#now I have to take both of my cats to the vet instead of just one

[tjerra14]

textbook case of emotional blackmail: just what you need on a Monday

[keyrousse]

38, yay!

[roosterforme]

The Purrfect Storm | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley inadvertently becomes a pet owner after he hits a stray with his Bronco. When he meets a lovely vet tech who is willing to help, both Bradley and the cat fall for her instantly.

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, a bit of angst

Length: 6000 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written for a request! Check out my masterlist for more!

Bradley was on his way home late from work, anxious to get there before the sky opened up. Dark, ominous clouds had just moved in, signaling a rare downpour was about to hit San Diego.

He zipped along an empty, wooded side street just as a loud crack of thunder rocked his Bronco. Then his headlights caught something gray dashing out of the trees, and he tried his best to swerve, but he was afraid he had just hit an animal. 

"Damn it," he muttered, pulling over and turning on his hazard lights. He jumped out of the Bronco to see if he could spot anything in the roadway. The wind was picking up, and he could feel the first few drops of rain, but as soon as Bradley saw the gray cat that was no longer able to walk correctly, he ran toward it. 

When he got closer he saw a little bit of blood matted in its fur, and he immediately felt like a villain. He also had no idea how to take care of an injured cat. 

"Here kitty?" he said awkwardly as he approached the immobile animal. He was greeted with a loud, angry meow. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I hit you. But can you just be chill while I pick you up?"

As soon as he had both hands around the middle of the cat, it sank its sharp teeth into the back of his hand.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Bradley yelled, getting pelted with more raindrops. "I'm trying to help you now, you ungrateful little shit!"

Big, angry yellow eyes looked up at him as he clamped the cat's mouth shut with one big hand and then tried to scoop it up again. This seemed to work better, so he carted it back to the Bronco and set it on the back seat floor area. 

"Just relax, I know where there's a veterinary clinic," he told it with an eye roll before he climbed back in and pulled away. 

Bradley navigated a lot slower now that the rain was coming down. But when he pulled into the clinic parking lot, he only saw one light on inside. There was someone moving around at the front desk, so he hopped out into the pouring rain and gently held the cat with its mouth closed. He knocked on the door with his knuckle and watched the woman behind the front desk look at him a little warily before she headed toward the door.

---------------------

You were alone in the clinic with the door locked, trying to finish the weekly audit so you could leave. You always stayed late on Thursday nights, and now you were going to have to drive home in this crazy storm. 

When you heard someone knocking on the door, you jumped in your seat. You tried to see who it was, but the rain was obscuring the window portion of the door, so you made your way over only to find a soaking wet man in a naval uniform holding a drenched cat.

"I'm sorry, we're closed," you told him loudly through the door.

He glared at the cat and then tilted his head back and let the rain pour on his face for a beat. Finally he groaned and looked at you with pleading eyes. "You can't do anything? I hit this cat on my way home from work!"

You sighed and looked at all of his insignia pins, including his nametag. Bradshaw. It was pretty unlikely that an officer was here to murder you, especially since a good portion of your clients were naval families. Plus, he had actually brought the injured animal here instead of leaving it in the road.

"I can take a quick look," you told him as you unlocked the door. When you opened it and finally got a good look at him, you went a little speechless. He was really tall and really muscular. And even with his brown hair wet and messy across his forehead, you could tell he was really handsome. "Come on in," you managed to say, and he slipped inside with the cat. You locked the door behind him.

"Thanks. I really appreciate this. I feel terrible enough about what happened, but this cat hates me so much right now, I'd be a little afraid to take it to my house with me in this condition."

You laughed as he winced at you, and you immediately noticed the teeth marks on the back of his hand. 

"Oh, he got you good," you remarked. "Definitely doesn't like you too much at the moment. Let's see if I can get him patched up."

"It's a male?" officer Bradshaw asked as you signalled for him to follow you back to an exam room. 

"Yeah, I figured he was, because he's huge. But he definitely is. I could tell when you held him up."

Bradley scoffed. "I should have known. Females are usually more accommodating towards me."

You laughed softly and said, "I'll bet they are," under your breath. But then you realized that you were the sucker who agreed to let him get his cat checked out after hours. So you definitely shouldn't be surprised.

"Up on the table," you instructed, and you watched him release the cat and take a huge step away from it. "Aww, come on. He's a sweetheart!" you said, stroking the cat and making him purr. "What did he ever do to you?"

You watched officer Bradshaw hold up his bloody hand with a bland look. 

"That's totally fair since you ran him over," you said with a smirk. "And I'll look at your hand after I see how much damage there is to his leg here."

"Thank you," he muttered, reaching for a paper towel to press against his hand while he dripped water all over the floor. "I appreciate it. I'm Bradley, by the way."

You glanced at him briefly and smiled as you told him your name. "And what's the cat's name?"

Bradley just shrugged. "He doesn't have a collar, and he's pretty grungy. He's probably a stray."

"You should name him then," you said as you felt around the cat's leg with gentle fingers. It was a pretty clean break that you would be able to take care of tonight without the vet here.

"Sunshine," Bradley said sarcastically. "His name is Sunshine." You looked up at him, and he was smiling at you and the cat, his handsome features betraying his stern voice as he smiled.

"Did you hear that, Sunshine? Your daddy clearly thinks the world of you, and he's going to take the best care of your leg after I splint it."

"I am?" he asked, leaning closer to you. "Come on, doc. I can't keep this cat. He'll kill me in my sleep," he reiterated, holding up his hand and the bloody paper towel. He wasn't wearing a ring.

You laughed at the concerned look on his face. "Okay, first of all, I'm not the vet. I'm just a tech. Second, someone needs to take care of Sunshine, and I think that someone is going to be you. And third, girls dig guys who have pets. Does that help make this more appealing for you?" 

He took another step closer to you, and your breath caught in your throat. He was just a few inches away and glaring playfully at you. "First of all, you seem to know what you're doing well enough, so you could have lied and told me you were the vet. Second, Sunshine here will have me sleeping with one eye open. And third, yeah, maybe that does make this more appealing to me."

Your belly swooped, and you had to bite your lip. His brown eyes were the color of deep amber up close, and his mustache made everything he said seem more playful. 

"And fourth," he added, "do all women dig men who have pets? Or are you speaking from personal preference here? Either way, it does sound appealing to me."

You were gaping at him now, and a startled laugh escaped your parted lips. 

Meow!

"Sorry, Sunshine," you told the cat, patting his matted, damp fur until he was calm again. "You're right. This is about you, not Bradley." You positioned yourself in front of the cat and grinned over your shoulder. "I think it's all women, but it's definitely me," you whispered with a smile. You were met with a crooked grin as Bradley pushed his damp hair back from his face. 

"Good to know," he told you softly.

And now it was time to get to work. You made a mental list of all of the supplies you would need, then you turned to Bradley and reached for his good hand. He grabbed onto yours without hesitation. "Here, keep a hand on Sunshine and make sure he stays on the table," you said, running your thumb along his calloused fingers. 

"Alright," he said a bit reluctantly, squeezing your hand before letting go of you and holding the cat.

"I'll be right back with everything I need for the splint."

------------------------

Bradley watched you leave the small room, and he took a second to breathe in deeply and let it out slowly. You were fucking adorable. And he was very attracted to you. 

"Don't mess this up for us now," he told the cat as he waited for you to return. By the sound of things, the storm was still raging outside, but Bradley was in no hurry to leave anyway. He was still wet from the rain, and he probably looked like a mess, but it didn't matter. He'd stay here all night with you if you'd let him.

You strolled back into the room with some bandages, splints, and a weird thing covered in velcro. "This will only take a minute," you told him and Sunshine with a smile. He watched you measure the split against the cat's leg before cutting it to length. Then you set the bone in place with your fingers, gently talking the whole time so the cat would stay calm. Next you quickly wrapped the splint up tight with the bandage. 

"Now I need your help," you told Bradley, and you took his hand again. "Hold this bandage just like that so I can clip it in place." 

Bradley did exactly as he was told, and soon you were wrapping the velcro around everything to keep the cat's leg in one position. 

"Done!"

"Impressive," Bradley remarked. Even the cat looked way calmer now as he curled up on the exam table and ate the snack you gave him.

"Okay, now let me check you out," you said, holding out your small hand and letting him rest his palm against yours. "I'll need to clean it to get a better look," you told him, gazing up at him. "Might sting a bit."

"I can handle it," he reassured you as you led him to the sink. 

"I'm sure you can... Lieutenant? Is that what I'm looking at here?" you asked, nodding to the pins on his chest as you sprayed his hand with an antiseptic and dabbed at it with a cotton ball. 

"Yes, ma'am. Lieutenant Bradshaw," he told you, earning a smile.

"At ease, sailor." Your gaze was playful as you looked up at him and grabbed a clean cotton ball.

"Aviator, actually," Bradley informed you. 

"Oh, wow. Your daddy is fancy," you said over your shoulder to the cat who was now grooming himself on the exam table. 

"I still can't believe I have a cat now," he muttered, making you laugh as you taped some sterile gauze to the back of his hand. "You should give me your number since I don't know what I'm doing. You know... just in case. You wouldn't want Sunshine to suffer in any way, would you?"

You smirked up at him as you finished taping him up. Bradley just gave you his most innocent look in return. "You're something else," you told him.

"Something good?" he asked, and he watched your lips curl into a soft smile.

A loud rumble of thunder had Sunshine standing up and hissing. "It's okay," you told him, turning to reach for him, but then the power went out, bathing everything in complete darkness.

Bradley heard a thump that sounded like Sunshine had jumped off the table, and when he reached out, the cat was no longer there. 

"Oh no, he's loose somewhere in the building," you said, taking out your phone and turning on the flashlight. "Sunshine!" you called, shaking the bag of cat treats. Bradley followed you out into the hallway, but he bumped into the back of you.

"Sorry," he said, stopping himself with his hands on your shoulders. 

"It's okay," you said softly as he took his hands away from you and tucked them into his wet pockets. 

"Can he hurt anything? Or get hurt?" Bradley asked, looking up and down the hallway as you shone the light around. 

"Aww, you sound like a concerned pet parent."

Bradley groaned. "He's growing on me, I think."

Your laughter rang out in the semi-darkness before the light went out. 

"Shit, my phone died," you told him.

Bradley checked his only to find he had about ten percent of his battery left. "Mine is not far behind yours."

"Don't use it, just in case we need to call someone," you said, turning to face him. Bradley could feel your hands on his chest very briefly. "Oh, there you are," you said softly. "Come with me to the waiting room, and I'll get you some towels."

Bradley felt your fingers dance down along his arm until they tangled with his. Then you were leading him back to the front of the building. It was a little easier to see up here, as a streetlight outside provided some light. 

"Don't move," you instructed softly, and Bradley could make out the shape of your profile as you turned away from him and disappeared. 

He was stuck here now. He wasn't sure if he should be thankful or upset. But he couldn't leave Sunshine loose in the clinic for the night. And he supposed you were stuck here too, since you couldn't leave him here alone with his dumb cat.

Bradley saw you in the shadows when you returned. "I got you some towels and a set of scrubs you can change into. My boss is about your size."

"Thanks," he replied, taking everything from your hands. "Where should I change?"

