The best shopping trips are the ones that don't stick to the list.

Some decisions take months. Others take one look at the right face. Anyone who spends time on Reddit's r/CatDistributionSystem subreddit knows the universe has a funny way of stepping in when you least expect it, and this kitten might be the perfect example.

After nearly a year of going back and forth about whether another cat belonged in the family, a quick trip to PetSense for cat shampoo turned into something completely different. Sitting in a wall full of adoption cages was one tiny kitten all by herself. She was the only one there, and one look at her sweet little face made walking away feel almost impossible.

My husband jokingly suggested flipping a coin to decide. Technically, that's exactly what happened. Realistically? That coin never stood a chance. The decision had already been made the second those eyes met mine.

Now her name is Meera, thanks to her adorable habit of standing up like a little meerkat. She's about 17 weeks old, already spayed and vaccinated, and has officially become the newest member of the family. Bringing home a kitten after living with two senior cats always comes with a few question marks, especially when those older cats have spent more than a decade ruling the house.

So far, the introductions couldn't be more fitting. The resident tabby has decided Meera is fascinating and has been following her from room to room, trying to figure out how to convince her to play. Meanwhile, the tuxedo queen of the house has made it very clear that her kingdom has been invaded by a tiny new peasant. Meera, thankfully, seems completely unbothered.

After almost a year of wondering if the timing was right, it turns out the answer was waiting in an adoption cage all along. Sometimes the hardest decision is only hard until the right little face comes along.

What would you do in this case?

​What would you do if you asked for time off in early June and got approved? But when the time comes, you realize you are scheduled to work during some days of your holiday week. At least some kind of frustration would be felt. Especially when you decide to tell your boss, thinking maybe it was a mistake, only to realize that management is just pretending they never approved the time off in the first place. And to just make it worse, after you complained, your boss decided to schedule for the other days that you were also going to be out. This is not only illegal but also proof of the awful environment this Reddit user works in. To deny approval for time off is not allowed, but every time she starts looking for a way to save her holiday, she gets hit with more obstacles.

She tried to contact the union representative, but it almost seemed like a joke. The union rep is on vacation, so they can't solve her issue directly. She now has to go through a bigger entity only to check if they are even able to help her. The start of her time off is just around the corner. She has the reservations for her holiday, and it's all being put on hold because of a bad boss.

She received some advice to just quit. Or at least go on the trip anyway and see if she's able to save her job after. This is also influenced by the fact that this employee is also getting overworked normally. Since one worker quit, all the staff have been working 6 days a week and more hours than they should (she's actually part-time).

In my opinion, she should be getting out of that job ASAP. First, enjoy the vacation, and when she comes back, start looking for something else. This kind of environment is unacceptable, and she deserves a better place to work. Also, if she can place some kind of demand with the union to avoid this happening to somebody else, that would be the right thing to do.

Coffee in one hand, cat memes in the other.

Monday mornings always begin with a little optimism. This is going to be the week everything falls into place. The alarm goes off once, the coffee is finished while it's still hot, and somehow nobody feels rushed before the day even starts. It's a nice thought... right up until the alarm rings.

Before that first cup of coffee, every tiny inconvenience feels much bigger than it really is. The coffee maker takes an extra minute. You can't find your keys even though they were right there yesterday. Someone sends an email before you've even taken your first sip. Your brain hasn't fully clocked in yet, but the rest of the world clearly has.

Then the coffee starts doing its job. The shoulders relax. The to-do list doesn't seem quite as intimidating. Suddenly Monday feels a little less like an obstacle and a little more like a fresh start. It's amazing what a few quiet minutes and a hot mug can do for a person's mood.

That's why those first few minutes of the morning are worth protecting. No rushing. No doomscrolling. No jumping straight into work if you can help it. Just coffee, a chance to wake up properly, and a reminder that the whole week doesn't have to be won before breakfast.

So refill your mug if it needs it, settle in for a few minutes, and ease into the day instead of racing through it. The week will still be waiting when you're done. Right now, your only job is to enjoy your coffee and start Monday in a better mood than it started you.

