Original subtitles

The first introduction of Patton and Farnsworth was such a violent exchange.

We really, from that point forward, had a house that was divided.

But they ended up just fighting at the door.

There really is just no peace in this house.

It's very likely that one Patton might try to kill the other.

Living free is the animal sanctuary.

Out of all of my cats, over 100, Tigger and Buddy are the only ones causing any

problems or chaos.

And they've attacked the other cats.

It was just terrifying.

We ended up separating Tigger and Buddy from all the other cats.

Between the two of us, we could break up anything at the start.

Now look at that.

We do everything together.

I am on the water with a dog and a cat, and I'm the one who's scared.

Rosie, you're so much better at this than I am.

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.

Hi,

I'm Stephanie. My name is Jason, and we have four male tabby cats.

Farnsworth, Gibson.

Patton and Montgomery, but Farnsworth and Patton were having problems with.

Stephanie moved in with me, she had Gibson and Farnsworth, I had

Patton and Montgomery. The first introduction of Patton and Farnsworth

a violent exchange.

We really, from that point forward, had a house that was divided.

and ended up having to sequester Farnsworth and Gibson in the master

kind of expand the bedroom territory for Farnsworth visually, we had to build a

barricade at the door.

What happened was they ended up just fighting at the door.

There really is just no peace in this house.

It's very likely that one cat might try to kill the other.

Oh, my God.

Today I'm in Las Vegas to meet up with Jason and Stephanie, who together

have four cats. The problem is that his two cats plus her two cats equals a lot

of aggression, and it's been going on for quite a while. Now, if I've learned

anything over the years, it's that if your cats are divided, your house is

divided, and a house divided cannot stand.

I'm going to get over there right now.

Hey. Hey. How you doing, man? Good. I'm Jason. Jason. How you doing? I'm

Stephanie. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. I'm Jackson.

Good to see you guys.

What a great place you guys got. And you got cat trees, like, right when you

walk in the house, man.

Friends of mine, man. There's plenty. I'm psyched. But no cats as of yet,

on the TV. We have two that are hiding underneath the... Oh, I see one. Yeah,

that's Patton.

I see a cat. That's Patton. Okay, so we got a Patton and... And Montgomery's,

like, right behind him.

Hi, guys.

Tell me the story.

Okay, so in 2008, we adopted two kitties. That's Mr. Farnsworth and

Explorer. They're bonded because they kind of came in at the same time. And

Stephanie and I separated for a little bit, and the cats went with her. I kind

of got lonely, so I went to the Las Vegas shelter and rescued Patton and

Montgomery.

So Stephanie and I get back together, and now she comes back into the home

Farnsworth and Gibson the Explorer. So did you guys just assume it was going to

work and just sort of...

We actually had an episode that probably wasn't the best. So we knew to separate

them and keep them separated, so we shut the door.

However, when going into the door and not really paying attention to that.

These two scooted in, so that created a problem. They hid under the bed, and

that was the first introduction.

When you said hid under the bed, was there a fight under the bed? Yeah. It

violent and very scary.

Oh my God, don't hurt each other. It scared us so bad that we were almost

contemplating not getting back together, because I'm like, this is not going to

work. If I were in their shoes, this would be a...

Big ironic situation. Here we finally made the decision to get back together

again, and then our cats are keeping us from moving on. That must be playing

with these guys to a certain degree. Who got the worst of that fight, that first

big fight?

Who? Farnsworth.

Did he get injured? Did anybody?

Not that time, thank God. But he's gotten injured.

But since then? Yeah, plenty of times. So this whole story is about Farnsworth.

Yeah. He's back here.

Back where? In the bedroom. We keep Farnsworth locked in the bedroom.

Let's go see him. Okay.

This is the door that we had custom made. Look at you.

This was a solid door before? Yeah, man. And we had a cat therapist come in, and

she suggested that there be an open line of sight.

That's a cat daddy approved door right there. The cats can watch each other

without any danger. It's a really great tool.

And this is...

Mr. Farnsworth. The bed is sort of his, like, nobody comes up here. He seems to

be territorial of the bed.

Hi.