You laughed. "It doesn't matter. I can't see you."

"What if the power comes back on?!" 

You laughed harder, and Bradley loved the sound. "Go back behind my desk, and I'll turn around."

Bradley took a few steps and then slammed into a file cabinet. "Ow!"

"Oh sorry, don't hit the file cabinet," you said in a sweet voice laced with laughter. 

"Don't worry. I won't." Bradley awkwardly stripped out of his damp uniform and underwear with you standing ten feet away from him. He had to peel the fabric from his skin and hang it over your chair as neatly as he could. 

"So you're an aviator. What do you fly? Super Hornets? Helicopters? Comanches?" you asked as he ran one of the towels along his naked body. 

"You know a lot about naval aircrafts. And to answer your question, Super Hornet." He slipped into the well worn scrubs and tied them up at the waist. They were a little snug, as was the shirt, but it was better than being wet. 

"It's hard to live near Fightertown and not pick up on a few things," you told him. "You need help getting back around the file cabinet?"

"Nah, I'm good," he said, and somehow he found your hand in the darkness. And somehow you let him hold it. 

You laced your fingers with his and softly said, "Maybe we should try to find Sunshine one more time? Otherwise, I think we're stuck here for the night."

Bradley silently prayed that Sunshine was tucked safely away somewhere he couldn't be found in the dark. "That's a good idea," he confirmed out loud. Because he did feel kind of bad making you stay at your workplace all night, especially since he barged in on you unannounced with the cat. "I'm sorry I've been such an inconvenience when you were just trying to be helpful."

"Don't worry about it. I'm a sucker for injured animals. And brunettes."

Jesus. Bradley had been afraid maybe you had a boyfriend or something. But now you were flirting with him again, just like you had been earlier. You were also holding his hand a little tighter. And each time you wanted to change directions, you placed your other palm on his chest. 

"This is kind of fun," he murmured when you had your palm on his chest, guiding him into a different exam room. 

"Is it?" you asked with a giggle. 

"Yeah," he said, smiling as you pushed him where you wanted him to go. "It feels like one of those games from when you were in high school, you know? Spending time alone with a cute girl in the dark."

He could hear you exhale and feel it against his neck. You were so close to him. "Seven minutes in heaven?" you asked close to his ear. 

"Yeah, seven minutes in heaven," he confirmed, grinning like a lunatic.

"I never played that in high school," you told him, letting go of his chest to feel around the exam table for the cat. "Did you?" He felt your palm come to rest on him again. 

"Once or twice. But I was a real nerd back then. I just made it further with you than I ever did in high school," he admitted. Your soft laughter filled the room, and now Bradley was praying in earnest that Sunshine was very, very well hidden until the morning. 

"I find it hard to believe you used to be a nerd. You're very...."

"I'm very what?" he asked as you effortlessly lured him all around the dark clinic with you. 

"Sizeable," you told him as you ended up back in the hallway again.

"Sizeable?" he balked. "Did you just call me large?"

You were laughing again, and he really wished he could see your face right now. "I meant it as a compliment!" you insisted. 

"Ohhh," he said, feigning ignorance. "You must have never given someone a compliment before. Here, let me show you how. You're funny, smart, and very cute."

"Thank you," you whispered, leading him into one more exam room. 

"I wasn't done yet. You're also surprisingly good at navigating in the dark."

You laughed again, and your hand landed on his chest, but this time it was because you tripped and ended up pushing him up against the wall. 

"I take that back, you're terrible at navigating in the dark," he whispered, keeping his fingers laced with yours and steadying you with his other hand at your waist. "Are you okay?" 

This time your breathy laugh was very close to him. "You know, I was going to pretend I tripped on your cat, but I think you've just got me flustered. It's a good thing you're so sizeable, otherwise you might be splinting my leg right now."

Bradley felt your hand move up to the scars on his neck, and your fingers danced to his ear and up into his hair. He guided you a little closer so your entire body was skimming against his, and he could hear your breath hitch. 

"Yeah, it's a good thing," he agreed. His eyes fluttered closed in the dark, and he instinctively found your lips with his. One chaste kiss led to another and another, your lips brushing his. You parted your lips just enough to tease his bottom lip as your fingers gently pulled through his messy hair, and Bradley felt you melt into him. His heart was beating faster now, and he wanted to push you up against the wall.

Meow!

You gently released his lips, rubbing your nose against his as you took a small step away from him. Bradley quickly laced his fingers with yours again and cleared his throat.

"That didn't sound like Sunshine," Bradley said, trying to keep you as close as possible. He sighed in relief as your palm found its way to his chest again.

"It wasn't," you whispered. "There's a cat in a kennel in the back room. Let's go check on her."

So Bradley followed your lead to the end of the hallway, his heart still beating a little fast. 

"This is Ginger," you told him, guiding him over to a large cage. He could barely make out the cat inside with the scant light coming through the window. 

"What's wrong with her?" Bradley asked, kneeling down to get a better look. 

You sighed, never releasing his hand. "Her owner, if you can even call him that, didn't bring her here in time after she had a broken leg. You're really a very good pet daddy to Sunshine, even though you are clearly reluctant." You squeezed his hand. 

"What's going to happen to Ginger?" he asked, reaching his fingers through the cage to pet her fur. She meowed and nudged his fingers with her head. 

"Not sure yet. Her owner won't sign the paperwork for us to re break and try to set her leg correctly. He also won't agree to pay for medical care. I tried to kidnap her, but my boss wouldn't let me."

Bradley gave the cat one last scratch and stood up. "What if I steal her, and you pretend like you have no idea what happened to her?"

You giggled again and pulled him closer to you. "Oh, I like that idea. I also like the idea of you having two cats. That's adorable."

Bradley was grinning in the darkness. "I like being adorable."

You just hummed and whispered, "I think we're stuck here for the night." He could feel your breath on his neck again. "There's a loveseat in the breakroom. One of us can sleep on that."

"You take it. I can sleep on the floor."

You started to lead him in the direction of the breakroom, but it was very dark in there. He could barely see anything. 

"Maybe we could share it?" you asked so softly, Bradley was afraid he might have misheard.

"Okay....we can share it," he replied, and he sat down hard as you guided him over to the small sofa. His heart was beating a little faster again as he blindly tried to move the loose pillow against the armrest, and then he was reaching for you.

You were laughing softly. "How do you want to do this?"

Bradley's heart was hammering now. He wanted to kiss you again. "However you want." With a palm against his chest, you pushed him back against the pillow on the armrest, and he stretched himself out on his back across the loveseat. It was uncomfortable, and his feet were hanging way off the far end, but as soon as you eased yourself down against him, everything felt perfect.

"Is this okay?" you asked next to his ear as you kind of wedged yourself up against the back of the loveseat with your body halfway on top of his. Your chest was pressing against his, and Bradley could feel your leg come to rest between his knees. 

"Yes," he managed, his voice coming out raspier. "Is this okay?" he asked, wrapping his hand around your waist. 

You answered with a soft hum and let your palm rest against his chest like you had been doing all night. Oh no. He liked you. This felt too good, and Bradley probably wouldn't make it through the night with his heart intact. But he let you snuggle up against him in the pitch black room.

---------------------------

You weren't really sure if this was a good idea, but your night had taken a turn for the better when Bradley and Sunshine arrived, so you decided to just go with it. 

"Are you comfy?" you asked him, and you felt the deep rumble of his voice against your cheek and hand.

"Very. Are you warm enough?" 

If anything, you were too warm, pressed up against him like this. His body temperature was hot, and so was he. Bradley had managed to get you pretty giddy by this point, after sharing just a few kisses. The thing you couldn't understand was how comfortable you felt with him already. You'd just met him, and now you were both spending the night in the clinic together, but you weren't nervous or wary of him. 

"I'm beginning to think Sunshine premeditated this whole thing," he told you with a soft laugh. "Because I've been looking for a while, and I've never met anyone like you."

You bit your lip and angled your face toward his. "What does that mean, Lieutenant Bradshaw?"

You could feel his hand tighten a little bit on your waist at your use of his rank. "It means I like you. A lot. And I'm desperately trying not to be creepy, because we're kind of stuck here together since the power is out and we can't find my cat, but I'm hoping you like me too."

In an instant, you let your lips connect with his again as you eased yourself a bit further up his body. As your fingers stroked along his cheek and up into his hair, you pulled your lips away from his and said, "I do." 

But as soon as the words were out of your mouth, Bradley was luring your lips back to his lips. He was so big and strong, but his kisses were soft, and his hands were undemanding against your lower back. He let you take the lead, never making you feel like you were trapped on the loveseat with him.

So you let yourself indulge in the sensation of his mustache against your skin and his legs tangled with yours. When you tugged your fingers through his hair, he groaned softly into your mouth, and you smiled against his lips. 

"Are you going to let me have your number?" he asked as you pulled away a few inches to catch your breath. 

You pressed your lips to his cheek and said, "Probably."

"Damn, what do I have to do to get a solid yes?" he asked, and you could tell he was smiling. 

"Tell me more about yourself," you whispered.

"I can do that," Bradley replied, running the tip of his nose along your cheek. So he told you all about his job, which sounded extremely exciting. He didn't tell you much about his family, other than he was pretty much alone. And he told you about his friends, who all sounded like a riot. 

"Sounds like you only have one thing missing in your life," you whispered against his neck.

"A girlfriend?" he asked, brushing his lips against your forehead. 

You had to bite your lip to keep from squealing. "I was going to say a cat," you told him. 

"Nah, Sunshine already took care of that, wherever he is. Tell me about you."

Bradley asked all the right questions at all the right times as you told him about yourself. He didn't think it was weird that you had a deaf, three-legged dog. He seemed to like that you volunteered at the animal shelter. And he invited you to get a drink with him at some bar called the Hard Deck tomorrow night. 

You yawned and snuggled against his neck, whispering, "I think I would like that." And soon you were falling asleep in his arms. 

-----------------------

Your pillow never felt this warm and comfortable. And why hadn't your alarm gone off? It was so bright in here, it must be time to get up for work. 

You stretched your arms just as you heard, "Good morning," whispered in a very raspy voice. 

"Oh!" you gasped, your eyes suddenly open, wide awake. You were staring at Bradley as he smiled hesitantly back at you. "You're so handsome. I was beginning to think I had imagined how you looked before the power went out."

He just laughed and seemed to take that as his cue to run his fingers along your arm. "That was a fun sleepover. Don't usually get to wake up with anything cute draped across me."

"Oh, Sunshine will remedy that, I'm sure," you said teasingly, letting your lips brush against his. Bradley was instantly smiling. 

Then you heard some purring from the doorway. "Speak of the devil," Bradley whispered. "Come here, Sunshine. We were looking for you."

But he just purred louder and louder. "He's probably hungry. I need to feed Ginger anyway, so I'll feed him too."

You peeled yourself off of Bradley and got another good look at him as he lounged back against the arm of the loveseat. You giggled, because he was way too big for the piece of furniture, and the scrubs you gave him were a little small. 

"What?" he asked, looking kind of smug.

"Nothing. But you need to get up before my boss comes in," you said, biting your lip and turning toward Ginger's kennel. But a loud knock on the front door had you panicking. Your boss would have just let himself in. "I'm going to check to see who it is."

