#also i just got a kitten who needs spaying

[rudeinterrupti0ns]

I will NEVER forgive my teeth for playing up for the first time in my thirties the MONTH before Taylor 'I've dropped 6 albums since my last tour' Swift announces her next tour. I can barely afford rent for dental work and now TOUR TAYLOR??!? NO! how could you

[ms-demeanor]

If you're new to me yelling about this: my neighbors feed a feral cat colony but provide no other care to the colony like neuter/spay or vaccination. They free feed the cats, which attracts skunks, and they have (at the moment) about 20 cats in the colony, which attracts coyotes.

My dog has been skunked twice, she can't be outside in our yard unsupervised for even a minute because otherwise she'll try to eat cat shit because there's cat shit everywhere in my yard because the neighbors also haven't provided litterboxes or a sandbox for their ferals (their entire yard is paved) and if she has to go outside at night I need to clear the yard for coyotes before I let her out even in the small fenced area by our bedroom.

Also there are fleas fucking *everywhere* and even though my dog is on medication to prevent fleas I need to de-flea her twice a week in the summer; this is the case for every dog owner on the street.

The street I live on has a speed limit of 25mph but I hear cats getting hit frequently, so frequently that we have a resident group of crows who hang out and wait for them to become roadkill.

I have a collection of photos on my phone that show kittens with broken legs, kittens with missing eyes, kittens with horrible ear mite infections, and I have a dedicated shovel that I use for moving cat corpses that show up on my property. The cats that die on my property die from abscessed wounds from fights with other cats, respiratory infections, renal failure, and injuries from being hit by cars.

My spouse is immune compromised, and while toxoplasmosis is not a serious risk for most people, it IS a serious risk for people who are immune compromised (as are all the other infections that cats can potentially carry), which means that it's unsafe for me to grow vegetables in my yard for us to eat and it's unsafe for him to work in the yard.

I'd love to maybe open my windows at night and keep down the electricity costs of using the AC, but I can't because the entire side of my house that faces my neighbor's yard reeks of cat shit and piss year round.

Those are my next door neighbors.

Last week I was walking my dog as a neighbor around the corner was pulling out of her garage; she paused and rolled down her window and pointed at the cats on her lawn and said "Head's up, my cats are weirdly aggressive about small dogs and they just got let out so they're full of energy right now" and I nodded and crossed the street and didn't yell at my neighbor but *the temptation was there* because A) why are you letting your aggressive animals roam and B) Why are you letting your cats shit all over the neighborhood and C) Why are you exposing your owned cats to the risks of the large and territorial feral colony that is a literal stone's throw away from your house?

Anyway, and as always, Keep Your Fucking Cats Indoors.

[hellenhighwater]

So, every animal shelter around me is heinously overloaded/understaffed and begging for fosters. I am considering applying to be one for a momma cat with kittens, but I don't know if I have enough space/time/energy to do so and don't know anyone I can ask IRL about the experience. Are you willing to go into detail about what exactly foster duty entails? Also, do the fosters coexist peacefully with Malice and Vice or do you need to keep them separated?

Fostering can be a relatively small time investment, or it can be a big one. Nearly every shelter hits capacity in the warm months, due to the overwhelming quantity of kittens.

I talked to my local shelter and explained that I don't have a ton of time to work with--I can't take neonatal kittens, or ones that need regular hand feeding, or basically anyone medically fragile. But I can take litters that are doing well, who just need time and space to grow big enough to hit the minimum weight to be spayed/neutered and adopted. On a daily basis, I swap out water, food, and clean litter, plus general tidying-up as needed. That takes maaaybe half an hour to an hour--most days I do it before work. Because most of my litters have moms, the moms do a lot of the work of feeding and cleaning the babies! They may need bathing sometimes, depending on how much of a mess they make. Beyond that, I try to spend time with them as much as I can--I'll go in and eat my meals with them, sit and do digital work, or watch movies while I do projects with them around. The goal is to socialize and handle them as much as you can.

Kittens generally litter train themselves, but accidents happen when they're little, so a space with easily cleaned floors is ideal. I start my fosters out in a jumbo sized dog crate, allowing for supervised time outside of that, and then eventually give them my whole den to run around in when they're old enough to be more independently mobile (basically when they're old enough to realize that losing sight of their mom does not mean they're lost forever, and can navigate the space on their own.) I do keep Mal and Vice out of the den when I have fosters, but there's a glass door so theycan see each other.

Most shelters with foster programs will supply everything you need for them in terms of food, meds, and litter--you just give them space and time. I got my own jumbo dog crate to use, and I pick up secondhand towels for cheap--that gives me something easy to wash for them to sleep on. If you're just getting started, a shelter can probably find you an "easy" litter to begin with. Not that there's ever a 100% guarantee, because kittens are fragile, but usually they can set up a litter that seems strong. At least for me, there's an urge to play the hero and take on too much--I have to be careful, and accept that I only have so much time to work with; I have to say no to some of the more tiny, delicate kittens, and leave them to be fostered by those who can handle them. Those people are awesome and I'm not one of them.

If you're setting up space for fosters, I'd choose a place that's easy to clean, that's not going to leave them vulnerable to being bothered by other animals or kids all the time (they sleep a lot), and which allows for you to spend time with them. You can keep your fosters in a large dog crate or other kennel--honestly, it's comparable to how the shelter would house them--or in a room you have set up to handle them, but I'd hesitate to give them complete free run of your place unless you live somewhere quite small. Kittens are fast, and you really don't want to lose one. I remove rugs and less durable furniture from their space as well, and sometimes will cover the couch in a thick blanket to reduce claw marks.