Set menu, no changes allowed

I don't know about you guys, but I consider picky eating a very serious issue. To me, it's unthinkable to be more than 7 years of age and still unable to eat anything with garlic. Having a broad palate is a very important skill for life and for sharing with people from your own and other cultures, aside from the pleasurable experience in itself of enjoying multiple flavours. Imagine you are a picky eater, and you get invited to eat pasta at your friend's house; the sauce will probably involve garlic. You are suddenly excluded from more than half of reunions because EVERYTHING INVOLVES GARLIC in Western and Eastern cooking. You are allowed not to like something, of course, but I always thought picky eating was about something else, especially if you are like this boyfriend who makes his taste everyone else's problem.

The internet can sometimes feel a bit chaotic, loud, and a little too much to handle. At all times, someone is talking about something, everyone's sharing their thoughts, and having too much information at hand can feel overwhelming. But then… A tiny cat appears on your screen. And that's when it's all worth it. That's the magic of heartwarming cat pictures. All it takes is a small kitten curled up in the sweetest possible way to make the world feel a little gentler.

So here it is! Here's your personalized gift from the Cat Distribution System, ready to brighten your day. Cats somehow find the people who need them the most. And they know you needed them today. 

Maybe a stray cat shows up at someone's door. Maybe a kitten follows someone home. Maybe a shelter cat chooses their hooman with one sweet look. Or maybe, on a random Monday, a collection of heartwarming cat pictures shows up in your feed, just in time to give you a mood boost. 

These cats are here for you, arriving just in time, right when you needed a little comfort. So consider these heartwarming cat pictures a tiny visit from the Cat Distribution System. And it doesn't matter whether you already have a cat or you're waiting for the right feline to find you. Either way, these cats are here to bring a little sweetness and comfort, and help you kick-start your day with a little more joy. 

Cats know how to be deeply comforting companions. They may look like they are mysterious, independent, and self-sufficient, but they know when to show up for you. They know how to show up quietly, sit beside you, and turn a regular living room into a home. That's why they are so special to us. They feel comforting. With their absolutely cute faces, their little whiskers, and deep eyes, they have a way of making everything feel softer. And they are here to remind us that sometimes, the smallest creatures can bring us the biggest joy. 

The craziest adoption stories are always cat adoptions, because honestly, what are the chances?

They say the Cat Distribution System works in mysterious ways, but we're still surprised by the sheer craziness of cats' adoptions. And don't get us wrong, we love every story about a cat being adopted - otherwise, we wouldn't be here. We love highlighting the most adorable cat adoptions and shine them through our I Can Has Cheezburger lens, where people come to get their daily dose of cute cat content. But even though we're here for what seems like forever, the Cat Distribution System still manages to amaze us with another ameowzing cat adoption.

This time, it comes from a cat rescuer who goes by @rachaelroaming on TikTok. First of all, she rescued a cat - which is already such a brave thing to do. Not only because it's always a brave thing to let another soul into your life like that, but also because it's such a brave thing to let such a soul in, knowing you might lose them at some point. And for her, it came sooner rather than later. We know how sad it is to lose a cat. And this woman felt it all too well, declaring she's never going to rescue any cat ever again.

… Until she heard another kitten, with a surprising familial connection, needed to be rescued too. Imagine the situation she was in - this woman lost her cat, all too soon, then she would've hoped for, and then she gets to not just fill the hole in her heart with a rescued kitten, but to realize he's her former cat's grandson. That's truly the Cat Distribution System out doing itself - making sure all cats in need of a home get one, and also healing a cat pawrent's heart.

Realistic hopecore

Reading stories like this reignites my faith in humanity. Probably all the hearts he broke are mended by now, but he can at least stop himself from breaking more in the future. I thought my cold exes could never be self-aware, but this story makes me think they might be, one day, when they turn 34.

I've been on both sides of the situation, and I know how an unannounced call from your partner to talk through some drama can feel like a burden if you are the slightest bit avoidant, or were minding your own business that day. But I also know how you feel when you are trying to tell your partner something important to you, and you get one- or two-word, dry responses. Is it always a matter of codependency?