"Want me to come with you?" Bradley asked, instantly at your back. 

But you were looking up through the front window, and you immediately recognized Ginger's owner. "No, I'll be okay," you grumbled, straightening your scrubs as you headed toward the waiting room. 

You unlocked the door and let him inside, fully aware that nobody seemed to care when your office hours actually started. "We actually don't open for another hour, but if you're here to sign the paperwork for us to try to fix Ginger's leg, I can get that ready for you."

But he just scoffed. "I'm not signing it. There's no way I'm spending that kind of money for a cat. I can't believe you even think that's reasonable."

You had to bite your tongue. It was only a few hundred dollars. 

"I'm just here to pick her up so I don't have to keep paying for you to board her," he added impatiently. 

But your brow scrunched up. "What are you going to do with her?"

He was rolling his eyes now. "Does it matter?"

You pressed your lips together in a tight line before you said, "It matters to me, yes."

"I'll just leave her somewhere. Maybe someone else will find her or maybe not, but I already got a new kitten for my kids."

Your blood was boiling now. "You're not serious," you said, raising your voice. 

"Just give me the cat, and don't charge me a kennel fee for today."

Bradley strolled out into the waiting room and asked, "Is there a problem?"

He eyed Bradley in his scrubs and said, "Your clinic has the most ridiculous prices. I just want to pick up the cat and go."

"You can't have her!" you told him. 

He shook his head and turned to Bradley. "Are you going to let your employee talk to me like that? Go get the cat!"

"She can talk to you however she wants," Bradley mumbled. He must have seen the anger in your eyes, because he started to block the hallway leading back to the kennels. 

You didn't care what this man thought he was going to do, he wasn't leaving here with an animal. "I'm not going to send Ginger with you if your plan is to abandon her."

"Well I'm not going to pay for any more services!"

He was only motivated by money, which might just make this easier. "Then sign her away to the clinic and leave," you told him, already rummaging in your file cabinet for the form you needed. Unfortunately this kind of thing happened from time to time. 

You glanced at Bradley where he stood with his thick arms crossed over his chest, thankful he was here. You were shaking with anger as you handed the form and a pen to Ginger's owner. And as you watched him sign his name, Ginger became property of the clinic. 

"And now you can get the hell out of here!" you told him, and he looked completely outraged. "You're abusive, and we will not allow you back for any of our services in the future." He was turning toward the door as you raised your voice. "And I hope your new kitten runs away and finds an owner who doesn't suck!"

He slammed the door behind him, and Bradley rushed over to you. "Are you okay? That was wild."

But all of the anger was gone now, and you just smiled up at him. "Wanna meet my new cat in the daylight?" you asked. 

"Yeah, I do," he said, and you kissed his rough cheek. 

You and Bradley sat on the floor in front of the open kennel door, holding hands. Inside the large cage, Sunshine was sitting next to Ginger as she ate her breakfast. 

"She's pretty. I couldn't tell what she looked like last night," Bradley murmured, reaching in and stroking her behind the ears. 

"I'll get her leg reset today, and I'll pay for her medical bills. Hopefully I can take her home with me in a few days."

Bradley cleared his throat. "I guess I should leave before your boss gets here?" 

"Yeah." But you really didn't want him to.

He nodded toward Sunshine and Ginger. "Looks like he made a new friend. If I can't get your number for me to use, you have to give it to me so we can set up a cat playdate. For Sunshine?"

You couldn't help laughing at his antics and the cute pout on his face.

"You can have my number for you. And Sunshine can have my number to reach Ginger. And if the offer still stands, I'd love to meet you at that bar later."

Bradley's face lit up as he got his phone out and handed it to you. "Sounds great. I'll text you the address." You entered your name and number and handed it back to him.

"I'll meet you there," you promised.

"I can't wait," he replied, but you were already kissing him. 

"You need to go," you whispered a second later. 

He pressed his lips to yours one more time before he reached in to get Sunshine. "I know, you don't want to leave Ginger. But I secured you a playdate," he told the cat. "Oh, how much do I owe you for fixing his leg?"

"Nothing," you said as you stood with your new cat in your arms, and Bradley followed you out to your desk. 

"That hardly seems fair," he replied, grabbing his khaki uniform from your chair. 

You just shrugged, setting Ginger down gently on your desk. "I did it off the clock anyway. Don't worry about it. You can buy me a drink later."

Bradley grinned at you. "I'll buy all of your drinks. And when we go out to dinner tomorrow night, I'll pay for that, too. Same as the movie I'm taking you to next weekend. Oh, and all of the concerts and museums we're going to visit together? I'm paying."

You giggled. "That actually sounds kind of perfect."

"You only like me because I'm a pet owner," he whispered, kissing you softly. 

You kissed him harder and ran your fingers through his hair one last time. "It certainly didn't hurt your cause. I'll meet you at the bar."

He nipped your lips one last time, and then held Sunshine up closer to his face as he headed for the door. "I owe you one. You want tuna for dinner? I'll feed you tuna every day."

You watched him walk outside and pull out of the parking lot, and then you plugged your phone in to check your messages.

You already had one from Bradley with the address for the Hard Deck. Then another one came through that said Thanks for one of the best nights of my life.

"I hope you liked Sunshine," you told Ginger. "Because I really like his dad."

-----------------------

Thanks for reading this one! Hope you liked it @morallydiseased! And thanks for your help @thedroneranger!

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@swthxrry

@chassy21

@yaboid19

@solacestyles

@avoirlecoupdefoudre

@daisyhollyxox

@callsigndiamond

@harper1666

@throwinsauce

@beebslebobs

@awesomebooklover17

@wintercap89

@whosyourgnomie4

@rosesinmars

@blog-name6996

@bcon24

@wishfulwithwine

@backinwonderl4nd

@monte-carlando

@tetragonia

@gingerbreadandpaper

@emptyloverofmine

@apparently-sunshine

@chaoticassidy

@missmirandafe

@topgunbb

@changlingkhat

@sugarcoated-lame

@callsign-jupiter

@avada-kedavra-bitch-187

@katiebby04

@marantha

@averyhotchner

@abaker74

@andycanbeemotional

@heli991113

@k-k0129

@noz4a2

@tallyovie

@shanimallina87

@starlightstories

@teddyluvs2sing

@little-wiseone

@ccbb2222

@lilyevanswhore

@o-the-o-grim-o-reaper-o

@hecate-steps-on-me

@xoxabs88xox

[emhm]

Coffee? Please?

Let me preface this by saying; I am not disabled and this is not about 'urgent' vet bills.

[I have an outstanding debt to pay in that regard, but the monthly payment is small and the service was already done. It was the amputation for our kitten Lucky's dead front leg.]

I do have a job and the pay is too good to quit. I work 40 hours a week and I spend almost 13 more hours just driving to and from work because our boss 'can't find a work assignment closer to where I live.' Up until about two weeks ago my partner was also working 40 hours a week on an opposing shift. We were just starting to get on top of our crushing pile of monthly bills. Then she lost her work assignment [not her fault] and he couldn't find anything else for her to do. So she lost a whole weeks pay. He found her a place, but now she's only getting 24 hours a week instead of 40. And we were already struggling to pay for the bare essentials. I was hoping so hard to just have something left when the bills were paid. But my entire tax return was used to pay for overdue bills and it still wasn't all of them.

-We have not had a working washing machine since September. Almost all of my ancient towels have rotted and ripped apart from trying to hang dry them to avoid killing the dryer too.

-Our house does not have central heat or air so we've been freezing for months with no money to buy wood for the stove. [It's warmer now but still in the low 40s at night where I am.]

-We have been flushing the toilet with buckets of water for almost a year because hiring a plumber is not happening.

-For over a year we have been fighting the flea infestation caused by the deadbeat trash-pit roommate we had to force to move out. They're biting me as well as the cats and I'm allergic to them. So I constantly have a rash on my feet and ankles. We never have money for flea drops consistently enough to get rid of them and I do not have a working vacuum to get rid of the flea eggs in the carpet.

-I just had to take on $1200 worth of debt because my tires were bald from my ungodly commute and they told me the brakes need replacing very soon.

-Our youngest cat Lucky will need to be fixed soon because she's almost old enough to go into heat. [She's indoors only but I don't want to deal with the screaming.]

Our predatory mortgage payment is almost $2000 a month with all their shitty add-on fees. My car payment is $334. The internet is $87. The power is usually $125. Car insurance is about $115. Garbage is $65. Our car is shared and I go through 1 tank +1/4 tank of gas EVERY WEEK. I owe both Sunbit AND Carecredit. We're both estranged from abusive parents and have no other family to turn to in an emergency.

I can't ask for money for fanfic. I know that's unethical and illegal.

But I can tell you that I write better/faster/more when I'm not distracted by gut-wrenching despair, crippling anxiety attacks and the bone-deep fear of quickly losing my home because I'm always two missed paychecks away from disaster. I know pretty much everyone is in the same boat, and my problems aren't unique or special.

But anything helps.

I have several hundred dollars in overdue bills from last month and it's already time for the next month's to start arriving. I feel so hopeless and I don't know what else to do besides resorting to begging.

I just set up a Ko-fi account - https://ko-fi.com/followmeontumblr

My Paypal is attached to this old email address - Nightshade518@yahoo.com

I have an Etsy shop with some things for sale - https://www.etsy.com/shop/PatchworkLaboratory

I also have a Spoonflower shop with fabric featuring my designs. [I only make $1.50 per yard that people buy though.] - https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/infamousdoctorf

And for anyone who was kind enough to read this whole thing- I do have some NSFW sketches I've drawn for "Eclipse Meets His Match" that I have nowhere safe to post. If you're bold enough to direct-message me with the line-

"I swear on all I hold holy that I am not a minor. Show me the art."

I'll let you see them. Thank you either way.

