even that much more.

Come on in. The space.

Okay, so if there are people here, she's never just lounging out in the open, is

that right? Very rarely. Yeah. Okay. And someone comes to the door and they come

in, she's aggressive.

So that's her saying that as long as there's other people in my territory, I

feel completely threatened.

Already, I feel like there's a goal, right? Oh, good. Can we have her right

here, not under, but right in the middle of the room?

Taking in.

If we can get Simone comfortable in the middle of the room, she'll feel like she

owns the space. And if she feels like she owns the space, by having a

to call her own, she'll be less aggressive.

Where is Simone?

Locked in the bedroom.

Of course she is.

All right.

Kelly, I'm going to grab you because we've got an experiment to do. Let's go

meet Simone. Okay. Come on. Okay, great. When Kelly laughs or cries, Simone

attacks her.

Well, I figure it's time to find out more about that. I took Kelly with me. I

had to see that for myself.

So it happens a lot in here, right?

It happens only in here. Okay. So what I'm going to have you do is, it's going

to feel really weird, but get into bed. Okay. And show me, you're just watching

TV usually. Watching TV.

So start crying or laughing or whatever it is. Okay.

I knew that it was something we had to do just to see if Jackson could help

I know that she was about to attack. It was uncomfortable.

Oh, okay, okay, sorry, sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Wow. Yeah. I don't even know what to say. 20 years I've been doing this and

never, not one time, heard of this happening before.

That's crazy.

I know.

Simone just turned around, marched right at her, and in the middle of this,

boom, she got her. I mean, she just went right at her. That was one of the

strangest things I've seen. It was time to let Kelly leave the room and let me

have some time with Simone, which I got to tell you, a little nervous.

Simone, I'm just going to sit here.

I think Jackson's going to feel the same wrath as everybody else.

Let's do something real weird here.

Ow. Ow.

Oh, my God. You're so weird.

You're making me cry. Oh, God.

Okay. Ow.

Okay. Okay. Listen.

Listen. Listen. We don't have to do this.

I can tell by the fact that Simone has backed herself into a corner that she's

feeling territorially threatened. She's saying, stay away, and believe me, she's

sending a message loud and clear. But she also attacks when she detects a high

level of emotion, and that could be directed at anyone, even Kelly and Pete.

I've got to give these guys some homework.

That is the craziest ten minutes of my life.

Bye, Simone.

Okay, then.

That was something else.

That was one of the more interesting moments I've spent with a cat before.

Cats experience the world in a way that we don't because their senses are so

heightened. They hear the world in a way that we don't. Cats hear at 100 ,000

hertz. We hear at 20 ,000.

She's a senior cat.

Simone is easily overstimulated. This cat is a sensory puzzle.

We've got to be able to figure out.

What part of her world isn't adding up for her?

So hold on one second. I got something for you. This is very interesting.

Got a few things.

The first thing I got here is your sensory cat pack.

Wow. Now,

in the sensory cat pack here, I've got all kinds of toys.

And with these toys, we're going to try to engage different parts of her sense

to see what turns her on.

Look, I've got crinkle balls, right?

I've got some catnip -filled toys, too. If we can get Simone playing and

experiencing life in the middle of that floor in the living room, getting her

energy out and owning the territory in the middle of the room, she'll feel more

secure and she won't attack.

Now, speaking of the middle of the room, I want to start her experiencing that

place, but when other people come over. So what I've got here is our cat camper.

So what I want you to do, a little portable tent, and I want you to put it

the middle of the floor there and have people come over here. But can she relax

in that space?

I got the cat camper, and that's a little tent.

I want them to use that in the middle of the living room floor because it has

her acting more social in a safe way and not just lock her away in a room. For

your last piece of homework, I do want you to lay again on the bed laughing and

crying. I believe that once her energy is... Play it out. If she owns more

space, she won't feel insecure and attacked.

Okay? Okay.

The homework should also help to cut down Simone getting overstimulated or

attacking during times of emotion.

She'll get her energy out on toys and not Kelly or someone else.

By the time I leave here on my last visit, our goal would be you can bring

clients here. You can have a normal life again. She's part of this household.

You know, to be quite honest, I don't know if anybody can fix...

