The Jackson Galaxy Project

Program Cat Pawsitive 360 Resources

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Our history

The Jackson Galaxy Project was founded in 2014 by Jackson Galaxy, a New York Times bestselling author, renowned cat behavior and wellness expert, and longtime host of Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell.” 

Jackson Galaxy found his way into animal welfare the way that most people do: part chance, part fate, part destiny. During his journey that started as an entry-level shelter worker, Jackson questioned, observed, and learned. He saw what worked, what wasn’t working, and created new solutions. Jackson developed a vision to help cats through innovation and collaboration. Now that vision is a reality through The Jackson Galaxy Project.

To date, The Jackson Galaxy Project has helped 245 animal welfare organizations across the country while educating shelter staff and volunteers through more than 39,000 training sessions and workshops to help improve the well-being for thousands of cats. 

Additionally, Jackson Amplifies the Good as a member of the Greater Good Charities Board.

The Jackson Galaxy Project believes that understanding cats at a fundamental level, from their history and evolution to their body language and the ways they communicate, will help shelter staff and volunteers work more effectively with the cats in their care, resulting in happier cats and more adoptions to celebrate.

Cat Pawsitive 360, an initiative of The Jackson Galaxy Project, takes a 360-degree view of the feline experience on everything from behavioral models to environmental enrichment so that more lives will be saved, and the well-being of cats will be improved both in and out of the shelter. This initiative allows each cat to be recognized as a unique individual and emphasizes the importance of supporting feline caregivers in the shelter and in the home with empowering tools and resources. 

“We are thrilled to introduce Cat Pawsitive 360 to animal welfare organizations across the country. The Jackson Galaxy Project recognizes each cat in an animal shelter or a rescue’s care, and each cat in the communities we serve, as a unique individual. We also understand that each individual is part of the evolution of a distinct species who deserves their own voice and framework for teaching. By uniting these two approaches, we take a 360-degree view of the feline experience on everything from behavioral models to environmental enrichment in order to save more lives and improve the well-being of cats both in and out of the shelter."

Jackson Galaxy
New York Times bestselling author, renowned cat behavior and wellness expert, longtime host of Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell,” and founder of The Jackson Galaxy Project, a program of Greater Good Charities

Cat Pawsitive 360 is designed to provide animal shelters and those who care for cats with a common language and understanding of this unique species who are typically overlooked in the shelter or at home when it comes to meeting their needs.

During 2023 Cat Pawsitive 360 will host workshops, led by Jackson Galaxy, across the country to engage and immerse animal welfare representatives in a wide range of sheltering topics approached from a cat-centric point of view. Topics will include feline body language and communication, pathway planning, feline behavior challenges and adoption counseling. 

Cat Pawsitive 360 also educates shelter staff and volunteers to help provide the best resources and tools to help pets parents navigate common feline challenges to help keep their cats in their home.

"Even after over 15 years in animal welfare, I learned quite a few new things during the Cat Pawsitive 360 workshop. Jackson Galaxy and the rest of the team really provided a unique perspective on caring for and enriching the lives of cats in and outside of shelters. I can't wait to apply all the wonderful ideas I learned to help reduce the stress of our shelter cats and helping them to find homes more quickly."

Aldwin Roman, CAWA (he/him/his)
Vice President of Operations and Strategy
Charleston Animal Society

Torque arrived at the Animal Rescue League of Berks County and wouldn’t come out of hiding for anyone. The shelter was determined to help her gain confidence and put her into Cat Pawsitive 360 training. It took time, but she slowly started to trust shelter staff and was able to eat treats from their hands. As time went on, Torque was feeling more confident than ever and put trust in people to stay out of hiding and give more contact behaviors. As a result, Torque was ready for a new place to call home!

Historically, unlike dogs, cats are seen as not needing high levels of enrichment, pathway planning, or behavior work. But all those things are important for cats to thrive in a home or shelter.

Cat Pawsitive 360 recognizes that cats are unique individuals and each one needs to be treated as such to be successful in a shelter or in a home. Additionally, we believe a shared understanding, and a common language are vital during a cat’s journey in an animal shelter from intake to cleaning kennels to behavior and veterinary care to marketing for adoption.

For us to help cats we need to empower their caregivers in the shelter and in the home by providing them with the tools and resources that lead to more cats being adopted and more cats staying in their loving home.

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