So phresh litter

TW: animal abuse, hoarding
So... well, I don't even know where to begin. I am 25 and I am currently low-contact with both my parents, especially my mother. I haven't visited home in months and I dread the day I will have to.
There are lots of things that disturb me about my mother, but I want to specifically talk about the relationship she has with animals and I am looking forward to your opinion. My mother has 11 animals in total in her house: 2 dogs, 4 cats, 2 parrots, 2 turtles and 1 fish. Keep in mind that she lives in a first floor apartment with no garden or whatsoever. She has never let her dogs out, apart from yearly vet visits. She always claimed that letting them out will make them dirty so she just decided not to. She also never potty-trained them, which means that they pee and defecate all over the house, everyday. They will also pee on the sofa sometimes, and though she somehow cleans you can clearly smell the stench if you sit down. She also never trained the cats and parrots to get along. This is why another parrot of hers was killed by one of the cats. The other two are visibly stressed since the cats try and attack them on daily basis; they pluck their own feathers, have scars because of the attacks, and one of them almost lost his eye. The litter-box her cats use is located in my brother's bedroom. Yes, this means that he wakes up in a room that smells of cat urine. The fish is also kept in a very small bowl. She posted a picture online and someone pointed out that a small bowl isn't adequate and she threw a fit.
As I am telling you this, I know that this is not normal. But, the abused part of me still thinks I'm over-exhaggerating, that I'm just sensitive and that I have no right to judge her. Please tell me what you think.
Also, I have no animal service to speak to in the city where she lives, trust me I would if there was any possibility. I couldn't even speak to someone about my situation when I was a child, let alone her animals' situation.

So, I’ve been noticing lately that there are a few specific spots my bunny is digging at/pulling at the carpet and in his pen. His pen has a moving quilt covering the rug in an effort to protect the carpet, but, that’s proving to be a bit of a moot effort considering he’s chewing at it and other spots around the room its in.
He does this primarily in a spot next to his litter box, and two spots by the nightstand that are blocked off so he can’t get behind the furniture (spicy hay is hidden back there.) Idk why he does this or how to curb the behavior or stop it. And I’d like to because the carpet is new and I don’t want him tearing it up.
He’s got toys, plenty of space to run around…I’m in the middle of making a DIY Dig box for him, but idk if that’ll be a solution to this either.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

I know there will be alot of movies from that era that will be offensive for people in this day and age. But I'm thinking of the not so obvious ones.
I ask because one movie I recently watched peaked my curiosity, and never had I realised given it's a 'kids' movie.
I put on Cody Banks for my tweens on Prime, watching it for first time in 20 years I remember it being a fun watch as a teen. However watching this now and aside from the cringey comedy there are the sexual Innuendos for a kids movie. Now seeing this with adult eyes I realise there are scenes that had not aged well and the fact this was aimed at 12 - 16 year old boys makes it even more bad imo.
One was the obvious misogyny/sexual harassment portrayed by teen boys to a middle age woman who's 'hot'. In the boys locker room. With one creepily asking her if she wants to take off his towel.
A full on stereotype of an Asian male, a driving instructor of all things with heavy and aggressive chinese accent and demeanour.
A hologram of another 'hot' woman in a tight leather clad outfit, turned on in front of a crowded room to flirt with Cody with the males grinning and smiling.
Two grown men activating and watching the xray vision on Cody's glasses that shows women's underwear, although 'pixelated'. Cody responds with "Guys, I'm 15 you know."
What are other examples of not so obvious movies from that time?
Austin powers doesn't count that was purposely littered with sexual innuendos and puns, plus an adults film not for children.
Same goes for Van Wilder, American Pie franchise, Dude where's my Car, Harold and Kumar etc.
Doesn't just have to be sexual related, but anything that will not pass today.

