Original subtitles

I did not save this cat just to abandon him. I'm petrified of cats.

My boyfriend doesn't feel comfortable around him. We have to kick

out Natto. Now how would you feel if she was right next to you?

I wouldn't be comfortable.

You know what that means, right? I'm going to leave you with all of these

This is the archetypal cat who doesn't make it out of shelter. Just because

she's cute in a different way. We adopted a cat named Mojito. We're not

typical family.

There was just something about her that reminded me of myself.

But she started biting.

I know all cats deserve a home, but I don't know if I can home a cat that's

going to be attacking people.

I'm Jackson Galaxy.

Oh my God, I love my job.

The animal behavior that guardians call when they're dealing with a difficult

cat. That really ups the stakes a little bit here.

I'm out to prove that there is no such thing as a bad cat. Just a cat that

my help. Thank you.

My name is Heather and I have a cat named Natto.

I'm Steven and I have a cat phobia.

So the situation is Natto acts out and pees and damages furniture.

What are you doing?

My boyfriend doesn't feel comfortable around him.

I'm petrified of cats.

When we first moved in here, there was a lot going on, just getting accustomed

to me living with my girlfriend and then also bringing a cat into the situation.

Back off.

There was one instance where Heather was packing for a trip, and Nato goes into

her suitcase, and I swear he looked me straight in the eye and started peeing.

And at that point, that was the final straw.

I definitely just feel torn between...

My cat, who has been my best friend for three years, and my boyfriend, who I've

been with for almost two.

And I want us to all live happily together.

I think that if we're not able to find a solution, maybe this isn't the right

combination. And that's a little fearful of what the future might hold.

I'm heading to meet up with Heather and Steven, a young couple who are facing a

cat crisis I don't think I've ever seen before.

You see, Steven has some kind of deep -seated cat phobia, and since he moved

with Heather and her cat Natto, it seems like his fear of cats is threatening

their entire future together.

Man, I cannot wait to get the details on this one.

Hey! How are you? I'm Jackson. Nice to meet you.

Okay, so we got a cat problem and... And people problems.

Yeah.

We got people problems and cat problems. So when did the cat problem start?

I adopted him three years ago and he really kind of acted out. What does

out look like? It's not so aggressive?

No. He peed in every single room, on every single bed and pillow in my house.

Yikes. It would be big pee puddles. So he was literally just letting his

go. Yeah. Okay. How old was he when he got neutered?

He was only like two to three pounds. Right, so that would be around eight

weeks. Okay, that's pretty normal. That shouldn't be the problem.

It got to a point where my mom was like, he can't be here anymore.

So that's when I thought, okay, I need to move out and be with my cat.

Wow, love it. I did not save this cat just to abandon him, you know?

Heather is clearly invested in Natto beyond what we know. She's in it for

You moved in here.

Did the problem continue?

It did.

The last straw was when I was packing my suitcases and he went into the suitcase

and peed. I just felt like, okay, you're not happy? Then go outside if that's...

So your relationship with Natto just goes ba -bang, right? At that moment.

Yeah. Since then, he was an indoor -outdoor cat and we made a little cat

swinging door for him. Did that stop the problem?

He hasn't peed since then.

We let him outside. I felt... bit scared and concerned for a safety because he

might injure himself outside or you know get into a fight with the coyotes out

in this neighborhood.

Now, let's get to you.

I've never had many interactions with cats he has always had this kind of fear

and phobia of cats is everything she's saying pretty much correct i'm not very

comfortable she put it differently that you're scared of them what are you

afraid is going to happen just imagining them jumping on me like my legs my face

my arms i know that they can get me and what happens when he gets you i don't

know and that's that's the issue you've never been attacked by a cat before no

it's this weird

phobia, I guess, that had just been passed down from my mom and then her mom

then just all throughout my brother's sister.

Yeah, it's just this whole family.

The idea of cat phobia, I've always been very drawn to in terms of trying to get

those people to turn around.

One person is afraid of cats and an entire three generations completely

poisoned. My nana had just been so fearful of cats.

My mom just always tells the story of her nana, a stray cat.

got into their house. The cat looked at her, and I don't think that the cat ever

made any aggression towards her. It was just that eye contact that, you know,

she made with the cat.

