#and my cat has a vet visit next week

[springrls]

I hate being tired all the time and then being broke all the time and being tired all the time makes it so I can't stop being broke

[striders]

help needed

a couple of weeks ago our refrigerator broke and we lost all of the food inside. we are still really badly struggling in the aftermath of this. we already had some help paying for the repair of the fridge and groceries at the time, but we haven’t been able to get ahead again and our freezer is quite literally devoid of anything but ice.

we have exhausted all of our emergency savings in the past couple of months because our car needed urgent repairs and it still needs more that we won’t be able to afford until tax season. money was tight this week because we just had to pay $150 for a vet visit for the cats too, which was basically our food budget for the next two weeks until pay day.

my girlfriend has several food intolerances and hypoglycemia so we just cannot afford to keep living off the granola bars and cereal we got when the fridge first broke, it’s causing her stomach problems to flare up again.

i truly hate having to ask again when i know so many of us are struggling but if there is any help you can spare we would be so grateful.

p@ypal: here

venmo: cpmost

c@shapp: $cpmost

[prophet-rebellion]

Jolene's Emergency Vet Visit

Description posted from GoFundMe Campaign:

So for those of you who gave followed me (and maybe seen the update) you'll know Salem has been missing for almost 6 months.

She was my ESA, and given my declining mental health, I didn't have much choice but to get a new ESA.

Enter miss Jolene Macchiato L. Whom I adopted almost two months ago and have whole heartedly decided to keep after realizing just how well we mesh.

You may also know I've been in the hospital the last few days - staying with my roommate who was admitted. I've been coming home to feed the cats and (unsuccessfully) treat them for ear mites. My new roommate was dog sitting and he brought fleas and ear mites into our home.

During this time, Jolene went to the bathroom on my bed multiple times. I at first chalked it up to stress and was told to keep an eye on here. Less than a day of being back from the hospital and her stool is light in color, runny, and most terrifyingly, has blood in it.

This is no longer an issue of stress, but could be a major intestinal/stomach problem when mixed with her inability to wait and use her litterbox. On top of that, she was running around like she was in pain, or something was wrong prior to going.

My second job is not a sure thing yet - it has been more than two weeks since the company reached out to me - and I have been looking for more. The money I thought I won was more a scam to get me down to the car dealership (which by the way, I hated as is because of the older man behaving increasingly grossly and inappropriate towards me).

My funding for Salem has stopped at this point - I have done every physical thing I can to find and bring her home. And now I need to focus on the new feline in my care.

I am taking Jolene to the vet tomorrow and using my new credit card - but there are limited funds and paying it back is my current concern when I have payments taking up to the 1,000s combined due these next two months.

I am setting it to $550 for now (because they take a portion), but the price my change depending on what the vet says and what is wrong.

I know she still need to get treated for ear mites ($300 on it's own) because the current medications I've been using are not working."

This is my fundraiser.

Additional pictures of her adoption papers added on here as well proving when I got her. JOLENE IS A REGISTERED ESA NOW.

Jolene as far as I have been told is two years old, though she is very small for her age. She is a sweet heart though she was likely on the streets for a most of not all her life before she was taken to the shelter and I adopted her a month later.

She is a sweet cat that just wants to check and make sure that you're okay. She'll cuddle. She doesn't meow but she does trill and sound like yoshi.

She just wants to make friends with everyone. And if you're not petting her enough then the grabs your hand and brings it right to her face as she stands on her back legs.

This is the last fundraiser I'm making. Ask anyone I know in real life and they'll tell you just how much I despise asking for help. I want to be able to do things on my own. But until I get one bite from the hundreds (literally) of jobs I've applied to as a secondary then I'm at a loss. I can't afford to wait and save up for this vet Visit - not when her health is on the line.

I can post a picture of her at the vets office tomorrow as well to confirm, along with the update of what they set.

GoFundMe

PayPal

Venmo

Currently $750/$750

UPDATE - 08.02.2023

UNDER THE CUT

We went to the vet today.

TL:DR - she is on medications for the next two weeks, roughly. She did very good at the vet and was very brave. $500 was close, it will come out to be roughly $700 all together after ear mite treatment; we are holding off for now until the other cat in the house can be treated or they will just jump between them, which gives some more time to get there funds. But the over the counter medications are not strong enough to fight the infestation, and depending on severity, it could lead to long term health problems.

So I changed it from $550 -> $750 (again, because they take a processing fee). I also added in there roughly $200 that had been sent from PayPal and Venmo to give a more accurate show off current raised funds.

Below are screenshots of the update explaining more, along with pictures of Jolene at the vet today.

(Straight up, I almost cried because in the right two months that I have had her this was the first time she had crawled into my lap to lay down and cuddle with me.)

[alwaysshallow]

gorgeous, part 4

Simon "Ghost" Riley x f!reader

You decide to have some fun; you also talk to old friends. (3,3k)

READ ON AO3

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It's surprising how many times you see him, actually.

It's surprising because you thought – if you're lucky – it's gonna be after six months, on a check-up visit. Technically, he had no business to be here, especially considering how hidden he was, how he wasn't the type to chit-chat. It was okay, you didn't mind it.

And the day after he texted you, when you close clinic, you could see him right in front of the building, his hands in pockets, looking straight at you. It was a hypnotising experience though, especially when you walked in his direction, your knees like marshmellows, and he was still looking.

"Your mechanic was pretty nice." you said, tilting your head. "He said it's gonna be done in two weeks or less since he has work to do."

"Mhm." he matched your pace, walking with you side by side. "Finally doing something with it, aren't we?" he raised his eyebrow.