-Doc

[murdockcastleslut]

OKAY OKAU HEAR ME OJT

jj would be so proud of himself for like- rescuing a stray kitten or something with you. he’d be such a cute cat dad and post updates and pictures allllll the time

okay never mind that there are literally so many asks from july in my inbox currently but because it is obx season i am a little bit more motivated to write a little abouth this.

i feel like you and jj would be roaming around the cut when you hear a meow from far away.

you both start looking around when you both realize that there's a cat stuck in the tree in front of you. im thinking its an orange cat.

jj does't even think twice and starts climing the tree.

you are literally scared shitless because although your boyfriend has done this more times than you can count he has also fallen out of his fair share of trees as well and now there is cat involved as well.

he climbs the tree and comes back down the most caution you have ever seen him use since you've known him.

you take the cat to a vet and you get the cat checked out and get its shots in exchange you baby sit the vet's daughter for a few weekends so he and his wife can have a couple date nights

i feel like he would name the cat something silly like chicken.

and it just sticks. chicken gets milk and canned tuna and is spoiled rotten by all the pouges.

he loves you and jj for sure but his third favorite would be sarah for sure!

but he hates john b and the feeling is mutual.

your phone storage just got smaller because now instead of just pictures of jj its also pictures of chicken. examples of the pictures you take:

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/10/2024

someone adopt this little orange man from me in Houston TX! more details here!

listening

the 1991 Ella Mae Morse compilation Capitol Collectors Series is the official driving-cats-to-the-vet album bc it is so mellow but still fun. this album has previously been featured several times in tuesdayposts but i think you should all listen to it again.

seven thousand three hundred days IS a long long time to sleep ur so right ella

-

reading

two different works that annoyed me: Emily Hamilton's The Stars Too Fondly. my first clue should have been that this is my least favorite poem, bc ppl would quote it to me smugly after my mom died. im sure they thought they were being so super comforting to a budding astronomer, but, much like how i can no longer eat lasagna bc ppl gave us Twenty! Party! Size! Platters! Of! Lasagna! after my mom died (they would just Appear on our front porch, frozen), too much of this poem really soured me.

i had this book on hold Forever and then delayed delivery twice bc i have not felt like reading lately. here's the publisher's description:

In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charming, and irresistibly joyous tale of fierce friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself. So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie. Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries come crawling back to life, and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for. Lying somewhere in the subspace between science fantasy and sapphic rom-com, The Stars Too Fondly is a soaring near-future adventure about dark matter and alternate dimensions, leaving home and finding family, and the galaxy-saving power of letting yourself love and be loved.

should be catnip for me, right? wrong. starts out as a chat fic, which i hate.

i had a lot of trouble finishing the first chapter, which also has an extended third-person omniscient narrator flashback in italics, a thing i also hate. i KNOW you can figure out how to integrate this information into the book in a better way instead of dumping it in my lap.

i think part of why this is not hitting like i wanted is the tone, because i think this veers more new adult than i was really hoping for. i think introducing a big group all at once is very hard to do effectively. i do not like a series of character introductions that feel like they are trying to sell me action figures. or perhaps blind-bag figures. i do not like a six-deep list of cheesy puns about someone's name. i do not have the patience to see if this debut novel finds its footing a little later on, though i am glad a sapphic ghost in the machine romance exists in this world.

i also read dean motter's mister x (both the original late eighties through early nineties run and the 2008 follow-on).

let's yoink the description from wikipedia:

Set in Radiant City, a dystopian municipality influenced by Bauhaus and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the series concerns a mysterious figure who purports to be its architect. His radical theories of "psychetecture" cause the citizenry to go mad, just as he did, and he takes on the mission to repair his creation. To accomplish this he remains awake twenty-four hours a day by means of the drug "insomnalin", all the while coping with a Dick Tracy–like rogues gallery and supporting cast including his long-suffering ex-girlfriend Mercedes. (ed note: the redhead in the santa beard below)

the art in this comic book is really and truly stunning. everyone was firing on all cylinders. beautiful retrofuturistic advertisement vibes, very fun play with panels and word balloons while still being readable, there are airships, you know how it is. looooooooove a hardboiled noir.

the Concept of mister x, this horrible awful futuristic city that grinds its citizenry up and spits them out? both figuratively and sometimes literally? love it!!! love a great wounded beast of a city as a character!!!

unforch the "who is mister x" subplot does not resolve in a satisfying way, imo. there's a lot of flip-flopping, there's a lot of options, he ends up being (maybe?) someone he was very definitively proven NOT to be in an earlier issue, and it really soured me on the whole experience. and also i don't believe it! that specific person makes no fucking sense! who mister x is, is by far the least interesting part of the series. tell me more about how he's fixing the city. show me more of the city. shut up and dance, robot artists

-

watching

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, dir. Singer). this movie did not need to be two and a half hours long. appreciated the EXTREMELY divorced energy from charles & erik though, quicksilver rescuing the school scene was also very fun. my bestie's husband has informed me we are NOT watching Dark Phoenix, i'm not sure if we're going to loop back and watch the ??? number of wolverine films or if we're going to see how i feel about deadpool. bc i find this character insufferable through clips only.

-

playing

there is a feature in the video game genshin impact to turn your World Level (TM) down in order to make overworld enemies a little easier. i am at seven out of nine bc i genuinely can't finish the boss to unlock world level 9, and i am finding some of the overworld enemies too hard at 8 and want to finish the achievements in a more relaxed fashion.

-

making

this is going to be a lot of previously posted pics so bear with me.

saturday morning/saturday evening. plants? repotted. porch and stairs? swept. old wasp nests? knocked down. different mirror on the porch to go out to the curb when i have the energy? yes. also a giant slab of engineered stone from the top of a dresser but that's out of frame.

speaking of the giant broken dresser that was in my apartment when i moved in just over a year ago, i ripped it apart with a crowbar and threw it in the dumpster. put my pretty zebrawood desk in the empty space and started thinking about what to hang on that wall. the wall across from it is maps, bc i think a cozy office should have lots of maps and it makes a good video conference background. maybe this will be the dedicated cowboy nonsense wall. i did so much dusting and vacuuming and mopping and the girls can't even hang out in here bc the orange boy is in the office bathroom. big sigh.

also a lot of driving around and emailing and calling thirty shelters and rescues figuring out how to get this orange man a home. please take this orange man off my hands.

[catadvice]

My boyfriend and I have two cats we raised from kittens until now, they are 4 years old female 'S' and male 'O'. From the same litter too. My boyfriends brother moved in with us to get himself back on his feet and he brought his own 6 yr old female cat 'M'. M has been in her own room away from both S and O with the door shut for about a month. I successfully got O to eat on the other side of the door at the same time as M for a week, but not S. We put up a large piece of plexiglass so they could see eachother while they eat, and O was fine until he wasn't. We put all of their food upstairs so they would have to be around M, but they won't go upstairs. I picked up S and brought her upstairs to show her where the food is, and she saw M and got on edge. O came up the stairs and attacked S, and now O is being a bully to S for some reason. He now will lock eyes with S and go after her (he is bigger than her and they both have their claws). I plugged in a feliway upstairs to hopefully mitigate things, but what do I do? I want all three cats to get along ultimately, but why is the introduction of the third cat causing my original two to become enemies?

Obligatory "I'm not a vet, just a person on the internet with cats who really loves cats" but here's my thoughts on this situation!

O attacking S when you placed her upstairs in front of the plexiglass/room with M:

This might very well be a case of redirected aggression/displaced aggression, it's quite a common thing in cats where if a cat can't interact with a trigger that is causing him stress, he'll redirect that aggression to the nearest person/animal/thing. In this case it seems like M being a new addition to the house is still stressful to O but because he can't interact with her due to the plexiglass (a great thing you've implemented, by the way!), he's redirecting that aggression towards S instead.

On the attacks:

The first thing to do here is assess whether O being a bully to S is actually aggressive behaviour or more on the play side, cause a lot of times cats playing with each other can definitely look aggressive if you're not used to it.

So look out for the following in either O and S when the "bullying" is happening (remembering that the interaction can be differently interpreted by either cat, so it could be a situation in which one cat thinks they're playing while the other is actually being aggressive):

Are they making any noise? Cat play is usually very silent, if either cat is meowing, hissing, or screeching, that's usually a good indication that it's not play but aggression.

Are the tails puffed? Sometimes tails get puffed after a long play session, but if an attack starts and either of cats presents a puffed tail immediately, that's usually a sign the cat is scared and therefore it isn't regular playtime.

Are the cats taking turns? Is O always the chaser/aggressor, or does S also run after him, pester him to chase her and run away? Cats playing will very often take turns attacking each other in a "I chase you, now you chase me, I annoy you into chasing me, now you annoy me into attacking you". If O is always attacking and S always running away, it's probably aggression.

Assuming the answer to all these questions is that these interactions are not regular playtime between the two cats, and assuming that it only happens when M is also present (behing the plexiglass), here's my two suggestions for what to do:

Play Time: redirect the aggression into play time. Bring both cats upstairs and play with them with toys until they are too tired to play. You will however need someone in the room with M playing with her too. The goal is to get all the cats to associate being all together with good things (aka play time with humans) and to get them so absorbed in the play that they forget that there is an "intruder". Eventually you can open the door and play together with all three cats once they all are more at ease around her, but I recommend waiting for this step until they can all eat in sight of each other and the aggression from O stops.

Scent Swapping: the plexiglass is genuinely a great step, but it might be preventing the cats from smelling one another. Get them more used to each other's scents by swapping toys (bring O and S's toys into M's room and vice versa), or by swapping things that the cats spend a lot of time with, for example a blanket etc., and then swap back. In a pinch you can rub a towel on O and S, and one on M and then swap those. Eventually, swap places: being careful not to let them interact, being O and S into M's closed room and bring M to a room of the house that the two kitties usually spend a lot of time in, letting the sets of cats explore the place and sniff all the smells.

Also to note: if O's aggression on S continues, do these above steps individually for each cat instead of by grouping O and S together. For example, you can bring O upstairs and keep S downstairs, play with O while someone plays with M behind the door. After that session is over, repeat the step but with only S upstairs and O downstairs. Same thing for scent swapping. At the end of the day, even though O and S are siblings and good friends, they might take different lengths of time to acclimatise to the idea of a new cat.

I think that's all that I can think of! I really hope this was useful anon, and best of luck with integrating M into your kitty household!

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack - Cat AU

Okay, so, two particular pieces of beautifully drawn fan art have collided together in my head to create a light and fluffy self-indulgent image that I just had to share with you all.

@okamiliqueur's heartbreaking picture of Jack's lonely and forgotten box from the new demo made me think of cats abandoned in boxes, "free to a good home." Only in the case of the game's story, he was left out in the rain to rot, the owner having given up giving him a good home.

@jazzylovetodraw's picture of Jack as a cat has been buzzing in my mind for quite a while. I just love how precious he looks in both forms, and when I was thinking of Jack being like those abandoned kittens in cardboard boxes... well, the combination was obvious.

I know that Jack's fursona is a snake, and I know being a cat is Shaun's thing, but I'm a sucker for kitties. I'm as biased towards cats as I am for dragons, if my avatar and username didn't offer enough of a hint. ;3 I'd love to see all the characters as kitties honestly.

Tempting though it may be to go with Fruits Basket rules for kitty Jack, like I toyed with over on twitter, I think I'm going to play with a different and simpler set of rules. In this universe, Jack is stuck as a cat until his sunshine's love allows him to become human again.

Admittedly, it's kind of hard to imagine Jack being alone for very long when he looks so adorable. Who wouldn't fall in love with that precious kitty face instantly? Most everyone would be putty in his paws.

Content Warning: I wind up touching on a couple explicit headcanon details near the end. I mean, I did say this is a pretty self-indulgent image with my OTP.

Maybe Jack was stuck as a cat via a curse ala Hocus Pocus and is guarding the box/tape/etc. Maybe he was stuck as a cat instead of in the tape and no one could see him until MC came along. Maybe he's got a tragic backstory like the cat from Fruits Basket.

Since this AU is more about the vibes, I'm just going to leave the how and why parts of the lore up in the air. All that matters is that Jack is stuck as a cat and left out in the rain in a cardboard box until MC decides to take him home.

I'm just going to switch over to Alice and what she would do in this scenario. Poor lonely Alice is out on the town, when she comes across the box out in the rain and sees an equally lonely kitten. Poor little thing, all wet and sad... She just has to take him home with her.