So, where is he, by the way? He's in our room.

Let's go to your room.

So, where's he at?

He... Oh, did he squeeze himself?

You said that you had a...

Like a cat window thing set up? Yeah, so it's right here.

We installed this little thing so he can go in and out. So he can go in and out

24 -7?

Yes. Wow, that's even more dangerous.

Now my guess is that you'd be totally psyched if this window was this wide

Oh, for sure, yeah.

So Heather, going over with Natto, where do you feel like his fear level is at

right now? I think he's at like an 8 out of 10.

Natto is scared by my presence. I'm used to that.

Come on in, Steve.

What I decide to do is use it. Let's get these guys working with Natto.

I just want you to look at him and tell me what you're seeing.

He's cornered, and he looks more scared than I do.

Let's say you weren't afraid of him.

What would you do to comfort him?

I think just to pet him and maybe give him a treat. That's about where we start

there. I want to challenge Steven because if I don't, he'll live in this

zone forever that he can just spend his life with him in one room and Natto in

the other. Talk to him. Let's think he was a kid.

Want a treat?

Want a treat?

It's weird. It doesn't come natural to me. That's fine.

That's okay.

Come on, Natto.

I know a lot of people who just don't like cats, but the way his hand extends

towards Natto, Steven is possessed with fear.

Okay, now, let's create positions. Heather, you go on in there.

Natto.

Natto.

Boo -boo.

What is she doing right now?

Petting him, making him feel more comfortable.

Right. What I was getting from you is that poke it with a stick, right?

It's the top of the head, right?

Steven will follow my instructions and will pet Natto, but he doesn't know at

all what to do. Is your mother aware?

She is. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and I think that a lot of the time she motivates it,

too. How?

She's coming to visit in a few weeks.

And the cat has to be removed.

What was that?

The cat cannot be here.

It's because mice... They won't stay here if the cat's going to be here. Then

don't stay here.

It's because mice... They won't stay here if the cat's going to be here. Then

don't stay here.

If anybody were to say to me, put your cat in a boarding facility because I'm

coming over, you're not coming to my house.

Plain and simple. How long do we have until this happens?

Next month.

So we have a month?

Yeah.

So, yeah, we want to accommodate his family. But in order to do so, we have

to, you know, kick out Natto.

Are these the catphobes? Are all of them scared of cats?

Yeah, I'd say so.

Yeah. Wow.

I'm trying so hard to at least empathize with Steven. It's folklore.

This is a generational thing. This is a family of catphobes. These guys won't

have anything to do with cats. It is insane.

In terms of the rest of this space, let's point out some more areas. He has

multiple times.

I know he's been in that corner there in between the door and the window.

Between the door and the window. Okay.

Other spots in this room.

Uh -oh.

So he has peed on this couch.

What's up?

What's it up? What's it up?

What's going on?

This is, like, one of the things that we bought brand new.

And I knew, like, if he had peed on this couch, he would

get so upset.

I feel terrible for Heather. She has been holding on to the weight of this

secret for months.

It's almost as if she's telling Stephen that she cheated on him.

We did a good job cleaning it up.

I really felt like that would be a deal breaker.

You're right.

Yeah, because this was the one thing that I said, we're not going to buy

know that he's ready to have it in the house.

And at that point, I obviously thought that he was.

Crying, phobias, secrets, spraying.

There's a whole lot going on right now. We have got to start working towards a

solution before things get any worse here.

You know what?

Can we go talk?

Yeah. All right, come on. Let's go outside.

So, the reason I want to bring you out here is because

apart from he's going to pee on something, How does he sort of diffuse

going on? If I say to you, I need him to be locked in this house 24 -7, what

does that do to you?

It makes me nervous because I know that he doesn't have that history of lashing

out and scratching people, but he's peed and now he's meowing. What's the next

step? And if we fully 100 % lock him inside, there could be a situation where

leads to...

to something physical.

When you hear that meow, does it worry you that the next step is?

Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of times where he'll meow and then jump on our

and he'll even go on my head. Ooh!

Which is scary because... What do you do?

