Jackson Galaxy (born April 28, 1966, as Richard Kirschner) is an American cat behaviorist,

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

, and former host of the television show ''

My Cat from Hell ''My Cat from Hell'' is an American reality television series that airs on Animal Planet and premiered in May 2011. It stars Jackson Galaxy, a cat behaviorist by day and a musician by night, who visits the homes of cat owners in order to resol ...

''.

Early life

Jackson Galaxy was born Richard Kirschner, on April 28, 1966, to a Jewish refugee father and 19-year-old mother in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York City, New York, and was raised on Manhattan's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. At age ten, he began playing the guitar, aspiring to be a professional rock musician. Galaxy graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1991 with a theater degree.

Career

Galaxy moved to

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

in 1992 and was a budding rock musician. He learned cat behavior through his work with rescue cats, originally with the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. After working there and at other animal shelters, he went into private practice as a cat consultant in 2002, co-founding Little Big Cat, Inc., with Dr. Jean Hofve, a holistic veterinarian. Together they provided consultations to cat owners, focusing on the connection between physical and behavioral health. Beginning in May 2011 through 2020, Galaxy starred in ''

My Cat From Hell ''My Cat from Hell'' is an American reality television series that airs on Animal Planet and premiered in May 2011. It stars Jackson Galaxy, a cat behaviorist by day and a musician by night, who visits the homes of cat owners in order to resol ...

'', a reality TV series produced by

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

in which he helps cat guardians—often couples—resolve conflict and behavioral issues between them and their cats. From December 2013, he has been host of the web series ''Cat Mojo'' on the Animalist Network, where he shares his thoughts on cat-related issues like declawing, use of squirt guns and behind-the-scenes stories. He runs an active YouTube Channel and sells his own line of cat toys and supplements on his website, jacksongalaxy.com, along with other Cat Daddy approved products. Galaxy is the author of several books about cats and their behavior. He has 2 books on adapting your home to make it more cat friendly - a process he deems "catification". In 2012, he published the autobiographical ''Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean''. Other books include: Catification (2014), Catify to Satisfy (2015), and Total Cat Mojo (2020).

Personal life

Galaxy married Minoo Rahbar at the no-kill pet sanctuary of

Best Friends Animal Society Best Friends Animal Society, (BFAS) is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization based in Kanab, Utah, with satellite offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Bentonville, Arkansas, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, California, New York City, an ...

Kanab, Utah Kanab ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, United States.Find a County
". ' ...

, on June 28, 2014. Their dog, Mooshka, served as ringbearer. Galaxy is a recovered addict to alcohol and drugs. After his weight reached and suffering several health problems, Galaxy underwent

gastric bypass surgery Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch, where the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differen ...

in 2007. He maintains a vegan diet.

Publications

* with

Joel Derfner Joel Derfner (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer and composer. He is the author of three gay-themed books: ''Gay Haiku'' (2005), ''Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead'' (2008), and ''Lawf ...

: ''Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean''. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2012 . * with Kate Benjamin: ''Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!)''. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2014 . * with Kate Benjamin: ''Catify to Satisfy: Simple Solutions for Creating a Cat-Friendly Home''. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2015 . * with Mikel Delgado: ''Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat''. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2017 .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galaxy, Jackson Television personalities from New York City Cat behaviorists 1966 births Living people People from Manhattan American people of Jewish descent