The bed has become the seat of the entire territory when it comes to

which probably generates hostility with the other cats if and when they try to

enter the bedroom.

You like it. Oh, look at that. You like it.

Farnsworth loves Stephanie.

Yes. And she can do no wrong.

Nighttime he sleeps in the room the entire time because he's a cuddler and I

like to cuddle with him. What is it about Farnsworth and you?

He's my buddy, you know.

Farnsworth is my baby. He is protective and he does cling on to me a lot. And I

admit that I don't give a lot of attention to the other cats because I'm

focused on Farnsworth. Can I get a kiss?

The relationship between Farnsworth and Stephanie can definitely have an impact

on the other animals in the house. They could be making land grabs based on what

they see another cat having.

What's the most charged area of the house? Is it in here at this point? So

door itself, when was the last time Farnsworth got really injured?

They were fighting at the door where the grill is, and he popped out.

his claw i mean right to the bone and they had to suture it up and it was just

about that one when a cat is losing a claw in a door that means i want to kill

you oh oh stop ironically here we have a great door a great tool for

reintroduction that has become poisoned so now i have to get effective square

one where we can use this door again so i want to attempt a challenge line

exercise with farnsworth and patton using this door i just want to make it

every time that Farnsworth sees Patton, he doesn't fast forward to violence.

If we got the guys right around here, then my goal would be, with the treats

whatever, how close to the door can I get him without all kinds of crap

loose? Well, look who's here.

Hey, you, Patterson.

What do we got here, buddy?

Come on, buddy.

Usually, with a door in the middle of these two cats right now, I would just

breathing easy, knowing that we've lost a claw here in the past couple of

months. Not so much. Now, of course, best case scenario is that the two cats

see each other, not feel motivated to kill one another.

Worst case scenario, a fight breaks out between the door. So right now, I'm very

much on guard.

Good boy, Farnsworth.

No sudden movements is the key.

There we go.

Nice going, Jason. You got them where we want them.

It's okay, Farnsworth. It's okay.

It's okay, Farnsworth.

Good boy.

It's okay, Farnsworth.

It's okay. Good boy.

I got Farnsworth hissing and spitting and acting like the world is about to

who's curious and just can't take no for an answer. And the last time this

happened when I wasn't here, a fight led Farnsworth to the hospital, and that

can't happen right now.

Hi, baby. Hi, baby boy.

Okay. Come on, buddy.

Come on. Well, the good news so far is that Farnsworth backed down without a

fight, but he's still territorially insecure, and he even projected

against me after the exercise. Let's go back inside, and I'll give you guys some

homework. Okay? Okay.

If there's any chance for Farnsworth and Patton to get along, Jason and

Stephanie have got to get back to the basics.

All right, guys, there were some good things I saw today and not so good

Bottom line, we're going back to basics.

My first back to basics would be go back to mealtimes. We have reintroduction at

that door because when we go back and feed on opposite sides of that door, we

find our challenge line. Each pair of cats on opposite sides of the door.

Far back enough.

so that the hissing and the spitting and all that doesn't happen. And then every

day, one foot over the challenge line, closer and closer and closer until we

them here. And they will all know that food only happens in the presence of the

other cats. Food is a good thing, which means that the other cats are a good

thing. That door itself has become a negative thing. We can make it positive

once again. But it all starts with using it to reintroduce the cats with a

positive association at mealtime.

Next part of Back to Basics is Base Camp 101.

So I want you to take the blanket that's on the bed and the cat tree that's in

there. Those two things come out here.

Now, what if I were to tell you, looking at you, that the only way

that we can make this happen is if you tore yourself away from Farnsworth?

For instance, the sleeping with Farnsworth every night has got to end.

has to. The fact that he sees you as a base camp.

There's no such thing as a human base camp.

That will never work. Base camp is territory.

It's not humans.

And the more he belongs to you, the more resentful the other cats are going to

get and the harder time everyone's going to have.

Right now, Farnsworth gets the bedroom every night without fail. Ideally, I

to see equal time and equal spots in the house by every cat.

The next part of Back to Basics is the site swapping. For every day that

Farnsworth and Gibson sleeps with you guys, the next day it's the other guys.