Overall, I think it's totally worth it. It's fun to get to have them through the baby days, and they have more individualized attention in a home than they would get at the shelter. It's worth trying! If it doesn't pan out--or if they start needing more attention than you can give--you can give them back, but in the meanwhile they have a more enjoyable home than a shelter.

[zooophagous]

do you ever worry that you might have, like... a pet hoarding problem? you're one single person with, what, 4 cats, 2 dogs that fight each other, and an undisclosed number of snakes, rabbits, rats/mice?, and birds. i'm not trying to diss on you and i don't mean this as an insult, but it's a genuine concern that worries me sometimes

No offense taken, it is kind of a lot from an outside perspective. And tbh, I did not need another cat. I went through a bit of a mental health crisis and got one to talk myself down from the edge, but that's not really a healthy coping mechanism lol. I don't regret getting another kitten, I love the kitten, the kitten will be well cared for, but it was probably a bit of a big thing to do on impulse like that.

Hoarding is however a pretty specific issue, and one I do not fit the criteria for objectively. You could make the argument that I use animals as a substitute for meaningful relationships with humans sure, but objectively no, this isn't a hoarded house.

It's a chaotic one at times, but every animal gets individual attention, individual training, one on one play time and regular veterinary care. They're also all spayed and neutered (except Tuunbaq who may be a breeding prospect in the future) including the two bunnies, and receive vaccines on a regular schedule.

Their homes are clean and I wouldn't hesitate to let a guest into my home at any point. I like to think I'm pretty fastidious.

As far as my dogs fighting goes, I am working with a professional dog trainer for both of them, and have narrowed it down to resource guarding specific toys and chews, so by making sure the dogs only receive those kinds of things in their crates we can avoid further issues. Tuunbaq is just sort of a pushy moron who wants everyone elses toy. He's still a baby. He just need patience and structure.

There are no longer any rats in the rodentry, haven't been for some time now. Just the mice, and I gave a large chunk of them away to another local friend and breeder to start her own mouse projects, so I don't really have a problem holding on and not letting go.

But if you have any questions on the critters I'm more than happy to answer them. I'll jabber away all day if you let me.

[theriu]

What advice do you have for someone who wishes to (eventually, as soon as she has both the space and the money) have a cat, but who has never had a pet before?

Oh goodness, I don’t feel like an expert but I will do my best! Here’s a few tips I can think of from my own experiences:

1) Decide how okay you are with shedding. Of my two cats, the long-haired one obviously sheds a lot more noticeably, and it can be a bit aggravating to find clumps of fur all over the carpet. Hard floors can make this less of a nuisance since you can sweep it up easily, but if you have a lot of carpet, I’d suggest a short-hair cat unless you just SUPER LOVE long-hairs. Of course, my cats were both strays so those kinds of considerations didn’t really factor in. 😅

2. Determine if you want a cat that is indoor/outdoor or indoor only. Now, there is a lot of argument against letting cats run free outdoors, but I used to live out on a farm right next to a trailer park full of stray cats, so a few more (all fixed) weren’t going to make much difference to the local wildlife. Once I moved into town, though, I rehomed my one cat I knew would be miserable being indoor-only, and the other two have adapted pretty well to being indoor cats. (They do try and sneak out the door sometimes, though.) I did this mainly because risks like being hit by cars or being mistaken for a stray and adopted by some well-meaning person are much higher in town. They are still risks elsewhere, though, so keep a collar on your cat, and consider getting it microchipped. Also, know that you will probably need to get the cat some extra shots, for diseases they can only get outside. Also also, make sure you spay/neuter! (The kitten issue aside, female cats are so WEIRD when they are in heat!)

For indoor cats, my house has stairs the cats can run up and down and they seem to stay in good shape, but just make sure they have some kind of ability to exercise if they can’t run much. Stimulating things like feeder dishes that make the cat work for its food can help mentally and with keeping them from overeating. (I got this neat feeding bowl that is actually a holder of five cups of varying sizes that get filled with food, and the cats have to paw it out of the cups. It’s really helped with how fast they were eating.)

3. Cats have very different personalities, so I think it’s good to try and figure out what a cat is like before adopting it. I kept all my cats because they were really friendly compared to other cats I had known. Of course, there is the issue where my two current cats don’t always get along, but they at least don’t get into full-on brawls. But if you don’t have any other pets when you get the cat, this should be easier - you only have to get it used to you! Cats don’t always show friendlieness by cuddling; a lot of times, they just want to be in the room with you. But if you’re looking for a cuddler, see if you can find one that isn’t too afraid of people and will come right up for petting. When introducing it to your home, give it plenty of space and time to get used to its new surroundings and roommate.

4. Remembering to feed and water and change the cat litter can be hard, especially if you have ADHD. >.> My solution on the water front has been to fill a large decorative bowl in the living room and the cats just drink off that. XD For the food, Stormy will always remind me when she thinks the food is low (this is generally a false alarm the first couple times, the drama queen). Make sure you clean the litter box frequently, or the cats may find other, less agreeable locations to go. 8/ (Such as, oh I don’t know, INSIDE THE DRYER ON MY CLEAN LAUNDRY) If your cat does pee somewhere, you want to get those pet cleaner sprays because they break down the stinky enzymes that make cat pee smell so bad for so LONG.

5. As mentioned, some cats are cuddlier than others, but here’s a few general tips on cat behavior: a slow blink is how they show they trust you. A cat rolling onto its back is also showing trust that you WON’T touch its vulnerable belly (but some cats do actually learn to love tummy rubs; you kinda have to figure that one out on a cat-by-cat basis). They often like being petted on the area over the hindquarters near the base of the tail, but they also have a lot of nerves there and can get overstimulated, so if a cat goes from letting you pet it to trying to bite your hand, it is probably telling you that petting needs to stop NOW because its nerves are going CRAZY. This can also involve some trial and error; my former cat Clyde still sometimes knee-jerk reacts to being petted, but my sister says he has never done it to her, so we think she just pets less firmly than I do. Meanwhile, Shuri has NEVER reacted poorly to petting, and in fact would love nothing more than for me to spend an hour petting her so hard that she squishes into the mattress.