You laughed. "You make me look like I'm a bad car owner."

"Am I? Or that's just your thoughts?"

His comment made you open your mouth in pure disbelief at his honesty – you nudged him with before realizing how he could react at that gesture. He wasn't exactly a touchy-feely person, but there was no comment from him, so you were glad.

"Mean." you murmured, amused.

"'st speaking my mind, Addison."

"Uh-huh. That's why you're here? To speak your mind?"

He sighed, his eyes on the road in front of you. "You really like asking questions, don't you?"

"I like knowing things. Don't you?" you mimicked his low tone.

"I like knowing things. But I don't ask questions if I'm certain." he answered, straightening his back; a cracking sound that came out automatically made you shiver. "It's just walking you home. 's all, as I said, Sparkles would hate to have another vet."

"Right. Safety reasons, yeah?"

"Good girl. Learning so fast."

Motherfucker knew how to get to you – just after this comment, you had absolutely nothing to say, which made him visibly amused; his brow cocked, and he let out a low chuckle, looking away from you again. Thankful for the darkness, you just walked with him to start another topic after a while – about his cat, of course.

You had to leave 'good girl' behind, to not provoke him to say more because he could easily find out that nickname works for you perfectly. Especially if someone is British, especially if someone is just alluring as him.

And he had blonde hair. A bit curly. That's literally the recipe for a disaster.

After that interaction, he was walking you off to your apartment, day by day. It wasn't surprising after three first times – you just knew he's gonna be here, but you caught yourself looking for him, interested.

Not like you cared – at least that's what you told yourself – but it was curiosity speaking since you knew he was doing that just because of your car. Just because he somehow cared, just because he wanted to know you're safe.

Cute.

What was less cute though, you had to talk with Celia. You just had to and there was no excuse since your car already was in another mechanic's garage. And, Simon knew that you needed to talk with her, so he would ask about it eventually, so dodging the situation wasn't a plan, no. Not when he'd laugh the shit out of you, he did enough with implying you're not taking proper care of your car.

He had a point, though.

You took a few hours off in the morning, leaving Bernie on her own, just to see Celia – you even had your guilt cookies, big jar in your purse. It's not a surprise for anyone who knows you that you bake when stressed, and you certainly were stressed before this meeting. She could tell you anything; and it wouldn't be such a surprise if she'd tell you to go to hell.

A hope was there, though. Not only Simon said it, but when you thought it, it would be a real shame to ruin a friendship, running ten years, just because of a toxic guy that wasn't worth it. Not only that, your best friend had all the right to say I told you so.

You knew you kinda deserved that for being such a blind bitch.

Knock to her door came after a minute of staring dumbily at them, like it would help in something, or if she would magically open it without you knocking. It was a quiet knock though; shy one because, truthfully, you wanted to sprint from her house as far as possible. Confrontation? Not your best quality, no. Not at least in situation like these, when you know you have to apologize from the bottom of your heart.

A minute passed, and you knocked again, louder this time. You started considering walking away you thought maybe she wasn't home, but right after that, no one but Celia opened the door. Her eyebrows furrowed, arms were crossed against her chest, and you immediately knew what her attiude is.

Jesus Christ, it couldn't be easy, could it?

"Hi, Celia. Got a minute?" you asked; hesitantly. She could slam her door in your face, after all.

"Depends. You here because of the car?"

You sighed. "I'm here because I want to apologize, actually."

She seemed surprised as you said it; nonetheless, she let you in, leading you to kitchen. It was the main place of talks in her house, you could say that – not living room, not dining room, kitchen. Very big one, pretty, a table with two seats by side, so you sat there with her, clearing your throat. Wondering how to start.

How do you start conversation like that?

You had the simplest words on your mind. "I was a bitch." rolled off your tongue without even thinking. "I still am, though – but I was a bitch to you when I shouldn't have been. You wanted the best for me, and I just... well, I'm not proud of what I did. I should listen, not throw hands at you. It's not how it was supposed to be, it's not how I wanted it to be. Like, I know also that I should apologize way, way earlier, but-"

"Addie, c'mon." redhead interrupted you with a wave of her hand. "We're both bitches, we literally fought like fuckin' kids. Let me ask you one thing, you done?"

"With him?"

"Yeah, with that scumbag."

"Funny. You're the second person who talks of him this way" you mused, remembering this one situation with Simon. "Done, yeah. For five months right now."

Celia was silent for a moment, obviously analyzing the situation she found herself in; then, with a sigh, she looked again at you, her expression unreadable.

"Good to have your ass back on board, sister." she murmured, smiling a bit.

Next thing she did, was hitting your arm with such power that you let out a little 'ow', laughing with her in the same moment.

"Deserved." she pointed at you. "I apologize too, though. I could be better, I could just... well, tell you everything a bit differently. Not so harsh, you were in love with that prick." your friend muttered, rolling her eyes. "Okay, enough of apologies, though. Who said he's a douche, though? That person might be my second best friend."

So, you told her – almost everything, saving little details about his appearance or aura to yourself; Celia was a pretty fan of him, especially his snarkiness and comments. Yet, she was a bit jealous that you had the audacity to bring your car to other mechanic; mostly, she was jealous of the car, not you.

Her baby, as she liked to tell everyone. She picked it out for you from her uncle, repaired it, added some "cool shit" (it's a mystery what cool shit is, you didn't ask though).

Nonetheless, she was more than glad that you managed to find someone who's gonna help you with that, and you came to her purely to fix something between you two.

A friendship that – you promised yourself – would live through everything, no matter what would happen, no matter of circumstances. She was your person, just like Rosalie.

