Who is Jackson Galaxy?
Richard Kirshner was born on 28 April 1966, in New York City, USA, and is a reality television personality as well as a cat behaviorist, best known for being the host of the show “My Cat from Hell”. He is a specialist when it comes to working in close environments with cats, and helping modify their behavior.
The Riches of Jackson Galaxy
How rich is Jackson Galaxy? As of early-2019, sources estimate a net worth that is over $1 million, earned largely through a successful career in reality television. Aside from his television work, he’s also written numerous books on the subject of cats, and as he continues his career, it is expected that his wealth will also continue to increase.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Very little information is known about Jackson’s childhood, his family, and his education. It is known that during some point in his 20s, he decided to legally change his name from Richard Kirshner to Jackson Galaxy. Around this time, he began working with the Human Society located in Boulder Valley, Boulder, Colorado, having moved there in 1992. During his time there, he learned a lot about cat behavior through his work with the organization in rescuing cats.
He wasn’t initially focused on cats, as he tried his hand at a music career. However, after gaining years of experience in animal shelters, he decided that he had enough capability to work as a cat consultant. In 2002, he went into private practice and co-founded the company Little Big Cat, Inc. alongside holistic veterinarian Dr. Jean Hofve. The duo provided consultations to cat owners, helping them reach a connection between behavioral health and physical health.
Television Transition
In 2007 Galaxy decided to move to Los Angeles, California, and started his own private consulting practice there, having left his old business behind. This time, he started working with cats one on one, often visiting the homes of cat owners, so that he could help them improve the cat issues they are experiencing, especially in terms of behavior. He also continued to work with organizations that helped cats such as rescue organizations and animal shelters, and started teaching his methods to volunteers, adopters, and other staff. Aside from behavioral issues, he also taught them how to help cats get accustomed to a new environment.
Jackson is now on the the board for New York City’s Neighborhood Cats, Fix Nation in Los Angeles, and Stray Cat Alliance. His popularity and skill as a cat behaviorist then led him to make an appearance as an expert in the show “Think Like a Cat”, and he appeared in the Animal Planet show “Cats 101” in the same capacity. He’s been featured in numerous high profile television news shows, and publications, including “AOL”, “The Washington Post”, “New York Post”, “The New York Times”, “20/20”, and “USA Today”.
We’re grateful for our whole extended human and animal family today! This ball of affection has now lived with us for a few months and STILL resists being named. And we’ve tried. He just doesn’t approve of any. He’s still “The Little One” or some variation of Tasmanian Devil. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/js4pxi0pS8
— Jackson Galaxy (@JacksonGalaxy) November 22, 2018
My Cat from Hell
In 2011, Jackson agreed to the production of a reality show that he would star in, which became “My Cat from Hell”, airing on Animal Planet. The show focuses on his life as a cat behaviorist, trying to balance his career with music endeavors during the night. In the show, he is often seen visiting the homes of cat owners to fix behavioral issues between owners as well as their cats. Some of these issues can include cats attacking their owners. The show has so far run for 10 seasons and close to 100 episodes.
According to him, cat issues often stem from three things – environment, human mishandling, and medical issues. Cats are very territorial animals and need a space within homes they can call home. They also provide humans signals when they no longer want to be pet, and when they become overstimulated, they often lash out. He advises owners to provide above the floor walkways with no dead ends as it provides cats the comfort of escape routes. He also doesn’t believe in de-clawing, as it hurts the animal later on. He prefers the use of soft claws or vinyl claws instead of having them removed.
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Personal Life and Writing
For his personal life, it is known that Galaxy married Minoo Rahbar in 2014 at the Best Friends Animal Society located in Kanab, Utah, at their no-kill pet sanctuary; the couple have a dog named Mooshka who served as the ring bearer during the wedding. Galaxy previously had numerous health problems stemming from obesity, actually topping 400 pounds at one stage, and so decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery in 2007 to help him lose weight.
He has also written numerous books about cats, often informing readers about the behavior and proper way to treat cats at home, and about “catification”, a term he created that means making cat-friendly spaces at home. Some of his books include “Catify to Satisfy: Simple Solutions for Creating a Cat-Friendly Home”, “Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean”, “Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat”. He is working on the book entitled “Cat Mojo: Everything You Need to Know to Care for Your Favorite Feline Friend. He often works with other authors for his books, including Joel Derfner, Kate Benjamin, and Mikel Delgado.
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