Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: February 10, 2023 by Crystal Uys
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From the time that he worked in a shelter in Boulder in the 1990’s to starring in Animal Planet’s hit show My Cat from Hell for the last six years, Jackson Galaxy has dedicated his life to the well being of cats and their humans. In Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life With Your Cat, he offers the collective wisdom of everything he has ever said, filmed, recorded and written about cats in one place. With the help of his co-author, Mikel Delgado, who is also our resident cat behaviorist here on The Conscious Cat, Jackson offers one of the most comprehensive guides I’ve ever seen to helping cats and their humans live a truly happy life.
Jackson coined the term “cat mojo” and defines it as the confident ownership of a cat’s territory and instinctive feeling of having a job to do – the job of hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep. A cat who’s “got his mojo working” is a happy and well-adjusted cat. Jackson wants cat guardians to understand that inside every housecat lives a “raw cat,” driven by instincts as ancient as the species itself. If we truly want to build better relationships with our cats, we need to understand this aspect of the cat’s way of being in the world.
Total Cat Mojo is chock-full of practical advice on everything from environmental enrichment to litter box considerations to dealing with problems ranging from scratching cats and cats not getting along to a multitude of behaviors humans might consider undesirable. More importantly, the book focuses on helping humans gain a better understanding of cats. “It’s not an exxaggeration to say that almost everything I have built in the name of helping cats revolves around humans understanding Cat Mojo,” writes Jackson in the introduction to the book.
This is so much more than just another cat care guide. This is a book about the relationship between cats and humans, something Jackson stresses over and over. This is not a simple relationship. “Relationships are complicated,” writes Jackson. “Even in giving them meaning beneath their labels – best friend, guardian, parent – the label you choose matters less than the effort, sacrifice, and vulnerability shown to put your money where your relational mouth is.” Truly understanding cats and providing an environment where they can find their mojo may mean compromise on the human’s part and requires a commitment to a what is a lifelong relationship no different from any other family member.
Because it’s all about the relationship between cats and humans, this book not only focuses on helping cats become their most confident selves, it also focuses on how humans may be challenged by the process. “It’s one thing to live the greeting card ideal of cat parenting, and another to live the Mojo-inspiring life of a cat parent,” writes Jackson.
If you watch My Cat From Hell, you know that Jackson will always make the cats in a relationship his first priority, but he also has a way of getting cat guardians to see why they need to make the changes he recommends, even if they may balk at them. This book is an extension of what you see on the show, but it’s so much more.
Total Cat Mojo is the definitive guide to cat behavior and cat care. Even if your cats are purrfect little angels, this book will make you view your relationship with them in a new light. And if your cats aren’t always behaving the way you’d like them to, or if you have one of those cats from hell that you see on the show, this book will not just arm you with the knowledge you need to make things better for both cat and human, it will also provide you with the compassion and commitment you need to mend not just the cat’s behavior, but also your broken relationship.
Total Cat Mojo publishes on Tuesday, October 31, and is available from Amazon and everywhere books are sold.
Total Cat Mojo Book Tour
To see whether Jackson is coming to your town, visit JacksonGalaxy.com.
*FTC Disclosure: The Conscious Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon and affiliated sites. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.
I received this book from the publisher. Receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. All reviews on The Conscious Cat will always reflect my honest opinion.
About the author
Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.