Who, speaking of, left million voice messages on your phone on your way back to clinic, so you considered it the perfect ocassion to listen to them all.

Apart from her excitement on your car situation, she invited you to her local bar for... a party. You didn't exactly know what party was about, or if it was just a casual hangout, but you agreed to go. It's been a while since you took a break from clinic and actually spent your night out, not under some blanket, watching movies with a bowl of chips or icecream.

Not like it was bad. Not at all. Sometimes you just needed a... change in your routine.

Rosalie promised to pick you up since your car was still at mechanic's – so, your only task was to look good, but not too good. Bar was something else than club; more casual, but you really wanted to at least flirt a little or to catch an eye on someone, even if your mind was... pretty occupied with certain someone.

Maybe your best friend would bring someone worth your time, yeah? She usually had some ideas and wanted to play as your little matchmaker, so you never knew what was coming.

That being said, you opened your closet.

It was almost embarrasing how many clothes you had that you didn't even wear more than one time; mostly, cocktail dresses for fancy ocassions since your parents insisted on buying something new. People of business, someone would say – always having a whim about their galas and shit like this, it was hard not to hate it, considering that business comes before family, mostly.

Maybe that's why you limited contacts with them, sending them a text or two of what you're doing, how's the clinic going. And, of course, Christmas with them or Thanksgiving was a must if they weren't on some fancy vacations abroad.

With a thought in your mind that you have to go through those dressed, you decided to pick something simple to bar. Black tank-top, a simple baby blue shirt on it (unbuttoned, of course) and a pair of simple jeans worked in your mind, as well as in reality, so you found yourself quickly putting on a pair of sneakers.

Your make up took a little longer; you paid attention to your skin, the perfect eyeliner, a delicate lipgloss bringing out the shape of your lips. Everything had to look effortless, even if it wasn't; your motto, basically.

As promised, Rosalie picked you up; and you've talked with her the whole road, almost two hours to be exact. You haven't seen her for two months straight and even if you were updating her as much as you could in a day, it wasn't even close to your sincere talks. She asked a whole palette of questions; how's your car, how's that Simon who rescued you from jerky ex; she looked a bit amused when topic was on him, but you had no idea why.

"Man that has good ideas is rare" she summed up, chuckling, when you catched her up with Celia situation and told her your car is going to be fine, you just have to pick it up in the next week. "Don't tell him that by any means. His ego wouldn't take it."

"Oh, you have no idea."

Soon enough, you arrived. Bar was cute; not too large, but with big-ass bar table and glass shelves behind it with amount of alcohol that you couldn't count, even if you wanted to. Dim, orange lights just added to the view, and you smiled under your nose instincitvely, happy that you've decided to go there.

Tables weren't occupied as you thought they would be; Rosalie mentioned earlier it's gonna be a private party, but you didn't think that private, considering that you could count like... maybe ten, eleven people. Military men with their significant others, as you saw when you walked up to the barman, ordering a drink for you and your best friend.

You couldn't obviously ignore that someone was discussing with MacTavish near you; seemed like a heated discussion, until they looked right at you.

Guy with a skull mask. Full-ass skull mask like Simon had this one day when you two...

Fuck, could it be him? Maybe he was in unit that wore masks like these, you thought. It would be a strange coincidence, wouldn't it? And, Rosalie for sure would tell you that her comrade is the guy you are talking about sometimes since he adopted a cat, Sparkles, yeah?

Rosa had her significant smirk when she looked at you, and it was all you needed to know, especially when men approached you both.

Trouble in a person, that would be on your best friend.

"He gets a bit shy around strangers. Ain't your fault" Johnny joked, nudging you with his shit-eating grin, as he gave his friend a look.

"Mm, I bet. Good to see you, MacTavish." you murmured, which made "stranger" roll his eyes and grumble something under his nose. "And what's your friends name?" you raised an eyebrow, making eye-contact with those brown eyes you wouldn't forget ever.

"His name-"

"-you know my name, doc." Simon said, interrupting Soap. He took off his mask with one, swift movement, to reveal to you his scarred face and disheveled, blonde hair that you wanted to dip your fingers in so desperately.

To say that Johnny was shocked, was the understatement; he looked at his comrade in shock, opening and closing his lips, like he wasn't exactly sure what to say, considering that he took off his scary mask.

"Didn't know you have friends in military."

"Apparently, we're both full of surprises" you sipped a bit of your margharita, shrugging, like you two meeting here was the most normal situation that could happen.

"You two know each other, no?" Soap meddled in conversation, observing you two. It was obvious that he doesn't really know how you two could met, and honestly, no one could blame him. He was in military, barely going out, and you were a simple vet.

You nodded. "We met, yeah."

"Oh, I'd really want to hear it."

"Simple help. Nothin' too fancy, MacTavish" he pointed out, taking a sip of his alcohol.

Soap's look was piercing in you, though. "Helped him with a cat. Simple, like he said." "Fuckin' cat? Ghost is a cat mom now, eh?" he chuckled, which made Simon roll his eyes.

You wondered if Ghost was something they named them in the field, and if yes, why? After all, everything always was supposed to fit. As Rosalie said to you, even if she couldn't tell you everything (classified, of course) every nickname had a meaning behind it.

Ghost... seemed ambigious. You couldn't put it anywhere.

"Better than you'd be, John. Let's drink, shall we?" you raised your eyebrow, trying to lead the conversation elsewhere; looked like your companion thought the same way.