Our ideal summer vacation is anything where we get to interact with more cats than people. In fact, that's our ideal every day.

The one thing we love most about summer is the heat. Why? Because it's the purrfect excuse to stay inside. With the air conditioning set to the max, we'll happily cancel plans because of the weather while pretending to be upset about it. Who would we prefurr to hang out with, you ask? Our cats, obviously. They're smarter, nicer, and cuddlier than 95% of the hoomans out there. 

This is also something we take into account when planning a summer vacation. We go wherever we can interact with the most amount of cats and the least amount of people. We have books to finish, sleep to catch up on, and stray cats to pspspsps, so no, we don't need to organize a group trip with 10 other friends or suffer through another family trip with our mother-in-law. Thanks, but no thanks.

We know you think the same way, too. You wouldn't be here reading this if you didn't believe us. You probably treat your cats like your kids, and like all parents,  you want to spend more time with your kids. Even though we might not be able to take them on vacation with us, we can meet their long-lost cousins from Greece, or their fourth uncle twice-removed from Istanbul. 

While you're on the plane to your next feline-filled land, we hope you enjoy these hilarious cat posts. We gathered them up while dreaming of landing on an island inhabited by 90% cats, with only enough hoomans to run an all-inclusive resort. And a pool. A pool is crucial. 

Maybe we're just daydreaming, but hey, it never hurts to dream, right?

Affectionate teasing

Sometimes the best way to show love is not being extremely sweet. Psychologists called this 'cute aggression', or at least that's what I read on some random Instagram infographic. It can be because sometimes big emotions seek a physical outlet, or because saying something corny can leave us feeling too vulnerable. Straightforward compliments can feel a lot heavier than some healthy, affectionate teasing, and that's what happened to the neighbour in this story, except that at first, the woman doing the teasing thought her neighbour couldn't understand what she was saying.

We just have one word for you: beanmaxxxing.

You might consider rare and unique cats a specialty of ours here at I Can Has Cheezburger. We've seen cats with the most stunning eyes, the strangest fur patterns, abnormally large cats, seriously smol ones, felines with extra ears, cats that love to swim and even surf, and everything in between. But none of them were world record holders… until today.

The previous record for most toe beans on a cat (that's not the official title, but that's what it should be called) was given to Jake, a ginger tabby from Bonfield, Ontario, with a purrfectly outrageous 28 toes on a single cat. However, last month, Jake was nearly surpassed by a 10-month-old polydactyl kitten named Toby from Michigan, who was also born with 28 toes! A record that hasn't been touched for 24 years is now tied for first place between Jake and Toby. The Guinness Book of World Records made it awwfficial in May (see the very purrfessional documentation below.

In case you're new here and wondering what "polydactyl" means, don't worry, it has nothing to do with pterodactyls, in case you were wondering. Polydactyl simply means being born with extra fingers or toes. Usually, it has no effect on a cat's life or well-being, but it is a bit more work for the hoomans who have to trim their extra nails. They can lead to deformities, but most cats live purrfectly peaceful lives with their extra beans.

Maybe you clicked on this article because you're really interested in world records being broken, and if that's the case, you're in the right place. If you clicked on this article because you love feline toe beans as much as we do, then you're definitely in the right place. Let this multitude of beans from Toby raise your cuteness meter to above-average levels so you can get through today with a smile on your face!

Nothing builds character quite like watching a promotion vanish the exact moment someone's childhood best friend strolls through the door. It's the corporate equivalent of a magic trick, except instead of pulling a rabbit out of a hat, your manager pulls a broken promise out of his you-know-where and calls it "seat availability"

Here's the thing about "seats" at most companies: they're basically Bigfoot. Everyone insists they exist, there's always a blurry account of someone who's seen one, but the second you go looking for actual proof, it disappears into the woods. Funny how there's never a shortage of seats when the person walking in shares a golf course with the guy making the decision.