I usually just bury my head even deeper under the pillow and just hope that, you

know, she gets him off and deals with the situation. So if he jumps, if he's

meowing, he's getting agitated, he jumps on the bed, you're...

Oh, yeah, I usually just cover myself just to make sure, you know.

I know that he doesn't have the history of attacking other people, but you never

know. We're talking about, I mean, at least you admit, as opposed to, I think,

your family, that you're phobic of cats.

And that reaction, that cover your head reaction, it doesn't matter whether he's

done it in the past or not done. It doesn't matter to you.

It's what he could do because he's a cat.

Another question I have, just because, again, when you guys are together,

there's a lot of deflecting that goes on, so it's hard for me to pick up.

When she just started crying there about the couch, that's clearly based in

history, right?

And you even said, that's a good thing you didn't tell me this a few months

What would have happened a few months ago? I don't know. I think it might have

been bad.

What's bad? I'm assuming.

Just because leading up to it, he had been causing a lot of issues, and it had

been putting a strain on our relationship.

And I think that, and it sounds so stupid to get mad about a couch, but I

it's just the principle of it and just him constantly acting out. And I think

that was the last straw. And that was the one stipulation that I had was if he

pees on this couch, there has to be something concrete that happens.

And when he didn't, or at least when I didn't realize that he peed on the

you know, I'm thinking that it's okay.

And then come to find out that he did.

Had she told me, I think that we would have been at a crossroads, and I

Would that have been ultimatum time?

Perhaps. Really?

What I want to do now, knowing all this, is go back in and give you guys some

homework. Okay. Let's go. The first part of your homework is, Matt, it was going

to be an indoor cat.

We closed the window.

I'm not a big fan of cats being indoor -outdoor. We know that it diminishes the

length of their lives. We know that statistically.

Are you okay with adding cat stuff?

Because the more we give him to own here, the less he's going to want to own

this. I think putting it that way makes me more confident in adding things like

that because then it's taking him away from our stuff and giving him his own

stuff. I love hearing that. In my experience?

I know that if we close this window for Natto, there's going to be peeing that

happens because that's what he does when he's stressed. I need Heather and

Steven to catify this space. I want this whole place to be Natto's in order for

Natto to get to own it a little more.

Pick key spots.

You already did it. The cat tree in your room, right in the window. Just lose

himself in watching birds and things like that. Staying active without being

active out there, right? It's important for you to get past where you're at. I

want you to start getting that into daily rituals.

Treating, petting, touching. I want you to step up and do it, okay?

Heather, your job right now is to challenge and support.

Your next assignment is introduce Stephen to the greater cat world.

In this case, I'm going to send you guys to a cat cafe.

Heather's happy.

How happy is Stephen?

Not too happy.

Here's what I want you to do. Act as though you love cats. In order for

to face his fears, I need Stephen to go way outside his comfort zone.

That's going to be intimidating.

I feel like if you could be comfortable around a bunch of cats, they'll help

ease you into being more affectionate with Nato.

Just be a round cat.

I'm willing to make that step, and hopefully that'll get me more acclimated

the cat world.

I'll see you guys very soon. We'll pick this up and hopefully be resolving some

problems here, okay?

Yeah. Thank you so much. My pleasure, guys.

Take care of yourselves, all right?

Thank you. All right, bye -bye.

Man, we're talking about fear and ignorance, anxiety, secrets, family

relationship at stake, and what, they call the cat guy?

I work with so many great people in the L .A. area who do a great thing by

rescuing a cat or a kitten, but no matter how many cats we adopt out, this

just can't get ahead of the problem.

Los Angeles is in the middle of a kitten epidemic.

Too many kittens are being born for the shelters to hold, and as a result,

hundreds of them are being killed every month.

Here we go.

Three weeks ago, my friend Hannah Shaw and I did something drastic.

We took 50 kittens and drove them 20 hours from Los Angeles to Boulder,

Colorado, where they were in demand.

Are you guys interested in adopting?

Over half of them went to their forever homes during the Humane Society of

Boulder Valley adoption event.

And by the end of the week, all 50 kittens had found their future families,

including Mojito, the little black kitten with the unusual nose, the kind

kitten that's least likely to be adopted.

