Cerebellar hypoplasia cats recently received a huge national plug.
Screen grab courtesy Animal Planet.
In case you missed it, last week a one-eyed CH cat named Pip was featured on Animal Planet’s show “My Cat From Hell.” If you’re unfamiliar with it, the show features cat behavioralist Jackson Galaxy, who helps cat parents solve all sorts of cat behavioral issues.
In the most recent episode we see Galaxy fly out to San Francisco, where he learns that Pip, despite his moderate CH, often bullies the other household cat, Red. And we’re not just talking about one cat being an alpha cat. There was footage of Pip quite literally flying at Red in anger – and not just every so often, but always.
Pip’s behavior was so unsettling that the cats’ owner’s roommate was considering moving out. The roommate said quite frankly that she didn’t feel comfortable around Pip because of his vicious behavior toward Red – not to mention that the cats’ nightly fights would often wake her up.
So this is where Galaxy steps in. He takes the time to learn about the situation, analyze the roots of the behaviors, and come up with solutions that usually involve modifying everyone’s behavior. In the end, he’s left with happy cats and relieved people.
But to be honest, even I wondered how much of an impact he’d make with these two cats!
Screen grab courtesy Animal Planet
The episode is definitely worth a watch (you can view it online here). I was thinking of drafting up a quick synopsis, but I think it’s worth your time to watch the 20 or so minutes of Pip’s segment on the show.
After watching the segment a number of things stuck with me. First and foremost, Pip’s owner said she would absolutely not give him up. What a tremendous testament that is to cat owners everywhere! Even though he was creating quite a bit of trouble, she was devoted to Pip and wanted to find a solution.
Secondly, the roommate was willing to not only help work toward solutions to improve Pip and Red’s relationship, but she took the initiative to improve her relationship with the cats too.
Lastly, Galaxy did a great job explaining the roots of each cat’s behavior, and he found great solutions that – by the end of the segment – left both cats happy, and actually co-existing without any trouble whatsoever!
I’m so glad that folks like Galaxy can show that cats – even little one-eyed CH bullies – are often misunderstood, and that with a little love and effort, a stressful situation can turn into a fantastic relationship!
Did you watch the Pip episode? Do you have a cat behavioral issue that you live with? Please share in the comments!