And we switch. I'd rather keep total separation and get these basics really

ingrained so by the time I come back here next time, now we're taking risks.

Because those risks I don't think are ready to be taken yet. Tough stuff,

though, I know.

But we need this fixed, so whatever it takes.

Doing Jackson's homework is going to be really hard for me because it means that

I have to spend less time with Mr. Farnsworth.

I'll be back in just a few weeks, okay?

All right, guys, good luck.

I need to stay strong.

Because this is our only hope in fixing this house and making it peaceful.

My name is Matt, and I'm supervisor of

the cattery at Living Free.

Lilo! What's up, Lilo? Living Free is an animal sanctuary where animals get a

second chance.

They need a home. They need a family.

And that's what Living Free does.

If it wasn't for living free, these animals would not be alive.

Everybody here was waiting to be euthanized.

About five years ago, we rescued Tigger and Buddy.

They were used to running around wild, and being caged up must have been really

tough. Out of all of my cats, over 100, Tigger and Buddy are the only ones

causing any problems or chaos.

Figures.

At the beginning, they got the other cats worked up.

They would attack one cat.

I had no idea how to stop nine cats in a brawl. It was terrifying because they

were so brutal. I've kept them apart from all the other cats since then. They

just didn't show any promise.

If I can't teach...

Tigger and Buddy to get along with the other cats. They're not going to have

that good of a life here.

They'll be stuck in a small area for the rest of their lives, and that's not the

kind of life I want for them.

I'm here at Living Free, an animal sanctuary that provides a sense of home

family for animals by caring for them and keeping them safe.

Matt, the cattery supervisor, wants all the cats to be happy, but he's worried

that two of them are not.

I'm here to help him help them.

Hey, man. Hey.

I'm Jackson.

I'm Matt.

Good to see you, Matt.

Seems like a great space to be a cat.

Speaking of, we have Tigger and Buddy.

Yeah, I kind of gave them their own apartment because they do a couple

that they shouldn't be doing.

Well, let's go say hi to them. Good.

There's Tigger right there.

From what I gather so far, this is a good place to be a cat.

There's some nice open spaces both inside and outside.

I'm curious to see where Buddy and Tigger are living and hear why they

around the other cats in the cattery. Now, this is Tigger on your shoulder.

Yeah, this is Tigger. How long have you known him?

About five years.

There's a nice lady that donated.

a small property to us. The only thing was we had to catch her 11 cats that

roaming wild.

Buddy and Tigger were part of that 11.

And Tigger is a bad influence on Buddy when they're around other cats. Oh, wow.

And they get all the other cats worked up. Yeah. And then go attack the cat.

Oh. And the other cats actually joined in and did what he said.

You can imagine eight or nine cats going after one cat was just...

terrifying and i felt helpless and because of that tigger and buddy have

living separately from the other cats for five years now okay that fight must

have been really bad because it has scarred matt's memory completely all

did was separate these guys nope i don't want to see it again i don't want to

hear about it again and fast forward five years Buddy's in here somewhere,

Buddy is probably here.

There's my boy.

Buddy is not a violent cat, but Tigger could actually get Buddy worked up. Oh,

they look a lot alike.

Yeah, they're brothers, and they're both about nine years old.

Tigger's the bigger bully. Have you ever introduced Buddy to other cats without

Tigger? No, not without Tigger. Okay. From what Matt's telling me, maybe

not an aggressive cat. Maybe he's a good cat until his brother riles him up.

Were these guys neutered when you got them? We had to neuter everybody.

So five -year -old guys that are still intact, that would lend itself to the

kind of fighting that you were talking about.

Buddy and Tigger were wild.

They were unneutered. And then the next second, they are neutered, they are

gathered up, they are trapped, they are brought here, and then they get into a

fight.

Sure. Yeah, that's going to happen. Is fighting their only issue?

No. They spray everything.

You can see the walls, everything.

Oh, this is all.

Both of them. When a cat sprays, to the degree that Tigger and Buddy are

spraying, it is saying, I am absolutely unconfident about the sanctity of my

territory. And it's a really loud cry for help.

