In a world where the timeline is filled with nothing but chaos and negativity, we really do need something soft to cleanse our eyes with. 

I don't know about you guys, but my timeline, for the past… six years or so, has been straight-up toxic. Something glitched in the matrix in 2020, and it simply has not been fixed yet. Basically since then, my timeline has been nothing but chaos and negativity. News that I don't want to see. Stories that there solely to rage-bait me into clicking them. Drama here, drama there, and just like with every classic toxic relationship, something keeps pulling me back in. Except, at least in this case, I know exactly what it is. It's cats. 

Listen, I was there before the madness of 2020. And even earlier than that. I was there during the classic time of the internet, when everything online was funny cat memes and adorable cat pictures. These things were always there. They're part of what made the internet so special, why people kept coming back. And that hasn't changed. Cats still rule the web. If you look closely enough, you will find the cute cat pictures and silly cat stories that you are looking for. They are just being swallowed up by the rest of the algorithm. 

And that's why we're here. That's why I'm here specifically, writing for ICHC. Because here, we bring you the things that you actually want to see. Here, I can sit down and put together the most wholesome collection of the cutest cat adoption stories and share it with you guys. I can create something uplifting, something cleansing, something purely cat and make it have an impact. Make it change someone's day. Make someone's frown turn upside down. This is your much-needed timeline cleanse, friends. 

I don't know what it is about banks this week, but maybe the cosmic forces of the universe are just catching up with them. Whatever the reason, this is no less than the third story I have seen of people handling their petty gripes with banks specifically in the last week alone. 

It's important to remember, as you're facing down your 3rd attempt to successfully navigate your way past an AI chatbot like you're reading a really bad "choose your own adventure novel," or one of those old video games where you typed in what limited option you wanted to choose to progress, that although things might seem like they're different, they also are exactly the same. 

Why would someone find any of these signs of a bad neighbor? And why shouldn't they say anything in 10 years?

Holding a grudge can be acceptable in some cases, but not when it is about your supposed-to-be friend and neighbor of 10 years. I don't really get what the real problem is with some people expressing their emotions, especially if they are mad at someone. If you have a friend and they did something kind of bad, I get why someone would be doubtful about bringing it out, in can cause the friendship to end, problems in a bigger friend group, or start unnecessary drama about something insignificant. But if you're really, really mad at your friend to the point that you want the friendship to fully end, why not say something? There is actually no reason to keep that to yourself, as the worst-case scenario has already happened. The friendship is over. Why would you not say something? And especially, why would you wait 10 years?

Another thing that I don't get about this Reddit story is the blocking. I never understood why some people find it easier to block someone from communication with you rather than simply saying, "I don't want to be your friend anymore". With the blocking, you are just creating an uncomfortable atmosphere that is functioning as a way to slow down an inevitable thing. The fact that you don't communicate that the friendship is over does not mean that you won't have to do it ever. With the blocking, you are advising the other person that something is wrong or weird, but they are going to eventually confront you about that, not just pretend that a friendship didn't exist at all.

Sometimes we should just rip the band-aid off. Tell the truth, be free, be honest. There is no reason to pretend that something that is over is still there. Just be courageous enough to admit your feelings and stop with the weirdness and doubt. Be forward. 
 

Need a hit of comforting chaos in your life? That's what cat memes are for. 

Comforting chaos, that is what cat memes are. That is what they have always been to me. It's not just comfort, and it's not just laughs either. There is an element to cat memes that is so relatable that every cat person can understand it. When I scroll through these endless cat memes in search of the best ones to bring you guys, what I get is beyond just smiles. These memes make me think about my own purrfect little fluffball, my own little chaos machine at home. 

When I see a meme of a cat knocking something off the table, I think about my own cat doing the same thing. When I see a meme of a cat stealing food off someone's plate, I remember my lost piece of chicken from last Tuesday. When I see a meme of a cat yelling at a closed door, I think about every day of my life, multiple times a day, talking through the wood and trying to convince my cat that I'm not drowning in there and that she should stop worrying. 

These cat memes make me smile, yes, but they also comfort me when I'm stressed, and they make me laugh by reminding me of my own chaos maker at home, who is waiting for me to come back from the office. It's the purrfect combination. It's the one thing that always distracts me from the madness of the world, from the stress of deadlines, and from anything and everything else. I just need a few minutes to sit back and scroll through silly memes like these for everything to feel just a little bit less terrible. And I think that is something pretty pawsome. 