Alice cleans Jack up, gets him wrapped up all nice and warm in a blanket, and even gives him some chicken she bought for her own dinner that night. She'll have to get cat food and other things for her new furry companion tomorrow, though she should probably look for his owner and take him to a vet.

At first, Jack isn't sure what to do about the situation, though he is grateful. No one has even acknowledged his existence until Alice came along. She's so soft and warm. He loves it when she holds him. She's so kind too.

Alice does find it surprising Jack doesn't put up a fuss when being given a bath. Jack didn't exactly like the feeling of being all grimy, and don't get him started on fleas and other gross things cats have to deal with on the streets!

The vet isn't as fun, though Jack is well behaved, though very clingy to Alice throughout the appointment. He can't help but fear that she'll abandon him too. He'll keep up the helpless and adorably needy kitty act if it means she'll stay with him.

There's no ID chip, no tag, and no missing notice for any cat that looks like Jack. It's clear that the poor guy is a stray.

Alice is hesitant initially. She's wanted to get a pet cat for a long time now, but she has barely been able to take care of herself. How can she handle taking care of an innocent life that needs her when she's struggling so much with her own life?

That hesitation doesn't last long. Jack loves on Alice so much, constantly purring and snuggling up to her. He curls up with her when she sleeps or relaxes. He was hesitant at first, and she assumed that was because he was wary of her, when in reality, he just didn't want to cross any of her boundaries. He didn't want to do anything that might upset her and make her get rid of him. When she started petting and cuddling him, he wholeheartedly returned the affection, absolutely starved for it.

The first thing Alice thought when she saw Jack was that he was lonely, just like her. He's so sweet and can't stand to be apart from her. How can she just get rid of him when he makes her feel loved and needed?

Of course, a cat's life isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Cat food is a step down from people food, and a litterbox is anything but sanitary. Jack just skips that nonsense and goes straight to using the toilet despite the awkwardness, which shocks the heck out of Alice. He also snubs all cat food in favor of human food.

Yes, I could go with Jack being a ghost(?) cat that doesn't need food or to use the toilet, but then he wouldn't have gone through the indignities of a vet visit.

Then again... it would be funny if Alice brought Jack to the vet, only for them to think she's crazy, since to them all she's carrying is empty air.

Hmm... yeah, I think I'll go that route. As hilarious as vet hijinks and typical cat care with Jack while he possesses a human mind and identity might be, this would be a more interesting and tragic route. No one else can see Jack but Alice. He's lived for who knows how long in a world full of people that don't see him at all, unable to even be human anymore. It'd be a different type of hell than the one in the video tape, similar to what I talked about in my previous ramble.

Imagine if the 1984 incident Jack died and became a ghost(?) cat because he was secretly a cat shape shifter or something. Or maybe something more supernatural happened during the incident. Either way, cat ghost(?) Jack is very, very lonely.

Man, I just realized, it would be even more tragic (and complicated) if I go with the reincarnation route for this AU. Ghost(?) cat Jack probably had to watch Mary die slowly in the hospital after the incident, unable to help her or let her know that it's him. He couldn't even offer her comfort in her final days. It would've been so traumatizing.

For now, let's just play with this AU without the reincarnation angle, since this is supposed to be mostly light and fluffy feline fun with the OTP.

Jack, even as a cat, tries to do his best to help Alice out. If he can make himself useful, make her need him, then he won't ever lose her. He sneaks out when she goes to work to keep her company even though she initially tried to get him to stay home. No one sees him, so it won't matter. Besides, petting an invisible kitty is a good stress relief when dealing with awful customers, and certainly beats regular stimming.

The more Alice cares for Jack, the more powers he gets back, starting with the ability to talk. It's a huge shock for Alice of course, but Jack makes it clear that it's because of her love for him that made her stronger.

Of course, that love is platonic, at least at the start, which Jack knows full well, but he'll work on shifting things to a romantic love... especially after he gets the power to shift back into a form that has hands.

Like in typical canon, Jack answers Alice's questions as best he can. He probably lost his sense of identity like in game canon, so he references CloudyTown and stuff "he" did there, mixing up the show's lore with his own past. It's also intermingled with his many years spent wandering the streets being ignored and going crazy from the loneliness.

Jack does let Alice know that he used to be able to change from a cat to human. He just... can't anymore. He thinks it was because he was forgotten. He doesn't know why no one can see him until Alice came along.

It's so sad and tragic that Alice can't be unmoved by his plight. Sure, it makes things a bit awkward knowing that Jack is sentient and used to have a human form, but she feels for him. It also makes sense now why Jack always turned away whenever she changed.

Yes, Jack could have peeked. He could have even watched Alice while she was bathing, but he didn't. He refuses to do anything she won't allow. Cuddling her and sleeping in her bed is innocent, but the thoughts he'd have about her when she was undressing were anything but. He loves her too much to take advantage of her innocent trust in him. He needs her to want him to see her in that vulnerable state... even if it drives him crazy lusting over her. Poor pitiful kitty can't even have a good wank off session with his paws.

Still, despite knowing that Jack was human and is sentient, it's hard for Alice not to fall for his feline charms and not think too deeply about that fact. She still winds up cuddling him and petting him.

Of course, when it first hits Alice that she's treating a human like a pet, she stops and apologizes, but Jack insists that it's fine. He enjoys their cuddle time. He gives her the big, pleading kitty eyes as he begs her not to stop, and she can't help but give in.

Awkwardness soon fades and settles into a strange new normal. Alice does wonder if Jack really is real or if she was just so lonely she imagined something this crazy... but his presence is comforting. He keeps her company almost all the time. She doesn't feel alone anymore thanks to him.

Also... now that Jack can talk, he says such sweet things. It's weird to have a "pet" take care of her, but he reminds her of when it's time to brush her teeth, wakes her up for work, helps her get chores done despite how awkward it is with his paws and small size... It's so endearing.

The encouragement and assistance Jack gives Alice is wonderful, and his jokes are so fun and silly, but it's the praise that leaves her feeling flustered. If she didn't know any better, she could swear that he's almost flirting with her sometimes. She's in denial that's what it is, but it feels nice to be told that she's cute, and Jack is so sincere about it... and how can she not melt when he says sweet things with such a sweet face?

It's one morning that things change drastically. Alice's bond with Jack strengthened over time to the point that Jack finally can change back into a mostly human form, though he does have cat ears, a fluffy tail, and whisker markings.

It was a big surprise to them both really, as Jack transformed in his sleep. Alice had gotten used to cuddling up to a talking cat during the night, so it was a shock to wake up in a pair of big muscular arms. Jack was so happy when waking her that morning, giddy to show her his (mostly) human side, that it slipped his mind what a shock it would be.

Naturally, Alice bolted back against the wall away from the stranger in her bed. Jack quickly started reassuring her of who he was and that she wasn't in danger. He stooped down to her level, pretty much wilting really, with ears folded back, as he apologized for scaring her. He was just so happy that he wasn't thinking about how it must look from her side...

Seeing Jack so pitiful and sad, Alice feels her heart go out to him. Once things calm down, she can't help but be amazed by how he looks. Unthinkingly, she reaches up to pet his ears and feel how they attach to his skull. She only fully realizes how forward she's being when Jack starts purring.

Flustered, Alice immediately pulls back, only for Jack to whine at the loss of her touch. He didn't mind it at all. He always loves it when she cuddles with him.

It's a complicated feeling for Alice. On the one hand they've been very close for so long. On the other, Jack is definitely a human, so it feels different now.

Yet, Jack is so sweet. He's mindful of her hesitation, even if he's disappointed. It's harder for him to hide his feelings with such expressive ears. Alice can't help but want to reach out to him, especially after they've already spent so much time together, getting to know one another. He's chased away the loneliness that had been haunting her for so, so long.

Of course, now that Jack has a human form, Alice finds her feelings slipping into "dangerous" territory. He makes her feel so good, so loved, and she feels for him too. She doesn't want to dare assume he might feel anything more for her than just a friend, but she can't help but notice the way he looks at her, the way he clearly longs to be near her. He's so tender and gentle... and they've already been so cuddly.

It's easier for Alice to find herself cuddling up to Jack, letting him and taking guilty pleasure from his gentle warmth. He pets her hair too in return, and it feels surprisingly good... a bit too good at times.

The line between friend or something more blurs with all the cuddles and petting. Alice feels guilty about it, but Jack keeps encouraging her until, finally, something has to give and their relationship changes. Both of them feel relieved when it does, as they couldn't help but worry that their feelings might not be reciprocated.

In a lot of ways, it's pretty close to the normal continuity, just with some fuzzy ears on top. Jack can change into a cat at will now. As he gets stronger, people can start to see him, perhaps as a feline silhouette, or maybe with some unsettling shadows not from a cat. He's certainly going to be a bit territorial and not be afraid to hiss and use his claws if absolutely necessary.

Still, this kitty is pretty content thanks to Alice. Jack loves it when Alice carries him around as a teeny kitty, warm and snuggly against her chest, even in the cleavage of her shirt at times. Naturally, he returns the favor, carrying her around the apartment as often as possible. It's only fair after all~!

Naturally, Jack wants to get intimate with Alice as soon as she lets him. He's so pent up. Even with hands to take care of himself, all the cuddling and now kisses just make him ache for her even more. He longs to be inside her, biting her gently and growling in pleasure as he takes her.

A bonus with Jack being part cat is that he gets to have some vibrating action when he purrs. It adds a whole new dimension to their lovemaking, whether he's using his mouth on her sensitive parts, or thrusting himself deep inside.

Oh, I'm reminded of the cat-like features I mentioned in the Omegaverse AU. I guess Jack, having feline features, would have a dick that's ribbed for her pleasure too. Tongue too. Neither would be sharp because rule of sexy, but it would add a very pleasurable texture that a clever man like Jack is going to take full advantage of~

Of course, Alice can take advantage of those feline features too. The base of Jack's tail and ears are quite sensitive, and she quickly learns what spots get his motor running. Of course, getting Jack excited will lead to him pouncing on her and getting rather frisky, but Alice would certainly be expecting that result~

I can imagine Jack could make himself look fully human without any feline features, but he knows Alice finds his cat side to be adorable. She has a hard time resisting petting him when his ears and tail are out, and he certainly wants to encourage her to pet him as much as possible. He also wants to encourage her to let him pet her as much as possible.

Of course, if Jack can become powerful enough that other people can see him, he'll have to stick with only cat or human form when out in public. Still, even when other people can see and hear him, he prefers to be in Alice's company. Cats have their preferred human, and Alice is Jack's.

Naturally, Jack would have to be sneaky about showing Alice love when in public if there's a chance of getting caught. Good thing he has that perfectly innocent little kitty form to hide in. I can imagine it would lead to some interesting interactions where someone shows up only to find Alice incredibly flustered with a slightly disheveled appearance, while her "pet" Jack is just casually looking smug, as all cats do.

Person: Whoa, what happened to you?

Alice, not looking them in the eye: Uh... Jack, m-my cat just... ah, got a bit excited.

Person: Heh. Cats, am I right?

Alice: Haha... right.

Jack: :3c

Hmm... I wonder then if the other love interests should have cat transformations in this AU too. It'd be a crime if Shaun doesn't have that ability but Jack does. Jack already gets together with Alice, so I don't want to be extra cruel to Shaun.