Rosalie introduced you to rest of the team – they all told you their names, but you were sure as hell that you're not gonna remember that, considering your memory was shit, especially to people that you don't see often. Either way, they were nice; very nice, after a few drinks with them you were pretty sure that your platonic soulmate is Kyle Garrick, who was the best partner in karaoke. And, he was also such a gossiper, finding every ocassion that he could to talk to you about something.

Not military related, though; only "things for civilians" as he giggled to you after fifth shot of tequila, telling you something about a girl that he had eye on. Curiosity piqued in the moment he confessed that she was 'out of reach' for him, and it was no chance that he could get together with her.

Hell, for you "no chance" before even trying was non-existent. You loved to prove people wrong, to make them watch you accomplishing various of things just to rile them up, or to reach your goal.

"Don't say that" you pointed at him. "There's always a chance for something. You won't try, you won't know. That's it."

"It's the same chance, as the chance that Ghost will get any of us to that fancy gala. Non-existent." he groaned, burying dramatically his head in his hands. "And like his driving skills."

"Garrick" he murmured; low, rumbling voice made sergeant straighten a little. "'s enough talkin' of it, yes?"

You chuckled. "What gala? And what, your driving skills are that bad?"

"I have rather..." Simon played with glass filled with alcohol "...complicated relationship with cars, I'd say. I prefer walking."

You raised your eyebrow a little, amused; what does it mean his relationship with cars is complicated? You couldn't help but think, as you nodded your head with faked understanding. It was hard to believe that his ass in military didn't have a driving license, so it only meant that his ability to drive was...

Different, maybe. And for his own safety, as well as yours and anyone on the road, he picked out walking instead of driving. Smart, though.

"That's why you've walked me home."

"Affirmative."

"Walked you home?" Kyle looked at both of you in shock, laughing to himself. "Oh, fuck, man. So many things are happening on leave, ain't it?"

"Gaz." Price shot him a look.

"I can't even-"

"Gaz."

"Fuck, okay" he rolled his eyes, shaking his head to himself. "Just so you know, if Johnny wouldn't be so caught up in Ros, he'd back me up."

Your gaze automatically went to Rosalie, who talked with her bartender friend. Johnny, right next to you, was looking at her with slightly darker eyes, leaning his head against palm of his hand. It was... a view, honestly; friends, but not admitting to something more, even if everyone else saw their bond is beyond simple "best friends".

Something that you considered as cute.

You couldn't help but wish that they will be together soon enough; the way they cared for each other... Hell, probably everyone wanted something like this for themselves, as well as you; something so pure with longing glances that would make you weak in your knees.

A sigh of annoyance came out of you – where the hell you were supposed to find something like this when you spent most of the days in the clinic? Tinder or any portal like this wasn't even an option.

Mostly because you met your crazy ass ex here, but also you wanted to... hell, get past that online dating stage.

Was it too much to ask?

"Another round?" Kyle's voice brought you back to earth; you nodded immediately, standing up from your seat. "Captain, Ghost, you comin'?"

"Mm, no. 'm gonna make a call." Price shook his head. "You go. Another one will be on me."

You looked at Simon.

"I'll pass too." he murmured, coughing. "

"Oh, come on! You have to do one shot with me. Please."

"Addison-"

"Please?" you pleaded, extending an arm to him, so he could grab his hand. "Just one."

Simon sighed. "You're not gonna let it go, eh?"

"No, not really. I owe you for that mechanic, don't I?" you tilted your head, smiling a bit. "Come on. Please. Just one shot. Or one drink, anything, really."

He didn't say anything; just followed you to the bar with boys, while you babbled about your work, when Gaz asked what does exactly vet do, besides controls and all.

And it felt really good to feel Simon's eyes on you the whole time. How he keeps his rich, brown eyes at you, while you tried desperately to keep yourself together, just in case - because after alcohol, you were the touchy-feely version of yourself.

He had some time to learn it.

[sgiandubh]

Not only a Greek celebration...

... but also this gentleman's fifth birthday, totally on purpose:

The official name is Paco, but absolutely everyone calls him Bebe (Baby), which is enough to give you an idea of his true colors. I raised and educated a cat, not a Pointer/Retriever mix: lazy, cantankerous and chatty. But also pot-of-glue affectionate and always terrified by the Cypriot Ambassador wife's chihuahua (next door).

On his first visit to the vet, the next day after we rescued him from an olive grove by the sea in Kiato (of course Peloponnese, where else?) a week before Christmas, the good doctor P. just had to write a date of birth in his passport:

'He's about two months old.'

'Oh, good Lord: a Scorpio dog. OK. Put October 25, then.'

'Why?'

'It's Army Day in Romania. He's my evzone guard.'

'Ha! Αυτό το αγόρι είναι Έλληνας (This boy is Greek). I'll write October 28.'

'Huh? Ohi Day?'

'Ακριβώς (Exactly)'.

So there's that. Ohi Day it is. I don't know who rescued who, in this story, to be honest. But I bet any rescue dog parent will tell you the same thing, won't they?

[remyfire]

[UPDATE, July 27th 2024] You all helped me meet my goal in less than 24 hours again and I am absolutely overwhelmed by your compassion and care!! I'm disabling reblogs so it doesn't keep circulating because for now, everything is taken care of ;v; Thank you so, so much

I was really not wanting to have to do this again so soon, especially while I've been spending time away from the Internet due to my poor mental health, but here we are. Peach is my wonderful, beautiful, perfect, sassy, cuddly, loving cat. She's 12 years old and exactly a month ago, we found out that she is diabetic. I love her so, so much and I will do anything I can to keep her healthy and give her a wonderful life as she enters her senior years, but unfortunately the costs of caring for a diabetic cat are more than I can afford right now.