These two guys live where?

This is it? This.

Oh, you take cats and start crushing their territory smaller and smaller

you're in a sardine can like they are right now. Bad things will definitely

happen because cats are just not meant to be kept in this small space,

especially if they were used to having a lot more space.

He does have a small outside run.

That's what I want to see next.

They have a cat door right there. Yeah. Wow.

That's it, huh? That's it.

Crap. Hold on a second. This is like a jail cell. You've got this little sliver

of light, and they're surrounded by all of these other cats, almost taunting

them with their lack of territory.

I would be going insane if I were those two cats. Here's the thing. They

wouldn't be spraying like this if they didn't feel a sense of territorial

unease, and that has to do with the fact that there's all of this that they

don't have access to. I want to let them out and introduce them to the cats in

the main catio. Between the two of us, we can break up anything that starts.

I'm certainly willing to do that. Yeah.

I'm very worried that when we introduce Buddy and Tigger that there could be a

big fight. But I trust Jackson.

Look at him, man. He's ready. Yeah. All right, Matt.

Hey, Mr. Tigger.

Five years ago when Tigger came face -to -face with the rest of the colony, he

bullied them all into ganging up on one cat.

All right, then. Tigger!

Welcome to the bigger world, Tigger. The thing that really has me worried is

that a huge fight breaks out and that we have to break it up. That's bad for the

cat, and it's also bad for Matt.

I mean, Matt's been sitting in a spot of trauma now for five years.

I don't want him to see a fight.

Tigger?

Let's see what happens here.

Look at this, man.

Look at what happened. Now, this should make you feel really good right about

now. Oh, I feel great.

What's up, Tigger?

Yeah, he's going to spray.

I can see it coming, man. I can see it coming. He's smelling the drain there.

And there it is.

What he's saying is that he's not 100 % confident. So that's something we still

need to address.

While it's okay for Tigger to mark outside, it is a territorial cry for

It's the raising of the yellow flag.

And in order to get the spraying to stop, you've got to take care of all the

things that's making the spraying happen.

And look at this. Look at that.

Respectful distance. Yeah.

Your only experience was you opened the door and all hell broke loose.

So we've just crossed one huge barrier here.

Everything feels very nice and controllable right now.

And out comes Mr. Buddy.

That's all right, Buddy.

Buddy, I'm still a little, uh, about.

Take a look at his body language. His tail, his ears. He's stressed.

I just don't want him to get trapped by anybody.

Let's see what happens here.

Let's see what happens here.

I just don't want him to get trapped by anybody.

It's okay, buddy. It's all right. I don't want you going in the window.

Okay, so Buddy is feeling a little insecure. Yeah. And this black hat,

making it any easier on him. Yeah. It's all right, buddy. Buddy obviously is not

entirely comfortable in an expansive territory, and his insecurity might

him to lash out. And if that happens, I'm afraid that Matt might resort to

keeping these guys separated forever.

Come on, you guys.

Let's give our boys some space. Everything that I've learned so far

exactly how we need to move forward integrating these cats into the larger

colony. Let's start with what I see.

I think that we've got a territorial problem, for sure, and we know that from

all of the marking all over the place. Being in that small a territory

surrounded by a hundred other cats...

It's just too much for them. So I want there to be a specific time during the

day when those doors are open for at least a few hours every day.

Once we break down the walls here, the spraying problem, I think it's going to

diminish, if not go away altogether.

Because the more territory they have, the more secure they're going to feel.

Yeah. Bottom line is that Tigger and Buddy need a bigger territory and they

it right now. Just like we did today, allow these cats to have access to one

another so that these cats can start forging a new rhythm. The second part of

the homework is what I call catification.

What I'd love to see more of is ways to connect vertical areas to vertical

areas, create what I call the cat superhighway, so that there are lanes of

traffic allowing these guys to stay out of each other's hair.

We don't want any dead ends kind of thing?

That's exactly right. These catios need to be catified with the expectation that

Buddy and Tigger are going to have a lot more access to these other cats. I want

to see multiple lanes of cat superhighway here up on the walls, so

a bunch of cats competing for the ground.