An animal, 100%. Hey, it was great to meet you. Thanks. We really appreciate

coming out.

Absolutely. We'll talk to you guys soon, okay?

I just don't know that Simone is fixable.

All right, I'm back in Austin. I'm outside Kelly and Pete's house for my

visit with them and their cat, Simone. And the last time I was here.

It was crazy, Bill. I can't even tell you. The cat was attacking Kelly

she laughed or cried, affecting her business, her life, everything.

Now, I saw on video homework Simone exploring the cat camper.

The cat camper keeps everyone safe.

Simone away from people and people away from Simone, all in a controlled

environment. Also on the video homework, I saw Simone playing.

playing like a kitten. These changes should have also helped Simone's

when it comes to Kelly's laughing and crying.

I'm hoping I'm walking in this time to less aggression because if not, I'm

afraid that Pete and Kelly are going to keep Simone confined to a one -room

prison.

We just would have to lock her up.

And that is no way for a senior cat to live out their life.

You remember Kelly?

Hey. Hi, Gaston. Good to see you again.

How are you guys doing?

It's been amazing.

Yeah!

That's incredible, man. She's just out and about like that.

You want to hear about a good surprise? I walk into Pete and Kelly's house. I

look down, and there's Simone.

Simone is sitting in the middle of the floor. She's absolutely still. She's

calm. So I know there's huge changes afoot. The last time I was here, she had

that sort of coiled, ready -to -strike appearance.

And he attacks.

What's happened?

Great news. Only one attack.

One time? One time. One single incident.

I was laughing in the bedroom, and all of a sudden she attacked me.

We have noticed a huge difference, but I'm still a little bit nervous.

How are you feeling about having clients come over at this point? I'm feeling

much more confident, but because we did have one attack, I'm not 100 % sure that

she is where she should be.

I'm sure we've still got work to do.

Kelly's sister's coming over. That's the interaction I want to see.

Hearing Kelly describe another laugh -cry attack tells me that I've got a lot

work to do. And when I hear Kelly express concern about whether she can

Simone around her clients, it makes me concerned that solitary confinement is

still an option.

Oh, here's my sister.

Hey, come on in.

Hey there. I'm Jackson. Dawn. Good to meet you, Dawn. I know that you didn't

plan on coming over here. Oh, did she? Yeah.

She'll like me.

She's never let me pick her up and pet her or anything like that.

When Simone growled, hissed, and then ran away into the corner as soon as Don

came in the room, that's the first time that we saw the old Simone rear her head

again.

What I'd like to see is what she does when you approach.

So, Pete, what I'd like you to do is, if you don't mind holding Simone, then

Don, I'll tell you how to approach her, okay?

This is sink or swim time. This is that time where we find out, has Simone

really changed?

Don, if you could just approach to the end of the table right there.

She's growling.

She's growling.

Now come closer.

Yeah. She's growling. Yeah. Okay. Just hold.

And now, Dawn, if you just go for a head pet, please.

Really?

Good, Dawn.

Good.

Aw. Nice going. It was amazing today to see the look on Kelly's face and the

look on her sister Dawn's face as well. That's probably the longest time I've

had her ever.

Ever in 15 years.

In the last 15 years, I really haven't had a chance to pet her at all. Did you

ever think that you'd get to this point where you'd be able to pet her? No. So

this is pretty amazing.

It was great. Dawn was able to pet her, and I think my sister was just as happy

as I was.

Thank you so much for doing that. No problem. See you later.

I know that the playing in the middle of the room and the tent being there as

well will help Simone own her own space so that she won't feel the need to

defend her territory when friends and family and clients come over.

So next, I wanted to take Pete and Kelly to the kitchen where Kelly conducts

business, and I wanted to fine -tune all of the spaces where Simone could attack

customers and divert her.

She jumps on this counter to get up onto the refrigerator, and she goes up

there. Guys, that's beautiful.

She can get up here, be a tree dweller.

She's not going to hurt anybody up there, so we're going to work with that.

I'm getting great information. Now is the time to give Kelly and Pete some

homework. So I want you to just build up here the most incredible world for her,

right? I want you to get pieces of fabric, and then one by one, as she

scent into it, we're going to spread them around, okay?