Someone must not have been used to calendars!

In these Reddit stories, we are always talking about Karen customers and entitled people, but for once we found a story that has only a service worker to blame. Usually when we are getting the point of view of employees, we hear stories about uneducated, malicious, and awful people. In this case, as it happens when service workers make a mistake, nobody is being ugly. Everything gets solved with respect, maintaining the interests of the customer. But why is it that if it were the other way around, we would have an opposite behavior? That is because service workers, when they are on the clock,  are obliged to be kind, friendly, and easy-going. Whether customers are only guided by their own manners –which are completely lacking most of the time.

This issue is a representation of modern society. The working class has to receive awful treatment for every little detail, while the people paying are getting everything they want most kindly. This may seem as if kindness was only able to be obtained with money, but it isn't like that.

As a society, we have a duty to be respectful and civil. I understand that sometimes a situation can get tense –especially when it's about money– and that can change someone's behavior. But there are other tools to control that. Firstly, there is no reason to get mad at somebody who didn't do anything wrong. If the problem was not caused by the person serving you, then do not bring it out on them. Secondly, even when we are mad at someone, we are still humans. People can make mistakes, and people have manners. So even if the mistake is really big, breathe deeply and deal with it calmly. Lastly, as the employees can make mistakes, so can the customers. If you acted badly towards a service worker, then apologize.

Everyone can make mistakes, but it is our job as members of society to avoid being disrespectful and treat people with kindness. 
 

Pets, we treat them like children, like family, like friends. They are loved ones.

It doesn't matter whether you like cats, dogs, parrots, or fish. Almost everyone has an animal of their liking, and the moment they decide to adopt one as a pet, it becomes the happiest. We sometimes tend to believe that we adopt a cat or a dog, but I believe they adopt us, as if they choose to be with us because as much as we love them, they love us back. Maybe we were the ones that found them in the streets or at shelter, but they were the ones that started to do a big celebration when we are back home after a long day, they are the ones that wiggle their tail every time we call their name, they are the ones that feel when we are not feeling so well and lay by our side as if they were protecting us. These aren't just cute animals. They are loved ones.  

I was scrolling through Reddit when I came across a thread about funny animal stories people had about their pets. This made me think of my cat. She's quite crazy –as most cats– which has brought me to several encounters with funny situations. She doesn't know about boundaries or prohibited places. If a door is open, you bet she's gonna go in. I have found her in the bathtub, the washing machine, the fridge, my closet, the cabinets, and even the dishwasher. If I leave something open, I know her instinct and curiosity will guide her inside, and most times I will find her comfortably laying as if she didn't notice that a closet filled with clothes is not her usual bed.

Something that I love about pets is the fact that they know that the home their owner lives in is yours, but cats are different in that sense. They don't think it is a shared space. They think it is theirs and that they just let you use it because you feed them. Is funny how the kind of behavior they have wouldn't be tolerated if it were coming from any other species, but cats are like that, and we love them anyway. 
 

Thank cat it's Friday! 

The weekend is finally here, finally we can all relax, take a deep breath, and get on our phones for a good ol' fashioned meme scroll. The world works in mysterious ways, and everything is always in a cycle. What we liked as a kid or teenager may be the only thing that can comfort us these days, and maybe that thing is scrolling cat memes. A soft whisper of the weekend already has us purring and praying for those two days of restful bliss when we feel like we are drowning in life. It's time to take a breath, enjoy the evening of furrever funny felines and freedom! 

Some people count down the workweek by watching the clock. Others treat themselves to fancy coffees or daydream about future vacations. But here at I Can Has Cheezburger, we get through it by pspspsps-ing at every cat like it's a sacred ritual. That's a better life philosophy than most corporate wellness programs, or gluten free diets. 

These cat memes aren't just memes, they're coping mechanisms. They're tiny portals of comfort, reminders that softness is power, and proof that a little silliness can carry you from one exhausting week to the next. So pspspsps your way through, friend. The weekend is coming, the cats are waiting, and the fluff will set you free.

The week is closing out and as we tally up all the final costs and earnings you had better find your emotional bill leaning to the side of pawsitive. So just in case you find yourself falling short and you need a little something to push you over the line we have this wholesome collection of funny felines.