6. Don’t waste money on fancy cat toys unless you have some indication your cat likes that kind of toy. (This may be different if you raise them with the fancy toys from kittenhood; mine were both strays and are Very Suspicous of anything fancy I get them.) Laser pointers are an INSTANT FAVORITE and only cost a few dollars! And a dangly thing on a string can usually get them excited. Cats will often prefer a plain cardboard box over a fancy catbed, but they like pillows and piles of clothes and chairs and couches and people beds. And sometimes the round puzzle you put together on top of your hope chest, because Borders Are Safe Zones.

7. GET SCRATCHING POSTS OR THEY WILL MAKE THEIR OWN. (They will probably make their own anyway; my couch is regretably covered in claw marks. But the scratching posts at least help slow the deterioration.) Fun Fact: Cats don’t use scratching posts to “sharpen” their claws, but rather to rub off the outer layers on their claws. If you trim your cat’s claws yourself, you may notice how the claws kind of flake off when clipped. Be very careful not to cut into the quick (the blood vessel) when trimming! If your cat strongly opposes this process, the vet can do it for you for a small fee, but I generally just wrap mine up in a towel and make them suffer the indignity. It’s cheaper for me and less stressful for them than a long car trip and a visit to the strange vet’s office would be. (And they always forgive me pretty immediately after I release them. I cannot speak for cats that may hold grudges.)

I’m sure I haven’t covered even a tenth of the useful info, but I hope these are helpful and that you find just the right cat buddy in the future! 😄

[kleefkruid]

How does the situation with the Rooftop Strays work? Like, do they hang out in your house sometimes, did you semi-adopt these cats? Just curiousity, your comics and pics are a delight

Yeah so the buildings of my block are squeezed together, and inside is a bit of leftover space that belongs to some of the huises, I'm talking in total smaller than the average garden outside the city. And there's a few second story balconies looking over it, like mine. And one of the patches of garden is neglected and overgrown. There is a bit of rooftop, like gray, flat, between the neglected garden + my neighbors garden and the two balconies above it.

When I started going on my balcony this thin, grey (grey as in dirty and dusty not naturally gray) would just sit on the rooftop 20 meters away and hiss at me. Everytime. It was a bit comical bc I never had a cat hiss at me so far of in the distance, but we soon figured out what was going on when someone, me or someone else moving my stuff I don't remember, spotted a kitten in the bushes below. She was basically going "Don't you dare think about it!!" While I didn't know what there was to think about.

This was Michelle, and the kitten is Kotelet. Michelle was clearly left behind by someone bc you can access (or leave) this middle part, and she had turned this space into her territory and I was. not welcome. However, she did welcome herself into my house when I was airing out the appartment and ate some kibble, desperate and hungry and feeding a kitten. And I let her do it and gave her some extra opportunities to do it. Eventually she met Oskar and Marcel, my actual kats, and she slapped at them but they're social and kinda stupid so they thought she was trying to play because nothing bad has happened to them ever. She also figured this out and just started treating them a bit like overgrown kittens, probably bc they're spayed and again kinda stupid and meow at other cats. So they become like a clique. The kitten still lives in the garden. I'm still not cool and not part of the gang no matter how much she sees the boys interacting with me.

A few weeks later, kitten becomes big enough, starts to climb on shit, immediately gets on the wall and falls off into the other garden. Now, my below neighbor has not moved in yet. So there is nothing to climb back out on and Michelle can't get to her. So I call my landlord asking if they're showing the apartment today and if not if it's ok I break in for a moment. They can't come so I got a ladder from neighbors by literally just asking at houses bc I didn't know anyone until this Maroccan family just gave theirs with mild amusement bc "I need to get a kitten out of a hole" is quite a sidequest. But I got there, got out the kitten (with much protest and yelling from the baby, who decided she was being eaten) while Michelle looked on, and when I got back on the roof I handed her her kitten back.

Since then, she actually started directly interacting with me so I guess I passed the commune check by getting her kid back to the nest, so to say? I don't know how much they rationalise that kind of stuff but there was a noticable change before and after. I brought food, took care of the kids (once) so I was allowed to not be hissed at any more.

After that it's all just slow socialising process, which I did for a bit at a shelter so it's a bit of a fun side project bc the shelter here is kinda shitty and weren't interested in taking them. So I'm slowely getting them used to everything, the newest thing is sitting inside with the door closed, they used to freak out when I tried doing that.

Michelle basically only needs to learn the litterbox so maybe Danny might take her when he gets a better set-up, we have a few loose options. Kotelet is more sifficult bc she's more feral and she refuses any cat food op untill this point. She literally gags when she smells it... which, same tbh. But she does make progress in other fields so I'll see how far I can get. She didn't start interacting with me until much more recent.

So yeah they're basically part time here, on the balcony or they wait by the door to be let in and hang out for a few hours. My entire childhood we always had about 3-4 cats that were ex strays so I'm kinda used to this happening. Cats will find you.

Anyways Michelle is white now and has a nice coat and kotelet is still fucking tiny bc you can't change that.

[anyroads]

So many things are hard and scary right now, and a lot of people who would get a puppy or a kitten to make their everyday life a little better can't afford to. In fact, a lot of people did do this, during covid lockdowns. And a lot of them not only dumped those pets at a shelter or got rid of them irresponsibly as soon as they went back to work, they also didn't bother to get them spayed and neutered.