Kelly and Pete have had great success expanding Simone's territory in the

room, so I wanted to continue that in the kitchen, and hopefully Simone will

longer attack.

Now, I also want you to get a cat house.

By creating the safe area in here, just like what we did in the living room, you

can really bring people in here without fear that she's going to jump out.

Finally, I know there's only one attack, so I want you to continue on the laugh

-cry exercise.

Okay. No problem. With all the changes we're implementing, I have a feeling

she's going to stop attacking.

Now, when I come back here for my last visit with Kelly and Pete and Simone, I

want to see zero, zero attacks. Thank you so much. And I will see you in a

couple weeks. Keep it up, okay?

I'm hoping that we don't have any more attack.

I would hate to see a relapse with Simone going back to the mean,

that she was. I would have to go back to locking her up.

So I'm here in Austin. I'm here for my final visit with Kelly and Pete and

cat Simone. The cat that attacks you when you're laughing or crying. Ouch.

The last time I was here, there was only one attack, and Kelly's sister made

great strides with Simone.

But I still see Simone as being somewhat of a wild card, especially when it

comes to reacting to human emotions.

I gave them homework to expand Simone's territory in the kitchen. Walking in,

I'm hoping Simone is no longer attacking Kelly when she laughs or cries, and

that their business clients are safe.

Otherwise... Pete and Kelly are going to continue to lock her up. And for a

senior cat, being locked up and away from human interaction can be

to their health and shorten their lifespan.

It is so good to be back here in Austin, man. I miss it. I miss it. And you

guys, miss you guys.

Tell me, guys, have there been any attacks since I was here last?

Zero attacks.

Yeah!

Give me some.

Nothing. Look at it. I've got like the Texas -sized smile.

Before, I was afraid. I knew she was going to bite me. But now, I don't have

fear of that. I don't think that she's going to do that to me anymore.

Now, that is something to celebrate, man. So let's take a look at all the

journaling you guys have done.

On Kelly and Pete's video homework, I saw them getting Simone's scent on

different pieces of fabric and then putting them in safe spots like Simone's

place on top of the cupboard. Because this was a major area where Simone was

attacking clients. So I wanted to make sure Simone has safe zones to retreat to

if she's starting to feel threatened. And they're going to be safe because

smell like her. She's comfortable. She's sunk in. She's not going anywhere.

And that bodes well for customers, associates, Kelly and Pete. Pete and

got Simone a new cat house. And one of Kelly's clients came over.

And Simone did not attack.

Now, that's great.

I saw Kelly practicing the laugh cry exercise, and I saw Simone coming toward

her.

And then, amazingly, she walked right by.

Guys, this is so cool.

I don't know what else I could ask for. Things seem to be going really well, and

aggression levels and attacks are way down.

But I need to check in on Simone one last time and see for myself to change

Simone.

How are you right this moment? I mean, do you feel like you're on guard or

anything? No, I'm sitting here completely relaxed, comfortable with the

that you're this close to her.

When I first met Simone, she was vicious, and she violently lashed out at

Now, if I can see Simone take the middle of the room, play with toys, hopefully

even let me pet her, my work here is done.

I want to make sure I'm saying hi to her.

Do I have your attention?

What do I have here, baby?

What is that?

It's kind of cool having her this close. The first time I met this cat, let me

tell you something. She was pretty scary.

And now for me to be able to pet her the way I am, I mean, it's a pretty huge

transformation. Remarkable. Leaps and bounds. And you guys just look happier.

Now I think we're back at the point where we can start entertaining our

and family more.

We would definitely have to lock her up before. Don't believe I have to do that

ever again.

It's a beautiful thing to teach an old cat new tricks, right?

Simone was lashing out because she wasn't being properly stimulated and she

often reacted to human emotion.

So now that her needs are being met, from play to having safe zones, she no

longer feels threatened and there are no more attacks.

It's a real huge 360.

Take care of yourself, okay? Jackson, thanks so much. I wish you all the good

fortune. Thank you so much. Take care, guys. We'll see you. Bye.

Simone is calmer. She's happier. She's playful.

She's a really happy cat now. It worked for us. I believe it can work for

anybody.

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