Admittedly, I don't have too many ideas for other characters with cat modes. Well, aside from an image of Shaun taking care of his baby MoonPie by carrying her around by the scruff. This post was mostly just indulging in sweet moments with my OTP with a bit of feline flavor sprinkled on top. Maybe I'll revisit the idea again if I get more ideas than just a bit of fluff.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this silly romp with Alice and Jack having some feline fun times!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[moyokeansimblr]

Moyo life update

Hey friends so yeah uhm... Well after our old man kitty Zook passed on the 4th my dad decided pretty much immediately that we'd be getting kittens because he thought we needed kitten therapy. Initially the plan was only to get 1-2 because we do still have Sophie (Zook's sister) and while she adores the pants off me she's admittedly a grouchy old lady towards everyone else so we weren't sure how she'd do with a kitten. She's also 15.5 so that's why my dad wanted more than one kitten because Sophie doesn't play much.

My brother's girlfriend knew a family that had a litter of 4 kittens and the plan was for us to take 2 so as to not overwhelm Soph. But get this: on the 4th while my mom and brother were saying goodbye to Zook at our vet... a 12 week old kitten just waltzes up to the door! One of the vet techs grabbed him and was like omg he's here for them! But the other tech wouldn't let her interrupt my mom & brother so she took him home with the plan to tell us about him when we were slightly less sad. When my mom called the vet Friday morning to settle our account she told us about him and he was ours an hour later. My brother named him Waffle (short for wunderwaffe dg2, idk spelling I don't play cod).

But we still wanted Waffle to have someone who wasn't 15 years older than him so Saturday morning we went to meet the litter of 4 kittens my brother's girlfriend's mom's friend had. It was pretty easy, two of them clearly liked us most right away. So by mid day Saturday had two more kittens. They're 8 weeks, and named Pez and Cooper. Cooper is the runt and the first thing my brother's girlfriend said when she saw him was oh my god he's so derpy. 😹 But my dad said he thinks Pez knows Cooper is a little behind and looks out for him.

So far they're all separate. Waffle has his space, Pez and Cooper have a space, and then Sophie has reign of the house. They've had a few supervised meetings that have gone well. Sophie's gave her warning hisses if they've gotten too close but otherwise has just watched them. Pez and Cooper aren't scared at all because they came from a house full of other animals but Waffle is pretty scared. He gets all poofy and growls both at Sophie and the other kittens but we don't think he's had experience with other cats since nobody knows where he came from. So we're working on him so he'll be less scared.

ANYWAYS, because I work part time and from home I am the primary cat carer. Between all the cleaning/kitten proofing, giving Sophie ample attention, and acclimating all three kittens I'm utterly brain fried. I've been trying to work on some CC but I've not been able to sit down and actually play sims at all in weeks what with how sick Zook was and now kittens. I did have a sims 2 birthday gift planned but there's no way I'll get to finish it or any of the other CC I've got in progress by that date. I really just want to play but I'm in cat mode so it's what it is. But in the meantime while I can't play I've been watching a lot of sims YouTube content instead (like sammy sundog's service area videos) so that I can still get my sims fix until whenever I get to play again.

I'll end this post with a pic of my good old girl Sophie because she's handling all of these changes pretty damn great so far. But yeah long story short basically I don't have anything sims to contribute to Tumblr right now. Hopefully soon.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for breaking up with someone over fishkeeping and cat food? I know how the title sounds but hear me out. This happened a couple years ago and I'm still friends with the people this happened with but it still weighs on me. So I have always been kind of militant about husbandry when it comes to the animals I keep(autistic, it' a special interest) and I don't really like to deal with people who don't take caring for living creatures they willingly bring into their home seriously. I sold a fish tank to my, then, partner J who wanted to get into fish keeping. J and D, our other partner, lived together. After taking the tank home and cleaning it up we were throwing around ideas for what to put in it. It wasn't too big but also not small, but he kept throwing out species that would far outgrow the tank or species that would fight and kill each other. Every time I shot these species down J took it well, realizing the space was either too small or they would die and didn't want the fish in improper conditions but D kept telling me not to "squash his creativity" and he could "do whatever as long as it made him happy". At this I obviously hopped on my soapbox about how it's our duty as animal owners to give the animals we keep proper conditions and D went absolutely off on me and mentioned how I care "too much" about how other people keep their animals and had always made her feel bad about how she feeds her cats and now I was doing this. For context my cat eats a raw diet. I did a lot of research and talked to my vet and he's doing wonderfully while one of her cats is extremely overweight to the point he waddles instead of walking and the other two are getting there as well, both of which I've brought up concerns about but I have NEVER shamed the way she fed her animals. She had been interested in the interest I had taken and had ASKED for better quality food recommendations, so I gave them, but NEVER told her she had to feed them a certain way. A majority of our conversations were just me info-dumping and her being happy to listen and ask questions occasionally. Anyway J kind of backed out of the conversation at this and D and I went back and forth a bit before D finally said "I don't think this relationship is going to work out if you won't let this go"(This being I have pointed out one of her cats is grossly overweight a couple times and it's extremely unhealthy, especially since he's aging now) so I said "Yeah I think so too. This is something I clearly care a lot about and I'm not going to be with someone who puts their own or their partner's feelings over the well-being of the animals they are responsible for"(referencing when she said a few times when talking about the fish that it was okay if the fish killed each other or died from improper conditions as long as J was happy with how the tank looked and "it's not like we're putting kittens in with sharks, they're Just Fish") and we broke up there and then. Since then we've still stayed close friends after a short break from each other(I'm actually her Man of Honor in her upcoming wedding to J!) and she's actually made moves to better the quality of the food she buys her cats and is working on getting her obese cat's weight down and J's fish tank hobby is going very well(with proper keeping standards!!). But the situation at the time still weighs on me and even though we're genuinely too busy with work and life to make a relationship work anymore anyway and that was also a factor of the breakup.... AITA for beginning a breakup over animal husbandry?

What are these acronyms?

[acciocriativity]

The Cat and The Fox II - PSH & JWY - TCTF SERIES

(Pictures aren't mine, credits for the rightful owners)

Pairing: hybridcat!seonghwa x reader x hybridfox!wooyoung (non-romantic)

Genre: fluff, angst

Warnings/tags: mentions of blood and injuries: implied abuse and trauma; hybrid au; hybrid series

WC: 2,9 K

N/A: This took me way too much time to finish, I'm so sorry! There'll be a part 3 of this sooner than later, I promise 💕 As always my requests are open!

The Cat and The Fox I

The Cat and The Fox III

Ateez Masterlist

The fox looked... pissed off at me, like I was at fault for his injuries somehow.

The fox looked … pissed off at me, like I was at fault for his injuries somehow.

And that would be expected if he was still bleeding and hungry like three hours ago, but he wasn’t. He was curled in that same box drenched in dried blood, because he refused to get out of it after we came inside, eating a fruit salad I made for him 15 minutes ago.

Somehow, he stayed calm while the cat was near him, without attacking or hissing at each other once, while I had scratches on my arms, because I tried to take him to a specialized vet. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. They seemed perfectly fine in each other presence.

How did he even get hurt in the first place if it wasn’t the cat?

But the important part is, he wasn’t making a huge mess like the first time, actually he barely moved.

He was in the corner of the living room, staring at me now and then, while chewing another piece of apple. I tried not the obvious as I glanced at him, while the cat was walking to my side on the couch.

The TV was loud, but I barely focused on it until I felt two paws kneading on my left thigh. The cat meowed once when I looked at him.

“What?”, I asked.

The feeling of being ridiculous for talking to him like he would answer was yet to disappear.

He meowed once more, looking at my bandaged left arm. Then, he jumped on my lap, and laid his head down on my stomach. My heart could barely take in the scene in front of my eyes. His paws kept kneading me, while caressing my arm with his fluffy head and tail.

“It’s okay, kitty”, I said as I petted his head.

Just as soon as I touched his fur, I heard a hiss coming from the corner.

“Aren’t you a good one? So cute”, I said, still looking at the cat while petting his head.

The hissing sound didn’t stop, but I kept ignoring it.

Was that fox really protective of the cat? Or he was still hurting?

To test the theory, I stopped petting the cat, yet the hissing didn’t stop, and I heard a soft meow of protest, so I got back to the job.

They had to be from the same home still, but maybe the pain it was too much

That thought made me curl in the couch. I wish I could help more, but he clearly didn’t like my presence even if I could, and there’s nothing I could do about it, at least not this late. I still didn’t know how he got such a deep cut, since my initial theory was wrong, and the chances of knowing are none, but I hope their owners get a grip, and start to take care of them better.

“I need a name for you… for both of you”, I murmured.

Suddenly the hissing stopped, and I heard little muffed taps on the floor coming from the corner. My hands left the soft fur of the cat’s head, and he wasn’t happy at all, but I wasn’t about to get any more scratches.

I saw the red fur of his ears picking out from the side of the couch, then one of his eyes, that bright yellow ones that for the first time didn’t look like they wanted to tear me apart, instead it as almost as if i-

The fox jumped at me.

I didn’t have time to close my eyes.

He stood on 4 paws by my side, bobbing his nose on the cat’s head while whining, and I couldn’t do anything besides watch the scene in front of my eyes. His fur touched my skin lightly, and I didn’t dare to move. Then, finally, the cat seemed to understand what the fox wanted, and gave space beside himself. The whining stopped and both of them laid on my lap, side by side, as calm as the night outside.

I didn’t dare to move, my heart was racing while I tried to process the bizarre scene in front of me, but the thing is, I couldn’t. What kind of animal behavior is that? For my own safety, I didn’t touch them, and tried my best to not move and bother them.

The living room was silent for some time, while I was lost in my own mind.

“Where did you come from?”, I asked after sometime, and both heads looked up to me.

I didn’t mean to ask it out loud, it wasn’t like I’d get an answer.

The cat decided to get up from my lap, and I thought he’d walk away. Instead, he sat on my lap while looking straight at me and raised his left paw up. I took it with my own left hand, a small smile in my face. He was too cute, weird as fuck, sure, but a cute cat.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you I guess”, I said, moving my hand up and down in the air. “I wish you had your collar, then I’d know how to call you”.

He meowed, and I released his paw, but then he kept nuzzling my hand.

“You want this?”, I caressed his head and the purring started right away.

The fox did nothing but stare, which I took as a sign he wouldn’t attack me. His tail moved from left to right in a calm manner, and he seemed relaxed enough on my thigh. That was good, but his staring was unsettling to say the least. Was he staring so much at? The clothes I was wearing weren’t anything special, could foxes even see this amount of colors?

The fox stood up suddenly, eyes straight on me, and I waited for the worst, however he just raised his right paw up to me, and I took it with care, avoiding his sharp nails in the process. On his neck, there’s a clear sign of where the collar was, his fur was dirtier on a closer look, something I didn’t get to do until now.

“It’s nice to meet you too”.

He took his own paw from my hand, and he made a sound that I could only hope it was satisfaction. The fox bumped his head on the cats’ neck, which the latter didn’t seem to mind. It didn’t hold too much force, just enough to… get attention? The cat turned his head to the fox and there was silence, like they were communicating without me knowing.

