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MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Cat behaviorist heading to Oregon after attack
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — The large cat that attacked a baby and trapped an Oregon family in a bedroom touched off an Internet uproar that worries Jackson Galaxy, star of Animal Planet's "My Cat from Hell." Cats don't become ferocious felines that turn on their families for no reason, says the cat behavior expert, who is heading to Portland soon to work with the 4-year-old part-Himalayan pet named Lux. Galaxy will film the visit for his show's fifth season, which kicks off April 26.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lux, a 22-pound Himalayan.cat that attacked a seven-month old baby, rests at home. Cats don't become ferocious felines that turn on their families for no reason, says the cat behavior expert Jackson Galaxy, star of Animal Planet's "My Cat from Hell," who is heading to Portland soon to work with the cat. Galaxy will film the visit for his show's fifth season, which kicks off April 26.
"Every parental site on the Internet blames the cat for this confrontation. Every pet site blames the family," he said, adding that something is wrong if the cat is acting out. "We need to step away from the hysteria. There is a story behind all this. Don't assume anything."
Lux became a worldwide phenomenon after owner Lee Palmer called 911 and said the cat had cornered him, his girlfriend, their baby and the family dog inside a room.
family dog snare.
Palmer says his 7-month-old pulled Lux's tail, and he kicked the animal after it scratched the child. Then, the cat "just went off over the edge." Palmer told an emergency dispatcher after the family barricaded themselves. "He's charging us," Palmer said, as the cat was heard screeching in the background. Officers arrived and caught Lux with a dog snare.
Palmer said the cat had a history of violence, but the family kept Lux until Monday,
when they turned him over to a Portland-area shelter. But the family assured Animal Planet they were going to keep the cat and agreed to therapy with Galaxy.
Palmer didn't return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.
There are many reasons a cat can turn aggressive, and there is no universal way to deal with it, Galaxy said. But the star feline behaviorist provided five ways to tame out-of-control cats:
Never leave a young child unsupervised with a cat.
- Take it to a vet at least once a year. If a cat is acting suspiciously, the owner needs to pay attention. "Know what suspicious looks like," Galaxy said. "If they're not feeling well, cats will socially withdraw themselves, or they will lose weight, or they will gain weight, or they'll be howling in the middle of the night when they never did before.
"I've known cats who acted out similarly to Lux because of an abscessed tooth, a brain tumor, hyperthyroidism or diabetes."
Make sure cats can literally climb out of a situation. Having a space up high, like a cat condo, to get away from children and other pets is crucial. Galaxy said. "Make sure the cat can make the choice to get away from the kid," he said.
a peaceful moment or ground themselves, he said.
— Timeouts are good things. "We associate timeouts with punishment, but in the world of cats, timeout is not a punishment." They can go to a designated place where they can settle down, come back to
— Stop fights between felines with "timeout drills." With simple pieces of cardboard, left strategically around the house, you can stop a fight between two cats. Put the cardboard between them, blocking their vision and providing a moment of disorientation when you can lead them to their timeout
spot. It's especially important to have the drills with aggressive cats.
Galaxy said he was going to Portland to act as Lux's advocate and find out what's wrong. "I have no idea what made Lux aggressive," he said. It could be a chemical imbalance, a history of stressful environments or because he was kicked.
"If you want a blanket statement on how to deal with aggression, how about, 'Don't set the cat up for failure,'" he said. The behaviorist, who has worked with tens of thousands of cats, said the thing that bothered him most about Lux was his continued aggression the day Palmer called 911, including the animal's ongoing assault on the door even
though the threat was gone
But the word "attack" doesn't sit well with Galaxy because 75 percent of the time, it's tied to a grouchy mood or a warning, he said.
"If I have a headache, I won't be the nicest guy in the world. I may snap at you," he said. "This may have been Lux's way of snapping."
CELEBRITY
No pope meeting for Russell Crowe
ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY - Actor Russell Crowe and the makers of the big-budget film "Noah" attended Pope Francis' general audience. Wednesday but didn't get what they most wanted: a papal meeting and photo-op.
Crowe had lobbied hard for a papal thumbs up for his film and the ensuing publicity a Francis blessing would bring. The film has been banned in much of the Muslim world because of its depiction of the prophet, while U.S. conservatives have complained it took
liberties with the Biblical account of the flood.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the request from Noah's producers for a private audience was immediately turned down.
In an email Wednesday to The Associated Press, Lombardi said there was similarly no scheduled "meet and greet" after Wednesday's general audience, when VIPs can often get a quick word with the pope.
They could have been at the audience like anyone else," Lombardi said. Wednesday's audience drew an estimated crowd of 80,000.
Francis is loath to lend such blessings for publicity. Given his sensitivities to the Muslim world — and his upcoming trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories — it would seem natural that he would decline any public endorsement of a film that might offend Muslim viewers.
Variety reported that the Noah delegation, including Crowe, director Darren Aronofsky, producer Scott Franklin, and the vice chairman of Paramount Pictures, Rob Moore, had met with the pope. Variety cited a spokeswoman for Universal, which
is distributing the film in Italy. But in an email to AP, Paramount merely said the delegation "went to hear" Francis' address at the audience.
Crowe was spotted in the VIP section of St. Peter's Square, but was too far back to reach the pope.
After the audience, Crowte tweeted: "Thank you holy father @Pontifex for the blessing," and "What a privilege, attended the Udienza with the holy father @Pontifex."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Actor Russell Crowe, right, attends Pope Francis' general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Wednesday, March 19.
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