(This post is QUITE long, sorry. TL;DR Let’s at least wait until next week before thinking the shows exploded. Joan making rash decisions like this is part of the main character storyline of a Teen Drama Comedy Parody Show.)
It genuinely seems like people don’t remember what watching this show is like? People are truly claiming that the end of episode 6 as earth shattering and horrible.
Let’s breathe for a second. I need everyone to remember that this is a comedy show that is oriented on parodying teen dramas.
Joan ending her friendship with Abe for “betraying their bond” is almost definitely not intended to be permanent, nor are the authors trying to “remove” Abe from the show or anything crazy like that.
While Abe was the main character of the last season, Joan is now the main character of this season. And as the protagonist of a teen melodrama, Joan is taking on the mantle of making irrational decisions that don’t fully listen to reason or logic. In her mind, JFK and Harriet were truly apologetic and honest about their kiss even if it hurt her, absolving them of guilt, while Abe withholding the truth from her was an unexpected violation and betrayal.
Is this meant to be a fair assessment? No. In fact, Joan is not correct. JFK and Harriet LITERALLY betrayed her. Abe didn’t tell her to prevent her from dying. It is simply unfair that he is unnecessarily suffering because he dared to care about her. But give the show a damn second to tell you that.
The “close, lifelong friendship ends because of simple miscommunication” is a trope seen often in teen dramas to sow conflict. It’s supposed to feel stupid, silly, and frustrating, and like something that could easily be cleared up. We saw a similar moment in beginning the Litter Kills episode, where Ponce and JFK get into a stupid friendship ending argument before Ponce dies (RIP to the actual main character of S1).
But this moment is also meant to be a direct subversion of S1. Abe was the “almost-popular kid” who made impulsive, thoughtless decisions to preserve his status and didn’t think about the impact of what he does on his friends, leaving the desperately pining “outcast” Joan to try to bring him back to reality and understand he’s perfect the way he is.
Now, Abe is firmly in Joan’s shoes as the desperate pining outcast. He spent the entire episode trying to get her to be honest with everyone about her condition and understand that she is appreciated regardless, but instead of trying to be something she’s not like Abe often did, she’s worried that being herself will make her lose her newfound status and friends.
It’s a recurring theme for her, actually — she’s afraid that Abe being cancelled in the first episode means she can’t keep her status in the Inclusivity Club, she’s afraid that Frida and Harriet are lying to her about their secret to get to know hers for malicious purposes, she’s afraid that telling JFK she disliked the necklace will hurt their relationship even though it’s literally weighing her down, she’s afraid that Harriet hated her ideas for the play and didn’t view her as a creative partner. Joan’s insecurity is manifesting as a recurring fear that her being honest & genuine will lead to her being outcasted or rejected again. She can’t accurately read her new friends’ true honest appreciation of her, and believes she’s always on the edge of doing the wrong thing and returning to only having Abe (and our dearly missed boy Gandhi) as her only friend(s).
In the same way that we rooted for Abe to be able to see how Joan was always there for him no matter what, we’re supposed to be rooting for Joan to come to that same realization as well. Abe has never once asked Joan to change who she is, and has truly appreciated her for herself in every episode, even when he was at his most oblivious, desperate-for-Cleopatra’s-coochie moments. It’s a full circle moment.
So, before we proclaim it as the stupidest thing that’s ever happened and that the Season is shit and let’s set everything on fire, let’s AT LEAST give it a week. We literally only see Abe and Joan as not friends for about a SINGLE minute of screentime. The true gravity of what she’s done hasn’t even been made clear to her. Abe did a similar thing when he abandoned Gandhi as an outcast in the ADD episode, and he made it up to him in full.
I’m certain that he will be vindicated here as a caring friend who was truly trying to protect her, and that Harriet and JFK were only quickly as forgiven because they said it first. I imagine that once she really understands the high level of thoughtfulness & care he had towards her, it will also probably be used as a vehicle to resurface the feelings she still has for Abe from S2E2. But give it some time!

I am making her a vet appointment to rule out any health issues, and she‘s never punished. In case it’s behavioral, here are the facts: Tilly is an eight-month-old, spayed, Dearheart Persian. She eats three cans of Royal Canin kitten, and always has access to clean, running water. She has three litter boxes to herself: one in my daughter’s bedroom, one in hallway, one in my bedroom. Two have litter for sensitive paws, one has regular litter. She uses the sensitive paws boxes multiple times a day, and the regular box about once a day. They are scooped daily, so Tilly pretty much always has a clean box to choose, easily accessible, and within a single-level, approx. 700 sq. ft. space. When she goes outside of the boxes, she only goes on my daughter’s bed, which I thoroughly clean with an enzyme cleaner. I’ve noticed it’s only in the morning or evening. I don’t get why she is doing this, especially because she sleeps in my daughter’s bed every night, sometimes at the head, sometimes the foot. Regardless, Tilly pees in places she has previously slept. What we have tried: 3 litter boxes, different types of litter, litter box attractant, feliway, we play with her on the bed, and have tried feeding her meals and treats on the bed as well. My daughter is six, and finds great comfort in sleeping with Tilly. She is also very proud that Tilly chooses her to sleep with every night, so keeping Tilly out of the bedroom completely is our last option. Has anyone else experienced this? I’m flummoxed.

I'm trying to set up a shrimp-only tank. I have bought three groups so far ; all died within a couple of weeks. I have learnt a lot from many online ressources and one of my friend who's been in the hobby for long tells me I do everything right (cycled tank, planted plants, three blocks of moss, great water parameters, leaf litter, etc). At that point I'm beginning to think it would not be ethical to keep trying. What are your thoughts on this ?

Hey all, hoping someone of could help as I’m sure we’re not the only ones, so here goes:
We’re in a bit of a situation where we live in a small apartment and we have a cat and a dog the cat currently has the litter tray behind a gate so the dog won’t eat the cats poo, and the dog is now sleeping in the common area which leads onto our bedroom.
Every morning now the dog will whine from about 5am till we open then door, but that’s the problem, we are unable to not open the door and unable to therefore “correct” the behaviour
We’ve tried to open the door and ignore the whining and do other commands but he is hyper to interact
Anyone had similar and has a good plan to help?