I had the urge to look up to the TV, the show I was supposed to watch still there, but I lost enough that I ended up lost on the plot. Somehow, it didn’t feel right to just stare at them at the moment, so I focused on what was in front of me.

I felt the cat moving around my lap, and then another set of 4 paws.

They trust way too easy, but at least that was a good sign of the owner taking good care of them. But how the hell I’m supposed to find them?

“Kitty, you seem really smart”, I say as I looked down at them.

He purred while the fox whined and tapped my left tight, the one he was on top of.

“You also seem smart, foxy”, I tried to calm him down, and my hand almost reached for his fur, but I contained myself. “But you don’t have your collars, and your owner must be worried by now”.

The reaction they gave me wasn’t the one I expected. The word owner didn’t trigger purrs, heads looking around to find him or soft meows, no, it triggered shivers, distressed whines and bodies cowering in a small ball on top of my lap.

I petted them with both hands, while my heart broke at the sight.

Good care my ass, with this type of reaction because of a single word… what the fuck happened to them?

“Shhh, it’s okay, you both are safe, that person isn’t here”, I whispered as I petted them. “You can stay here, you don’t have to go back”, I said desperately as I tried to calm them down.

These clearly weren’t a normal cat and fox, that much was clear, but the moment they responded to me, a word came to mind. They had to be mixed with hybrid genes, that’s the only reason as why they’re so human-like in a sense.

They calmed down while I whispered reassurances as best as I could, because if it was up to me, they wouldn’t go back to an abusive home.

Both of them kept themselves in a little ball, as small as possible, but they were purring at least, and I took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry”, I whispered, because it felt too wrong to speak any louder in a situation like this.

They looked up at me when I said it, still froze in place it seemed, not a single sound out of their mouths, but theirs eyes were telling enough, so expressive that I couldn’t doubt they had hybrids genes.

“I’m sorry that someone was so awful to the point of you both being so terrified, I’ll find a better place for you”.

It was slow at first, but they moved from that position and laid on me, both heads hiding between my body and arms. Their ears hanging low on their heads, and tickling my skin. The softness was shocking still, it felt like a blanket even when they were supposed to be unkempt and dirty.

“Soo, I supposed you don’t want to take a bath, right?”, I said.

The reactions were immediate. The fox looked up, wide eyes, ears shot up on his head and body prepared to run as fast as he felt I’d make him do it, but the cat kept still, and nuzzled my arm even though his eyes were locked on me.

“It’s fine, I won’t make you”, I said as I smiled, and petted both of their heads.

It was bold of me, I could get scratched again by the fox, but he let me did it, so I took it as progress. They seemed wary still, more the fox than the cat to be honest, their personality was shinning through at that moment.

“It’s true, I won’t, I promise you that, but what about a towel? It must be uncomfortable being dirty, right?”

I looked from one to the other. The cat seemed fine, happy even, since he purred as an answer and raised one of his paws to my arm, it was a light and careful touch.

“Can I bring one for you?”, I asked in a soft tone of voice, and he nodded lightly. “Okay, so what about you, foxy?”

His yellowish eyes bored into mine and his body was stiff and wary on top of my thighs, yet he was still careful with his nails.

“You can do it on your own, I don't have to do it for you and I won't touch you at all, I said, and he nodded slowly.

“Okay, can you move, so I can get up?”

They did, both jumped back to the floor, and I took the opportunity to make an appropriate dinner for the three of us while they got themselves cleaned.

I knew the cat could clean himself without it, but I wasn’t sure about the fox, so I laid two towels on the floor for them and I went to the kitchen.

That was the first night. After the fifth night, the three of us developed a nice routine.

They knew they were safe and that I’d be back after work every evening. The second night was enough of whines and cries to know that they were… sensitive to sudden changes. There were food for them available when they wanted it on the little bowls I bought in the that first same night, I prepared all the meals in the mornings, and they could leave anytime if they wanted to, but I wasn’t sure if they ever did. The first time I came home after rescuing them, I was scared they had left for some an unknown reason. Sure, it was getting late, and the streets were unpredictable, who knows what could happen, but it was more than that. I had a soft spot for them already and if I keep up that pace, I’d be really hard to let them go someday.

“Kitty? Foxy?”

The lights of the living room were already on, but there wasn’t sign of them. I took off my coat and let my shoes by the entrance while I was scanning the room. Were they upstairs sleeping again? It was almost snack time. They came downstairs yesterday when I came home, it was the official snack time.

I decided to ignore the worst possible scenario and walked into the kitchen, then I took two bowls and opened the fridge. This amount of noise should’ve made them come downstairs already.

It’s fine, it’s ok, maybe they went out to play outside. It wasn’t fine. I let everything on the counter top and went upstairs.

“Kitty? Foxy?”

I really needed to give them better names than this, but it wasn’t the time to think about it now. They didn’t come to me, nor I heard any noise besides my own steps and nervous heart.

I went through my room, the bed was messy as they like to lay in it when I wasn’t home, that much was clear since day one. Then I went to the guest bedroom, but it was untouched. Maybe they locked themselves in the bathroom, but still nothing as I checked.

I didn’t like to where the possibilities were going, but there was still a chance of them playing outside, so I went to look around the house. There was still enough sunlight, but I didn’t get lucky until I heard a noise, a loud whining coming from the roof.

“Kitty? Foxy? Are you up there? Did you climb to the roof?”

Anyone looking out of their windows would think I went insane. Of course, they wouldn’t understand, no, not a normal cat and fox, but mine were far from it.

I was screaming in front of the house, trying to look up, but there wasn’t a sign of them, none that I could see from the ground. The only answer I got was another whining, and it sounded like foxy, that was enough for me to grab a staircase that I never even used before.

It was an old one for sure, it came with the house, and now I knew why, it was so fucking heavy to carry anywhere. There was the normal staircase, then you could slide two parts up and it’d get even taller. And that’s what I had to do, even though I didn’t trust the mechanism that hold it tight was working as good as it should.

But it was for foxy and kitty, they could’ve climbed there without knowing how to get down for hours, they must be hungry by now too, so I didn’t waste any more time.

As soon as I was on eye level with the roof, I froze in place.

Two men sat on my roof, side by side, curled around themselves to be seen as small as possible, not a single cloth protecting them for the cold and tails hugging each other's thighs.

“Ho-”

“Please, don’t make us leave”, one of them interrupted me.

The voice stunt me for a second. It was so deep, rough even and low, so low and that seemed like a crime because I could barely hear it above the soft wind.

“Don’t move, I’ll bring up towels and let’s get you both down, okay?”

There wasn’t an answer, but I didn’t wait for one. I felt my body out of my mind’s control, there weren’t thoughts running through my head as I ran to get towels for them, nor when they came down and sat on my couch.

Their heads were down, soft and fluffy ears flat against it. It hasn’t been more than two minutes since I found them, but they didn’t look up to me once.

“I’ll bring clothes for you both, one of you can go to the bathroom and the other to the guest room.”

I’ve seen their ears shot up and I couldn’t contain my smile. It was exactly like their animals' counterpart.

“I knew you were hybrids, I won’t make you guys leave, it doesn’t make a difference to me”

Finally, they looked up at me. Another déjà vu hit me hard, but this time it felt different. They were more vulnerable than ever, and it wasn’t because of the lack of clothing, no, I knew better than that. Their eyes told me what I needed to know once again.

“So, how can I call you? I knew I had to change kitty and foxy to your real names at some point”

They looked at each other, speechless, both sat still with hands gripping hard on the soft cloth.

“Right, the introductions can wait, I’ll bring clothes for you both. One can wait for me in the bathroom and the other in the guest room, if you prefer it.”

They nodded and got up.

It was intriguing how their body language was the exact same, too. If it wasn’t by the colors of their ears and tails, I could still say who was my kitty and who was my foxy.

Damn, I did actually call them mine, didn’t I?

[supersoftly]

In regards to the squirrel, the man rescued the squirrel in Connecticut where there's no laws against adopting wild animals, but purposefully moved to New York, which does need a permit, in order to make social media content about the animal and start an animal sanctuary. Squirrels not being able to get rabies does shift my decision in regards to the morality of putting it down, but it seems silly to say that he wasn't breaking the letter of the law in every way.

The real concern was the raccoon, which was the rabies risk. You also need permits in NY to own those, and his own neighbors reported him for the way the animal was being taken care of. The owner claimed the raccoon was being 'rehabed' but he was being hand fed by people. It was 100% being exploited for content, and being interacted with in a dangerous way.

I want to make it clear that my stance is, in an ideal world, people would need permits to own domesticated animals like cats and dogs because the majority of pet owners are not equipped to handle their animals. Most pets are miserable. And very dangerous things can happen if idiots try to apply the same philosophies to wild animals. I do not want the man who owns an animal shelter to have multiple animals in his possession that aren't being properly taken care of or licensed. Its extremely irresponsible. Killing was probably an overreach but I think that in a just world, the animals never should have gone back under his care.

I read a post on tumblr recently about an old woman who began feeding cat food to some raccoons, which led to a herd of about 30 wild raccoons becoming violent and territorial over both her yard and her neighbor's yard. Every raccoon had to be killed. Wild animals are not pets. They are not domesticated animals. They should never be treated as such. Get a cat or a dog if you need an animal in your personal life instead of trafficking squirrels and giving raccoons ice cream.

I understand where you're coming from, perhaps for me, I have a deep mistrust of government handling animal welfare appropriately, and cross that with excessive use of force in regards to whether people have proper permits or not yet they'll do nothing about the illegal dumping, theft, gangwarfare, squatters and drug use abundant in these urban landscapes, New York especially, it just completely reeks of overreach.

I believe between our positions, it's likely just a differential of priorities and how we believe it's best solved. I've tackled the idea of forcing permits on all pet owners because I do agree with you that many people are incapable of taking care of their animals, but we have to recognize the law is a tool, creating new laws are effectively just printing pieces of paper without proper enforcement and simply put, it's absolutely unfeasible to enforce. Where's the funding for it? Are you going to have beat cops asking ID for every single dogwalker? Are we going to charge a fee everytime a farmer has a litter of cats and didn't tell the state? Vets now have to turn away anyone who owns an animal that isn't registered. Pet stores are basically going to be an 18+ since arguably minors shouldn't have access to things they cannot afford. Homeless guy has a dog? Better euthanize it since he doesn't have a permit. And even when we do have proper permits in place, still accredited zoos end up being rife with abuse, but because they have the blessing of the state, for whatever reason, that gives them a pass to continue to profit from said animal abuse just cuz they appear "professional" (see Marineland).

And personally, as I've done research into animal sanctuaries and rehabilitation (it was my original post-secondary accreditation), they desperately are in need of more help, more money and more awareness literally everywhere as most of these places that aren't supported directly by state fundraising (which is only a pittance) or a wealthy billionaire are volunteer run by bleeding hearts. More red tape would absolutely destroy these things as they've done with laying down the law for homeless shelters or feeding the homeless. I would be more optimistic if when the state gets involved they make things better, but as with most animal welfare, it most always gets worse. Even in the case of animal rescue, our greatest state solution to exotics running amok was to shoot them all and be done with it. It's easier to deal with a problem when they don't have rights afterall. I do agree things should be handled better especially when it comes to wild animals and social media, lord knows there's an idiot willing to pet a wild bison for a Tiktok video hiding behind every influencer, but I don't concede that every social media-er who boasts animal welfare is doing a bad job, when as with all things social media related, it's through a lens and there's a hidden perspective behind it. We can judge as outsiders as best we can, but only the people directly involved with the animals know what's going on.