After just your visit today, their future looks a lot brighter.

Right on, man. It's been a pleasure.

I'm really, really happy to have met you, and I will see you in a few weeks.

Okay. Thank you.

It's a good thing to know that this isn't an entrenched behavioral problem.

is a territorial issue, and the great news is if you open up the territory,

open up the future for these two great cats.

Oh, my God, don't hurt each other. Oh, my God, don't hurt each other.

I'm here to check in with Jason and Stephanie and their four male cats that

divided into two groups, Team Farnsworth and Team Patton. I'm hoping that these

guys really dug into their homework and that the cats can be around one another

without that initial impulse for blood and mayhem. Since the last time I was

here, bloodshed, mayhem in general, any kind of chasing and craziness?

No. That is great. Let's just get to your homework. Let's just take a look at

what you guys have been up to.

Day one.

We moved Farnsworth's favorite cat tree out here in the living room, and look at

what we have.

Farnsworth is loving his cat tree.

Oh, now this is what I like. Hi, buddy. Before, Farnsworth stayed exclusively in

the bedroom, but now Farnsworth is a totally different cat.

Hi, bud.

Hi, baby. That level of presence, right? When you see him sit like this, right,

chest up, you know that you've done something right.

Tonight is Pat and Montgomery's night, and I just want to show everybody that

they're quite a bit more comfortable now.

Look at that.

The reason I'm seeing a different cat out here in Farnsworth is because of the

site swapping, because we're emphasizing that he owns this whole place, not just

the bed, not just Stephanie either. Stephanie is now sleeping with the other

cats as well. That equal access to territory is what it's all about. The

difference between him...

Not on your bed is huge.

His body language, his presence in the room is a different cat. He's not

guarding that space. That's crazy right there. That's great.

I wanted these guys to get back to basics by reintroducing their cats

feeding technique to create a positive association.

So I want them to have the cats on either side at a very comfortable spot

they'll eat and walk away and then bring that spot closer and closer to the

door. Our first feeding.

At the door.

Two cats eating.

Two cats eating.

And a nice, respectful distance. I mean, we're talking about six feet, and all

the attention is on the food and on the food. So that's really cool. The cats

are getting closer and closer without anything breaking out, which is amazing.

Okay, dinner time is over.

And we've got this behavior now.

It's this tail that I'm a little concerned with. Is he looking at

right now? Yeah. Okay, so he's looking at Farnsworth. Now, normally, this sort

of erect tail like that is a sign of confidence.

What you're seeing with that sort of periscope with this, with the tail,

a bit of agitation with that body posture. If we were to open the door

now, it would be a bad scene.

I'm still not happy with the degree of fixations these cats have on each other,

and I think the bedroom has a lot to do with it. We still have to de -emphasize

that bedroom, and I want to see that the feeding exercise still has high value

to these cats. The goal is today to do a feeding exercise and to make sure that

we're doing it with some safe parameters.

At this point in the game, the worst thing that could happen is a big full

brawl, because that's going to take Farnsworth and just throw him back.

For this feeding exercise, I want the door open because it's not working.

time I see a cat at that door, there's an agenda. There's something going on

besides just eating. We've got to X that door out of the picture. I know this is

a big risk, but without risk, there's no reward.

Come anywhere near the door.

Okay, so, door closed.

Here's where...

We get interesting. Okay, so I am going to open the door.

Good. Mr. Farnsworth is eating.

Now, if only Patton would eat.

Good boy, Patton. Good boy.

Eating is good.

Good boy, Farnsworth.

Good boy.

He's watching very carefully about what's going on in here. There's so much

can go wrong right now. The last thing that I want is Patton making a beeline

towards Farnsworth instead of eating that food.

It's okay, Farnsworth.

That's okay. Keep eating. It's okay.

Don't worry.

It's okay, Farnsworth.

That's okay. Keep eating. It's okay.

Don't worry.

Any fight could be disastrous right now.

If these cats could just continue feeding without fighting, it means we

chance.

Come on, honey.

It's okay.

Come on and eat your food, buddy. Come on.