Mostly just sharing, at this point pretty resigned this is what it is. I have a 13year old make neutered cat that I’ve had since he was 8 weeks old. Ever since the beginning, he’s always peed outside of his litterbox randomly. I’ve done the whole gamut over the years - vet screening for urinary issues, changing the litter I used. I also got the $650 litter robot to help keep the box clean at all times. I’m so tired of washing my comforter, couch cushions, blankets, etc. sometimes immediately having to rewash it the next day because he peed in it at night. He will also go for stretches of time where it’s all good and he’s consistently using his litterbox, but then he’ll stop for some reason. I haven’t been able to figure out what would cause this. He’s indoor only his whole life, used to live with another cat, got along for the most part, but he hasn’t lived or met another cat in years (the peeing happened with and without the other cat). He gets along with my dog just fine, they leave each other alone and have no issues.
My couch is pretty much done at this point, I can’t even really enjoy sitting on it because even though I’ve done my best to clean the cushions thoroughly, I’m just really grossed out, will have to toss it. This is the one thing that has really eroded my feelings for him over time. I mean I still care for him and understand that he’s my responsibility til the end, but the idea of having to just deal with this continuously for the forseeable future is depressing. He’s otherwise healthy and pretty energetic, eats and plays a lot still. There aren’t any obvious stressors on him at home, I am honestly baffled by why he does this.
I’m just really really tired of constantly cleaning up pee at this point, and I don’t know what to do.
Have any of you dealt with anything like this?

Miss Courtney stepped out of her apartment into the gloomy night. It had been pouring rain for a week now, the ground so oversaturated there was nowhere for the water to go. Each step made a small splash around her, making her way towards her special home away from home. She didn’t live far, but this was never a safe neighborhood. Junkies and riffraff littering alleys and street corners. Miss Courtney would not be dissuaded. Glaring forwards, as to intimidate any who might dare approach her. Finally, she made it to her destination, a gloryhole brothel that she herself owned. Stepping inside and clicking on the humming lights, and Sighing a breath of relief. She always arrived early to turn on the thermostat, coffee machine, and to unlock the back door for her working ladies. Her special second home was her dream since her accident, And she had finally made it a reality some 4 years ago. This home, however, held a dark secret that nobody knew, besides those who worked there. All of the working ladies had some kind of Malady, Disfigurement, old injury, or quirk that made them self conscious and unable to find purpose. Despite her mean, and frankly rude exterior, Courtney cared deeply for these girls. She felt their pain and wanted to bring some comfort to them. She closes her eyes with another deep sigh. Rubbing at her shoulder where the prosthetic arm met flesh. It was a useless thing, but she wore it to keep up appearances, nobody suspected a thing. Her job had become harder, however, as her business became more and more popular, it became increasingly difficult to take care of every task alone. With a heavy heart and a tinge of regret, she posts an advert online, searching for an assistant to take up her more menial duties.
HEY! Hope you enjoyed the little preamble. This roleplay YOU will be filling the role of the assistant that arrives to help Miss Courtney! Also, this is a GLORY HOLE brothel, Not a normal brothel. A normal brothel could not keep the girls secret identities. But still…
This roleplay is very low/zero smut! But given the setting it is not right to claim it not as an ERP. But be aware that I am not looking for sex driven partners. This is a WHOLESOME roleplay meant for romance and some darker themes.
I am hoping for literate partners as I do not like one line roleplay! Please hmu if interested!
Few character limits. If your character has any of these there’s a decent chance I won’t want to continue the rp :( sorry.
1:stupid name (I’ve had people go by Gromulus) 2: Veterans 3:Scars/missing parts.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Q: Could you tell me more about the plot? A: The plot is very open ended and the direction it takes is very dependent on how you interact with the girls and which girls you interact with. BUT, I would love if your character would befriend the working girls and build up relationships with them, respecting them enough to defend them.
Q: Should we discuss kinks and limits? A: JUST LIMITS. This is a wholesome focused rp. When any kind of smut or sex happens it will be quite vanilla. Because that is NOT the focus of the rp.
Q:How is this “wholesome” A: see above
Q:How is this “Dark” A: the scene is capable of taking dark turns at points. Dangerous situations involving the girls, hostile patrons, mental breaking points, even so far as “losing” one of the working girls.
Q:where does the “gore” come in. A: the working girls all have physical issues from their past. Unsightly old injuries that impact their lives and make them conveniently unattractive. The gore refers to these injuries. But there is of course, room for new things when the rp gets dark. If you state gore as one of your limits, that will be a strike, as it makes me think you have not paid attention to the post
Q: who will you be playing as. A: I will be a GM of sorts, playing as all of the girls working at the brothel and rarely as patrons/those involved with the working girls.
Q: Who will I be playing as. A: you have been hired as an assistant at the brothel. You will be an assistant to not only the manager but also the working girls. And your tasks will widely vary, depending on who needs your help.
Q: Is my end goal to “save” the girls from this horrible situation? A: NO! The girls need no saving. They are here of their own free will and the money is just a bonus for them! They are truly only here to enjoy sex without having to deal with people being offended by their appearance. The girls are treated incredibly well.
Q: is the brothel run down/decrepit and in need of my help to fix it up? A: NO! It is a very high end brothel. Real wood floors, velvet carpets, a break room that you could live in it’s so homey and comfortable, And of course a clean show floor stocked with everything to make sure the experience is smooth and safe.
Q: the tag says Gore, do I get to snuff the girls? A: Absolutely not. Any attempts to be unnecessarily violent or nasty to the girls will result in the rp ending right then and there.
Q: This prompt reminds me a lot of Katawa Shoujo, was that the inspiration? A: NO! I had no idea what this was until very recently and I’ve been doing this prompt for years. But I understand now! They are pretty similar and I see the connection! Speaking of, make sure to say Inspiration in your first message, or I will not reply at all, or, I’ll reply to berate you for not reading this post.
Q: What are the specific “quirks” that the girls have? A: I’d rather not spoil every surprise in the rp. If you have any kind of limits about the “quirks” described on the post please say them before the rp, so nobody gets offended.
Q: Do you have Character refs? Tell me about them. A: Yes I have refs for most if not all of my characters. But I will not be sharing them all right from the start. I do not want to spoil the surprise of the rp. Do note, all of the character refs are AI generated, as what I am looking to show is nearly impossible to find naturally.
Q: If I’m not comfortable with a certain injury/quirk. What should we do? A: if you have any kind of limit regarding this aspect of the rp. Please let me know the specific quirks you would like to avoid BEFORE STARTING the Roleplay.
Q: What if there is a certain quirk I would like to see in the roleplay? A: You may suggest whatever quirks to me and I will let you know if that is something appropriate for the roleplay, and even generate a reference for the character

