Cat Searching
Hello!
Following from our cat-sitting stint, we have decided to adopt a cat of our own! (Reminder - adopt, don’t shop!) The process is still ongoing, but here are some reflections.
Just from a cursory scan of animal shelters’ websites and local Facebook groups, it’s staggering how many cats there are looking for a loving home. This pool grows every day, from unneutered cats having kittens, abandoned former house pets, to community cats that need to be taken off the street for their health and safety. (Again, adopt, don’t shop!) We have nothing but respect and admiration for the volunteers who do everything they can despite this relentless tide.
On the adoption process itself - it’s a lot like an audition or job interview. Shelters and fosterers have to be on top of their social media game with cute photos and videos, attractive profiles, compelling origin stories. There are preferences in the market - for kittens, certain colours, FIV-negative, etc. The make-or-break moment is when you finally meet the cat in person. The most affectionate and people-friendly cats are most likely to win their potential adopter’s heart. For those that don’t ‘perform’, it is through no fault of their own - due to personality, past experiences, health, and the immediate environment.
It’s tough to navigate these issues but we just have to remind ourselves that we cannot save every cat we come across, and we need to pick one that suits our lifestyle and circumstances so that we can give them a good life.
- Werty
Calling all who enjoy diving into internet rabbit holes!
It could be about art, culture, history, TV… or a little smattering of anything, really! If this sounds even a little bit like you, and you’d like to get involved with a little idea we have, fill this form to get in touch!
3 Great Reads
There’s a certain meme that I see making the rounds on Facebook every so often about the bucolic nature of life in the Shire, from Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and because I am the way that I am, every time I see it, it makes me start thinking. “Are there taxes in the Shire? If not, how does the government function? Are there worries? Does the lack of taxes relate to the lack of worries? How do people think a whole economic system built around drinking and pipe-smoking even works?” Luckily, I think there are answers to this.
We have forgotten how unrelentingly dark the pre-industrial world was. Switch on a nightstand lamp or kitchen light, and you instantly and effortlessly summon into existence more illumination than was available to entire pre-industrial households.
The first time I saw Vincent in Pittsburgh, in October, 2021, he had lived in America for only eighty-two days, but already he had acquired a used Lexus sedan, a twelve-gauge Winchester shotgun, a Savage Axis XP 6.5 Creedmoor bolt-action rifle, and a Glock 19 handgun. “It’s the Toyota Camry of guns,” he said, explaining that the Glock was simple and reliable.
3 Fun Facts
2 Things to Watch/Listen
Understanding Bruegel’s Procession to Calvary
Signing off for now,
Yuni & Werty