For Jackson Galaxy, helping cats has always been more than a career. Now, the longtime cat advocate is returning to the sheltering world where his journey began, taking on a new role at a Napa Valley rescue with plans to create a sanctuary focused on what cats truly need. We Care Animal Rescue in St. Helena, California, will serve as the headquarters of the Jackson Galaxy Project, a new nonprofit designed to improve the lives of vulnerable cats while exploring a more compassionate approach to feline welfare.
Galaxy, best known for hosting Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell” from 2011 to 2020, will serve as chair of the center’s new board of directors. The Los Angeles resident, widely known to fans as the “Cat Daddy,” has spent decades helping people better understand feline behavior and the emotional needs behind it.
Today, Galaxy continues sharing cat-focused educational content with a large online audience, including viewers on YouTube. His new project, however, brings him back to the environment where his work with cats first took shape more than three decades ago.
“I began my career working with cats in animal shelters over three decades ago, so this feels like coming back to my roots,” Galaxy said in a news release.
Building a Shelter Around What Cats Need
The Jackson Galaxy Project aims to develop what Galaxy describes as a new model for cat welfare. Rather than focusing solely on providing food, medical care, and temporary housing, the approach will place greater attention on cats’ physical, emotional, and mental needs.
For cats entering shelters after abandonment, displacement, or other difficult circumstances, the environment around them can play an important role in how comfortable and secure they feel. Galaxy hopes the St. Helena location can demonstrate ways of caring for cats that recognize each animal as an individual with different personalities, boundaries, and needs.
“The site will allow us to innovate and model the future of cat welfare, which looks really different from the majority of today’s shelters,” Galaxy said.
He added that the Jackson Galaxy Project will advocate for cats wherever they happen to be, including those living in homes, shelters, and communities. The project will build upon a long history of animal care at We Care Animal Rescue. Located at 1345 Charter Oak Ave. in St. Helena, the organization has been helping animals since 1982.
One feature already makes the rescue distinctive. Its cats generally live without cages, allowing them to move around and interact more freely. Cats are separated when necessary for their health or for the well-being of another feline, but otherwise, the environment gives them more freedom to settle into their surroundings.
That philosophy fits naturally with Galaxy’s vision of creating spaces around feline needs and behavior. Instead of expecting every cat to respond to shelter life in the same way, the project intends to consider how surroundings can help individual cats feel safer and more comfortable.
The transition will not mean leaving the rescue’s existing work behind. Under its new leadership, the organization will continue its educational programs while expanding its mission through the Jackson Galaxy Project. Greater Good Charities, which has previously worked with Galaxy, also plans to continue collaborating with the organization.
“Jackson has always been about giving cats a voice, and we were lucky to partner on that work,” said Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities.
Baker said the project has an opportunity to demonstrate what animal sheltering can become when it is designed around the needs of cats themselves.
For Galaxy, the Napa Valley center represents both a new beginning and a return to familiar ground. Decades after beginning his career among shelter cats, he is returning with years of experience and a larger platform to help shape what their care could look like in the future.
For the cats who eventually find safety there, that vision could mean more than simply having somewhere to stay. It could mean entering an environment designed to recognize their fears, personalities, and need for security while giving them the time and space to feel comfortable again.
This content was created with AI assistance and edited by the iHeartCats team.