As a result, a lot of shelters are still overrun with dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens who are desperate for homes. But not everyone can afford to adopt them, and that's understandable!

Something that also helps massively, though, is fostering! It frees up shelter space for animals who have health problems and need supervision, and it helps socialize animals and lets them have space to play and love instead of just a kennel while they wait to get adopted. Shelters will provide you with food, vet care, and litter for cats (as well as animal beds, litter boxes, etc.) while you're taking care of their animals. In short, they'll cover all the costs of having a pet, while you get to enjoy the fun parts like playing and cuddling with them!

So if you want a pet but can't afford one, you can foster! I know it can seem hard to have to say goodbye to a foster, but they're going to good homes where they'll be loved. You usually get to meet the people adopting them because they'll come meet the animals as part of their adoption process. I like to tell them that the one hard thing about being a foster (we foster kittens and cats) is the moment when they get put in a carrier and taken away, because they look so scared and confused and rejected, and that what helps hugely is to see how they get on in their new home. Some adopters have added me on instagram so I can keep track of our foster without them having to think about it, others send occasional photos, especially in the first weeks. My memories of all these kittens aren't of when they were taken away, but of how happy and loved they are now. It's a really wonderful feeling knowing that I had a part in an animal finding a home, and a family finding their pet.

I can't encourage everyone enough to look up their local animal shelter and talk to them about fostering! If you’re planning to get a pet, please adopt, don’t buy! And for the love of pete spay and neuter your pets!

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Kittens have been microchipped!

Madia and Farid, the babies from my Bengal rescue adventure that we kept, have been microchipped, since we take them outside sometimes (Farid on a harness and leash and Madia in a pet transport backpack).

They also had a well check. Farid weighs ten pounds and my tiny little Madia somehow weighs EIGHT?! Peanut is PACKING on the pounds these days, I remember when she weighed less than eight OUNCES.

Anyway, here's some pictures from their adventure today:

Bengal kittens do not cower, they EXPLORE the vet exam room!

Okay, a little cowering MIGHT be in order...

Nope, back to exploring.

And then, after their exams/chips:

We are ready to go home now. Look at us, all packed and ready. Take us home, mama.

And don't worry, my anxious peanut doesn't hate me, we snuggled like this for a while once we got home. And now...

She's curled up at my feet like this and keeps looking up at me when she hears a noise like 'is there danger, mama?' and when I tell her it's okay she snuggles back up like 'okay, I sleep then.' I love her so much 😭

Madia does have one health concern but it is not urgent or life-threatening. She has what's called an "umbilical hernia", where for some reason the spot where her umbilical cord attached didn't heal up right and there's a weird bump there now. Normally it would have been fixed when she was spayed, but since we had 14 cats who needed spayed and neutered and we took them to clinics instead of an actual vet's office it didn't happen. But the vet says as long as it stays squishy and doesn't cause her any discomfort it should be fine! If we ever need to we'll get it fixed, but for now she has a clean bill of health. 😸💜 (We knew Farid was healthy, the exam was just required for the microchip xD)

[strongheartneteyam]

An update of my chaotic life/an explanation to all my moots, readers and followers who interact with me 🤍

TW: family issues

Things are real tough with my parents right now. We had a big fight, horrible one, but, after some time everybody apologized (but not my mother. it's rare that she says "sorry" for anything) and now things are more peaceful but the air is still heavy, y'know? So that's one of the main reasons why I've been MIA lately, why I haven't been answering your messages and asks, but, God, I still love you all LIKE CRAZY, so, so much (for real) and I have, like, the next 4 Chapters (or more. not sure) of Realize where you belong saved. They're almost ready, I just have to write a few more things and edit them and they will be ready to be posted! ♡ even though this one is by far the darkest, most raw fanfic I've ever written (so hard to put reader and Neteyam through so much but I PROMISE it will all make sense and be worth it in the end!), it's been such a great experience and a bit of a challenge to write this story, for so many reasons, which is wonderful. And I'm also so happy with the fact that this is my most "famous" (I don't like using this word. Gives me the ick) fanfiction so far and I DID NOT anticipate this AT ALL! It's amazing 🥲🥰 Sorry for being so inactive and taking long to answer y'all (and not being able to answer everyone 🥺), my life is really hard rn. Today my kitten is going to be spayed and she will spend the night at the clinic and me and my bf are really worried about her (she's our lil daughter 🐈‍⬛🥺) and I'll have to take care of her post surgery healing process almost all by myself for the next weeks (my bf works until late at night) so... I've got a lot on my plate rn. I really need to focus on taking care of myself, of my loved ones and on surviving and thriving through it all. It'd be lovely if you guys would leave me some nice comments in this post. Your kind words always make me feel better. Thank y'all for everything and wish y'all only the very best 🙏🏻 💖 kiss kiss 💋 💌

[queervegancryptid]

when you accidentally end up with a special needs kitty and their special needs attribute is that they never learned to properly cat

this little shit is the most affectionate little kitty i ever met, ever since we earned her trust. it took a while, but once we got her flea problem under control, she was just so grateful for the relief, and she knew it was our doing somehow, so she decided we were her people and that was that.

she's also low-key fascinating in terms of what she does and doesn't do. i think maybe she was rejected as a kitten or couldn't latch, or maybe she was the runt of her litter. something happened to her that kept her from learning to be a cat, or that seems like the most likely explanation.

she was outside for who knows how long, and she knows what other cats are and may want to be their friend. we plan on getting a kitten at some point because we think it will be good for her. but the fact is, we don't know anything about her or why she's the way she is. she was probably supposed to be bigger; her growth was probably stunted, maybe because she got separated from her mom too early or was otherwise not able to get enough to eat at that point. at least she's spayed so we don't have to worry about that.

she also has a sensitive tummy. she doesn't scratch the furniture, which is good, but she doesn't scratch anything and so her claws are super sharp. so when she got fleas a little while back, she was scratching herself so much with those sharp claws that she was hurting herself. it's interesting to me as a phenomenon, as a scientific thing, but mostly i just want my little girl to be happy and healthy, and there's a bit of a learning curve on both sides, i suppose.

