Did you know that black cats are some of the most difficult to get adopted in shelters? 

Everyone knows the saying: "black cats are bad luck." But we, for the life of us, do not understand why this saying even exists. Why would someone look at these beautiful black cats and think that they are anything other than adorable? We could never understand. Black cats are full of meowgic. They appear and disappear on dark couches and in piles of dark laundry. They hide and love, cuddle and smack just like any other cat. But for some reason, people have decided that they are lesser than other cats. And that is one of the reasons why stories like today's happen - why these cats stay in shelters for so, so long. 

For a cat to spend years in a shelter is one thing. Sometimes, cats really do have behavioral issues and trust issues and need to wait for the right human to give them a chance. But not this one. Not Soot. Soot was a stray cat for the first three years of her life, and after that, she spent three years in a shelter. Three years without visitors or applications. Three years without being given a single chance by a single human, despite being one of the sweetest cats. She needed one human to look at her like the beautiful cat that she is and give her an opportunity, and finally, after years of waiting, that human finally came. It took one second - one look - for them to know that they will be taking her home. And despite warnings that she is an aloof cat who would take a long time to get used to some place new, she settled in right away, proving to everyone that she was more than ready for love. 

If you are the one demanding something, then it's on you to be responsible for it

Relationships evolve not only with the growth of each of the members of the couple, but also with how their lives change. Moving together, working full time, monetary issues, and having kids. That last concept is actually the most difficult one. Having kids can bring the couple together, make them feel more like a family. But it can also be the last drop on the glass that makes it break. Children are a lot. They cry, they scream, they tantrum. If your relationship isn't built on a strong enough foundation, then the whole building comes down with it. And you will be quick to blame it on the kids, but it's actually something deeper. 

Is hard to maintain a relationship through the good and the bad. But having meaningful and serious conversations along with lots of love can make the whole thing not that hard at all. Kids get in the way sometimes, but that doesn't make them less desirable. And I'm pretty sure that they aren't the full reason why couples break up, is usually just the last thing in a long list of problems. Your kids are the outcome of a relationship, and let's hope a healthy and loving one. So why would they be the reason it ends? It may seem like maybe there is something much more realistic bothering the two lovebirds that isn't really the reason they think. 

So if your relationship is struggling and the main issue seems to be about the kids, like the story below, talk to each other. Be honest and truthful to yourselves. Admit whether the problem is the kids or some bigger issue you are ignoring to avoid having to confront it. If the foundation is strong enough, then you can survive even a rough patch of arguments and disdain. No kid, school bus, nor anything can actually be the ruin of it. But it's important to stop with the arguing and start having meaningful conversations that can make the relationship move forward and continue being as loving as it was before. 

Have you ever burned a bridge with a friend over money?

It's not always a good idea to mix business and pleasure; that's why we have that saying. Things tend to get kind of complicated when you start owing each other money. That's what happened here, and it all but ended the friendship between these two women. When you agree to pay someone a certain amount of money, you should probably pay it. Trouble comes up when you try to back out of something that you've already agreed to. And if you can't afford it, then you should have never agreed to pay it in the first place. The woman in this story was trying to have it both ways, though. 

Friends love to do favors for friends. It's what bonds us and brings us closer together. House sitting or dog sitting is a great way to show a friend how much you care for them. They need something, and you're happy to provide it. But it's also not an easy task, especially if you have a particular dog. Some dogs require complex feeding, medicine, sleeping, and outside time routines. It's not always easy just to slot in and figure it out. That's where the money comes in. Folks pay good money to watch their pets. They're like members of the family, and you want to treat them as such. So even when a friend offers to do it, it's a good idea that you pay them, even if they agree to a little less than a stranger would. 

Should a referred employee be obliged to stay at a company long after their colleague gets their referral bonus?

In this era of total job market insanity, personally knowing somebody who has the power to get you a job can be invaluable. They always say that it is who you know and not what you know, and that statement has probably never been truer. With all those AI application sorting tools, fake job postings, and elaborate, multi-stage interviews out there, there is nothing quite like the reassurance that you may be able to get ahead thanks to help from a friend.