Hey all,
I just got back from my 3 week trip to Korea, spending 2.5 weeks in Seoul (due to getting surgery) and 4 nights in Busan. I thought I'd share some of my experiences and thoughts here since some of the recent information I got from this subreddit was not true when I went to Korea.
Tips:

• Get your T-money card as soon as you can (I got mine at the airport), I saw many tourists who never bought one and were still using single tickets to get through the subways, which is really inefficient and more complicated.
  
• if your phone allows eSim, prepurchase one online then you can simply scan a QR code when you land and have immediate access to data, you can also skip the lines at the airport where they sell sim cards. I got mine from KT online for 56,900 won which lasted for 20 days.
  
• lots of ATMs only allowed up to 100,000 won to be taken out, with an expensive 4800 won fee. ATMs near or in banks seemed to be the best option where you can take a lot of cash out and the fees were about 3000 won.
  
• when using your visa or mastercard, many times it will ask you if you want to be charged in KRW (korean won) or your home currency (in my case Canadian Dollars CAD), you should always choose KRW even though it seems counter intuitive. If you have a no foreign tx fee card like myself, your best conversion rate will come from the visa or mastercard conversion rate, and not the one on the machine.
  
• ALWAYS carry a pack of "wet tissues" on you. You can buy them for 1000-2000 won for a pack of 20-30 in any of the popular convenience stores (CU, Gs25, 7-11). about 1/3 of the washrooms I went to there was NO toilet paper.
  
• Carry your passport on you in a safe and secure place at all times, especially if you're going out for drinks or trying to get into bars, as well as for instant tax refunds when you spend more than 30,000 won and applicable stores.
  
• When shopping at street vendors for clothes, bags, etc. Never buy the first one you see especially if you look like a foreigner. For example, you walk to the first stall and see a handbag you like, but you don't see a price, that price when you ask may or may not change depending on how the owner feels at that moment. I often saw bags being told to customers at say 40,000 won, but a few stalls down had a price tag for the same bag at 15,000 won.
  
• when looking for places to eat, IF you don't plan on looking up restaurant reviews on your phone, it's always safer to choose places that are either LIST PRICES or are BUSY, or BOTH. I went into several restaurants that had no prices listed outside and were dead and they were often bad experiences. If you know what you're going to pay, and you know other koreans find it good, then its a much safer bet.
  
• use KakaoTaxi app to call cabs whenever possible! Not only does it show you the optimal route, but it also gives you a very accurate guess of the cost, but most importantly, it lets the driver know exactly where you want to go. As someone who speaks decent korean, 90% of the time I hailed a cab and tried to tell them where to go, they could not understand even when I showed them my phone (almost all cab drivers are older men who have a very hard time seeing things on the phone). If you can't help but hail a cab without the app, and they can't understand where you want to go, find the nearest major subway station near your destination and tell them to go there instead.
  
• if you are enjoying nightlife at places like itaewon/hongdae, it will be IMPOSSIBLE to get a cab through KakaoTaxi app. However, there will be a lot of free cabs everywhere, unfortunately all the cab drivers are there to essentially scam people. They will ask you where you want to go and usually will tell you it will cost 40,000 won. This is a ridiculous price, you could ride in a taxi for 90 minutes for 40,000 won, but they will ask you for that even if its a 5 minute drive. I'm not 100% sure whats best to do in this scenario so if any koreans can help out please leave a comment. Personally, I was able to find a driver who would take me anywhere for 15-20,000 won each time.
  
• always bring AT LEAST 2 credit cards (1 visa, 1 MC for example), most places my first CC would work fine, but many times it would not work and I had to use a different CC. Also ALWAYS have adequate cash on you in case all your cards fail.
  
• there are almost NO public garbage cans in korea (private property like malls is no problem), so most people leave their trash anywhere or in piles on the side of the street. I would bring a small trash bag to carry around if you dont like littering.
  