[aemiron-main]

yooo fostering cats is such a great hobbie that's so cool!! how did you get into that i always wondered how that works in the US, does it work via working with a shelter or are there other ways? (but also great long term planning for your evil villain ways 👏👏👏 now you already have an excess supply of cats you can pull in your lap and pet while evilly scheming how to terrorize tumblr. fantastic organizing on your part, now you only need to rent a villain layer with a shark tank or something for the complete package)

AAAAAAA HELLO THANK YOU!!! <33333333333

I got into it by growing up on a farm/living rurally my whole life & having rural neighbours/being involved in those communities and unfortunately a LOT of farm people see cats as disposable/are very very lax about cat safety and survival and health and don’t spay or neuter etc, so over time as a kid/teen I just got a reputation for being The Guy You Can Bring Unwanted Cats/Kittens To Without Questions Asked because a lot of shelters etc won’t come out and catch feral cats, but I’m happy to go to peoples’ places and catch them (i should become like. a cat whisperer or smthn) and a lot of shelters also will NOT accept newborn kittens since they don’t have the resources to care for them as frequently as the kittens need, whereas I will care for newborn kittens. Shelters where I live are also turning animals away frequently because they’re sadly too full, so instead of spending hours trying to find a shelter with room, people will just ask me!

So yeah, people usually give me a call when they’ve got kittens/cats they can’t care for & either drop them off or I go pick them up!

And I’m actually Canadian, so I’m not sure how it works in the US, but I’m also not fully sure how working with a shelter works in Canada, as I just do things more informally! :DD As wonderful as I’m sure it is working with a shelter/I’d encourage people to do so, I’ve found that I’m most helpful to the animals by just doing things on my own, as a lot of rural folks around here will just leave the animals to die if the choice is between “take them to a shelter which is going to be a fairly long drive to the nearest city” or “turn a blind eye and claim it’s nature taking its course” but when they have the third option of “call that one cat dude who lives down the road and who will happily take them off your hands,” more kitties tend to get helped!

AND HEBFNFFN HELP YES IT IS GREAT LONG TERM VILLAIN PLANNING FOR MY EVIL WAYS HEHEHEHE <<333 im scheming, im plotting, i’m raining hellfire upon byler tumblr via my kitten minions and their paws of fury….. and oh my god YOURE SO RIGHT I NEED A VILLAIN LAIR AND A SHARK TANK YESSS…. Maybe i can just put little shark costumes on the kitties….

[starjxsung]

dear darling star <3 how are you?

i hope im not bothering you with this message

it’s been a while now and tumblr just doesn’t feel the same without you </3

i hope you’re doing good (both physically and emotionally)

i’ve been out of order lately because my life has been super hectic, so here’s the rundown till now:

i passed the semester with equal parts a’s and b’s (ngl the b’a hurt a bit bc it’s the first time in like 6 years i’ve gotten a b in a class😪 but im just glad that i made it)

my uni friends and i went out drinking to celebrate the semester being over( there were a lot of college students and we felt old af). we got so drunk that it was so weird for me but it was so fun to let loose for the first time in a loooooong time.

we just finished booking everything we needed for lolla and im a bit more excited now.

i’ve also been watching kdramas now (?!?) and im kinda addicted

bittersweet news:

i’ve also been a lot more proactive in donating to help palestine (i still donated monthly b4 but i’ve tried chip in a bit more lately, considering what’s been happening in rafah)

for the not so good news:

two stray cats that we haven’t been able to spay yet gave birth so there’s that. i love kittens, they’re the cutest but i always get so stressed at socializing them and/or finding homes for them because people are irresponsible af with their pets here but i can’t keep taking cats in without my cats and my other financial responsibilities being affected </3 i’ve been kinda guilty for the trip too bc of the money we’ve spent

my dad found a premature newborn kitten and it sadly passed away too </3

and, finally, i’m taking my masters’ comprehensive tests in two weeks and im terrified of failing them (i’ll update when i get the results so 🤞🏻).

i hope you’re doing well, what have you been up to? i hope you’re taking good care of yourself💜

(adding some life pictures too, look at the babies, look at my mom’s big ass piece of pizza and of course, i hope you still drink your iced coffee consistently <3)

i wish you the absolute best, always <3

sending you love wherever your are, whenever you are✨

sincerely,

🐈‍⬛

My love!!!!!! The love of my actual life. I was just thinking of you because skz posted they would be doing that little kitten interview thing (they did it for us and us only ‼️‼️) I’m so excited we get to see Jisung with kittens 😌

you’re NEVERRRR a bother with your messages. They’re absolutely the best part of all my days and I’ve been thinking of you so often while on my little break from the internet. First I am SO glad to hear you finished with a’s and b’s????? You should be so proud of yourself my love!!!!!! And you went out to celebrate, I hope you had the most fun everrrrrr 🥹🫶

my sister and I just got our lolla wristbands in the mail and it’s all starting to feel so real. I’m excited but also nervous??? As fuck??????? And I still have 2 Ateez shows before then I’ve done absolutely nothing to prepare for 🥲 it’s crunch time when I get back home frfr

also pls send all the kdrama recs as soon as physically possible !!!!!!