Of course, anybody who is going to do a thing like that is likely expecting there to be something in it for them. Most commonly, their employer has a scheme for referral bonuses, which requires that their recommendation both gets hired and stays at the company for a certain amount of time. Other than that, though, some people also just think they know an individual who is suited to the job, and who they would like to work with. If they get someone hired and it doesn't work out, it is understandable to be at least a little disappointed.

When you wake up in the meowrning, you need two things: a delicious cup of coffee and a heaping teaspoon of cat memes. 

As every single cat person knows, the best things in life… are our cats. We can't imagine life without them. We would want to take them absolutely everywhere we can. We just want them with us. But unfortunately, we cannot take them everywhere. Not because of the logistics of it. We have cat carriers. We can't mostly because our cats would destroy us if we tried.  And so, we have to make do with what we have while they are at home waiting for us. And although looking at the cute pictures of our cats that we took is good, we still need more of it.

If we cannot take our cats with us, then the second best thing we can do is pretty obvious, isn't it? We just need to scroll through some cat memes. When we get to the office, we need to take those few minutes to prepare for the day by drinking our coffee and scrolling through our mental health cat memes. That's how we survive the day and get back to our cats faster. 

Maybe you aren't that good of a manager if one of your employees had to point that out…

Sometimes I seriously doubt whether anyone who is appointed to become a manager at a job is actually qualified for the job position. I remember at one of my previous jobs where I used to think that one of the senior employees who worked in the same position as I knew much more than the manager. It got to a point where the boss had to ask this employee for help. This was unfair in my eyes, as one of those employees should have gotten the position instead of an outsider with a good resume that actually wasn't qualified to manage that kind of workload.

This story in u/AskManagers made me think of all those managers who are completely unqualified for their job, and in return they end up having everybody suffer from that. There are always employees that have been in the company for a while, and that would have been very good leaders to the team. Instead of the person that was actually appointed for the job, and that actually shouldn't have been. I always think "why". Why were they appointed for the job if they are completely incapable of performing it the right way? Do they have some kind of relation with somebody else in the company? Did they lie on their resume? I don't know what it is, but it makes me sick that the company would rather give the job position to an idiot like that instead of a senior employee who is actually qualified to do it.

Unfortunately, when we get a situation like this one where there is nothing left to do but accept the new manager, we just have to comply. Maybe a couple of months into the job, they will start to get the gist of how everything works and actually become capable leaders. In whichever case, there isn't much we can do about it other than complain to our coworkers. So it's better to just accept it. Luckily enough, they may even accept some constructive criticism that may expedite the process of them learning how to do the job they were hired to do. 
 

Life and loss go hand in hand, but there's always a silver lining. 

It's never a good time to experience loss, yet everyone goes through it in some way. Aging isn't just about wrinkles or aesthetics, it's intertwined with the collapsing of the body in ways that no one can anticipate until it happens. Losing a sibling or family member can be one of the hardest things a person goes through, but when you're surrounded by other loved ones, family members, or people who understand what you're going through it can actually make the experience transform itself from sad to beautiful. Grief is so multidimensional, and there's always a silver lining to a situation. Take the story below as an example, where a senior cat crosses the rainbow bridge. His 16-year-old brother, Mr. Bear, and his owner grieve the loss together. While they weren't close beforehand, they are since much more bonded and can connect with each other and rely on each other over the loss. 

The senior cat who stays, Mr. Bear, has always wanted to go outside and has been an escape artist since he was a kitten. After his brother, Licorice, crossed the rainbow bridge, it's given him and his owner the newfound confidence and inspiration to finally take the dreams to reality. The cat dad bought him a harness and leash, and slowly slowly, they have been able to use it together. They can now live a different life together, but still happy. They found each other through the darkness, and have found hope in the world. Inspiring stories like these are immensely important to read and cherish because there's no telling what the future holds. It's easy to think that everything will collapse in times of hardship, but people find a way to continue. 