Good boy, Farnsworth. Good boy. Farnsworth's still eating? Now listen, I

want to take any chances here.

Come on out.

Let them eat, give them some peace.

The fact that these cats could eat face -to -face without any aggression or a

closed door between them tells me there's progress, and now it's time to

the next steps forward. That gave us a lot of good information, and I think now

it's homework time.

This area here is becoming a little more high value, but, you know, it's not

done yet. I want the living room to be the place where good stuff happens. So

the first thing I want to start doing is... Base camp breakdown.

And that means de -catifying your bedroom.

Everything of high value to the cats in that bedroom is coming out.

Okay? The bedroom is still the promised land for these cats, and that doesn't

work for us at all. The bedroom is going to be extinguished in terms of being

high value. We have to move every cat tree into the living room because I want

all good things to happen in the living room.

Next stop.

is we are now going to relocate the rituals.

Today, we found that we can have the door open, cats on either side, and they

can eat.

We're going to keep doing that. Every mealtime, we're going to have meals with

the doors open. And then what we're going to do is we're going to keep

our challenge line. Right now, it's inside the bedroom and right outside the

bedroom in the hall.

Where we're eventually going to get is right here. This is our finish line.

Everything that we're doing in this homework is about one thing only. The

room is a new territory that all four cats can embrace at the same time. If

these guys don't do their homework, then fractures remain inside these

relationships that will never get a chance to heal.

And there it is.

I'm on my way to check in with Matt, the cattery director here at Living Free

Sanctuary. And last time I was here, we got Buddy and Tigger, formerly

aggressive cats, together with the rest of the general cat population for the

first time in five years. And it went pretty well. Until Buddy's territorial

issues started to overwhelm them.

Hey, Matt.

Now, if Matt has done the homework of increased socialization and

I shouldn't hear any bad news. But if Buddy and Tigger got into some fights

since the last time I was here, they're going to continue to live in a world

that is way too small for them, not living free.

It's looking good in here, man.

It's looking good. You did your cat super highly. I see that right off the

man. It's really, really nice. It's just crazy the way they enjoy that.

With all of that traffic flow, a cat would have to go out of his or her way

pick a fight, and nobody here wants to do that.

Okay, let's take a look at your homework, which was to open up the doors

day. Tigger and Buddy are out, so we're going to let them out.

I guess Tigger's a little excited.

Oh, yeah, he wants out, man.

I asked Matt to let Tigger and Buddy into the cattery for a few hours every

so they can get used to that space with the other cats. Now what I'm hoping to

see is two confident, calm cats interacting peacefully with the rest of

colony. There's Tigger. We want to watch Tigger and see how he does.

Just body language -wise, it's really interesting to me.

Tail down, right?

Heading right for this area, making a beeline.

So what he's saying there is...

Not 100 % confident about where I am right now, so I'm going to go to a safe

place. Now, the Tigger that you knew five years ago would have gone straight

another cat. As Tigger's exploring new space, that's when he starts to get

uncomfortable. Don't forget, that run, he already owned it.

Apartment, he owned it. Big space, he's still a visitor, and he's trying to get

himself established, and it makes perfect sense that he'd be kind of

about it.

Now, where's Buddy during all this?

Buddy's normally the last one to come out.

Nate, okay.

Uh -oh.

That was the first sign of a little aggression from Buddy. Hey, Buddy was

trapped. I'm not sure how to make this area so he doesn't feel trapped.

But since then, I changed it. I made an escape hatch.

Now there's a way out. There's no dead end anymore.

I'm so impressed. I love watching Matt in video homework. He notices that we've

got a dead end happening here, and that he doesn't want.

He adjusts, he makes a trap door, and now we don't have a problem anymore. So

picked today to clean his face.

Hey, Haley, how's it going?

It's much cleaner than it was before.

What do you think, buddy? It smells better, too, huh?

Has the marking gone down, down there? Yeah, there's been nothing.

No way.

I'm shocked.

I expected it to get better with expanded territory, but not stop.

You've got to be happy about that.

The whole world for them has changed.