Companies love to dress nepotism up in professional language, like "cultural fit" or "he already knows the systems," when really what they mean is "we went to the same fraternity, and he still owes me twenty bucks from 2003."

When this customer support worker followed management's order to close unresolved support tickets, they exposed how a focus on appearance over problem-solving created duplicate work and frustrated customers.

Have you ever caught your neighbor doing something they shouldn't be doing with your personal belongings?

Since you generally don't get to decide who it is you are going to end up living next to, you are expected to put a lot of trust in a complete stranger. Even though you aren't going to be living with these people in the same house, there is still a certain connection that forms when two people live right next to each other.

Even if your house is fenced and fortified, your neighbors can still be privy to a lot of inside activity around your house, and even collect information about you as a person. It only takes a few months of living with each other before they know what time you usually leave for work and when you return. They will find out all about the occupants of the house, and which food you enjoy DoorDashing the most. If they really want to, they can even guess your income based on the house you live in and the furniture they can see through the window.

Want it or not, your neighbors become insiders to information you might not even share with your own family.

Another thing a neighbor can get a glimpse of that you have no control over is your mail. As long as you have an outdoor mailbox, that little metal box can be a way in for your neighbor to get a lot of information about you, and even take items they shouldn't get their hands on. As long as they're there, they can get away with pretty much anything, so you have to keep your eyes peeled in order to stop that from happening.

That is what the homeowner in the story below is trying to do after finding out their neighbor regularly looks inside their mailbox. They keep catching them in the act through their ring camera, but they still can't make their neighbor stop. The only other option they have left is to formally report the crime…

Sometimes, it takes a while for a stray cat to trust you. Other times, it's instantaneous. 

I'm sure that most of you already know this, but just in case you don't, let me tell you from experience: gaining a stray cat's trust is something that takes time. It is a rare thing for a stray cat to instantly walk up to you and ask you to pet them. Nearly never happens. Always an honor when it does. It's about giving them time, space and respect, and even then, it could take… forever. 

Even our building kitties, who a couple of neighbors and I feed daily, took their time trusting us. With one of them, it took a week. With another, a month. And with the third - our newest, a very loud ginger with a giant pair of puffballs - months later, I'm still working on it. Still, it's worth it. I know it is. Eventually, one of us will manage to get close enough to trust him and TNR him, which is what he really needs right now. And when it does finally happen, when they finally trust you, it always feels like the biggest surprise. 

It took a week for the kitten whose story was shared on r/CatDistributionSystem to trust her new human. Not long by all accounts. But to her new owner, it felt long. And in comparison with how fast the kitten bonded with the Maine Coon in the house, well, a week is downright forever. One day, almost out of nowhere, she decided that she trusted the human enough to walk into the human's house. There, the kitten met the Maine Coon, but instesd of being intimidated by the huge cat, she walked right up to him and decided that he was her new best friend. And the rest is history. 

Buying secondhand appliances apparently comes with an unspoken rule. unspoken in the sense it's inside one entitled woman's head, and she didn't say out loud, that rule is: if you break it yourself after purchase, that's somehow still the seller's fault.How it usually goes is, someone sells an item in perfectly good condition, lets the buyer test it themselves, and even tries to help load it up like an overly generous furniture mover. Everything checks out, everyone's happy, sale complete. Then chaos happens.

Another Monday is about to start on the right paw with the best cat tweets of the week! 

Yet another Monday is here, and it is one more Monday we wish could have been postponed by a day. Before starting another week, before facing another dose of madness, we really could have used an extra day of doing… nothing. The weekends pass too quickly. We think everyone can relate to that. One blink, it's all behind us, and we didn't have anywhere near enough time to do the things that we planned on doing. Of course, the things that we planned on doing weren't anything too crazy. We just wanted to spend a little longer scrolling through pictures of adorable cats on the internet and smiling at silly cat memes. Because the more we do of that, the happier we are. And that is actually why we are all here right meow. 

