In March of 2014, I accepted a foster assignment from the Oregon Humane Society. I had no idea the job would change my life.
A cat named Lux made headlines when he went on a rampage and trapped his family in their bedroom, fearful for their lives. When the family called 911, telling police the 22-lb Himalayan was out for blood, the incident went viral.
The story reached the ears of celebrity cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy who jumped in his pink ’57 Lincoln and hotfooted it to Portland. In normal circumstances, a violent cat such as Lux would be euthanized; Galaxy didn’t want to see that happen and decided to feature Lux on his popular television show, “My Cat From Hell.”
Once Galaxy took charge, Lux (who turned out to be a domestic longhair tuxedo cat of a mere 14-pounds) disappeared from the media. Only a few people knew what the eccentric behaviorist was up to. I was one of those.
I took Lux into my home and heart, but it wasn’t an easy ride. The next few months brought laughter and tears, pride and humility, love and terror and more.
In the beginning, I was, to put it bluntly, arrogant. I believed that with all my vast cat experience, I could tame this tiger. For a few weeks of pure furry bliss, I thought I’d succeeded. But you know what they say about pride.
Out of the blue, Lux had another outburst. It was just as terrifying as his family had described and sent me to the ER with deep gouges across my leg. (The scars remain today.) Lux’s violent behavior continued, and suddenly I had a monster in my house. The fact that the whole thing was being filmed for national television only made things worse.
Due to Animal Planet legalities, an in-depth account of Lux’s story has never been issued, but I kept a personal journal which I published on my blog. “Pet the Tiger” follows the convoluted and heart-wrenching tale of love and loss and love again. This is how it begins:
When I was a child, I thought I could run with the tigers. I had no fear; I knew they would not harm me. Then I grew up. My conviction faltered, and like the fairies in Peter Pan, without belief, faded into the dullness of adulthood. Still, when I saw the big dangerous cats in all their feline glory, I couldn’t help wanting to touch them, pet them, feel their fur. I wanted to hug them, hold them, bury my face in their solace of stripes.
I felt the same thing the first time I saw Lux. The photo of him in the MCAS cattery girl’s arms – I wanted to be that girl, to hold that big kitty myself. The fact he was considered dangerous just made me want to hold him more. After all, he didn’t look dangerous; he looked like a poor sad kitty who needed my love.
Continue reading this 34-part saga and the following updates HERE.
Portland’s notorious 911 cat Lux went to his forever home in December of 2018. What has our boy been doing for the past years? Well, basically, he’s been acting like a normal cat. For wonderful photos of him in his home habitat, click HERE.