It really has. The reason why these cats were spraying in the first place was

they were in this teeny little space surrounded by a hundred other cats that

they could smell and sometimes see, and they just felt absolutely insecure.

As soon as the space was opened up to them, they just said, I know this space.

don't need to do it anymore.

Now, what I want to do is open the doors and let her rip.

Even the apartment that only Buddy and Tigger have owned for the past five

years. It's time for that big challenge line before I leave here today. We're

going to throw open every door and window they got. If Matt's remained

in his homework, we should be seeing territorial confidence from both Tigger

Buddy. If he hasn't, then we could be facing another traumatizing fight.

Hey, you guys.

Hey, you guys. What's that?

Come on, Lilo.

Oh, there's our boy.

Okay. Traffic jam averted?

Hey, buddy.

What are you doing?

Uh -oh.

What is that, buddy?

That's Mr.

Tabio. You've never been here ever.

Now I got Buddy inside, Tigger outside.

Matt and I got to split up, divide and conquer right now. The worst case

scenario is that throwing open all these doors will send Tigger into a

territorial tizzy, and he's going to go right back into his old fight -picking

ways, and then Buddy's going to follow suit, and you know what's going to

then? Matt's going to lose his confidence, and these guys are going to

into that apartment, and that I don't want to see.

Come on, Buddy. Look at you.

Here comes Lilo.

Uh -oh.

hold on now buddy's a little nervous

hold

on now I'm at Living Free Sanctuary with Matt, the cattery supervisor. We've got

Tigger and Buddy, who previously were known to be pretty aggressive with every

other cat here, are finally being reintroduced in a so far peaceful way,

things can go pretty wrong right now. Uh -oh.

Buddy's a little nervous.

A little nose to nose.

There we go. We like traffic flow.

I'm just stepping back a little bit and watching this wonderful thing unfold

where relationships are being formed.

Tigger's just watching everybody explore his space. He's not acting out. He's

not doing what I would have expected Tigger to do, and I'm proud of him.

Look at Buddy. He's fine.

What a good boy, Buddy.

To see Buddy come out and there wasn't a brawl, I was so relieved.

Is that Buddy? We got Tigger and Buddy out. All right, we got everybody now.

It's amazing how much has changed.

I'm learning to trust the boys, you know? All I've seen today, and since the

we opened the doors, is peaceful communication.

Every now and again, there's a, hey, get your nose out of my butt. Sure.

That's it.

I see no reason why we can't just throw open all the doors at this point.

Now we've proven that Buddy and Tigger are both perfectly social, wonderful

cats. These guys can coexist with all these other cats without picking fights,

and they can live out their life living free here.

It's good to see your boys out.

It's great.

It's been five years.

Yeah, I was keeping them back. Thank God you showed up, man.

You're good with cats, and you're good with people, too. And we're all very

grateful, really.

Jackson taught me about a cat's world, how to expand it, how that makes him

comfortable. And now Tigger and Buddy's lives are going to be much better. It

means the world to me. It means the world to them.

Matt, it has been a pleasure meeting you. Thanks a lot. I think the future

really bright for all the cats here at Living Free and all the future cats to

come.

I'm here in Sausalito, California to meet up with sisters T, Tram, and Twa,

their heavenly cat, Rosie, who formed this bond with their dog, Lilo. They are

pair of adventurers, and I can't wait to adventure with them.

Hey, guys.

Hi, Josh. How are you? Nice to meet you. Hi, I'm T. I'm Twa. I'm Tram. We foster

and rescue a lot of cats that come through our home. We rescued Rosie when

was two weeks old.

It's very, very rare that I meet a cat in a backpack at the beach.

How did Rosie come into your life?

We got a call from a friend that found a kitten. She was weak, lethargic.

She wasn't feeding.

When we rescued Rosie, we tried everything we knew to try to get her to

just didn't look like she was going to make it.

That's when we decided to put her with Lilo.

Lilo acted as her mother, you know, the mother figure that she needed.

After a few hours of cuddling, she just started feeding.

It was such an amazing turnaround.

We actually had lined up a home for her, but then we just couldn't break up

their bond.

And it was just so clear that she belonged with Lilo.

Lilo and Rosie do everything together.