We often spend the end of our working weeks reviewing what we have achieved in the week that has passed and in how much time we have done it. But one metric that hardly ever gets reviewed is whether we have come out of the week happy. By which I mean, has our experience at work been an overall pawsitive one that makes us want to come back next week, or was it a dumpster fire that would have better been avoided. Of course the best outcome for all of us is to come away with a pawsitive week, but seeing as that can be tough to control if you base your metrics solely off the interactions you have had at work, you need to also include extracurriculars in and around your actual work.

Take for example this cute collection of comedic cats, it is a source of pawsitivity for so many of us cat lovers. Seeing our funny feline friends get up to their silly and strange hijinks is a high point in many of our days. And if we give ourselves enough time to enjoy these feline delights, then we might actually find ourselves feeling better about the bother of work and overall having had a wholesome week at work. So dive in and restore your emotional balance.
 

Scam the scammer

This could be a good step-by-step guide to getting back at someone who scammed you on any platform. This time, it was on Craigslist (I hope I'm not the only one who was scammed there). Either way, I've never heard of somebody going as far as staying for a specific amount of time to prove the sold object works. A specific amount of time that allows them to leave before it naturally stops working.

Gratitude is free, which is exactly why some people refuse to spend it. This isn't really a story about a broken-down car, it's about a boss who treats other people's time and money like a renewable resource she never has to pay back.

Who knew the cone of shame could double as a martini glass?

Recovery might not be every cat's favorite pastime, but these adorable felines are making the most of their cones. Whether they look like tiny purrtinis, fashionable lamps, or little satellite dishes, one thing's for sure: they've turned the cone of shame into the cone of fame.

What does a cat that has been missing for a month sound like?

If you didn't know, cats learn to meow from being with humans. They learn that being vocal gets them what they want. That's why you hear them meowing when it's time for dinner, especially if you are ONE minute late serving it. So what happens when you hear a street cat meowing non-stop? You should probably be at least a little bit concerned, because that might not be some feral tomcat, that might just be a family's beloved pet lost on the streets.

 TikToker @miijoouuu recently had to stop and chat with a very vocal cat out on the streets. She was on her usual nightly stroll when she heard some incessant meowing. Like, loud and nonstop, which is very bizarre behavior for a street cat. Usually, they want to stay quiet and stealthy. So, she decided to go and inspect. She found a skinny orange cat, loafed up in the dirt, meowing for help. 

When she approached the cat, they were very friendly and kept meowing. This is when she realized something was definitely wrong. This was not a wild cat thriving in the wild, this had to be somebody's pet lost and afraid. So she followed him, scooped him up, and then went to work on the apps trying to see if anybody posted about a missing cat in the area. 

Low and behold, she found a picture of a cat that looked just like him, but with more meat on his bones. It turns out his family has been looking for him every single day for an entire month! When she brought him home, both the family and the kitty were emotional. He kept purring and making biscuits and the family couldn't thank their new hero enough. 

So, if a cat on the street strikes up a conversation, you should definitely stop and listen. You may end up being someone's new hero. 

Why does every cooking disaster start with confidence?

Lately, I've been watching a ridiculous number of cooking videos on YouTube. It always starts the same way. Someone calmly explains a recipe, everything looks easy, and by the end of the video they've created something that belongs in a fancy restaurant. Naturally, I convince myself that I can do the same thing in my own kitchen with absolutely no problems.

The reality tends to be a little different. I've learned that there is a huge gap between watching someone confidently chop vegetables at lightning speed and actually doing it yourself. Somehow, professional chefs make every step look effortless. Then I attempt the recipe and immediately discover that I've misunderstood at least three instructions and forgotten a crucial ingredient.

What keeps me coming back is that cooking is one of those skills where failure is part of the process. Nobody becomes great at it without accidentally burning something, oversalting a sauce, or creating a meal that looks nothing like the photo. Every disaster usually teaches you something useful, even if that lesson is simply not to leave the kitchen while the stove is on.

I also think cooking failures are funny because they're so relatable. Everyone has experienced that moment when a recipe starts perfectly and then suddenly takes a dramatic turn. One minute you're imagining compliments from family and friends. The next you're staring at a tray of food that somehow resembles a science experiment more than dinner.

