Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean
By: Jackson Galaxy, Joel Derfner / Narrated By: Jackson Galaxy
Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
Okay, so, like, I stilllll liked it—even after having heard it 4x
Okay, so, like, full disclosure: My mom liked this book, I liked this book. My sister? Uhm, well, not so much. As a matter of fact, she haaaaaaaated it! Hated Jackson Galaxy and his whining, self-absorbed ways… with a PASSION!!! I’m soooo surprised she even agreed to do the thumbnail for this review. I mean, really! She really, really, REALLY…
Have I mentioned that my sister hated this audiobook?!?
There. (You happy now, dearest sister o’ mine? I’m giving the folks a heads up!)
And after listening to it for the fourth time, I can totally see where she’s coming from. Yes, really, I can!
Jackson Galaxy was an addict from the get-go. And if you’ve spent any time around addicts, you know how difficult they can be.
Galaxy is completely self-absorbed, to the point where, when the woman he’s in business with is debilitated by a SERIOUS heart condition, he RESENTS her! Cuz suddenly, he has to take more responsibility for the business, and his workload increases. I mean, what kind of person would spend all that time whining and feeling resentful when a person they care about is incapacitated and desperately ill? Why, a self-absorbed person. (And, yes, he does whine—the man narrates the work himself, so we’re treated to his absolute honest-to-God reactions/sentiments). And that’s not all. There’s an absolute PLETHORA of examples of him coming unglued because the world is not treating him like the rock star he thinks he is.
So, I can see where my sister got bogged down and totally wanted to spit iron fillings at ‘im.
But, see, I understand the mindset. And I listened beyond his complaints and whining and whinging and poor-me’s. If you listen long enough, he always is made aware of just how much people actually do for him; he’s made aware of just how low he’s gotten, how selfish and demanding he is. True, it’s because other people come through for him, including his higher power, rather than that he kicks back, looks at things through something other than a self-pitying eye, and sees the wonders of the world, the wonders of other people as they are. Nope, in true addict-style, it takes others, and Life, coming through for him before he can see how truly blessed he is.
And his biggest blessing is that he was basically browbeaten into fostering an animal for the shelter where he works. The cat he immediately bonds with is Omni (“Omni” for cripes sake!)—a castoff and woe begotten wreck of an animal, with a shattered pelvis and horribly mangled leg. Instantly dubbed Benny. by Galaxy, the cat starts to work his magic in Galaxy’s life and becomes one of the truest loves he’s ever known.
Jackson Galaxy has the Gift o’ the Gato, and he uses all the tricks and methods he’s observed that work with animals. And soon, Galaxy takes his knowhow on the road, becoming, welllll, not a cat behaviorist, but DEFINITELY a guy who can figure out how a cat can get its mojo back. There are many, many anecdotes of Galaxy dipping in and doling out, deciding just what might be going on in a disturbed feline’s mind. I found it all fascinating. I knew of the “blink” thing, the cat kiss (used it for 1 hour and 15 mins on a terrified cat that was rescued in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with a slow steady vocal rhythm until the poor thing got some actual REM sleep—it was exHAUSting hunched in one position the whole time, I tell you!). But there are some other tips, especially at the very end of the audiobook I might have to try (like how to introduce, then maybe reintroduce cats who just won’t get along… other than Hawthorne, all our cats have been off the street rescues).
I enjoyed Jackson’s narration of his own work. There are definitely sneers and jeers, but there’s a whole LOT of love there too. Also, expect quite a bit of profanity and some pretty crude analogies/metaphors. I found it all hilarious, but if you’re sensitive, you may just wanna give this one a pass. I’m soooooo glad that I listened to it, though: One of my favorites.
… So sorry, dearest sister o’ mine… but it is… so SUUUUUUUE me, why doncha?!?
:)
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