You don't have to trust me though in regards to my scrutiny of government managing animal welfare, there are many YouTubers who from the love of their heart started their own animal rehab/sanctuaries who speak very candidly about how difficult the law is to obtain proper certification, but are very happy to let you kill it and skin it any way you please without batting an eye. For example, people often will dump animals on rehab properties without permission and if it's an animal they cannot rehab, they have to get rid of it quick to either a proper sanctuary or kill it, else they will be charged.

I understand this is all of us upset starting from a perspective of care for the animals, and while I don't necessarily condone the brash attitude people have about this whole situation, I do believe this particular instance was government overreach and likely outright negligence. You can't tell me this was the only and optimal solution when even in Canada we didn't euthanize the famous Ikea monkey, but encouraged the owner of her own volition to give him proper care at a sanctuary where he still lives today.

I'm not sure if this is also worth bringing up, the the anonymous tipster was found bragging about it on FB and did not even live in the state she was supposedly worried about, so I'm less inclined to believe their intentions were pure and not straight up just malicious use of state enforcement.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for letting my pet(s) play sports??

Okay I KNOW this is gonna sound crazy but just bear with me?? For a sec?? Okay thanks 💗💖💞💘❣️

So. I have a pet. Or rather I have 5 pets but only one of them matters in this context

So. All of my pets are gifted in playing sports. Do not ask me how. They just are. And because my pets are sportistically gifted I've been letting them play in sports championships. For sponsors. And money. And fame. Because that's the only logical thing to do

Well!!! Apparently people are getting up in arms about it now!!!!! Because "animals shouldn't be playing sports >:("

BUT!!!!! THEY LIKE IT???? THEY'RE HAVING FUN????? They aren't in pain or showing any signs of discomfort so?? This shouldn't be an issue right??? WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG

I've heard of other people letting their pets play sports for them so why am I being singled out for it?? Especially since it's not like they're mice or any other frail animals?? I have a dog, a cat, a bird, a lizard, AND a tarantula, so people shouldn't be very concerned?? AND I DO TAKE THEM TO THE VET IF ANYONE ASKS

I shouldn't be labeled as an asshole for letting my tarantula play volleyball!!! Get a grip, man!!!!

I know my tarantula hits the ball hard enough to knock out a professional adult, but they shouldn't be playing volleyball if they're so weak then?? Am I wrong for thinking like this?? Like c'mon, you shouldn't be playing if you can't even volley the ball back from an ANIMAL

"Ohh!!! But it's an unfair advantage!!!!" WHO CARES?? Maybe you should go find an animal that likes playing volleyball too instead of complaining??? Or train your players more for God's sake!! It's not even an unfair advantage cuz we both still have 5 players in the end ffs

And it's not like I keep all the money for myself??? It goes back into training them and paying vet bills and giving them food and buying new equipment.

And besides, I just use more money than them. For bills. And rent. And other human things. And what are a bunch of animals gonna do with the money, huh?? It's safer in my hands AND bank account 💗

SO!!! So. I know I'm not the asshole here but I need validation so. Agree with me 🫵

(PS: if you know what media this is from. I love you <33)

[theygender]

Been going through it for over a month now and let me tell you. I'm not having a good time

Early-mid July a heat wave knocked out our AC and me, my partner, and the cats were stuck in an apartment with temps in the high 80s for about two days

I got some minor heat sickness and my cat started coughing

Heat sickness kicked off my IBS which dehydrated me and eventually led to migraines which all lasted for over a week after the heat wave ended

Took my cat to the vet (while still dealing with sickness + migraines) and found out she probably has asthma which was set off by the heat. They gave her a steroid shot

Went to the doctor for my own sickness and decided to ask about my severely ingrown toenail at the same time. I'm told I need toe surgery

Got toe surgery the very next day and it turns out recovering from toe surgery sucks

Cat has stopped coughing but is instead having intense sneezing fits now and pawing at her nose constantly, clearly much sicker

Took her back to the vet (while still recovering from toe surgery) and learned that cats just inherently have dormant hepatitis, and stressful situations/other illnesses can cause a flare up which leads to an upper respiratory infection

They prescribe nose drops + medicine treats for me to give to her 3-4 times a day. Surprisingly (/s), she hates the nose drops

File claims for both of those appointments + tests + medicine with my pet insurance

Endometriosis sees me dealing with all this and as a disorder that's made worse with stress it decides to join in on the action. It resurrects my period from the grave that my meds dug for it over two years ago

In case that wasn't bad enough, it also gives me a yeast infection. I go to the doctor and get medicine for it

As soon as the yeast infection symptoms start to go away they're replaced with what seems to be UTI symptoms. UTIs generally devolve very quickly into non-stop vomiting for me. I'm living in fear until I can get a test done

(UPDATE: The tests don't work when you're on your period apparently. Guess I gotta go back to the doctor again before I can get any answers)

I haven't even looked at the bills for my own medical tests or the toe surgery yet and frankly I'm scared to. At least I should be getting some money back from my pet insurance claim

Pet insurance tells me that they won't pay out my claim until I provide proof that the pet insurance policy I had with a previous company over FIVE YEARS AGO was canceled. I don't keep records longer than five years. I don't even remember the name of the company

All of my coworkers got laid off last week so I'm sad and lonely at work now and I have to adjust to a new work environment during all of this and I can't really take much time off anymore

I'm still sick and worried I'll get sicker but I don't know how to ask my new boss "hey what should I do if I hypothetically start projectile vomiting tomorrow" without it sounding suspicious

With all this other stuff going on, my college semester also started back up TODAY

I got a notification from my school that I have over $5000 due bc the company that pays for my tuition as part of my employee benefits just. Didn't pay off my spring semester it seems. So now I gotta figure that out

Somewhere in the middle of this I had some sort of mental breakdown and discovered that my normal-level nervous anxiety has evolved into critical-level constant terror anxiety

Reached out to my mom who had anxiety so bad when my brother and I were growing up that it played a large part in ruining our childhoods. She confirmed that it sounds like what she has

It started when she was just a few years older than me and she still has it at the age of 55. Normal anxiety meds don't work for it. I may have to convince my psychiatrist to prescribe me narcotics now if I ever want to go back to normal again

This has all been so much. Like can I PLEASE just get a fucking break here 😭

[thefreakandthehair]

I just had such a funny thought, I had to share.

Shapeshifter Steve can turn into a cat. Something happens and he gets stuck. Nancy knows, because it had come out when they’d been dating and had been one of the ways he’d snuck in to sleep next to her to help with both of their nightmares back then. So while he’s panicking, he goes to her house and goes in the window in the kitchen that’s always open.

Except he’s panicking and small and accidentally gets the wrong house, ending up in the Sinclair house instead and Erica is up getting a glass of water, flicks on the light and they have this kind of moment

Now, she’s actually a big fan of cats, so she looks at this like an opportunity. Free cat, you know? She convinces her parents to let her keep him, they start talking about making plans to take him to the vet, and as nice as it is having Erica sneak him bacon bits, he’d really like to not have THAT kind of surgery going on.

He tries frantically to escape every way he knows how, but never hurting Erica because god no, not even a little scratch, but she’s a very responsible cat owner and is keeping him very much inside.

Everyone is also panicking after a couple days when no one can find Steve anywhere.

It’s not until Lucas makes a reference to the cat that Nancy hears that makes her look insane as she starts interrogating Erica about him and figures it all out

Idk how he’d even get stuck but they get him unstuck and he swears he’s taking everything to the grave so don’t even ask.

He gets Erica a replacement cat though, obviously

this is MAYBE one of the funniest things I've ever read, oh my god. and like, Erica is way less concerned about the fact that Steve can turn into a fucking cat and way more concerned about the things he might've heard her say in confidence. she corners Steve immediately. it's hysterical.

he would get her a replacement cat though because though he'll never say it outright (he promised, after all), Erica really loved the companionship and comfort 🥹💕

[scourge-sympathiser]

tell us more abt the beetlestar AU?!

YAY sure the basic idea is tht instead of thistleclawz patrol meeting tiny on his venture into the woodz it waz white eye, thought she still attackz him ofc not going as hard as tigerpaw did, in passing she makez a remark abt him not having wht it takez 2 make it in the forest & tiny is like. ok well fuck u *stayz on the border out of spite & leanz 2 hunt thru watching patrolz*

evebtually of course the clanz pick up on this guy hanging out by the border & whiteeye reconizez his scent & confrontz him, at which point he askz 2 join & she agreez 2 let him talk 2 sunstar in large part due to his visual similarity her longtime crush leopardfootz newly dead kit

sunstar agreez bcuz he seez tiny as a sort of like. apologie gift from starclan abt pinestar just fucking off, thw twoleg place takez a cat it givez a cat back

breifly he still goez by scourge- he claimz 2 hav been a rogue for slightly more cred thn a kittypet [he managed 2 get his collar off in this bcuz othrwize the bell would alert any mice he waz hunting], whiteeye becomez his mentor & he growz up beside tigerpaw. thy fucking hate eachothr

he endz up quazi adopted by whiteeye & eventually she getz togther w/ leopardfoot, which meanz tigerclaw is sort of his brother. thy both hate this

firepaw joining is both easier and harder- on 1 hand itz been done before itx not unheard of. on the othr ofc catz conplain tht thunderclan is declining all roguez & kittypetz now!! at first beetlebite resentz firepaw for reminding evry1 of wht he used 2 be.... but of course the SECOND firepaw findz out he didnt orginally come to the forest just like him he attachez himself like a little leech. eventually beetlebite begrudgingly becomez fond of the little sucker

i cant remember exactly wht my plan w/ ravenpaw is but i do k o it doez him a lot of good to hav an adult he like actually fr trustz in the clan, since beetlebite is extremely ready & willing to disagree w/ tigerclaw n fight him abt it

beetlebite also haz a clandestine relationship with mudclaw bcuz i think it would be funny. thy continue to date evn as thy both become leaderz [tallstar caught onto their relationship & thus didnt take the deputy spot from mudclaw as he was pretty sure he wasnt abt 2 start a war w/ his boyfriend & thus fireheart is safe & sound in thunderclan] basically evrybody thinkz their clanz r about 2 clash hardcore bcuz thy both spend evry gathering glaring at eachothr. thy arnt. itz actually a loving look thy both just hav resting bitch face

itz still vauge but in the main plot tigerclaw actually doez become the leader of thunderclan- fireheart getz chased out & endz up staying w/ princess, eventually he discoverz tht beetlebite is alive thru his sisterz girlfriend violetz brothrz who haz been obsessed with this bone guy who recently got caught by a spay and release program and well at the vet talked a lot to the black cat in the cage next 2 him.... somhow he getz him out idk yet *wavez hand*

he still killz tigerstar but itz less impressive given the dudez only got 1 life

therez more but like i cant stop... for now..........