They go hiking together, swimming together, kayaking.

As enriching as she is to us, we want to help enrich her life as well with

adventures. As long as she's up for it, we're up for it too.

I imagine that we're at the beach for a reason.

So what are we here to do?

We're going kayaking today.

Oh, haven't been in a kayak, let alone been in a kayak with a cat and a dog.

if Rosie can do it, I can do it, I think.

Okay, go straight.

I'm doing it, right?

I am on the water with a dog and a cat, and I'm the one who's scared.

I'm not steering well.

And the dog and the cat are like, what's the big deal? Rosie, you're so much

better at this than I am.

That's a little embarrassing.

Oh, no, I'm going to hit you guys.

No! I hope that Lilo and Rosie teach people

more tolerance about each other, you know, about different races, different

species. It doesn't matter. We're all... in it together.

That was an experience.

You were something else. You are totally something else, my love.

Amazing watching them on the water, and they're both just loving it. You know,

there's so much to learn from this cat and this dog and these sisters. The fact

that you can take a two -week -old kitten and turn them into this world

adventure, that dogs and cats can be friends. Goodbye, Lilo.

Goodbye, Rosie.

Thank you again for having me. It was an amazing time.

I feel uplifted by how fearless everybody is here. And I'm talking about

three humans, the dog and the cat.

Fearless, loving life, and waiting for the next adventure.

Oh, my God, oh, my God.

If Patton and Mr. Farnsworth, who have a big, bad history together, can hang out

in the same room, I know there's hope for everybody else.

This is the moment where we see if all of our hard work has finally paid off.

Oh, my God, don't hurt each other.

Oh, my God, oh, my God.

I'm heading in for my third visit with Jason and Stephanie. The last time I was

here, this couple was working really hard to create a family out of Mr.

Farnsworth and Montgomery and Patton and Gibson.

We've made some gains, but there's still a ways to go before these guys can all

coexist in the same room. Since the last time I was here, has there been any

major fights? No.

Right on.

Fantastic, man. Let's look at your video homework.

This is to show that we are trying to take all the high -value items out of

bedroom. No tree, no stuff over here. The whole idea here is to move the

of this home and the relationships that are in this home to a different place.

That bedroom was poisonous. The bed, the cat furniture, it was all over -owned,

and it was all competed for.

The whole house to be territory that the cats could own. Here are all four cats.

Eating, eating, eating.

Door's open.

Whoa.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is huge.

Wow. That's incredible.

Look at that. They just keep getting better. Look at that. They just keep

getting better.

That moment informs the rest of their relationship from now on. No fights.

No bullying. Now we've extinguished the bedroom.

This area is now becoming...

Just as important as the bedroom. So what I want to see is Patton and

being able to occupy this space at the same time without fireworks.

Mr. Farnsworth.

Oh, Mr.

Farnsworth. What I need is indications that we're on the right road. If Patton

and Mr.

Farnsworth, who have a big, bad history together, can hang out in the same room,

I know there's hope for everybody else.

Hi, look, it's your friend. All right.

We have cats. Hi, buddy.

This is the moment where we see if all of our hard work has finally paid off.

You're a good boy now.

Look at Farnsworth.

That's your brother.

Yeah. I don't sense any animosity, and that's all very good for me. When I

met Mr. Farnsworth, he was very territorially aggressive.

There's no sign of that right now at all. He's just in the space. He's not in

the space with an agenda to kill.

is about two cats forming a relationship as we're standing here. So that, to me,

is everything that I needed to get you guys to.

Success in this home is about expanding, about making the world bigger. He needs

to break down physical walls in order to break down relationship walls. I mean,

no fights, no bullying.

Everything is working according to plan. You have an entire house to open up to

these guys. Now the bedroom door can stay open for good. I don't think you're

going to have any problems.

Take care of yourself, okay?

Basically, for the last two years, our cats have been trying to kill each

Now, we can all live together peacefully.

This is happening.

This is great.

That's Montgomery and Patton eating their dinner.

Right over here is Farnsworth and Gibson eating their dinner.

Good boys.

Look look look.

Yeah, look at that