I’m so glad to hear you’re able to donate and be of help 🫶 I’ve been continuing to donate to save the children and participating in active boycotts. Tuning into the news every day is just so fucking heartbreaking. I’m so proud of everyone on here doing what they can and donating ❤️🍉 I love you so much

Also FEEL YOU on the kitten thing…. kittens are so so so much work and they stress me out so bad. One of my neighbors at my parents’ house once left behind their cat who gave birth in our shed and we has to care for the last kitten who survived (super tiny little premature baby) and even though we rushed her to the vet and watched after her for a few days, she passed 💔 that was the moment that I remember being like….. kittens are just so much more fragile than people think and difficult to care for. You did the best that you could :( thank you for being there for them regardless.

Also how did the comprehensive test go? (If you already took it) I hope you did so so amazing my love!!!!!!!!

I love you endlessly and I’m thinking of you always. Momo and I are rooting for you (even though she’s with my dad rn) and we hope you’re taking good care of yourself. All my love to you, always always always 💓💞💫🫶 I’ll be back properly very soon and in the meanwhile I’m sending you all my love from the middle of nowhere ! I hope it reaches you

[littlehen]

life stuff update. writing this in the middle of the night and I’m buzzing, so if I do this braindump then I might be able to sleep :)

we are definitely adopting both the mum-cat and the kitten!!

the fosterer is provisionally calling the kitten 'Sienna', which is a beautiful name but a bit posh for a cat, I’m not sure I could live with it for ~15 years, so we've decided to call her Susie (I said we could call them Siena and Florence, I wasn’t serious but that would be so cute) After arguing with Dad for weeks about what to call the mum-cat, I was happy to go with his first suggestion for the kitten. It’s a sweet name and it suits her, let’s go

Dad suddenly announced that he doesn't mind the name Phoebe for the mum-cat, but he just doesn't ‘have any associations with it. Isn't it a rather sloaney name?' I said, most people probably associate it with Phoebe from Friends, although that's not why I like it, I just think it's pretty. He said, 'oh I've never seen that.' Possibly the only human on planet Earth who missed out on Friends. So I thought amazing, we decided on something. Then later in the day he said he wants to call her Mimi (Susie = Marriage of Figaro, Mimi = La bohème). I despair

(I wonder if he'd go for Midge? as in Midge Maisel and Susie. Probably not. He reckons Mimi would be easy for a 1yo cat to learn because she could almost say it herself)

but we need to decide by Tuesday next week, as they're all getting microchipped and mum-cat is being spayed. After she has recovered, she's free to come and live with us. I am not ready at all! where are they going to sleep and eat and what’s the litter tray situation? I've known this new cat was coming for so long and now the time is almost here! but I can never do anything before the eve of a deadline. The kitten changes everything of course. We’ll figure it out

I am applying for a new job, the application is very involved and taking a long time. I’ve already had one meeting with the boss and I think I'm in with quite a good chance. I'm not 100% sure I even want it, but I am dead certain I want to quit my current job

On the digital form I have to include all my work and education history since age 16, it calculates gaps and you have to account for them all (‘August 2003: this was the summer break between school and university’). It’s hard trying to remember the dates of everything I’ve ever done. Years ago, I read the advice that after you have a degree, you should take your school qualifications off your CV because it’s irrelevant and gauche – once you’re a professional in the workforce nobody cares that you got A* at GCSE Drama 20 years ago. So I haven’t had a list of them written down anywhere since 2007. ugh, I’ll include info from my A-levels up to my MA and they can just assume I got decent GCSEs. Even if I don’t get this job, at least it will have been quite useful for the future to have done this detailed exercise in autobiography

I'm also excited about new Ghosts and new OFMD, but I don’t have time to be on tumblr for all of it. I need to focus on this application because there’s a submission deadline, and the OFMD trailer is out soon (!!!), but I can’t be like ‘oops I missed out on a career opportunity because a tv show aired a trailer and I was busy reblogging gifs’ so I need to not get totally distracted by the dopamine tsunami that’s coming

Sleep?

[mariposavuela]

Satan is trying his best to rattle me and Jesus is like okay not today + also have you seen that beautiful rainbow in the sky this morning? Everything is okay. I love you, mariposavuela. I am with you always.

I tried to adopt a cat in December. It was a tiny three month old kitten. She was adorable. She had a gorgeous spotted belly. The first day with her was sweet, but then at night I struggled. She wanted to be with me always, always playing, always climbing on me. I got her nails trimmed, I bought toys that she could play with herself when I needed to work, and when the night time rowdiness got too bad, I put her in her kennel, to start to associate night time with stillness.

She was such a good kitten. She was so sweet and playful and trainable. I got her a scratching board and she was picking it up right away. She knew how to use the litterbox immediately. I knew it would get easier. I knew I would bond with her the longer I had her.

I just couldn't keep waiting. I felt so restless, so on edge whenever I went home. Everything turned into obligation. I played with her because it was good for her, not because I wanted to. I tried to feel a spark of delight in my heart when she jumped on my bed, but all I felt was anxiety, claustrophobia. I didn't blame her for biting me, for scratching me, because that's what kittens do. But I still hated the feeling. I didn't want to be hurt. I didn't want to get scarred up.

I felt like I was trying to prove how tough I was, how responsible I was, with this kitten. I was scared if I rehomed her, then it would be failure. I was scared if I gave her up, then I was being selfish. I was scared if I didn't love playing with her, then I was stingy. I was scared that I needed to keep her to prove I wasn't sinful.

But it was too much. It was too much. I struggled to adjust to the new routine, of cleaning the litterbox and giving her playtime. I struggled to adjust to the new responsibilities, the vet, the spaying, the vaccines, the nail-trimming. I struggled to adjust to the concept that my future would be bound - that I would have to care for this creature for the next 18 years, when I already struggled to care for myself. It was hard for me to cook, to go running, to do the new tasks I'd committed to for myself, while I had another small creature to care for, who demanded my attention always.

