Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean

Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean

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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88  ·  rating details  ·  563 ratings  ·  151 reviews
“Mr. Galaxy—shaved head, arms full of tattoos—seems physically at odds with his gentle voice and gentle approach to animals. . . . But though he may be dealing with humans who have been terrorized and even bloodied by their out-of-control pets, he’s a model of consistency. The cats, not the people, are his No. 1 priority.”—The New York Times


“Galaxy is not your average anim...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published May 10th 2012 by Tarcher
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,241)
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Angie
http://angelasanxiouslife.blogspot.co...

The book focuses on who this guy is??? I mean how does a guy who looks like Jackson become and advocate for cats?I am totally with him too when it comes to spaying and neutering your pets. There are millions and millions of pets. Do we really need anymore? Do people really need to make that $1000 off another litter of animals. So sad. Please Please read this book if you are thinking about getting a pet ESPECIALLY a cat. I just dished out almost $1500 on my...more
Rebecca Huston
A very interesting, non-fluffy book about cats, and living with them. Jackson Galaxy is outspoken, honest and compassionate, and I can happily recommend this one. Two serious notes here -- he's very honest about overcoming alcohol and drug addiction and that won't sit well with some readers, and also about spaying and neutering your pets. Four stars overall.

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Cat_Da...
Miss Kitty
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would and wound up speed-reading to the end. It's a parallel story of cat bromance and sobriety that's laced with plenty of profanity so that you don't think you're reading a Lifetime movie script. Or at least the profanity help me from thinking that. I feel like the last two books I've read - Pema Chodron's The Wisdom of No Escape and now Cat Daddy - unexpectedly wound up being about the same things: dealing with your emotions (even the icky ones) and be...more
Deborah Barnes
First and foremost, this is definitely not your conventional cat book. This is not a story of a cute and fluffy kitten that is abandoned and finds a new home in a library to inspire the whole town. Nor is it a happy go lucky adventure of a man and his cat who entertain us with humorous antidotes. The language in this book is graphic and unapologetic, the imagery that is described as a result of situations that stem from serious drug and alcohol addictions can be unsettling, and, because the auth...more
Heather
Listened to the audio book of this and I have to say I was really impressed. It's clear that Jackson Galaxy has a creative personality and has studied performance art. His reading is full of life and energy, like he's talking to you in your living room not reading his book in a studio.

I didn't really know what to expect of the book though I had heard that he does talk about his battles with addiction, I thought I was going to hear more of a "how I became a cat behaviorist" story. Instead it's a...more
Iris
Mr. Galaxy's inspirational memoir is more complex than the subtitle lets on: he was an addict reformed not by one cat but by a cause: shelter animals, or the millions of animals discarded and eventually euthanized due to behavioral problems. This passion lies beneath Mr. Galaxy's accounts of druggy girlfriends and stoned band practices; he wants to communicate what he's learned during his work at a shelter, encouraging readers to rethink their ideas about animal life. For example, he argues that...more
Eyehavenofilter
I don't really know why I picked up this book, 'cept I have psycho cats ( seriously psycho)
and was hoping to find out why they fight at 3:00AM EVERY morning, well, almost every morning.
Jackson Galaxy is the host of the TV show " My Cat From Hell". This is how he got there.
However, it is also a peek inside the way animals communicate with us,
emulate us, and ultimately change us, or try to, with some great tips sprinkled in on how to
observe your own pets and see what's really going on.
I have t...more
Cheryl Gardner
Let me just preface this review by saying that I'm a twenty year ferret caretaker. I never had cats until I recently adopted a feral from my yard last August who we had been working with and caring for for six years. He eventually wanted to come in, so we let him. Cat guardianship is all new to me, but animal guardianship, in general, is not. I've been a lifelong animal lover and caretaker, so I devoured this book in a weekend. Galaxy is a kindred spirit, and I could not put this book down from...more
Jen
Aug 16, 2012 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2012
I'm not done yet, but I wanted to comment on some reviews I've read...I'm not understanding how people are giving this book lower stars or a less than glowing review because they expected it to be a cat behavior book.

It's subtitled: "What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean."

Not: "How I Taught the World's Most Incorrigible Cat to Live, Love, and Be Clean."

