The controversial writer Lobsang Rampa (about 400K google hits) claimed to be in telepathic communication with his cat, and allowed the cat to write an entire book in that manner. Not making this up. If you go to the virtual Smithsonian, the Dog and Cat sections, you will see skeletons of man and dog/wolf going back into farthest reaches of time but, generally, cats just "appeared" in ancient Egypt (a place about which we know next to nothing, the so-called "science" of Egyptology notwithstanding) as a QUOTE "gift from the Gods" UNQUOTE where they were in fact worshipped for a time. Tombs of carefully mummified cats have been found, a far cry from the euthanasia treatment of today. (Which explains why cats have become cynical about humans over the millenia). And in the film ALWAYS, directed by Spielberg, there is a scene where the only one in the room who can clearly see "the ghost" (played by Richard Dreyfuss) is, ta-duh, the cat. I mention all this simply to point out that, just because cat-lovers are portrayed in the media as crazy, does not mean there is not something here to be crazy about in the first place. Which brings us to this show, which pretty much hits every "hot button" a reality show can possibly aim for. The star is a sort of a lone gunslinger with a "secret identity" -- cat whisperer by day, jazzman by night. To contact him, you don't have to shine a searchlight into the clouds of a giant cat -- but you do have to send a video, and even then there is no guarantee he will take your "case." His human clients all have one interesting thing in common -- they are ready and willing to throw their human partner under the bus if it means maintaining their bizarre relationship with Fluffy. Even if (in most cases) Fluffy has turned their entire home into a combination litter box and scratching post; has sent one or both of them to the hospital, on various occasions, for stitches and cat-scratch fever; and Fluffy's idea of a roaring good time is attacking his owners when they try to take a potty break in the middle of the night. All this is great TV, especially since, if you were to actually break down onto a spreadsheet the actual "techniques" that Jackson uses, I think there are really only 4 or 5 in all. ("Catify" the home, stop acting like prey, play with Fluffy every day until he is so exhausted he passes out on the rug; check with the vet to see if the cat needs to be medicated; neuter him if you have not already done so, and SHAME ON YOU anyway; and there was one more, but I forgot it.) Bottom line, I like cats so much that I can watch this show for hours much the same way a cat can watch a video of birds. I realize that is not the most overpowering endorsement for a show, but it is 100% sincere, and the producers have taken this as far as they can.
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