Those people obviously don’t realize the extremely high kill rate for cats at shelters, not to mention that people literally dump indoor cats outside when they don’t want them anymore, and indoor cats often die due to starvation/predators (duh they have no survival skills).
Also – I might also be crying.
Jackson Galaxy is awesome. His story is is that he used to be a drug addict, and that while he was in the beginning of his recovery he saved a stray cat and nursed it back to life, and in return the cat essentially did the same for him, and ever since then, he’s taught himself everything there is to know about cats and their behavior. Cats saved his life, so he’s saving cats lives. He’s awesome.
His show has taught me more about how to take care of a cat than I learned from growing up with one.
Jackson Galaxy is the patron fucking saint of cats and I swear to god I will fight anybody coming for him.
You will catch these hands.
I don;t like when people make fun of Jackson Galaxy when he gets emotional.
Because a.) I get really fucking emotional over cats too, fuck you
and b.) it’s mostly because he’s a man and a patriarchal belief that men can’t cry or have feelings.
PLUS! He actually gives GREAT behavior advice, unlike another TV personality who works with canines and shall not be named because my blood pressure can’t handle his ass rn
1. Do not keep them in pairs. Hamsters are loners – keeping them together often results in stress, fighting, injuries and death. They are very happy alone.
________________________________________________
2. Minimum cage size
dwarf hamsters: 30 x 20 x 20 inches (80x50x50cm);
bigger hamsters: 40 x 20 x 20inches (100x50x50cm)!
NOT like this:
Living in cages like this for them is like a human living in an elevator – a lot too small and even dangerous!
For them it feels like this:
Behavior like this is a signal for stress because the cage is too small or that they need more bedding:
Better:
________________________________________________
3. Your hamster (always!) needs a hamster wheel – and it must be a lot bigger than you might think!
Hamster must be able to run with a completely straight back
on a closed surface
with a closed back wall!
NOT like this:
Results of those wheels are: spine problems, backache, stress, injuries!
Minimum wheel size for dwarf hamsters: 9-10 inches.
Minimum wheel size for bigger hamsters: 12 inches!
Better:
________________________________________________
4. Do not buy them plastic tubes (at all):
Those tubes are not suitable at all: Hamsters get stuck or suffocate in them easily.
________________________________________________
5. Your hamster needs enough bedding to dig and build tunnels.
NOT like this:
Better:
Your hamster will be extremely happy and dig around and build tunnels all day (night).
Plastic gets swallowed, splinters, can injure or even kill your hamster.
Better:
________________________________________________
7. Hamsters ALWAYS need a sand bath.
Hamsters love rolling around in the sand, for them it’s like showering. How would you feel without a shower?
You can use those little baths as toilets, but you still need a bigger sand bath!
Better:
________________________________________________
8. Hamsters need a house with at least 2 or more chambers to store food, sleep etc. Also make sure that your hamster does have enough hiding places like coconuts, small houses, toilet rolls!
________________________________________________
9. Do use unperfumed toilet paper for nesting material, don’t use “hamster wool” -> it can tangle around a limb and seriously hurt and even kill your hamster!
NOT like this:
________________________________________________
10. Never ever ever put your hamster or any animal in a hamster ball.
They can’t get out, might suffocate or panic, might run against furniture and seriously injure themselves. The ventilation is terrible, your hamster can’t see/smell/hear enough or use any of their senses properly.
In some countries they even discuss about banning those by law!
Even if you think that “your hamster has fun in it” – please don’t use them!
Pet stores often are very misinformed and sell terrible cages and have little to no idea how to keep a happy hamster – please be careful when trusting them. In the end they often just want to make money – and the hamsters suffer.
Please adopt, not buy hamsters – there are too many hamsters in this world that we need any more breeding.
Skorpio's Art 