The good news is that optimism is usually stronger than common sense in the kitchen. No matter how many recipes go sideways, most of us keep trying because we remember the rare occasions when everything actually works. Those small victories are enough to convince us that the next meal will be the one that finally turns out exactly as planned. Or at least that's what we tell ourselves before opening another YouTube tutorial.

Some bosses need a costume to believe someone's working, because apparently staring at a laptop in sports shorts doesn't count unless it comes with a collar. This isn't really a story about a dress code. It's about a manager who can't measure competence directly, so he's grading effort by fabric choice instead.

Here's the thing about "professionalism" arguments in a job with zero clients and zero in-person meetings: they're not about clients or meetings. They're about a manager's personal comfort with what work is supposed to look like, dressed up as a business principle. Nobody's getting confused about whether the company takes itself seriously because one analyst wears running shoes. The spreadsheets don't care.

One aspect that can make a work environment go from calm to toxic is competition among colleagues.

There is this "new trend" in restaurants where managers expect servers to receive positive reviews that mention the server who took care of the customer. Some even go as far as counting how many reviews each server got and defining things like bonuses out of that statistic. This is problematic on many levels. First of all, it makes customers uncomfortable, as they have a server that is more preoccupied about them writing their name on the review than about serving them. Secondly, it's an unfair way to measure customer service, as it doesn't take into account real good service and instead just good convincing tactics to force the customer to leave a review. And lastly, it creates a competition among coworkers that turns the environment into a toxic competition.

This last one may be the most important. This kind of competition has so many missing screws that servers start to notice that it creates a hostile workplace where, instead of focusing on good service, employees have their mind on making customers remember their server's name. It also may produce bigger problems if servers start to try to get servers with better reviews in trouble. This could produce problems in the food, uncomfortable situations with customers, and even having to fire good servers.

This Reddit story reminded me of the sentiment that this whole system can produce on some servers. This envy and frustration can develop into a problem for the restaurant. I believe it's better to focus on the day-to-day work servers do instead of focusing just on the reviews that only some customers leave. And if you are a server going through this right now, a great way to step up your game is being more assertive, repeating your name a few times over the night, and making the customer feel like a priority, even though you have more than 10 customers at the same time. 
 

Isn't it awful to get caught up in the middle of family drama that is not your responsibility? 

Families can be a real source of drama when they want to be, some more than others. Parents argue, siblings get estranged, couples split. It's all very human, but also very stressful if you're caught up in the middle of it all. No one should be playing middleman in a private discussion, especially your children. Kids are never responsible for adult problems, and should never be burdened with them. 

Redditor u/Gaarouille had an unfortunate childhood experience with an adult secret. When he was about 10 years old (he was just a little kid), he heard his mom talking on the phone with a man who wasn't his dad/her husband, along with the words "I love you." The mom was quick to tell her son to keep her secret, and he did, obviously. Years later, someone told his dad about the affair, and the son played the part of the confused kid, not daring to tell his dad the truth. 

I feel so sorry for this guy. He expressed that guilt has been eating him alive for so many years. This is why kids should never be forced to deal with adult problems. Beyond the fact that the mother had an affair, which is questionable on its own, being so reckless that your kid found out is definitely worse. Do what you will in your own time; mess up your marriage if you want, that's none of our business. But don't put such a heavy burden on your ten-year-old son!

Parents are some of the greatest influences we have in our lives. They are the ones who teach us to talk, to walk, to deal with people and society, and most importantly, they teach us to love. Keeping hurtful secrets and making them lie is not the way to do it. It'll only make your kids grow up to be lonely and distrustful. If I could speak with this guy, I would make sure to tell him that the lies are not his fault. He was young, trusted his mom, and did as he was asked. If anything, he was trying to be a good kid; no one would blame him for that. Luckily, Reddit commenters are already trying to make him feel better. 

We all know that cats have "selective hearing", but how can you tell if your cat is just really good at ignoring you or actually deaf?

Felines are famous for listening only when it suits them. They're the kings and queens of following directions that they invented themselves and ignoring all others. Demands like "Get off the counter!" or "You're not allowed up there!" simply pass through one ear and out the other. It's part of the joys of being a pawrent, realizing that your own power is limited. It's a humbling expurrience, truly. But then again, there are some cats that can't listen at all, and many of them are pure white cats with a recessive gene that predisposes them to blindness and deafness.

