TOTAL CAT MOJO The Ultimate Guide to Life With Your Cat - By Jackson Galaxy with Mikel Delgado, PhD (2017)

"First, when in doubt, go straight back to the ABCs of what builds Raw Cat confidence: the Three Rs, the Confident Where, and HCKE. These tools will always unlock Mojo, no matter how old or young the cat is, the degree of trauma they may have had to endure, or any special needs. that may inform their everyday life..." -  Jackson Galaxy

In Honor of International Cat Day!!

Cats are unique creatures. If you never grew up with them, you may presume they are unfriendly, unlucky, and mean. You may even say you are allergic to them.  I have heard it all. And so has Jackson Galaxy apparently. He is here to help you break the unfair stigma that cats carry; coming off his show he hosts and executive produces, 'My Cat from Hell' and putting it into great writing. This book is educational while being quite entertaining, and it has cute illustrations, too.

If you are a new time cat owner or seasoned, with kittens or second round of cat kids, this book is for you. I grew up with cats (coming up to 12 cats total in my life, and still going) and I must tell you, they are their own unique entities. I continue to learn from each one, a new tick or a new trick. What work for ones in the past doesn't do a darn thing for the ones I have now.

Jackson Galaxy's humor is all over this book and for a guide style book, that's a great thing! He kicks you off with a crash course of history of the cat. From Raw Cat to Your Cat, worshiped by the Egyptians to being banished to burnings...to solidifying their permanent pet status thanks to Queen Victoria 150 years ago,  even I was pleasantly surprised by these facts.

Jackson Galaxy is pretty thorough in his book, covering everything of cat, the types of cat, how to introduce them to a new baby, when your cats are not getting along, playtime with your cat, training your cat...in a way...moods they have. I really like his Cat Daddy Tips. Some stuff personally might be a little extreme for my taste...or lifestyle. (For instance, him saying you should have a litter box in every room, especially if you have multiple cats...um, no thank you!) Yet, I did take his advice to make sure to make time to play with my cats everyday for a little bit and I purchased one of those window beds so they can enjoy what he calls "cat tv". Best gift EVER for my cats.

You can use this book as a reference guide, jumping around to chapters that might be needed in your current situation with a cat or cats, but I do suggest at some point to read the whole thing. There is a lot of valuable gems in it, and if you are a seasoned cat parent, some stuff might make past mistakes with your previous cats clear.

"...And second, take a moment, as often as you can, to remember that you will never have it all figured out. Thinking that you have control over the outcome of any relationship will absolutely destroy it. Stay humble to, and remain a student of, the relationship itself. That was the hardest lesson I had to learn in the past, and the source of the most joy in my present." - Jackson Galaxy