Rate a book on it's content and it's writing. Not your expectations.
Judith
As with other books written with a co-author, the writing is not excellent. But the story is clear and well-told. Like many others, I am a fan of My Cat from Hell, the Animal Planet television show starring Jackson Galaxy. I knew from the first episode that this was The Guy. He gets cats completely. And he essentially learned by intuition. Yes, he read a lot of books while working with cats in a Boulder humane society, but he didn't swallow everything he read. He tested it against his own intuit...more
Kelly
Take the love you feel for one and love all. The process is terrifying. Loving the world is not like the trust fall exercise you did in EST, summer camp, or your last corporate retreat; loving the world is far bigger than that and far more impossible.

I'll say this much: you won't read the book if you don't love animals, but if you love animals, whether or not you know who this guy is, this is one to read. Not because it's brilliant but because sometimes you like hearing how much other people l...more
Cathy
One of the many lovely things about working in a library is coming across books you wouldn’t otherwise have known about. I pulled this gem from the book-return chute and the cover intrigued me. On it is a large friendly guy who looks like a hell’s angel with a pretty little ginger cat perched on his shoulder So this had to be interesting. It is the story of Jackson and Benny who embarked on a beautiful journey of discovery together, two broken souls who mended each other. Jackson was a drug addi...more
Carrie
Wow. Just wow. I really mean it when I say I couldn't put this book down - I read it in one sitting, cover to cover. I'll preface this by saying that I was already a Jackson Galaxy fan beforehand, so I am probably a bit biased.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. Was it going to mostly about cat behaviorist tricks, or would it concentrate on Jackson's past? In my opinion, this book struck a really great balance between detailing Jackson's addiction problems, the life of Benny (his former...more
Elizabeth
I am a big fan of Jackson Galaxy's show "My Cat from Hell" on Animal Planet so I was interested in finding out more about Jackson and how he became a "cat whisperer". The book is fascinating about how much personal dysfunction Jackson has overcome. He is innately talented with his ability to understand cats and has been able to help out so many of them in his career. How cool for all of us that he became aware of his calling and has embraced his success with it. He is also an immigrant child and...more
Becky Lord
I laughed and cried so hard while reading this book... talk about reaching the entire spectrum of emotions! I came across Jackson Galaxy when a friend recommended that I watch "My Cat From Hell" because of my cat Ishmael's allegedly poor behavior. Not only did I learn that although Ish isn't the sweetest lap kitten on the planet that she isn't psycho, but I realized that here are easy ways to correct cat behaviors. When my boyfriend watched the show, he loved it even though he's not a "cat perso...more
Cayr
Jackson Galaxy looks more like a biker than a cat behaviorist; but in ‘Cat Daddy’, the tough- looking but sensitive tattooed star of Animal Planet’s ‘My Cat from Hell’ writes about how he found his bliss.

Galaxy was flying by the seat of his pants just prior to meeting Benny, the cat that would change his life forever. He was a musician and songwriter living in a warehouse with no running water, who spent his days looking for the next high. On what was pretty much a whim, Galaxy applied for a job...more
Phil
Jul 19, 2012 Phil rated it 2 of 5 stars
Shelves: cats
An easy book to read in a sitting or two.

I desperately wanted to like this book because I like Galaxy's program on Animal Planet, and because he has devoted so much time and effort in helping people to live with cats. (I was permitted no pets as a child, but cats entered my life forty years ago and are now fully there. So I am an unabashed cat person.)

The ghost-writing is breezy, even flip. But I learned as a child that people who resort to "curse words" show they have a limited vocabulary and p...more
Cindy
This book is mostly memoir although there are plenty of cat tips sprinkled in (including one related to an issue I'm dealing with right now). Jackson is a fascinating person because he isn't trying to make himself look cool or impress you with how smart he is. He's willing to admit to doing some really dumb things (and having learned from them) and occasionally having some major doubts about himself, just the sort of thing that makes you like him even more. And despite the seriousness of much of...more
Gerri Leen
I'm giving this five stars, but I don't know if this would get that high a rating from me if I hadn't seen Mr. Galaxy on his show My Cat from Hell. This book is partly about his cat, partly about dealing with cats, but mostly about being a broken human being trying to put the pieces of his life back together and having cats help him with that in some instances (he did a lot of it himself, however, and I think he deserves more credit than he gives himself in this). It's a quick read, vivid and un...more
Gretchen
I purchased this book after becoming a fan of Jackson Galaxy's show, "My Cat From Hell." On the show, he is called to consult cat owners on how best to deal with their misbehaving felines.

The book is an emotional journey into the life of a man who goes through his own kind of hell with his struggles in life. These include addictions, mental illness, weight problems, and a host of other problems. On the way, he discovers that he has a gift for communicating with cats.