Now I'm dying to meet the family who adopted her and see how Mojito's doing.

I'm Aspen, and I live in Boulder, Colorado, and we adopted a cat named

Mojito. Mojito was one of about three or four cats that were in the room that we

checked out, and he just grabbed our hearts.

After that, it looked like we started noticing her little things, like her

were a little bit different from one another, her nose was very unique.

I liken it to being a bat almost.

She's very adorable.

But then we started noticing her hopping onto the table, like my computer, the

kitchen table, and everything.

And then she started biting.

The kids' hands and their feet, that's a really big concern of mine.

You don't want to have a cat in your house that you have to fear.

I don't think I could accept that.

I know all cats deserve a home, but I don't know if I can home a cat that's

going to be, like, attacking people.

We do need Jackson's help.

I'm on my way to meet up with Aspen and her family. Now, of course, it's great

news that Mojito found a home, but it's my job to make sure she stays in that

home. Man, I love that little kitten so much, and I can't believe she's become

such a challenge so soon.

I have got to find out what's going on and do my best to make things worse.

Now, how did you wind up getting Mojito?

Mojito jumped onto your lap, and you guys... Oh, it was you guys.

Game over.

Yeah, pretty much.

The first time I saw Mojito, she didn't seem like the other cats.

There was just something about her that reminded me of myself.

Mojito just kept drying us and drying us, and I don't know, that nose, you

which I don't understand why other people wouldn't like it. It drew me.

It did. It did.

The fact that you guys looked past that, I find that to be...

Pretty amazing.

I guess maybe we're not your typical family, you know, and we're not looking

perfection. I have hearing aids in both ears. That's one of my challenges that I

have. And then my son has muscular dystrophy.

We're kind of like spread out in the age spectrum. My husband and I, we've been

married for 32 years, and then we started having our kids 17 years ago. So

have Jake and Zane and my 17 -year -old, too.

I'm actually really thrilled that Mojito Found a home with a family that's not,

you know, for lack of a better word, sort of cookie cutter. Do you know what

mean? Because she's so not cookie cutter herself, you know.

Now, you guys got to tell me, I know everything isn't perfect with Mojito.

What's going on?

Well, one of the things that she's been kind of getting into is, like, getting

on surfaces that we don't want her on, like my desk and the dining room table,

the kitchen table.

The first couple of nights, she was begging to be with someone in another

We had to keep his door open at night so she would have someone to be with. He's

also a bit nippy with, like, feet as well.

She starts to get a little aggressive on the hands, you know. So he nips feet

and hands.

So far, everything this family is telling me sounds like standard kitten

behavior. It's perfectly normal for kittens to jump up on things. They've

tons of energy. Sure, they whine sometimes when they're not getting their

So do children at that age. The biting, or really nipping, is something I take

more seriously.

But that's something this family can do a lot to prevent. I just got to give

them the tools.

What I want to do is teach you how to play with your cat.

All they really are on the planet to do is hunt things.

Right. So they wake up in the morning and they're like, I got to kill

I got to kill. So what you guys are going to be doing is providing her that

outlet. So I'm going to show you guys the best way to play with a cat.

Let's first find out. Oh, my God. Look how fast. Look how fast. Look at that.

OK. Look how she's looking at it right now. She's like, are you alive?

What are you? And then because I'm an animal, I'm not a toy.

I'm a snake.

So I'm sitting here going.

Oh, my God, it's a cat. Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Don't kill me.

Oh, my God, I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got

to get out of here.

I'm a snake. I'm a snake. I'm getting out of here.

Right? And she's completely, at this point, in this game. We're going to

around like a feather.

There it goes.

So now, you see? Look at this. Look what she's doing. Back and forth.

You are in my control.

You are hypnotized.

And just back and forth. Don't let her catch it. Right?

I get to show this family, this is it. This is the pure essence of who your cat

is, and this is the energy that you want to feed and also drain out. One of the

most important things for a cat is the concept of rhythm.

Rhythm, rituals, routines.

Every day looks like the next.

This is about finding that body clock, just like you guys have, so that she

to sleep at the same time as you.