My friend helped me rehome her. The kitten's with a happy lesbian couple in a rural town, which I think is honestly the best place a kitten could be. My friend told me it just wasn't the right time, and that's okay.

Still, the night before I relinquished her, I sobbed my eyes out. I couldn't stop crying. I felt like a failure. I felt selfish. I felt evil. I felt stupid. I felt irresponsible. I felt like I wasn't loving.

It was one of those times of prayer where Jesus swooped in physical, where it felt like he was literally sitting on the couch next to me. He held my hand and said my name, and told me to look. I was loving. I took this kitten in and did my best for it, even when it wasn't fun, because I knew it was the right thing to do. I was generous - even when I wasn't sure if I was keeping the kitten, I still bought her a tunnel, a scratching board, new toys, because I wanted her to have fun while I was at school. I was caring, I was kind, I was compassionate - this whole time, even when I was uncomfortable, I knew this baby kitten was dependent on me, and I knew I had to provide for her, because I wanted her to be happy and healthy.

I struggle with a question of love, if it's love if it's in action, if it's out of responsibility, instead of emotion. I think the desire to feel that feeling might be enough, in the widow's two coins - if all you have is a heart that wants to love, that's enough to crack it open.

I hope it's enough. I hope God sees my attempts. I think even if I failed the task, I didn't fail the test.

[ahelpfulpeach]

cat introduction (and reintroduction(and re-reintroduction...)) help???

SO I'm throwing out some feelers here because my partner (Jay) and I are a little... at a loss. This is gonna be long in order to explain everything under the cut, but the tl;dr is:

We have 4 cats(all spayed/neutered): Thomas(M almost 7), Corvo(M 5.5), Juno(F almost 3), and Jester (F 1.5)

Thomas and Corvo were living with me (and for a few months, my dad, while Jay and I got a new apartment where everyone would fit), Juno and Jester were living with Jay

We moved everyone in together into the new apartment just before Halloween 2022

Introductions were going fairly smoothly (doing the whole quarantine and slowly edging up to hanging out together thing over a couple weeks), but Corvo needed to be shaved because he was very matted

Thomas had BAD nonrecognition aggression which we think triggered fear with the girls.

He has since gotten back to normal with Corvo, but continues to be fearful of the girls despite reintroducing everyone

We've already tried/are already trying: Feliway, Gabapentin (prescribed by vet), vet visit, door feeding, treats together, playing together, fun things that only happen when they're together, brushing them with the same brushes, using Corvo as a scent conduit, swapping rooms, catnip, endless interactive toys, puzzle treat toys, so many litter boxes and water bowls and hidey-holes and cat towers and pathways, etc etc etc

So. Help?

Details under the cut

Okay so, the longer version with anything I can possibly think of that might be useful.

Thomas and Corvo:

I got Thomas in college in mid 2016 as a kitten. He lived with me, my roommates, and one of my roommate's cats (Toni, 2ish year old male). He had no issues with any of this. He also had to spend breaks with either my family and my childhood cat (Angel, older female) and dog (Taylor, older female), or my roommate's family and HIS childhood cat (Pablo, older male).

I got Corvo after moving in late 2017, also as a kitten, and he and Thomas were introduced well and got along just fine. Again, they had to spend some breaks at my family's home and spent some time with Angel and Taylor. No real issues beyond some discomfort of being moved around and having to deal with new places.

Moved again 2018 and my new roomie had a dog and a cat (Male, roughly their age?). No real issues with either.

Another move in 2019, no new animals.

Another move to live with my dad 2020-2022. Taylor and Angel were back in the picture. I lived with them full time through 2020, then spent a lot of my time going between my dad's home and Jay's (who lived in another state) up until I moved in with her full time in April/May of 2022

Basically all this to say that both Thomas and Corvo have moved several times and had to be introduced to new people, new cats, and new animals in general over and over and have always been able to handle it with minimal issues. Corvo was always a little more willing to buddy up with other critters, but Thomas was never fearful or aggressive. Generally just acknowledged their existence.

Thomas has in the past had some issues with non-recognition aggression after vet visits for him and Corvo, but it never lasted more than a few hours.

Thomas has always shown a little more anxiety about changes, but again, nothing so bad as right now. That said, he's settled into the apartment itself fine at this point. He's confident and curious and wants to be with people... so long as the girls are not involved.

Juno and Jester:

Jay got Juno back at the end of 2020, when she was about 8 months old.

Aside from coming to her parents' for Xmas and being in the general proximity of her childhood cat(Female, scaredy cat) and dog (male, 3ish?), Juno didn't interact with other animals until we got Jester in summer of 2021

Juno took a little while to get adjusted to Jester, but the two of them are now wonderfully bonded.

Juno had an autoimmune issue that caused us to have to remove all of her teeth in early/mid October of 2022. Not exactly ideal timing, as we had already planned a move for later that month.

Both of

The initial situation:

We got a new apartment to move into at the end of October 2022. Two bedrooms so we could handle quarantining the cats better. Ahead of time we put in Feliway spray and diffusers for a solid week.

I had to drive Thomas and Corvo down from my dad's home for a full day, but the cats were essentially introduced to the new environment at the same time. There were more objects with the girls' scents on them as most of the furniture was Jay's, but I brought all the boy's beds and towers and scratchers and toys to get their scent in the new place too.

Everyone got set up with their home bases and we got to work introducing everyone. Feeding on opposite sides of the doors, more Feliway, swapping objects, swapping rooms, rubbing everyone with a towel and brushes to get scents mixed, sniffing and playing under the doors or through cracked doorways, etc. Slowly ramping things up

Juno was the most grumpy about the situation at first, which is more or less what we expected, given that she'd just had surgery and had had the most time as a single cat. She was standoffish and hissy and slappy, but would still exist in the room with everyone. Everyone else seemed to have gotten to the point of acceptance with one another.