Thanks to the AI boom, the transcription industry is drying up because if there's one thing these things are good at, it's transcribing audio files. Work has been increasingly difficult to come by, and while I've been fortunate to receive work this weekend, I won't be getting a paycheck for it for a couple of weeks, and even when I do, it absolutely has to go to my bills first and foremost and there will be no extra to put toward her cost of care. I continue to be on the hunt for jobs in my area and even had my first interview yesterday, but I haven't been lucky enough to receive an interview from any of the other places I've applied to thus far. And wouldn't you know it, but my credit card is just a hair away from maxing out.

Here's the current damage, which includes Peach's prescription food ($70), syringes ($20), and her most recent vet visit ($282), where they took her blood pressure and applied a glucometer in order to track her blood sugar levels for the next two weeks. Cats often have their diabetes go into remission, and if that happened then we would only need to maintain her diet—still expensive but far more affordable—but to get there, we need to see if this treatment is working, and that's going to take time.

I've set up a Ko-Fi goal here (a flat $400 in order to cover the PayPal fees) so you can see how much I still need to pay for her cost of care. I know that this is a miserable time to ask for donations and that we are so fatigued on giving already, but I legitimately have no choice. Until I can find work somewhere, I desperately need help.

Reblogs are appreciated. And here's one more cute photo of her in her little shirt from the vet as thanks for taking the time to read this post!!

[saccharineluridity]

Hi, recently my cat Butters had something wrong with his eye. Fortunately after a visit to the vet everything is ok and he's on antibiotics. Unfortunately, I'm left with $3 after vet bills setting my household back $300. Butters has another appointment next week to check on how his eye is doing and to update him on vaccines, but without the money I'm not sure how I or my household is going to manage to afford it without going into debt. You can donate to my Ko-Fi page here, or simply reblog this post.

[emhasthoughts]

Gertrude and the cat-avatars

Summary: Gertrude let one cat in. Said cat has a habit of bringing in other cats.

A/N: During @dcartcorner's stream the topic of avatars as cats came up and I decided to write a little something for it. I have another part with the Distortions that might be posted later. Also worth noting: I do not own a cat, never have, I'm horrible with cat breeds, so I've tried to describe Simon/Peter/Elias through this art and Mike's look is taken from this

Lastly: Not beta read by someone else, just me and my lil google document.

Pt 1, You're here! / Pt 2, Michael and Helen Distortion, Agnes / Pt 3, Annabelle, Jude, Oliver / Pt 4, John, Jane, Maxwell, Manuela / Pt 5, Jon, Martin, Sasha, Tim / Pt 6, Melanie, Daisy, Basira, Georgie / Pt 7, Jared, Gerry, Nikola / Bonus, a visit to the vet / Halloween bonus!

Simon was the first cat she actually adopted. It had been one of her coworkers who had wanted to get rid of him due to their financial situation and asked Gertrude about it. Claiming that he was old and an inside cat, easy to take care of. She had agreed. Thinking it would be easy and that, in the worst case, Simon would not live for long after getting him. She could not have been more wrong.

Sometimes he could have passed as a kitten. Rather small for what he was meant to be, thin despite the amount of food he ate, his gray fur was not fluffy enough to hide how thin he could look. Despite it all, the veterinarian had claimed him healthy. He was also not that much of an indoor cat. Sometimes, whenever he felt like it, he would wander out of the house, sometimes gone for days. Gertrude did not mind it that much. He was a rather loud and talkative cat after all.

Simon also had a habit of getting more cats to her doorstep. 

One day she opened the door to see small Simon standing proudly in the middle of two new cats. One looked nearly ridiculous next to him. Light beige and at least three times bigger and fluffier, with yellow eyes that sort of made it look like he did not want to be there. To the other side was a mainly brown cat, who seemed to be in a perfect middle of size and fluff. A bit of white around the eyes, nose, stomach and paws. He looked at her with judgemental green eyes and for a moment she worried if a cat could actually see into someone’s soul. Since they kept coming back she had named the two Peter, the fluffy cat and the other Elias.

Peter came and went. Similarly to Simon, he could be gone for days, maybe even weeks. Whenever he was home he was with Elias and/or Simon, being quiet and calm. Elias was probably the most judgemental cat she had ever come across. He was not really loud or overly talkative, but he could spend hours in a corner just looking at her without blinking. It was a bit creepy and sometimes it felt like he was secretly planning to kill her in her sleep.

Four months ago Simon was gone for a week, only to come back in with a very disgruntled cat. Looking rather similar to Peter, though smaller, thinner bit of brown around the eyes, paws, tip of ears and tail, including a branching scar most visible on the back. Despite the cat not being a small kitten, Simon still managed to drag them there. The cat had seemingly accepted its fate, making Gertrude question how far from home they were.

She had taken the cat to a veterinarian the day after. It was a male, named Mike, who had once belonged to a couple that passed two years before in a house fire. The scar was older, though it had gotten infected over the two years. She had gotten more of a rundown of everything that was wrong with Mike and she planned to simply let him up for adoption, except Simon did not seem to leave Mike’s side. So, Gertrude accepted Mike in. If only until he was healthy again, by then Simon would hopefully be over it. 

Since then Gertrude had tried to throw Mike back on the streets while Simon was away. Except the pair kept coming back. Which caused her current situation. Sitting on her sofa, trying to watch TV, except she found herself staring at Mike, who had made himself comfortable on the shelf next to a vase, glaring back at her. His paw slowly raising towards the vase, never breaking eye contact. Gertrude narrowed her eyes. Until -

There was no crash. The vase was no longer on the shelf but it was also not shattered on the ground. Her eyes did not leave the falling - flying? - vase. It did not really stop the small cat from glaring at her. 