If this cat was out in the wild, she'd wake up, she'd go out there, and she'd

hunt for six hours.

And then she eats it, right?

And then she grooms herself, and then she goes to sleep.

Hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep.

That's the whole life.

There are places you didn't want her jumping up on. Now, the best way to

that is to give Mojito places where it is okay for her to jump up. The kitchen

is an important place for her, the dining room table, because it's a

place for the family, right?

So we should give her a yes, like another one of those trees.

somewhere in this area, and say, you can go hang here.

At this point, I need to hear from Aspen alone.

I've got to make sure that this is a home where Mojito has every chance to

thrive. I care about this kitten too much to fail her now.

I just want you to be honest with me, make sure that we're setting her up for

good life. Is everything okay here?

You know, the one concern I do have is that hand biting around the feet. I

really need to know that I don't have to worry about getting a cat that looks

cute on the outside, but then there's a tear on the inside.

It would be heartbreaking if we had to give it up.

I totally understand your concern.

So let's get cracking on it. Let's see what we can do.

You know, when I come back, you and I will sit together again and make a call.

Sounds good to me. Cool. All right.

She is not completely convinced that this cat will fit in her home. You know,

it's very easy to say, well, if this isn't the right family, we'll find

one. Don't forget, she's not this cute little tiny kitten anymore. She's now

four months old, who's going to disappear into the shelter system again.

I can't let this fail.

So I'm here for my last visit with Stephen and Heather and their cat,

the last time I was here, man, Natto's problems were the least of my problems.

We had intergenerational cat phobias. All of them scared of cats?

Yeah, I'd say so.

Wow. We have lying going on and all kinds of drama. Hopefully that is

and also Natto as well.

Hello. Hey.

How are you getting back?

Thank you.

Let me just ask you straight up, since the last time I was here, has he peed on

the couch?

I don't think so.

Truth?

No, truthfully, yeah. And I think that just a few days when we got the cat

furniture up, I saw a quick change in his demeanor.

Wow. The first few days, I had anxiety.

Sure you did. But I feel like, to be honest, I...

It was okay because I knew if he did make a mistake, I would be able to

in him. There you go. Okay, good. You know? Not having any pee in this house

after Natto's been locked up, you don't even realize how huge that is. It's a

sign that he's accepted the house. He doesn't experience the stress and

that led him to peeing in the first place, and that is a cause for

I really want to spend a moment with Natto, and I just want to see if I can

a read on what his energy's like now that he's been inside for a couple

okay? So I'll be back in a few.

It's great to see Natto in his cat tree and not hiding.

That's a nice change.

Now listen to me.

You are not the problem in this house. You know that, right?

It's Stephen's issue, not your issue.

Do me a favor.

Be on your best behavior, and I'll see if I can get Stephen to see the light.

Hey, nice job not paying on stuff, man.

Natto is a very placid cat, and there's no way that Steven, if he's based in

reality, could see Natto as anything else.

All right, buddy.

I want to see what's been going on here, so let's take a look at what you guys

have been up to.

Natto, come on.

All right.

Natto's like, yeah, nice try, guy.

There we go.

Nice going, man.

He would call his name.

He would pet his head a little bit.

If Steven just keeps up the feeding, the playing, the petting, he's going to

figure this out very quickly that Natto is actually his friend and in no way

could be that cat who would carve his eyes out.

I asked you if you were going to reconsider and have Natto in this house

your family comes.

I'm open to having him here.

Can we give your man some props?

As long as you're willing to stand up for him and for Heather, they're going

have to deal, just like you did.

Last time I was here, man, that wasn't even a possibility.

Okay, now let's take a look at you in the cat cafe.

Okay, man.

What's going on for you right there?

I think at that point I was overwhelmed sitting down because all the cats

were... Surrounding us. Just imagining them jumping on me, clawing at me, just

not knowing what they're going to do.

Steven is so mortified. He literally believes that if a cat is given a

they will run up, attack his face, and pull his eyes out of the socket.

So if you had to sum up the Steven experience in the Cat Cafe... I think

it. There it is. Yeah, man.

Based on what I saw in the video homework, Steven has to keep going, and

have to be the guy who takes him there.

