7 min read
Share This Review
Our review
Total Cat Mojo
Total Cat Mojo by Jackson Galaxy Review: A Comprehensive Feline Behavior Guide
Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat is Jackson Galaxy's most comprehensive cat behavior and care guide, built around the central concept of "Cat Mojo" — the confidence cats exhibit when at ease in their environment and connected to their natural instincts. Published by TarcherPerigee in 2017, it spans everything from kitten socialization and territory management to senior cat care, grooming, nutrition, and vet visits, all framed through Galaxy's signature behavioral philosophy developed on the hit Animal Planet series My Cat from Hell. This review is based on the book's contents and published sources, not hands-on use.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Cat owners at any experience level — from first-time kitten adopters to multi-cat household managers — who want a single, cohesive lifecycle reference built around a clearly articulated behavioral philosophy rather than a collection of isolated tips.
Worth it if
You're willing to engage with Galaxy's 'Cat Mojo' framework as a whole system, letting the underlying philosophy reshape how you understand your cat's behavior rather than simply dipping in for quick fixes.
Skip if
You want a fast, no-frills troubleshooting manual or prefer a strictly clinical, academic presentation of animal behavior science — Galaxy's personality-forward voice and immersive philosophical scaffolding will likely feel like more than you need.
Where reviewers agree and split
Readers rate it 4.7 on Amazon. The reviews we read that discuss it in depth agree:
- Positive
Apollo Fluffy Cat · Book blog: comprehensive and helpful guide for understanding cats (from its headline)
- Positive
Fully Feline · Book blog: great resource with useful information for cat guardians (from its headline)
- Positive
Sandpiper Cat · Book blog: perfect must-have cat care guide with gorgeous illustrations (from its headline)
What readers & critics say
Review sites consistently praise the book's scope and utility: fullyfeline.com calls it "a great resource, chock full of very useful information" and recommends it for any cat guardian whether new or experienced, while sandpipercat.com describes it as "a must have cat care bible" and highlights its gorgeous illustrations as a standout feature. A reader voice captured on jacksongalaxy.com specifically notes that the mix of colorful metaphors, pop culture references, and humorous anecdotes made the book so enjoyable they deliberately slowed down to avoid finishing it.
Sources: fullyfeline.com, sandpipercat.com, jacksongalaxy.com, apollofluffycat.comAsk LuvemBooks
Was this helpful?
- Is it worth reading?
- For cat owners who want to understand the why behind their cat's behavior — not just get a quick fix — Total Cat Mojo is a strong and cohesive resource. Its unified Mojo framework connects practical advice to consistent underlying logic, and its breadth (covering territory, catification, introductions, nutrition, grooming, play, and veterinary care across a cat's full lifecycle) makes it a durable reference rather than a single-issue guide. Reader feedback noted on Galaxy's own site suggests the accessible, personality-driven voice — built on colorful metaphors, pop culture references, and humorous anecdotes — makes the content engaging rather than dry. Readers seeking a strictly clinical or academic animal behavior reference, or a lean quick-lookup troubleshooting manual, may find it less immediately suited to their needs.
- Similar books
- Readers drawn to Total Cat Mojo will find several strong companions in the catalogue. Galaxy's own Catification (co-authored with Kate Benjamin) drills down specifically into designing cat-friendly home environments, making it a natural next read for anyone inspired by the catification chapters here. For alternative takes on feline behavior, John Bradshaw's Cat Sense approaches the subject from a more scientific angle, while Mieshelle Nagelschneider's The Cat Whisperer and Arden Moore's The Cat Behavior Answer Book offer practical behavior-focused frameworks. Readers interested in broadening their understanding of the human–animal bond beyond cats may also appreciate Patricia B. McConnell's The Other End of the Leash.
- Who should read this?
- Total Cat Mojo is written for cat owners at every stage — from those welcoming their first kitten to those managing multi-cat households or navigating the needs of aging cats. It's particularly well-suited to fans of Galaxy's Animal Planet series My Cat from Hell who want a written, fully elaborated version of his methodology, as well as to owners who have found themselves frustrated by behavioral problems and want a framework for understanding the root causes rather than just patching symptoms. Readers willing to engage with Galaxy's Mojo conceptual vocabulary — rather than those seeking a neutral clinical encyclopedia — will get the most out of it.
- About Jackson Galaxy
- The verified author bio provided for this title does not correspond to Jackson Galaxy — the bio on file describes Leigh Bardugo and Ninth House. LuvemBooks is unable to surface a confirmed author bio for Jackson Galaxy at this time.
- Where should I start with Jackson Galaxy?
- For readers new to Jackson Galaxy's work, Total Cat Mojo is the recommended entry point — it's his most comprehensive guide and lays out the full Mojo behavioral philosophy from the ground up, making it the written equivalent of his Animal Planet series My Cat from Hell. Once that framework is established, Catification (co-authored with Kate Benjamin) is a natural follow-up, applying the same philosophy specifically to the physical design of a cat-friendly home. Fans of the show who want the complete methodology in one place will find Total Cat Mojo the most complete single resource.
- What's the core behavioral philosophy?
- Galaxy's central argument is that cats exhibiting problematic behavior — litter box avoidance, aggression, destructive behavior — are not "bad cats" but cats whose confidence has been disrupted by an inadequate environment or a lack of understanding. The reframe, from "bad cat" to "cat lacking the right environment," is the lens through which every topic in the guide is examined. Restoring Cat Mojo — the confidence that comes from being in touch with the natural instinct cycle of hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep — is positioned as the solution to behavioral problems at their root rather than their surface.
Summarize this book
Follow up
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
What would you like to know about Total Cat Mojo?
Answers come from our editorial notes on this book. If we haven't covered something, we'll say so.
Readers often ask
Our Review
We review the evidence: published critics, reader verdicts and BookTube reviews, gathered and weighed with AI assistance and edited by LuvemBooks, rather than one reader's first-hand take.
What the Book Is and What It Argues
Galaxy's Authority and the Show's Reach
Scope and Coverage
Voice and Accessibility
Who This Book Is For
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
- 3
sandpipercat.com
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
coveredincathair.com
- 11
Age & Reading Level
Our age band
Adult
Our age band groups books for browsing; it isn't an age a review gave.
Reader reviews
Be one of the first readers to answer.
Read it? Was it right for you?
Books like Total Cat Mojo
Curated picks for readers who enjoyed Total Cat Mojo, with our reasoning for each match.
If you liked Total Cat Mojo
