Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

@Austin_Dern I mean, it is pretty rewarding when Sugarfoot comes looking to knead up against me. I'm not sure I ever *did* believe that cats couldn't feel gratitude, but now I know they do for sure.

And the kittens are adorable even if this is gonna be tough. It's just the constant ambiguity. If we don't get just the right litter, will the kittens eat it and die? Do we treat them like "our cats" and give them the full shebang, or do we treat them like porch cats and just do the basics?

If it's cold at night, do I leave the gas heat on unattended? Do I lay a blanket on them and hope it doesn't smother the kittens? Do I just have faith in their fur? And then am I being cruel to the outdoor cats for not letting them in when it's chilly?

Did we do enough? Is there something I never even thought of that's gonna cause a tragedy? What the fuck do we do if we ever want to MOVE?

It's just... a commitment I would not have chosen if it had not chosen us, but what the hell else do you do when a friend in need comes to you with no other alternative?

Now that the excitement of life going back to "normal" after Zeta has worn off, my brain is starting to remember just how fucked up "normal" is.

Honestly, it's gonna be real educational having kittens around to care for, but just having one adult cat to fret over has been a HUGE constant anxiety trigger.

I really wish my brain would internalize the concept of THE CATS ARE PROBABLY FINE. But it hasn't really internalized it about me, Peggy, or anybody else.

And I can't help thinking about the incredibly high odds that over the years one will get sick in a way we can't help with, or run out into the street in front of a car, or just... disappear like Penumbra did (hopefully to a better life).

We have SO MUCH LEFT TO DO and there's really very little anyone can do to help. We have a decent amount of money left from the donations, so that's not a big issue, but the logistics of getting everybody fixed, let alone vaccinated and everything else we COULD do for them, is screwing me up bigtime.

I'm really starting to think the best solution might just be to get Artie and Peebles housed -- preferably together, preferably nearby -- as soon as possible. And PRAY that Shadow doesn't get pregnant before we can shave all the yaks necessary to clear the way for a safe, comfortable surgery. *sigh*

oh in case you wondered they are getting individual names once theyre old enough to be more easily told apart. i have suggested mae and olivia but peg seems to be meh on those. until then they are either "the gremlins" or "thing 1 and thing 2"

bast protect us from these tiny monsters <3

oh shit ok today will be spend largely on kittenproofing, those fuckers are getting to the top of their box :O

pics soon, they sure as fuck look like real kittens now with all the adorable horror that implies :O :O :O

i got a little too close to the gas heater and singed myself *just* enough that everything smells like sulfur and burnt tiger pelt

replying with william blake references is punishable by severe head-mauling 😾​

"I would still eagerly recommend at least 80% of Cory Doctorow's books to any white male I know!"

We are back! Power came on maybe 10 minutes ago. Mama Minipanther is so confused but will probably benefit greatly from the humans' reduced stress.

I am not naive enough to think this means I'm going to finally get to have my first normal week, even by low 2020 standards, in six weeks. :)

I have a tendency to miss things that I put in bold or highlights in my to-do list because I just get kinda used to the markups and my eyes glaze over.

But I just accidentally figured out the perfect way around it. All I have to do is LEAVE A MISTAKE in it. Highlights? Eyes go right over 'em. Bigger font? All a brainblur. Severe typo? Brain says HOW DARE YOU. Whole line italicized except the first two characters? SOUND THE ALARM.

It's gonna itch like hell but it'll be worth it.

@kobi_lacroix i would pay 3.99 to rent 9.99 to own that movie yeah

yup, SEVEN DAYS twitter jail for telling the grand fraternal order of police to go fuck themselves and die over that woman who got beaten in front of her toddler in pennsylvia

only one ethical thing to do: fire up another two or three twitter identities so i can tag team when this happens, because fuck the GLFOP.

i have had to block like five leftist followers on twitter for shitty lazy-ass rhetorical habits today

you can not begin to imagine how much i wish i could just bus down to the audubon zoo, get in the tiger enclosure with my buddy liam, and just hang there with him until the humans go extinct >____<

@Thaminga oh happy birthday! <3

@mawr *meme of Enmerkar as Business Cat reading the paper, captioned "HMM. I SHOULD GET SOME KOBOLDS"*

(and cj i am increasingly thinking is one of those "high functioning special needs" cats who is just not... ailuroneurotypical, you know? i'd rather he stick with us, people who do not expect him to act like an earthly indoor cat instead of the precious weird little dude he is <3 if Artie is the Louise of our clan and Peebles is affectionate butt-obsessed Tina, Ceej has gotta be our Gene and you know I so identify...)

(i would miss the hell out of peebs and/or artie even if they were down the street but it's better than one of the increasingly grumpy adults driving them into the cold with their constant "WHY HAVEN'T YOU FOUND A JOB AND YOUR OWN APARTMENT YET" bullying...)

otherwise we are doing ok, every cafe was full except the one in city park so we had a nice day out on the peristyle with my four stone lion BFFs (pics another day) and finally found a free outlet in the cafe du monde there

also some good news on the cat front, a very sweet neighbor who we had an awesome local history conversation with last week has confirmed he is actively looking for a pet cat and might take one or two of our teens -- would be amazing, having them someplace we can visit <3

angelic boss's entire reply to my plea for more leave time since power's still out: "be safe and do what you need, i'll put down another eight hours."

i love this guy. i have never worked a lower BS job in my life.

Good solid debunking of the "shy Trump voter" theory which might reassure some of y'all <3

https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2020/Pres/Maps/Oct30.html#item-3

at five guys with crap 4g so will answer everybody at once :)

we are gonna be fine, supermarkets and cafes *do* have power, but ty so much for the worry <3 <3 <3

cats are all good, found evidence the kittens won't be jumping around for another 1.5-2.5 weeks most likely; cj was unaccounted for this morning but was seen yesterday and he's our pensive little forest boy anyhow and is prob hiding out

estimates are still 7-10 days max but they are bringing in crews from out of state and hoping to speed things up a bit; we are at an edge so will probably be low in the triage though

and using a phone's last battery in the middle of a historic blackout to complain about something is peak me, yes :D

am slightly but comfortably and semi-intentionally underfed over last couple days but just wolfed down a bacon cheeseburger and have plenty of food & water access within walking distance

back soon hope this goes through love y'all <3