All in all, I think you've done great work. That said, you've still got a

ways to go, and I think you know that.

So, you ready to go back to the cat cafe?

Not my first choice, so I'm wondering what the exposure is going to be like

time. As long as you keep having that reaction, that means we're not where we

need to be.

I am going to push Steven to a point where he realizes that cats aren't

offensive, throat -ripping animals. They're cats.

And he has learned from generation to generation something contrary, and it's

got to stop somewhere, and that stopped today. Let's just get you back on the

horse, so to speak, and get you in front of some cats.

Come on. Let's go.

I'm a little nervous, for sure.

We're here to hang out with cats, man. Okay, the best way to do that is to get

bag of treats.

I remember the answer already coming.

Oh my God. Is she a grabber?

She likes to pull your hands towards you if you're not giving them quick enough.

Biggest problem that Steven has is this ingrained physical response.

Cat comes at him and he's suddenly pulling away. That's going to attract

because suddenly, Steven's a squeaky toy.

Realize something, Steven. She's not following you. She's following the food.

There you go.

Oh,

man. Come on, man. It's okay.

I want you to start reading cat body language, okay?

God, I don't trust her.

Good. There we go. Now what we're going to do is completely ignore them.

If I want you to have the treat, it's coming down here.

There you go.

Good girl.

So the next time she jumps up, I'm going to give it to you. You can lead them

where you want them to go.

Here we go.

That's going to be a long -term thing for you, right?

Because it's your body that wants to do this. That jerk, that will lead cats to

being a little bit on the defensive.

One of the things that Steven's got to watch out for is that backward body

stance. The more he pulls back, the more the cats are going to come at him. So

he's got to be able to present himself much more neutrally, and the cats will

pretty much explore but probably leave him alone. So I want to make sure that

you don't feel trapped.

We're going to have you go right in the middle, and Heather and I will sit on

either side of you.

Now, there's a couple of moves that I use.

Whenever I'm introducing myself.

One of them is under the chin.

Now, I know that's hard for you, right, because it's near the mouth and

everything. But there's not many cats who don't like that.

The next thing I want you to do is I want you to lean back into the pillows.

Open up. You guys are relaxing.

I will be back in a second.

He's luring them.

I've been putting Steve into his challenge line all day and then slowly

that line more and more. Now, this is the final test.

I want Steven on the ground at the cat's level.

I mean, if he can sit comfortably with five cats here, then there's a better

chance that he can sit comfortably with one cat, not so at home.

Don't forget, you have the power right now. You're shrinking back. You have the

power. You should sit up. You control this. They don't control you.

Tell me where you're at right now. What are you looking at? What are you taking

in right now? I'm okay right now.

I think because now I've fed both of them, so I'm a little bit more

to their behavior.

There you go. Yeah.

Okay. So for you, you're finding out that when your energy is nice and calm,

cats like you. It's energy.

Yeah. All energy.

I'm going to leave you and so is Heather.

Okay. You catch your body doing this, I want you to purposely sit up. I want you

to take opposite action. Okay. Okay? Come on, Heather.

Okay. So away we go.

I'd like you to challenge yourself and push your comfort zone with these cats.

These cats seem pretty chill right now, but if he freaks out, then these cats

might freak out also. And then the worst thing that could happen is that any of

these cats could scratch or bite Stephen.

I'm going to leave you and those heathers.

Okay. The worst thing that can happen in this moment is that any of these cats

bites and scratches Steven because I'm flashing forward 20 years from now and

he's telling his grandchildren to avoid cats at all costs.

I just felt stranded and alone. I'm the only target for them.

But using the treats as a diversion, I'm able to bring them closer to me but

then also bring them away from me.

I'm actually really impressed about what I'm seeing right now. I mean, it's

crazy. Nine months ago, he couldn't even be in the same room with Natto.

And now, just the growth of that short period of time.

So how's it been going in here?

I kicked a cat.

You did? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This one, right?

That's what I said. I said, Natto's going to be jealous.

What the hell?

That's amazing, man.

I think you've come an incredibly long way, man.