Gertrude had no real clue how long it was like that. The vase floating on the spot, her looking at the vase and Mike glaring at her. Like a picture, frozen in time. At least until -

CRASH

Well fuck.

[millerflintstone]

Had to order a new fridge today. Just great. Our current one is temporarily mended by Unfriendly. He used magnets to trick the unit. The doors were closing but the magnetic latch wasn't connecting to trigger it so the fridge just turned off. We don't even have a super fancy fridge. Ordered a pretty basic one using an employee discount I get.

It's currently cooling and all of our food is in 3 coolers. One Unfriendly got from his job that is apparently expensive but kinda small.

We also had to take Gigabyte to the vet today. She started sounding congested and she hasn't pooped since her enema last Tuesday. Eating is a struggle though. Luckily she's not constipated. She got an antibiotic shot and some drops for her nose. This vet practice upgraded to a hospital and I figured with my vet being closed until next Tuesday, having someplace close would be good. The vet we her was named Claire and very kind and gentle with her. I didn't want to drive her to the ER vet and cause extra stress with the nature of ER, the length of the drive. and the fact that she's not showing signs of a blockage. Not straining. Still interested in food but not eating enough on her own. Still wants to cuddle and purr, even though I'm the one who medicates her.

I'm just irritated with the world and not fun to be around in general. I'm glad my vet's office is taking a break but also really irritated because I wish they had back up staff or something. I really just want Gigabyte to eat and feel better but she's not feeling better. Realistically, she likely has that tumor on her adrenal gland and won't feel better until she gets meds for suppressing the extra hormone that's being produced but I have to wait another week to find out. Can I keep her alive until then? It's so stressful.

I'm irritated with the kitchen in general. First the sink / mold issue, then pantry moths, now we need another whole damn fridge. Hand washing dishes is so time consuming and letting them pile up is even worse. I mainly just wash the cat dishes and everything else is paper plates / cups etc. Unfriendly did a whole bunch of dishes tonight from the Christmas eve dinner I made, cat dishes and his lunch stuff.

I'm irritated with myself and my lack of organization and ADHD brain. I'm just sick of myself and am lashing out and no one is having any fun with that. I'm sure there's a pre menopause hormone thing going on too but that's another doctor visit to deal with at later date.

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Just a note because I've had some inquiries lately -- it's always fine to include more than one way to give when submitting an item for RFM! It's always best to have a crowdfund page of some kind (gofundme, fundly, etc) and only list a direct payment processor like paypal or venmo as a secondary, but including multiple payment methods is okay, as long as you don't mind your paypal/venmo/etc being public.

Ways to Give:

hi-this-is-ali-rae is getting top surgery, scheduled for January; they're preparing for the surgery and the healing after, and raising funds to cover out-of-pocket costs and make their recovery as comfortable as possible. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Anon linked to The Big Gay Market, a LGBTQ+ owned-and-operated pop up maker's market in Madison, Wisconsin, which has been in operation for nearly a year. They're looking to move into a bigger venue after receiving fantastic community support, and are crowdfunding via Kiva loan for a down-payment to reserve the space for their next market. (When you support organizations and people via Kiva it's a no-interest loan from you, so the money eventually comes back to the lender.) You can read more and contribute to the loan fund here.

nehirose's cat Winston had to go to the emergency vet last night for pyometra; they were able to get antibiotics and fluids, but she's fundraising for the visit fees and follow-up and spay with a non-emergency vet, which is a struggle with rent looming this week. You can read more and support the fundraiser here, read more and reblog here, or give via paypal here.

News to Know:

Anon wanted to remind folks that the US government is offering another round of free COVID tests; you can order four tests per household, and if you didn't order tests in September during the previous round, you can order eight per household. You can order tests via the post office or the COVID.gov website.

Recurring Needs:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for Alchemia and Bugland, who have urgent financial needs after the loss of their home, and are also looking for media contacts who would be interested in covering their story, or advocacy and legal support in Illinois, particularly support for people with disabilities, autism, blindness, and/or who are LGBTQ+. You can read more at Dreamwidth here and support the fundraiser at GoFundMe here.

gwydion's very elderly car broke down in late October; the repair, to a cooling hose, has cheap parts but expensive labor, and ate most of zir budget for the month. Ze can't do without a car, being disabled, but can't afford to replace it either; ze's raising $280 to help cover bills and the repair. You can give via PayPal here.

gwydion linked to a fundraiser for Squirrel, a good friend who has recently lost his job and needs to raise about $800 to cover bills and food; Squirrel has had a lot of interviews and believes he will have an offer but won't start work until December. You can give via paypal here.

gwydion linked to a fundraiser for a friend, whose dog Rosie needs medical care, dental work, and special food; you can read more and give here at gofundme.

mid-nighttiger linked to a fundraiser for a friend, Katherine, a cosplayer (501st and Rebel Legion, among others) who was in a serious car accident and has had a gofundme set up for her medical expenses; you can read more and reblog Mid-Nighttiger's post here or support the fundraiser here.

rilee16 is raising funds to cover utilities after having to use bill money to cover rent and late fees; Rilee also needs to be able to pay for medication. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.