While working at an animal...more
Allison
I really liked this book - in the Goodreads "4-star" definition as well as my own personal definition.

I'd like to say, and I mean this in the *nicest* possible way: This guy is seriously F-ed up! He lied his way into his job at the Humane Society. He's an alcoholic, drug-addict and food-addict. By all rights he should be dead.

Yet... he found a place inside himself, bolstered by books by animal behaviorists, that enabled him to think like a cat, talk to a cat. He can truly put himself in the plac...more
Emily
Frankly, I'm amazed that Mr. Galaxy lived long enough to write this book. To me, that is part of the problem of this book, as it spent quite a lot of time chronicling the author's struggle with drugs, alcohol and food. Benny, meant to be the inspiration for writing this book, seemed to be more of a side character and, while I got an essence of what made him so special, I wanted to spend more time with him and less time in AA. There were also some turns of phrase that were too clever for their ow...more
Gretchen
I wanted to love this book; I really did. I am a fan of Jackson Galaxy's Animal Planet show, and I really appreciate him and his mission to help cats and other pets find forever homes and stay in homes once they are placed. However, this book was not my favorite.

I did understand going in that this was a memoir about how Jackson's relationship with his cat Benny helped him through a very difficult time in his life and helped him kick his addictions. At least, that's what I thought it was about....more
Lisa Rooksby
Although the writing is a bit rough at times, this book took me on a powerful journey. My son and I love Jackson's show, My Cat From Hell, which airs on Animal Planet. As a huge fan of Jackson's work, I read his and kitty Benny's story with interest. I was surprised at a lot of what I read, but devoured this story of love and transformation. Jackson has always seemed to me to be very present, in each moment, on his show. He seems to connect with and understand the living creatures he works with...more
Nina
My rating is more of a 3.5. This was an easy, light, but worthwhile read for cat "guardians." I think we are sometimes marginalized in the seemingly dog-focused world of pet behavior literature. Galaxy's personality really came through in the tone - I found myself laughing out loud in several places. I like that he tracks the timeline of his recovery from multiple addictions (alcohol/street drugs, Klonopin, and food) with the life of his Benny, a cat with many quirks and unique needs. I'm lookin...more
Estella
This is a beautiful story, a memoir, really. It did as Jackson promised to Benny, and told the story of an enigmatic cat, but more than that, it tells a story of recovery from addiction. It helped me relate even more deeply to a public figure I already related to and admired. I gave four stars instead of five because the literary snob in me found a misplaced modifier and other writing glitches that took me away from the moment. Otherwise, it transcends the literary into a very genuine, living, l...more
Amy
Jackson Galaxy is a fascinating man. He looks like a rocker (and he does play guitar with a band), but he's now famous as a "cat whisperer" on the show "My Cat from Hell." While the book does give tips for dealing with your own cat's problems, this is more Jackson's story. He has an addictive personality -- drugs and food, mainly. And yet, one night, he met a cat named Benny, and this cat helped him see so much in his own life. While fascinating, I would also say that the writing of the books is...more
David
There ended up being a lot more to this book than I thought there was going to be. Galaxy brings the same kind of persona and animal interaction to the book that interests me in his show, but he takes the books to a very personal, vulnerable place and lets the reader see that the life behind the show is drastically more complex and turbulent than his calm exterior would suggest. Moreover, the book is about more than him and Galaxy does not let either the reader or himself forget that. The book i...more
Heather
Like so many readers, I chose this book because I absolutely love "My Cat From Hell," the Animal Planet show focusing on cat behavior, with consultant Jackson Galaxy. However, this is a biography of Jackson and not a cat behavior book, so know that going in. I grabbed it on Kindle without reading reviews and was a bit surprised by how little cat behavior is in the book vs. how muck of Jackson's personal journey.

That said, I am not sorry I read it, it was an interesting read, but not what I expec...more
Stacey Miner
This is a great book for a variety of people, but the top two sorts I'd recommend it to are cat lovers and recovering addicts. I wasn't sure what to expect out of this one. Maybe another Dewey the Library cat like experience, and it's similar to that in the way that it's more Jackson's story than his cat Benny's story. However, it shows how important pets are in peoples' lives, and that pets themselves are people too. A nice short read. Very touching. And it certainly taught me to respect Jackso...more
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Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean (Audio CD)
Cat Daddy: How One Very Special Cat Fixed One Very Broken Man  (ebook)
Cat Daddy: What's the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me about Life, Love, and Coming Clean  (Kindle Edition)
Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean (Audio CD)
Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean (Audio CD)

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