• if you quickly need smaller bills and don't want to go around stores asking for change, there are arcades almost everywhere especially at major tourist zones, and they all have "change dispensers" that can turn 50,000 won notes into 10,000s, and 10,000s into 1000s, and even 1000s into 500 coins if you need
  
• when calling a taxi on KakaoTaxi its best to wait at a place thats easy to pick you up. For example on the correct side of the main road, otherwise the taxi may have to do several loops to get to you and in some cases to avoid doing this the driver may try to message or call you, and if you dont know Korean then you cannot respond and no one likes a grumpy taxi driver. Also, its simply cheaper and faster for you
  
• at many tourist places (ESPECIALLY at the fish market), vendors will try to convince you to come buy at their stall or come into their restaurant etc. Personally, I have dealt with a lot of this overseas and will simply ignore them and continue walking and would recommend you do as well. There are plenty of vendors who are not pushy with cheapebetter products.
  
• if using the KTX high speed train to get from city to city, remember to prebook your tickets on the korail website up to 30 days before the trip, also remember they are not return tickets so you must book both trips separately.
  

Random thoughts:

• you will probably spend more cash than you think. This is one thing I wasn't prepared for as everyone was saying you basically don't need cash. If you're like me and enjoy streetfood and arcades, etc, then it would be good to get a good chunk of cash out, especially since your CCs could fail and you may need to pay in cash. Traveling with myself and my girlfriend we still ended up spending about $600+ CAD during the trip
  
• as early as 2 months ago I saw comments saying myeongdong was "still dead", and I don't know how it was pre pandemic, but when I was there it was extremely busy. To the point you had to constantly stop and wait for people to keep walking through.
  

I will continue to edit and post more things as I think of them, if you have any questions then feel free to comment and I'll reply!

So I have a friend that I made earlier this year, she seemed really calm. But she wasn't.
At first I was kind of okay with it. But now I just can't deal with it. She barks, Screams like a monkey, And yells.
And I'm a pretty quiet-keep to myself een, So you can probably guess that I don't exactly like it when everyone is staring at me and calling me scary because of them.
And I've kind of talked to them about it a bit but they just don't stop. One of the last draws for me is the cuddling and hugs.
I don't like physical contact with people except for a few exceptions. And they just leap on me and hug me and cuddle me and I HATE it. I've had a nice convo with them abt it but they don't stop.
Another example is the fact I hate being tickled (yes I know everyone hates being tickled) and they found out I'm super ticklish and they would stop after I asked them so many times to stop. I was litterly covering my self with my arms trying to get them to stop but they wouldn't. Even the teacher was telling them too and what do they say "Come on, imagine the situation I'm in, I just found out your ticklish" JUST BECAUSE EVERYONE HATES IT. DOSE THAT MEAN WHEN I SAY NO IT DOESN'T MATTER???
I'm starting to feel really uncomfortable being freinds with them, But I know I can't just stop being freinds with them cause there annoying. And I know that if I tried they would take things to far. Wtf do i do.

Species: Cat Breed: Domestic Medium Hair Male 3 Years old Medical history: asthma Neutered NYC area
Hi! So my cat started licking his private area (I don’t know if it was just the front or back because he’s covered in long fur) twice today.. before I went to work but today i went to work way later than I normally do so idk if this is normal. I’ve been having bad health issues and have been in the hospital and haven’t been able to clean his box as frequently as i normally do. He’s eating drinking and acting normal. I just cleaned and washed his litter box and refilled it with new litter. I’m just not sure if my anxiety is just sky high or if he might have a uti because of the licking. Either way I called the vet and left a message but it’s one in the morning and I’m not gonna hear back until around noonish. I think he’s fine but I’m not sure if it’s just my anxiety or he does have a UTI.

I adopted my British shorthair three weeks ago. She is a year old and was spayed a week before I got her.
She’s been adjusting really well and has been super affectionate, playful and cuddly. Lots of playtime/treats.
I also have all of her paperwork and medical records - all of which are normal.
Earlier in the day, I did a full litter change(including washing the entire litter box) with the new litter and did not mix in the old litter like I had the last week. She used the litter box almost immediately after.
I tried to get her to bed by luring her with her favorite toy. She came out of her hiding spot and I put the toy away. Was I supposed to play with her more..? I did so earlier but did I agitate her by just showing her the toy and then putting it away?
She then jumped on my bed shortly after while I was trying to sleep, got in her poop stance and just peed a whole bunch. It was already too late when I picked her up. Surprisingly it didn’t smell as bad as I would’ve thought. Maybe because I had dealt with it as soon as it had happened.
I then went to the litter box and added some of her old litter. She immediately went in to poop. It’s strange because she had used the litter box earlier with just the new litter?
I’m feeling mad and confused at her erratic behavior. She’s been so good for the last few weeks and had been adjusting so well. What could’ve possibly caused this?
She also had just recovered from an eye infection/allergies.