[kickthecan-revolution]

Two days ago, Minnie for the first time in years, walked outside of the terrace railing to the neighbor's house. That behavior is so new for her, it snapped me into reality that this kitten needs to go. The waffling I've been doing on keeping here, trying to socialize him has stressed them both, and Minnie told me in no uncertain terms that he needs to leave. I called the owner of the rescue and said Peach needs a transition plan - she knows my old cats through vet visits and said that Peach can leave, absolutely, but he'd need to be in a cage in her garage. I felt sick to my stomach - this is now a happy, snuggly, sweet little lap cat who lets me hold him like a baby. And he's got an entire bedroom to himself that is warm, a cat tree and you tube videos of birds. There's no way he's going to a cage. I had a bit of a panic attack but then jumped on next door hard, amping up the drama of his time almost being up, and got several inquires. Most not solid (people are invested if they fill out an application, I am learning) but then last night, two potential adopters come out last night to meet him to see if he might be a match for their little kitten.

I was so nervous, wondering how he'd act with strangers in his room like a nervous parent hoping their kids will behave. They were perfect - I asked the SF volunteer for the shelter (who lives 5min from me) to be here to answer any of their questions. After an hour with him, they came out and had lots of questions, and they balked at the sheer size of him. He's 8lbs at six months. "will he get any bigger?" they asked tentatively, and we knew it was a no-go at that point. I was a little crushed, but Liz from the rescue confirmed that we want someone who absolutely knows he is their cat.

And now, we have a plan for him to go to her house. They have....a lot of foster cats right now but I need to let him go. He needs to be with other cats to see how he does with them. He also needs to be with experts who can help him more than I can. So he'll stay here through the week, and then we'll say goodbye. I know I will cry, I've never bonded more to an animal than I have this kitten, he is the oldest soul in an animal I've ever encountered. But it's the right thing for him, for me and for my other animals. Until then I am going to spend as much time with him as I can.

[fbwzoo]

Dog & cat updates!

Emma: is now actively asking for and enjoying pets almost daily from me and Jack! She occasionally enjoys pets from Joel & Arte as well. I've been starting to touch her legs and paws a bit more too, but without pushing too hard. We're going to see about having her sedated for her upcoming exam so it'll be less stressful & we can get all the things done - she needs a vaccine, plus nail trim and teeth check.

Oh, and she's basically finished potty training herself! She goes out both dog doors on her own now, though she still waits on us to let them out when we're home. But basically no accidents when we're gone now!

Addy: We've had her in weekly swim lessons at a local indoor dog pool for about 2 months now. She's doing so good with it!! She still doesn't entirely like it, but she cooperates, and we're pretty certain it's really been helping her legs. She really stretches them out well in the water, and even with a couple wipe-outs in that time frame, she hasn't been as sore or hurt herself in them. Joel & I have set up a schedule to get back to dog walks now that it's cooled off again, so I'll be able to observe her more then too.

Spring: Nothing new with the boy. He's still a good boy, good brother, and he's happy to just chill with everyone and go with the flow. He's such a good dog!

Phoebe: FAT. 😫 I slacked off a lot on monitoring cat food for the summer and ooof, it shows. They've both put on weight, but especially Phoebe. I'm getting back on track with that now & anxious about getting scolded by their vet. We were supposed to go the opposite direction with this after their last vet visit... sigh. Plus side, she's really not had any asthma attacks recently. Also she randomly decided Joel got Bebe Time??? That's the first time she's done it with someone besides me in 3 years!

Shilo: DECIDED TO SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF US & HIMSELF LAST WEEK. We had a plumber over to fix the washer. He was thought to be hiding, but not directly located, so when he got scared by the plumber going to the basement, he panicked, couldn't get into the main house, and ran out the garage door. He was out for around 15 hours, we're pretty sure he found a hiding spot and hunkered down. But stressed the hell out of the whole house for that whole afternoon/night. I slept on the couch and we left the run doors open, and I blocked Phoebe in my room so the dog doors could be left open too. I got up a couple times to go out and call for him. Around 3:30, I woke up, thinking I heard him. Called his name, he answered, and turned out to be on the back of the couch next to me. RELIEF.

He has a couple scratches on his head, which isn't a big surprise given the number of outside cats on our street, but he's otherwise fine. He hid in my closet for the first two days except for when I was home & in my room. Very mama's boy. But he's been recovering from the stress & settling back in now over the weekend. We're still watching him very closely for this next week or two, as he's had a stress cystitis episode once before & we're expecting he very well may do so from this too.

[itshomobirb]

2 memories i feel like sharing, & some backstory context: so my ass has been spayed, and healthy people take 6-8 weeks to fully recover from getting spayed. i, chronically ill, took longer. as with any abdominal surgery, they told me "no lifting over 10lb u could tear ur stitches." and for reference, my cats are 12 lb wonders.

so im chilling in bed. ~4 weeks after surgery. and my mother starts SCREAMING my name. like "OH MY GOD BORB COME IN HERE NOW QUICK QUICK HURRY OH GOD." so i do, albeit slowly because, you know, still recovering from major surgery. she's freaking out about one of my cats, who looks entirely normal. oh but he ~suddenly stopped~ and ~twisted his body~ i don't know if he's going to be ok. one mother panic attack and one emergency vet visit later (with my mother's help bc i couldn't lift my cat due to lifting restrictions) : he had flea dirt on his hind legs. he was twisting around to lick around his arse. cool 👍 (ofc my mother, on the ride back from the vet, tried to tell me NOT to give the kids flea meds, she doesn't know what kind of ~health ramifications~ flea meds can have if *gasp* the kids don't actually have fleas)

around the same time period, i get woken up by my mother screaming "HELP HELP HELP!!" the first day it happens, she stops within ~15 seconds, and i hear my parents talking before i fall back asleep. find out later the mechanism for moving the window panels up & down in the bathroom broke, so the top panel had trapped her fingers a la guillotine style. my parents joke "well borb if you hear your mother screaming... her fingers are probably trapped 😂." can you guess what happens next. my father was gone the next day, and guess who got her fingers trapped AGAIN by the bathroom window. so i get woken up by her screaming, and i have to help dislodge the window around her bare naked ass. and sure, i have sympathy because i bet it was really painful. but like. are you fucking stupid. my father had to literally childproof the window by installing a screw so the guillotine panel would catch against the other panel so fingers wouldn't get trapped. just so my mother wouldn't get her fingers trapped again. we all knew that if it wasn't there, she would 1000% get her fingers trapped again. but *im* supposedly the incompetent fuck up that NEEDS to be told exactly what to do just in case i, idk, have an independent thought.

