[Vision2020] Caturday (June 14, 2014)

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of Oregon Live at:

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/06/jackson_galaxy_on_lux_the_port.html

-----------------------------------

Jackson Galaxy on Lux, the Portland '911 attack cat': 'the most complicated character I've ever dealt with'
Jackson Galaxy, the cat behaviorist who works with troublesome felines on "My Cat from Hell," says Lux -- the so-called Portland "attack cat" who drove his guardians to call 911 for help -- presented one of the most challenging and frustrating cases of his career.
"I can say without hesitation that Lux is the most complicated character I think I've ever dealt with," Galaxy says.

And he adds there's much more to the case of Lux and his guardians than the stories would indicate.

"I'm telling you," Galaxy says in a phone interview, "it will pry your mind open if you're one of those people who said, 'I know what's best for this cat.' You didn't, and you don't. It's a very complicated case, and it continues to be."

Talking about the "My Cat from Hell" episode focusing on the notorious "911 cat" case -- which airs Saturday June 14, on Animal Planet -- Galaxy shared some details about the process of working with Lux. The 22-pound cat became a sensation when his aggressive behavior caused his guardians, Portlanders Lee Palmer and Teresa Barker, to barricade themselves, their baby and their dog in the bedroom of their apartment, and call 911 to request assistance in getting Lux under control.

When word of the incident swept the international media in March, Galaxy says, production of the current season of Animal Planet's "My Cat from Hell" had ended. But Galaxy couldn't miss seeing the coverage, and hearing the 911 call. He can't recall, Galaxy says, whether he heard from the network or the show producers, but he says, "I heard, hey, you know, the 911 cat, the couple is willing to work with you, and if you do it, they'll keep him."

While reports of the initial incident -- in which Lux scratched the forehead of the couple's baby son, Jesse, and drew blood -- were everywhere, Galaxy says the couple at first didn't want police to take Lux away, and suggests that Barker's bond with the cat played a role.

"A few nights later, there was the second episode," Galaxy says, which resulted in Lux taking up temporary residence in the Multnomah County Animal Services shelter.

"I said I would work with him, and they gladly took him back," Galaxy says. "Teresa raised him from a day old, his mom rejected him, and Teresa took over. Anybody who's ever been a bottle mom for a bottle baby cat knows it is a killer commitment."

After being rejected by his mother, Lux would have died, Galaxy says, "if not for Teresa taking over and bottle-feeding him. Their relationship was also very complicated. Basically, any bottle baby forms a very complex and intricate relationship with their humans because they don't have their moms, and they don't have their siblings."

When dealing with "My Cat from Hell" cases, Galaxy -- who has been a cat behaviorist for 15 years -- says he typically does three separate visits, usually about two to three weeks apart. "That gives the couple time to do their homework -- or not -- and it gives the cat time to adjust to the changes. Usually, the case is worked in the span of seven weeks."

Despite having wrapped the six-month Season 5 "My Cat from Hell" shoot, Galaxy came to Portland for three separate visits to work with Lux, and his guardians.

"And to be honest, it might not be over," Galaxy says. "I might be with them again. That's one of the reasons I'm excited about this episode. It feels like a new chapter for the show, being able to follow a case in real time as it unfolded in a very public setting was challenging for me, but I welcomed that challenge. We are also illustrating that life is messy, and there are no easy answers to something like this."

Many of his cases, Galaxy says, are easy for him to diagnose and bring to a resolution. "But this is definitely not one of them. This is definitely something unto itself."

"From the minute you meet this cat, you fall in love with him. He's the sweetest boy in the world, and then what happens changes the game. It challenges your ability to put white hats or black hats on animals."Though Galaxy doesn't want to give away exactly what happens in the episode, which is titled, "911, My Cat's Holding Me Hostage!," he does say the case of Lux and his guardians is an especially fascinating one.

Much of the reaction to the case of Lux came from people who heard that Palmer had kicked the cat after Lux scratched Jesse's forehead, after Jesse had pulled the cat's tail. Plenty of Lux defenders attacked the family, and thought the cat should get a new home.

Though Galaxy sometimes brings up the possibility of "re-homing" cats on "My Cat from Hell," episodes always end with him bringing cats and their guardians to a place where they can peacefully co-exist.

"In the show, we haven't visited re-homing yet," says Galaxy. "Until now." While he says he can't say if that's what happens with Lux, "let's put it this way -- the topic of re-homing is very much in the forefront throughout the episode."

This Lux situation has dimensions beyond what people heard in the 911 call, Galaxy says. "I think it will challenge everyone who watches it in terms of preconceived notions of heroes and villains. This case for me, and for others, turns it on its head. You guys in the public heard (Palmer say) 'Hey, I kicked the cat,' and boom, he was Villain Number One. As the story comes out, you realize his intentions were to save his child, and there's a lot of men or women who, if their primal parental instinct were challenged, well, what would you do? There wasn't a continuing pattern of abuse. Lux liked him plenty, there was no animosity."

Though the episode is over, Galaxy says, "I know that Lux will be a part of my life for many years. I love this cat a lot, and I want everyone else to, too."

--------------------

A Multnomah County Animal Services employee holds Lux at the services main shelter in Troutdale. The cat's fate is up in the air.



--------------------

Lux, the 22-pound Himalayan cat, in hiding Tuesday after police were called to subdue him Sunday. Stuart Tomlinson/The Oregonian.



--------------------

"My Cat from Hell" episode about Lux, the Portland "attack cat," and his 911-calling guardians
When: 5 p.m. and repeating at 8 p.m. Saturday June 14
Channel: Animal Planet (43 or 743HD on Comcast; 282 on DirecTV; 184 on Dish Network)
Web: animalplanet.com/tv-shows/my-cat-from-hell
-----------------------------------

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20140614/c0536343/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 44353 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20140614/c0536343/image-0002.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 65640 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20140614/c0536343/image-0003.jpeg>