It's clear that between 2 to 3 weeks is all it takes for most businesses to feel extreme pressure.they want us to save up for a 1 to 2 months buffer but they only have 2 to 3 weeks of sustainability. That's all it took for most companies to make so they were " Frontline worker " how is a fast food employee a Frontline worker? How is a grocery store worker who works for around minimum wage a Frontline worker? I just heard from my boss at a liquor store that the company payed bonuses to their employees far larger than a Healthcare worker. FAR more than nurses got.
Just to keep the gears turning. The litteral Frontline workers got more work. Somehow the gears that keep money flowing get way more attention.
All that said, it took around 2 weeks for that all the be established. We last longer than that and we have power.
Since that all transpired, inflation and oppression has hit a pique. I wonder why. Division is at a maximum and hot topics are hotter than ever.
Take a break. Take a month off. Please. For every and with everyone.

My cat is two years old and just recently started to behave completely differently than she did two months ago. When I first got her (when she was a kitten), I lived in a different apartment, there were two cats besides my own that she got along with. She never behaved the way she does now. I live in an apartment where there’s a male cat but they aren’t allowed to live together as the male cat(he is neutered) is extremely aggressive towards her. So the door in the middle of the apartment stays closed, my cat stays on one side and the other cat stays on the other. A couple of months ago I started to notice that my cat started becoming a lot more vocal, she isn’t spayed so I’ve heard her when she’s in heat, but this seemed a lot different. Instead of aggressively meowing it seems like she’s screaming. Her appetite has changed (she’s eating and crying for food a LOT more), it seems like she’s in heat a lot more often and she is peeing EVERYWHERE! The walls, tv, the shower. This past week I found poop in three different areas in my room. This has been stressing me out and I don’t know what to do anymore. It makes me sad because she’s like my baby but I can’t even stand to see her anymore, everything she does pisses me off. I make sure she eats, has water, has a clean litter box and gets daily play but it’s exhausting coming home from a long day of work to find shit and piss in random spots and having to deal with her non stop screaming. Vet says she’s fine physically and that this appears to be strictly behavioral.
So my question is, is she just acting like this because she isn’t spayed? Is the male cat affecting her as well? I’m trying to figure out what I can do to make this all stop!! I haven’t gotten her spayed yet because I truly haven’t had the time with my work schedule and it’s kind of costly where I live. But if getting her spayed is the answer I’ll pay whatever at this point.

I’ve never owned a cat before, but I always wanted to adopt one. This morning I saw post on Craigslist for a Kitten available for adoption, and I decided to get her. The lady who owned her brought her in a box with little hard pallet food inside. I was expecting to see the cat held by her and I get introduced to her slowly or something.
As soon as we got into the car, she freaked out and jumped out of the box. I tried to catch her and I ended up getting scratched all over my body. We managed to get home safely, but for the whole ride she was hiding under the passenger seat with her back to me. I decided to get gloves to get her out, and she kept refusing and fighting back until I was able to hold her. I kept petting her and she liked it. Then jumped and started to exploring the house.
She was so hungry and thirsty, but kept herself hiding under the couches. I tried to introduce myself gently and give her space and time to get acclimated, but then stupid me decided to grab her with gloves and try to pet her since she liked it. I ended up getting bitten in my hand and got worried since she never had shots.
I tried to block entrance for all hiding spots, and she went to the corner and just looked afraid and sad while meowing. She had food 3 times today, and never went to the litter box.
I’m not sure if she was separated from her mother early since I only saw two other siblings on the post. I can feel her looking for someone which I believe her siblings, but she never ever get close to any human and feels really scared and alerted.
Any advice? She’s currently behind the couch and meowing as if she’s crying which breaks my heart. Not sure what to do to help her?

(36M) I haven't been to a wedding in over ten years. The last wedding I attended was with my girlfriend of two years (we broke up shortly afterwards). Then a few years ago I went to a stag and doe for a coworker and, frankly, I was miserable the whole time.
To me, weddings represent everything I could never imagine having in my life: trust, security, and a lifelong commitment to grow and flourish with another person. My dating life has been littered with short, unfulfilling relationships. Women always seem to get sick of me pretty easily (I get it, I'm not an easy guy to love😔) or there's just no spark. Or they just like to play head games. My last serious relationship (a year) ended six years ago. Now I'm lucky if I see the same woman for longer than two months. I dont even try flirting with women anymore I'm so burned out. So when I hear that two people wanna spend the rest of their lives together, why should I be happy for them? It's just another painful reminder of my own issues.
Anyone else feel the same way?