And I'm really proud of you. You're going to break a three -generation

And that's worthy of commending. But please think about some kind of a

compromise when your family comes here because it is a crossroads for you guys.

I want you to think of him as a family member.

And what I want is I want a family portrait, man.

With Nacho in the middle, it's the least you could do, right?

I want to see a family portrait with Natto in it, and then I know that this

multi -generational, irrational fear of cats is finally put to rest. I'm out,

man. Thank you very much.

All right, man. Thanks, Jackson. Before Jackson coming into our lives, if I were

ever to see a cat, I would be so scared. I mean, I'm still scared, but it's a

little bit less because I have the knowledge of what to expect from them.

Man, I am so proud of that guy. I mean, overcoming fear that's so deep -seated

is so hard, and he deserves all the credit in the world. But, man, it takes

three to tango in this relationship. As long as Stephen keeps up all the

homework rituals and Heather keeps coaching him on, this could be a really

family, and I'm really stoked about that.

I'm back in Boulder, Colorado with Aspen and her family and my little mojito. I

have put so much time and effort and heart energy into this little kitten. I

to tell you something.

I have to make sure that this is the right family for that cat. Otherwise,

journey continues.

Hey, how are you?

Good to see you. How you been? Pretty good.

Good. You know, the one thing that I just adore. Hey, guys.

Hello. I just love about her is that every time I walk in the house, she's

there. She doesn't hide. I got no fear about Mojito. She is one heck of a

confident cat, but it's up to the family to provide continued mojo for Mojito.

How are things going?

Pretty well, actually.

Yeah? Yeah. I think we have our tools in place. It's just a matter of being

consistent. Yeah.

So, the big question is, has Mojito stopped biting?

Yeah. Great. The improvement that I've been seeing with Mojito has been...

much more interest in toys, and I think there's more of a rhythm going on with

the family.

I wanted you guys to get into the routine, the rituals.

Right. Are you guys doing the play with her? Yeah, yeah.

Are you playing?

Hopefully what they're saying is true, and all this play is changing Mojito's

behavior. Let's see how you guys have been doing here.

Look at the pretty kitty.

Mojito!

She's playing.

We're happy.

Nice work, guys.

Next thing, catification.

Hey, whoa, look at that.

He's bananas.

I love her.

I love it. We got it in the window, in the dining room. One of the things I

would tell you is that as you add more things to the house, Think about where

you want her to be. So, for instance, you don't want her on your bed, so you

want her to have a bed that you can praise her for going to, just like you

in the dining room. This is a great template for how we expand her world out

later on, so great work. You guys took everything that I said and just went for

it. This homework looks really good, but the last time I was here, Aspen had

some reservations, and I'm not leaving here today with any reservations. I want

to make sure she's not still thinking about getting a mojito.

So just really briefly, I'm loving what I'm seeing here, but I got to know, when

we talk about a forever home, I want to make sure that she is going to be here

for the rest of her life.

Do you feel like you can make that commitment?

Yeah.

Yes. Good.

I'm glad you thought it through. You gave me a little bit of a heart attack,

you thought it through.

I think this is a great home for her, and like I said, I'm here for you guys,

okay? I appreciate it. I really do.

I've never had a physical and emotional journey as long as this one with Mojito.

I know that this is a great family. I know that Mojito stood up for a good

Hello, my love. Listen to me.

I'm going to leave you now.

Don't mess up.

Be a good girl.

Oh, I adore this cat.

Mojito represents that left -behind cat.

The cat among thousands who will die this year alone in Los Angeles because

disappears in a cage.

It's crazy, right? There are so many mojitos out there.

We saved one, and that feels really good.

It makes you want to work a lot harder to make sure that in the near future we

never have to have this conversation again.

I'm in Boulder where there's another family that adopted the kittens that we

transported from LA. Today I'm heading in to meet up with Leslie and her

grandson Calvin and the two kittens they adopted, Applesauce and Applejuice.

This is Applesauce. I want to see what Calvin's up to. Last time I was here I

gave him a clicker. There's this little clicker that you could give a string.

Clicker. It's the clicker.

Ah, he loves it. Thank you. You're welcome, man.

I want to see how far he's gotten with that.