After adopting a pair of meowjestic Maine coons, our cat dad from Reddit's r/cats community is wondering if his new kitty's previous diagnosis is actually true. One of the pair, Yuki (the foofy, white cloud of a cat), was deaf, according to his previous pawrents. However, now that Yuki is in his new dad's house, he has seen him reacting to certain sounds. So, is Yuki truly deaf or just really good at ignoring whichever hoomans take care of him?

This is the question he asked the meowmbers of the cat community, and as we would expect them to, they came to his adorable aid.

There are benefits to a cat being deaf. You don't have to worry about them running for their lives whenever you vacuum, and the 4th of July will pass by like a nice, Summer breeze. However, if Yuki truly is deaf, he will have to find a way to communicate with him that is safe and understandable for both of them.

The work week is a toughie, it drags on and on and is seriously lacking in the amount of face time we get to have with our cute cat kids. So to keep you meowtivated to finish the working day and get home to your rambunctious rascal we made this cute collection of cat memes.

While the studies are not conclusive at this point, there is a lot of evidence that speaks to the energizing and uplifting pawer of cat memes. Not only for the cat loving hooman, but for all hoomankind. There is something about laying one's eyes upon a regal feline and reading some words that contradict the cat's appearance that tickles the hooman soul and keeps us motivated to power through life.

So with these marvelous feline memes wielding such pawer, there comes great responsibility too, which we take upon ourselves here. That being the delivery of the purrfect cat meme to make you feel mentally invigorated and prepawed to take on the challenges of the day as and when they come. And we have not taken that responsibility lightly when carefully selecting the memes to be included in this meowtivating collection of cats. With that being said, we invite you to dive in and emerge from the waters rejuvenated and restored by the all mighty pawer of feline kind. 
 

For the lady, a filthy martini with 12 skewered olives?

Yes, please! That is the dream drink for me. Everyone is like, "it sounds like you just want a snack, not a drink." Bestie, can't a girl want both? I want a drink AND a snack. It's called girl dinner; look it up. Dang. I'm just out here at happy hour trying to live my best life, and people are judging my sodium intake. You go back to worrying about your protein, Steve! I can worry about myself. Sorry, went off there. I need a martini. 

But alas, I am still at work; it is not happy hour yet, and I'm fighting off a panic attack. So the next best thing to an actual dirty martini is martini memes. I can't drink 'em, but I can share them with my besties and get them craving one as well. So then when it is time to clock out, they will also want a dirty martini and will meet me somewhere for happy hour after work. You see? Work smarter, not harder. 

You either love or hate olives. It's always been that way. I have never met someone who is on the fence about them. So if you hate olives, that means you also hate dirty martinis. Which, ew, what? But also, you do you, boo. Can I have your olives?

Whether you love dirty martinis or not, you'll still LOL at these memes! It's the happiest of hours when there is laughter involved.  

Our feline fur babies are more unique than snowflakes. Making the task of raising them that much tougher than it needs to be. If it wasn't hard enough finding a food that our cats and our wallets agree upon, you then have to handle their particular drinking habits. But thanks to a clever group of pawrents we may have a few helpful hints as to how to get your choosy cat child to drink enough water.

Reddit's r/CATHELP subreddit is quite direct in its intentions, it hosts a space for pawrents in crisis to have their concerns heard and helped. So when one pawrent posted pleading for help with their cat child who refuses to drink enough water the community leapt into action. And seeing as this is a very common problem for feline pawrents, I myself have done many rounds of battle with a cat who refused to drink enough. We figured we would extend their helping hands to you so that anyone dealing with this problem will have some support and tools to deal with it.

If you are lucky enough not to be afflicted by this problem I will briefly illuminate you on the subject. Water is incredibly important for cats as under our care they do not quite get the same kind of liquid intake as they would in the wild. Wild prey contains far more juice than even the fanciest wet food, so us pawrents are left with the challenge of ensuring our feline fur babies are well watered to make up for their unnatural diet. But problematic cats tend to be very particular about their water consumption, meaning that if the water container is not in the purrfect spot, not off the purrfect type, or not of acceptable quality they simply will not drink. And so you see how harrowing a problem this can be for the pawrents who handle it on a daily basis. So I hope these pawrental insights are helpful to those of you fighting the good fight. They shall drink their water yet!