“You dare steal from the king, peasant?” The Demon King screeched, flames erupting from the empty eye sockets of the skulls on his throne. He pulled himself to his feet. The King digging his boney fingers into the empty eye sockets, pulling himself up. “I guess I need to make an example of you. How is our castle wall looking today, Xea?”
The buff demonic guard crossed her arms, pretending to think about the condition of the wall. After a minute of tossing her from head side to side, she grinned, showing those dangerously sharp teeth.
“I believe the castle wall is spotless. Not a cloud in the sky, either. The peasants will get a good view of the torment you’re going to put this man through. Will I make the arrangements, my lord?”
“Please, please no. I needed food for my family. I wasn’t about going to steal anything other than food. Please. They need me.”
“Oh, they need you? Did you hear that, Xea? His family needs him. Gather his family then.”
“As you instruct, my lord. I will make sure they join him.”
The man’s face went pale, falling to his knees. The strength in his body getting sapped by the news that his family would join him on the wall. His head hit against the hard stone floor, sobbing at the feet of the Demon King, who appeared unmoved.
“Take the idiot with you, too. He’s getting my floor dirty.”
A few hours passed, and they gathered the family on top of the castle walls. The peasants down below didn’t appear too frightened. Only looking on in confusion, never having seen the king make such a spectacle like this. Had their luck run out? Perhaps the Demon king was going to put them on pikes like the previous king had done? Leaving them to rot in the sun as a message to all the other villagers.
“Greetings, my lowly boot lickers. Today, I caught one of your villagers stealing from me. Not only is this an offence against me, it’s also an offence against my guard’s honor. Poor Xea, felt horrible knowing a human snuck past our defences, didn’t you, Xea?”
“Oh, I did. The shame’s awful, only their screams will make me feel better. So, my lord? Will you please do the honors of making me feel a little better?” Xea asked, putting her hand on the father’s shoulder, glaring at the family. “I don’t enjoy being embarrassed.” Her grip got a little tighter, pushing against his joint, threatening to pop it. “Just kidding.” She said, releasing it.
“Of course, I treat my soldiers with kindness and my thieves with a glimpse of hell. Ready to witness hell?” The Demon King walked towards the edge of the wall, holding his arms up.
“WAIT, PLEASE NOT MY FAMILY. KILL ME, KILL ME AND LET THEM LIVE.” The man went back to sobbing, even though his family appeared to be taking the chaos rather well. Even the smallest of the children didn’t appear scared. Instead, she reached over and gave her father a pat on the back.
“It’s ok. Mr. Demon isn’t bad. He’s just confused. That’s what the villagers said.” She whispered.
Xea rolled her eyes when she overheard that. Her pointed ears twitching as she crouched behind the pair, putting her face between the two. “Whatcha talking about? Care to share that with me? I hope you weren’t talking about my glorious leader.”
That shut the pair up, as they went back to looking at the village. The Demon King raised his arms, and the Earth began rattling. The ground shaking as though hundreds of imps would soon burst from the soil. Villagers were getting nervous now, rushing to make sure their cattle were secure as things shook around them.
When the king lowered his arms, the ground stopped shaking, leaving everyone bewildered. Had he done something? A villager stepped onto his farming land, getting smashed onto his back by a barrage of carrots. The carrots shooting from the soil, littering the land. All the farms shared a similar fate, harvests sprouting all around them.
“Hahahaha. Now you will have all the food you want. Good luck getting rid of all those rotting vegetables. How will you deal with all the dangers that come with that?”
“Excellent work, my king.” Xea clapped, even if she missed her usual role of torturing souls in hell. Something about doing acts like this was fun to her. Did she just enjoy scaring the peasants before the deception revealed itself? Enjoying that moment of utter fear they felt in their souls?
“Wait. I don’t get it?” The man said, wiping his eyes. “Isn’t this a good-“
“HERALD. Shut up!” His wife hissed, giving him a small smack on the back of the head.
The villagers all fell to the ground, acting as though an invisible arrow had struck them all in the knee. Some rubbed dirt on their faces to look more pitiful, while others pretended to cry.
“SAVE US GOD. This foul man has cursed us.” One wept.
“How evil can you be?” another called out.
“Hey John, can I borrow your hoe?” One whispered, using this time to ask for a favor.
The Demon King turned away, walking back to his throne room. “Xea, mind throwing them back into the village for me? I’m bored now.”
“Certainly, my lord.” Xea raised her hand, shooting a wave of air at the family, sending them hurtling over the side of the wall. Just as they were about to hit the ground, they stopped. Being gently put onto the floor with Xea’s abilities.
“Again! Again!” The little girl cheered, looking up at the demonic guard who was peering over the wall.
“Shush dear. You weren’t meant to enjoy it.” The mother said, covering her child’s mouth. She couldn’t help but smile at Xea. For such an intimidating demon, she appeared to be a big softie, too.
“I don’t get it. What they did was a good act? Shouldn’t they have put my head on a spike or got a bunch of horses to run over my body?” Herald said, scratching his head.
“You’re new here, right? We should have told you this earlier. The demon kings a little backwards in his ruling. He thinks he is doing evil acts, but most of the times he’s giving us a smack on the forehead or something equally soft. This is the first time in a while he’s done a good act.” The villager explained.
“So, he’s a good ruler?”
“Yes, don’t let him know that, though. I wouldn’t want him to copy our last king.”
“That guard of his was kind to let us down. Maybe I’ll bake her something. Do you think she likes cakes?” Herald’s wife asked, putting an arm around her husband.
Meanwhile, Xea was licking her lips as she went to the throne room, hoping she was going to get that cake that was promised. When she got to the throne room, she bowed before the Demon King.
“Sir, you know you’re doing righteous acts, correct?”
“Do you think I’m an idiot? I know what I’m doing is good. I was the king of hell.”
“May I ask why you are choosing to rule like this, then?”
“Boredom, mainly. I came to Earth fully prepared to put this village through hell. I had all these ideas that would make them suffer. Then I saw the previous kings, each one a waste of humanity’s potential. All these people knew was horror. What more could I do to a world already filled with hate and bloodshed? So, I’m going to give them two hundred years of peace. Then let them handle whatever comes after that.”
“I see, so you plan to get their hopes up, only to let humanity bring itself down again when you leave. You would get to see their torment without even having to lift a finger. You could watch it all happen from hell. That’s so devilish, my king.”
“It is. Though, I will admit. I’m not disliking my time being gentle. Even a king of hell enjoys some change in his life. We have both spent hundreds of years tormenting souls. We should enjoy our vacation.”
“Are you suggesting I treat this as a vacation?”
“I’m suggesting you allow yourself to interact with the villagers. Befriend them, join in their festivities. Enjoy seeing humanity at its best, before it all comes crashing down.”
“I’ll do that, sir. Thank you.”