[saanphoenix]

I love the way my cats just *clenches fist* keep throwing up.

Y'see, one, Zack, has a very sensitive stomach and a not-so-sensative pallette. He will eat anything, from the wrong food to a cactus to tape. And his stomach treats all the same: "What the FUCK is that?" And then he spends the next 24 hours vomiting everywhere. It's annoying. It's annoying to clean up and annoying that he never learns.

But there is also this 3-week-old kitten. HER problem, along with her siblings and mother, is they have a slight upper respitory infection. Which can causing gagging. Which means I get to panic that this small child is dying when, really, she's just choking the same way people do when there's mucus hung in the back of your throat. But, like...

Kittens have a high mortality rate. Quoting WagWalking: "Typically, around 75% to 95% of kittens make it to 8 weeks of age. Of those, however, about 20% to 40% may not survive beyond 12 weeks."

So like. If they even mew funny, I'm like, "ARE YOU DYING?! AND WHY?!"

I spent $152 Friday on an emergency vet visit to take this kitten's brother--his name is Steve--to the vet because he was acting like he couldn't keep his head raised and kept meowing pitifully. They gave me Nutri-Cal and dewormed them all and were like, "Maybe his sugar dropped? 🤷‍♀️" Because the bastard was seemingly fine two hours after my near panic attack.

I know more about cat health now than I ever wanted to learn in my lifetime.

GUH!

Also, here's Steve:

Absolutely covered on Nutri-Cal because he does not like sticky fingers being shoved into his mouth.

[introvertedfox]

My queue ran out, and I had every intention of filling it up again yesterday…but this week has been too stressful and it's only wednesday…

I'll try to fill it up as soon as I can.

Little vent under the cut

I've been working from home ever since the pandemic, but my company always had the intention to bring us back to the offices as soon as it was safe. They've been trying to do that since last year, but as expected, trying to convince a bunch of nerds to come out of the comfort of their homes and socialize is not easy. (Me included xD) So now, because they're not getting the results they wanted, they decided to have mandatory days at the office, as in like, if you don't come in on these 2 days where going to have to have a chat… And tbh I never thought having to go back to the office, even for just 2 days, would strain me so much as it does. I mean, how was I doing this 5 days a week before?! Anyway…on top of all of this, that has been fantastic, one of my cats suddenly got her tail kind of broken. One minute she was fine and the next her tail was limp. I suspect my little demon cat pulled her tail while she was eating because the little princess has to eat on top of a table. So another visit to the vet it is, on top of a very stressful work day. And now, she doesn't let us give her the medicine… So, yeah…I'm way too stressed for anything other than just staring at walls…

Sorry for the vent…

[compassionatereminders]

(Anon from a little while ago, who had mom in the hospital + cat peeing)

This is just an update, of positive things! Mom is on the mend, and my sister submitted a complaint on her behalf about the way she was essentially ignored in the waiting room. My sister also works in Healthcare so she was able to word it really well and get the point across that it was Not Ok to leave anybody in that much pain waiting, regardless of what they look like.

But we are sending a gift basket to the day nurses that took care of her in the other hospital, because they were so attentive to her pain and comfort. The night nurses were not, unfortunately, but the day ones were fantastic, and made her stay much better.

Also, just for anybodys peace of mind, I didn't punish the cat, because as you said, he is just a little ding-dong animal and it's not like he did it out of spite or just to make things worse. I just carried him over, showed him the spot, and made a really stern "no" before I cleaned it up. Tbh I'm pretty sure he just likes the feeling of denim, because if I leave jeans on the floor, he pees on them, and the lunchbox had a similar material. I WAS able to clean it completely though, with (probably excessive) amounts of vinegar + baking soda, and a couple trips through the wash (I figured: if the washing machine didn't work or ruins it completely, then I'd be buying her a new one anyway), so I was able to get the smell out + disinfect the inside (just in case).

My sister + her brood came over to help out, and the worst of it is over now. My aunt (mom's sister) came by and we all roasted hot dogs and smores.

Other, unrelated good news, our little chihuahua is getting a vet visit sometime in the next 2 weeks (his jaw broke from another dog) and last time the vet said he was healing really well especially for his age (he's old) so his muzzle can probably come off permanently soon.

Even MORE good news, is that because my mom's insurance is great, she only has to pay ~$12 for everything healthcare-related, including the antibiotics/other medication (we're in the US so this is fantastic lol). So. It was a really crappy couple days, but I think we're over the initial bump and now thinks are smoothing out haha

I'm really happy so many things are improving and getting resolved! Though according the cat, as far as I understand cats plain don't comprehend consequences/punishment the way we do. So even just putting your cat close to something bad it did earlier and saying no isn't going to be a constructive lesson for your cat, it's just going to be an uncomfortable interaction your cat doesn't actually learn anything from