Every single week, we put together a collection of the best, most talked-about, most viral cat tweets of the week. This collection is both your place to catch up on all the purrfect cat content that you might have missed on Twitter, and it is also the best way to attempt to start your Monday on the right paw. And you really don't need a lot to do it. Mondays are hard, but with the right content in front of us, we have every chance of making the best out of this day and the best out of this week. And we guarantee that you will be smiling at least a little bit by the end of this list. Beginning our day with a smile is a start, and the perfect way of doing that is staying in bed just a couple of minutes longer and scrolling your way through this collection. 

At what point should trust give way to written documentation, even when dealing with someone you've known for years?

A landowner's carefully written rental agreement becomes the deciding factor after a tenant ignores payment deadlines and destroys property improvements. He then tries to claim no contract ever existed. 

It can feel really good to trust someone and be able to take them at their word. That what they say will get done will, and there will be no behind-the-back, backdooring dealing. This trust is a valuable thing. But sometimes the written word needs to exist. It becomes a matter of responsibility to get things in writing regardless of how things seem when first setting out in the business relationship. 

Written agreements and contracts signed with the ol' John Hancock became a thing for good reason. There have been plenty of famous situations where verbal handshake agreements eventually came to haunt one side of the equation or the other. As they say… the devil is in the details. And ensuring that there are some ground rules set ensures that everyone will have something to refer back to no matter how you trust the person. 

They say that a cat a day can make your day. Ok, they do not say that but as any good cat lover can tell you, the presence of a purrfect feline in your life does make everything so much better. So seeing as you are bearing the brunt of the work week right now, we figured you could do with a quick cat delivery.

The work week is the burden of all our adult lives, it comes, it goes, it comes back again. It is an endless cycle that somehow feels tougher and more languishing each time it comes around. And it is because and of this working week that so many of us feline fans have decided to adopt cute cattos of our own. That way when ever we are lucky enough to be home and not at work, we have a fluffy friend to play with, cuddle, and most importantly, pet. Giving us comfort and calming vibes that act like a balm for your work-related burnout.

But as we mentioned earlier, none of that is any use to you right now, as you are in the office about to give it your all so that you and your cat child have a roof to live under. So we figured we would bring you the next best thing, this collection of beautiful feline fur baby bellies for you to lose your mind in before you throw yourself to the fires of the working world. And with that we invite you to take a meowment for yourself, grab yourself a fluffy blanket and pretend to your heart's content that you are petting some seriously fluffy felines. 
 

Meowing and cats are like bread and butter, you simply cannot have one without the other. Whether it is at 3am or the moment you come home, you can bet on it that your cat will at some point meow at you. The question we hope to answer in this story is why?

Lucky for you the pawrents of Reddit's r/cats subreddit are obsessed with the subject of feline meows. After all, each cat has a vocabulary of meows at their disposal and more often than not we hoomans fall short of understanding what they are talking about, that is if we do not become frustrated at them for constantly gibbering at us. So we decided that it is high time we try to put this conversation to bed by combing through some of the more pertinent pontifications of these pawrents to reveal what might be the core reasons behind a cat's meowing.

We have to say that the results were somewhat surprising and not quite what you would have imagined them to be. Sure there is a communication aspect to this, but it is not quite the yelling at us pawrents until they get what they need. There is an intimacy attached to their meows, one that seeks to deepen the bond between cat child and pawrent. In some cases they want us to talk back and strike up a conversation, other times they are indeed trying to alert us to a need of theirs and sometimes they are just singing the song of their people. But there is an undeniable need for connection there that many of us pawrents have overlooked. But we will tell you of one pawrent who took to teaching their cat sign language as a more specific and direct form of communication, and we can tell you it is very impressive. 
 

On being chronically late

This character flaw is rather hard to live with if a friend has it. You do your best; you tell them reunions start an hour before they actually start, so if they arrive one hour late, they are actually early. You tell yourself they are not doing it on purpose; you accept that everyone has different time management skills and different time perception, but still, when it's the twentieth time you need them for something and they show up 40 minutes late, it's very hard to sustain the friendship.

This Redditor wonders what she should do about her chronically late friend. If there's anything she can do to save the friendship, or if this trait can outweigh everything else good there is to it.