We're 30 days into our LR4 experience. This is our first LR. I hemmed and hawed for literally years about whether it was worth it to spend the money for something like this, especially since one of my cats is skittish and I was afraid she wouldn't use it. I finally decided to give it a try (because of the 90-day in-home trial) and it did take a week or so to get the shy cat to use it, which I only accomplished by eventually taking away the old litter box altogether and hoping that didn't backfire on me.
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On one hand I've been thrilled with some aspects of the LR4 - I've noticed no gross litter box smells unless I open the waste drawer. It's nice to not have to deal with scooping the litter box. But that's really where the good things stop. At first I was frustrated because the weight sensor is very wonky - it will show that my cats weigh 1.8 pounds, 3.1 pounds, etc. (They're about 9.5 and 11 lbs). Then I read the weight thing doesn't really work if you have the LR on carpet. I wish I had realized that before I bought it, but fine. We're eventually going to replace our carpet with hard floors, so I guess I just won't worry about that feature not working. Then I noticed that the waste drawer sensor seemed to be way off. It will say it's 45% full even after it's just been emptied. If we're supposed to do some extra step to reset it after emptying the waste drawer, I'm not aware of it.
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But the most frustrating problem we're having is this "cleaning cycle interrupted" error. At first when it happened I assumed that a curious kitty was getting into the LR after brothesister had just used it, but then it happened when I was in the room and I realized it was throwing this error when there wasn't a cat anywhere near it. Sometimes it will happen 5-6 times in one cleaning cycle. Sometimes the globe gets stuck completely upside down (and empty, so not usable by the cats) and I don't know about it until I see it in that state. If I'm home and I happen to see the notification on the app, I can go investigate, but I'm not always going to be right here. I thought the whole point of this $700 monstrosity was that I could be more hands-off with it. Several times now I've had to do a bunch of frustrating troubleshooting to get it to work again. Tried a short press of the reset button. That didn't work. Fine. Tried a long press of the reset button. Tried manually starting a clean cycle from my phone. Tried powering it off and back on. Tried unplugging it and plugging it back in. Tried emptying the waste drawer (that was not even close to full). Eventually after cycling back through all of these things in random orders, I'll get it to complete the clean cycle, and then it will go back to normal use - until the next time.
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I've tried to reach out to customer service a few different times through the live chat on the website and by phone, but each time was told that it's outside of their normal business hours. I sent them an email today and got an autoreply that they have a heavy email volume and it might take 1-3 business days to hear back. Which is frustrating, because I'm going to be out of town for 3 days and my MIL is staying with the cats. I really don't want her to have to troubleshoot this piece of shit, but I also don't want to get out the old litter box "just in case" and cause confusion for the cats that have already successfully transitioned to the LR.
Please, somebody tell me there's a fix for this, because I really don't want to have to send this contraption back and go back to the dark ages of scooping the litter box.

Our city has Jacaranda trees and unfortunately the tree is hovering over my driveway to the point where my windows screech when I lower them because the tree sap falls onto my car, dries up, and is super sticky, and our driveway is littered with fallen petals that stink if not swept up.
I did some research and it is suggested that this tree not be planted near driveways due to its weak wood, litter, and surface roots posing a risk to structures. I’m only interested in cutting the branches over my driveway but im not sure if that is something I have to ask the city for, or if its okay for me to hire someone without permission from the city since it’s technically hovering over my driveway/property and falls under tree trimming?
Not sure if anyone else has had the same questions as me so I wanted to see if anyone has experience in this.

I have three cats; 2M, 8F, 18F, all fixed and the 2M is a bully twords the other cats and I've tried everything I can think of and it's just not going to ever stop, he just can't turn off what ever it is that makes him have to hunt them. So now I'm at the point the only options I have is rehome 1 or more of them or lock up the 2M overnight. There are very large cages where you can put all the food litter toys cat tree etc in there but still I HATE both of these options and it's breaking my heart! There's no happy ending here and it's killing me, idk what to do. I love them all so much, they're all I've got. Idk what to do

I have two English Bulldogs, both 6.5 yrs, one male (neutered) and one female (intact). They were litter mates and get along, but are very different personality wise and both do their own things. The female is very alpha female and will make it known if she's unhappy with something the male is doing or if he's in her way, but nothing aggressive. The male is a toral softie and loves to cuddle and lay in the yard and watch kids walk by.
We have a friend who just had Frenchie puppies and were thinking of adding to our family. We're back and forth on which sex to get so wondering what other people's experience has been? Would you add a male or female?