Well, hi. Hi.

How are you? Good to see you again. Good to see you, too. How you been? Pretty

good. Well, well, well.

Hi. What's up, Calvin? How you doing, man?

Good to see you. Good to see you, too. You know what? You don't disappoint me,

man. I walk in here, he's got the toys, playing with the cats, seeing a six

-year -old boy playing with a toy with two kittens, laughing, giggling, not

having to use his hands, not getting scratched up. I mean, it doesn't get any

better than that. We renamed them. Okay, what are their names? That is Thelma

and Louise.

Well, of course it is.

Much better than applesauce and apple juice. Nice job.

Oh, they're crazy.

The fact that these guys came from such a long road trip and now they're Thelma

and Louise, appropriate.

Calvin, you have sort of a natural ability to play with these cats.

Okay, so where's your clicker at? Do you know?

Oh, it's in my pocket. So here, let me show you the easy breezy way of at least

starting to work with this thing, okay?

If you could teach your cat a trick, what would that trick be?

Spinning around in circles.

That's easy breezy. We could do that. Now you've got some kitten food here.

Lovely.

Okay. First, all we're going to do is make it so this sound means I get food.

Click. The scientific term for clicker trading is actually operant

What we're trying to get Thelma and Louise to do here is to associate the

and the treat with the behavior that we're trying to accomplish. The key is

between the clicker and the treat.

It has to be one second because then the cat goes, oh, that sound means I did

something right.

There it is.

You see what happened there?

She heard it and she's like, wait, food.

Let's see if she'll do this.

And then as soon as she makes this circle, click, treat.

That's it. That's all you got to do.

If you do this three days in a row, let's say, do it for five, ten minutes

time, done. They're trained. Done. And then you're going to be able to use the

word. Spin or turn or whatever. Okay. One step at a time. Now, cats doing

like Thelma spinning is fun, but I'm hoping that Calvin eventually takes

training to a deeper level down the line, like getting into a carrier. This

going to be magical, buddy.

Jackson teach me that you just click and feed the cats.

Good to see you again, buddy.

Good to see you, too. All right.

Take care. You too. It was great to see you. Thank you very much. All right.

Take care, guys. Every time I look at these two kittens, I think about the

they've been on. And now knowing they've got each other for the rest of their

lives and they've got Calvin, I mean, come on. We're standing here in the

mountains with these two kittens who could have been dead in the streets of

Angeles. What a blessing, right?

Yeah.

Man, this trip to Boulder just keeps getting better every day.

A short time after my meeting with Mojito's new guardians, I got the great

from Bridget that Aspen's decided to get another cat. Today, she's coming in

with her husband and kids to meet a kitten they saw.

So you're ready to give Mojito a friend?

Yes. We're going to look into that.

You want to be the dork?

Yeah, I totally want to be the dork.

Aspen and her entire family showed commitment, man. They came in here to

kitten. Fantastic.

I want you guys.

to meet Crystal.

I figure since Mojito jumped in your lap first, we might as well just repeat the

process, right?

Adorable. So Crystal is eight weeks old, right? Yep.

I think she's pretty cute.

Bridget was telling me that she's a little more on the shy side.

So that's actually really good for her because she's going home, if you take

her, she's going home with a kitten who is really...

confident and really forward and will teach this one the rope in a pretty

incredible way. So that's great for this kitten. She needs to have another who

is really confident.

There you go.

I think Jeff will be the cat.

Yay! Good!

I'm pretty convinced. I'm taken by her.

I'm so happy right now. It's a choice that only this family could make, but I

think young kittens do best when they're raised alongside other kittens.

Congratulations again.

To know that Crystal and Mojito are going to be united, it ended the way in

perfect world it would have ended.

Good luck, guys. I'm going to leave you, leave you, okay?

It's rare that I have a history and bond with a Catastron as the one that I've

got with Mojito, and that's why I was so dead set on making this work.

Adopting Crystal will not only help Mojito's socialization process, but it

also help the kittens normalize one another's behavior and get out that

energy through play.

Now that I know that Mojito is set up for success, I can go back to Los

finally satisfied that my little friend with a special nose will be just fine in

her forever home.