The Haircut and Reintroduction:

As mentioned, Corvo needed his mats shaved out because my father is old and did not keep up with his grooming. This wound up happening mid November 2022.

We knew to expect some issues with everyone not recognizing him at first, since he'd smell weird and look weird, but by golly the poor little guy was OSTRACIZED.

Thomas reacted the most violently, chasing him down and attacking him upon first seeing him, and not wanting to be anywhere near him. The girls were less upset but still untrusting.

However, at this same time, Juno decided she was done playing hard-to-get with Thomas, and wanted to be buddies. Thomas, who was already freaked out, did not like this, and responded with hissing, slapping, and running away.

While we were busy reintroducing Corvo to the crew, the girls (and later Corvo once he was interacting in person again) decided Thomas' running away was just a great game and continuously chased him. Everyone seemed pretty into the idea of chasing Thomas every time he made an appearance, which did not help his fear.

Despite our best efforts, no amount of playing everyone out ahead of being together seemed to really detract from their interest in chasing him. At least the girls and Corvo were getting along once again.

Finally though, we got to a point where Thomas and Corvo could be together and play and chase each other like normal. This took pretty much the entire rest of November and into December, however.

Re-re-introduction (ongoing):

So, that brings us to the status quo we've been living in since early December.

We completely separated Thomas and the girls again in late November to restart the introduction process. Door feeding, swapping rooms, etc. Corvo is able to be out and about all the time because he's the only valid child he gets along with everyone.

The only times the girls and Thomas are together are during entirely supervised and guided play times. We have to be very involved to keep the girls from trying to pounce on Thomas. Any time that that has happened, Thomas has gotten very upset and run away and hidden.

We can't really feed them together because the boys eat slowly and the girls are gluttons who inhale their food instantly.

But yes we have multiple daily play times together with every distraction we can think of.

Yes we have Feliway. No, I have no idea if it's doing anything.

Outside of those interactions, we have either the girls or Thomas out in the main area of the apartment with us and Corvo, and the other in the bedroom or office.

In December both Jay and I were sick for most of the month, so unfortunately we were not as consistent with our playtimes with the cats during that month.

Also in December we got Thomas over to our vet to be checked out. He got a clean bill of health and a prescription of Gabapentin to chill him out.

The gabapentin helps (he's able to exist in the girls' proximity and even play with toys or approach them to sniff them), but he's still clearly uncomfortable. Even while drugged, he hides at the slightest provocation, hisses and slaps at the girls when the approach him (usually), or walk past him, or move slightly too close to him, or react to him sticking his entire nose in their anus. You get it.

So at this point, a solid month and a half into our more intensive re-introduction and two and a half months into the reintroduction at all, and 3 and half months into them all living together, we're... struggling. It seems like we've hit a plateau with what we can accomplish. We can't have the cats out together without strict supervision, which is taxing on us, because the girls want to pounce on Thomas, and Thomas is still reacting to their general EXISTENCE with fear. He's not at a point where he could tolerate them trying to play with him like that, and we don't want what minor progress we've been able to make taken away.

That said, we're pretty sure the more realistic thing is to desensitize Thomas to the girls than to try to get the girls to ignore him completely. But we just. Don't know how to do that, as what we've already been doing doesn't seem to be creating any more progress.

We have Feliway dispensers in every single room in the multicat flavor. I want to emphasize we live in a two bedroom apartment. This is MORE than enough for coverage.

We have cat trees in every room. And scratchers. And hidey holes. And beds. And water bowls. And toys. And windows. And litter boxes. There is no shortage of resources for these guys. And we've done our best to create multiple pathways for everyone wherever we can. It's not always possible, there's not always room, but we try.

We have specific meal times. We can't feed them together because the girls will finish first and try to eat the boys' food cuz they are empty pits, but everyone is fed at the same time and they eat on opposite sides of the doors.

We play with them all together at least twice a day for at least 20 minutes or so a pop, which is sometimes all we can manage since we both work full time and it's a two person job to handle all four at once. We can't get them out together while we're both gone, it's just not possible, and we also need time to do the other general household things we need to do and REST.

I dunno. We're just at a bit of a loss. Please feel free to reply or message with any questions, I know this is a jumbled mess.

[anonofseasons]

Seasons: the cats

Meringue and Pudding are both white cats, but Meringue has fluffy white fur that's got a little bit of orange/tan around the ears that makes her look all toasted. Pudding has medium-length fur. They're also both fixed, and they're a year apart. Unrelated to one another as well. Sophie adopted them at separate times. She has not yet paused their ages but has considered doing it soon. They are currently 4 and 3 years old. Meringue was 6 months old when Sophie adopted her, but Pudding was a kitten when he came into the household. She's been trying to talk Rhett into a third one, but he's reluctant due to the size of their house and their whole trying-to-be-parents thing. (He doesn't think they need to overlap new kitten responsibilities with human baby responsibilities.) Moo is a tortoiseshell, and she was not fixed until the last few decades. Back before they had procedures to neuter/spay, Phineas just paused her while she wasn't in heat. This was especially important because one of his two cats he had at the time he brought her home was male. She was an adult when she was rescued by Phineas (at the urging of Cole and Daz, who found her first). Her physical age is unknown. Ulysses is much younger (not even a century old) and is a grayish tabby who has been fixed since he was a kitty. He's just a young cat that needed some medical care after being born on a farm, and Phineas found him wandering when he was just a little four-month-old thing. All the cats are indoors, although Phineas had tons of trouble keeping the male cat he had long ago inside and he successfully escaped a couple of times. (I don't know the names of the two cats he had before, haven't come up with them.)