Different bosses do different weird things, and this one, for some reason, thinks he is running a cult with payroll and not a business, which would be almost funny if it were not so transparently manipulative that you have to wonder how many people have walked out before

So a volatile owner cancels all his meetings to beg and threaten an employee for hours after hearing about a possible resignation, which is the kind of behavior that would get you committed if you did it to a romantic partner, and should also put you in a jacket when there is a corporate structure involved. But it doesn't

He says he trusts this person more than his own wife and family, which is a confession that he has burned every other bridge in his life and now needs this one employee to pretend that his inability to maintain relationships is actually a sign of how special they are. He offers a substantial raise. He gets nice for the rest of the day. The next day he is the same old him.

He yells, accuses people of treachery, then calms down and acts friendly again, which is the cycle that keeps people off-balance and wondering if maybe they did something wrong.

Winter > summer.

Some people love summer – the bright, sunny skies, the feeling of vacations, beaches, and adventures in the air. And then there are winter people…people who love that the sun goes down at 5 pm, who are absolutely agog to get into bed and snuggle up their furry feline friend under covers. At ICatHasCheezburger, we fit into the latter category. Because let's face it, summer is for dog people who want to take their pupper on a road trip for camping and hiking in forests and mountains. Cat people love winter because of their drab, introverted, and cozy demeanors. 

Pawdorable kitties love to be cozy too. They're unrestrained chaos all day running around the house exhausts them so that they crash out early – just like you and the sun. It's not near winter, but we all have that jittery, wintery blues cropping up to make us want to binge watch Harry Potter under covers while drinking hot cocoa. These winter cat memes aren't just cute; they're ground breaking. They remind us to slow down, to breathe, to find joy in stillness. A meme of a cat tucked under a blanket with just its nose and whiskers sticking out carries the same energy as a warm hug. A fluffy white cat rolling dramatically in the snow is a reminder that play doesn't have an expiration date. Meanwhile, the classic cat by the frosted windowpane—eyes wide, pupils huge—speaks to the inner child in all of us who still finds winter enchanting. Enjoy this hissterical list! 

Cat people know something the rest of humanity has not caught up with yet, and frankly, we're not sure how much longer we can keep doing the emotional heavy lifting for everyone. Sometimes all you need is a cat

Not a self-help book, not a wellness podcast hosted by a guy named Chase who says "optimize" too much. Just a cat, preferably one who has decided your lap is its property and your personal space is a rumor.

Need proof? Think of every video titled some version of "dad with the cat he didn't want." It always begins with a man who claims he is not a cat person, usually while wearing cargo shorts and holding a remote like it's a constitutional right. Then, cut to basically a second later, and he is lying perfectly still because a tiny furry landlord is asleep on his chest, purring and making biscuits directly over his heart. The cat wins. The cat always wins.

We have to do something about this; I can't take it anymore

I miss when people had ideas, even bad ideas. I miss when organizing a schedule or a plan was more about thinking and planning, and less about prompting and then not even reading what came out.

The ideas AI generates are always bland; they always have too many words and are structured in a very correct way. They have hooks and build-ups, but they lead up to nothing. I really think no matter how 'smart' the technology is, it will never have the style or the wit of a good writer or a great thinker. And also, we need to stop.

It might sound great for those who are tired today and need to come up with a presentation in five minutes, but then your clients will notice it, your service will drop in quality, and very soon we will all be swimming in a pool of AI slop, desperate for some handmade thing, or a thought that sounds 'human'.

I think, especially in work environments, that some boundaries need to be put in place, and it's really not that difficult. AI is really easy to spot, and managers and bosses should put an end to its use. People who are working should be qualified to communicate what they are working on through chat or email without resorting to AI.

It's not that I'm against it; we only need to use it more as a tool and less as another brain. I'll say it again: AI's ideas are worthless, and if you've never tried making it help you write a text message, I suggest you try. It will come up with the cringiest, longest version of something a human would never say, and it would be ridiculous to receive, so please, let's all, collectively, stop this right now.

Do you have a place of work you would return to in a heartbeat?

While we all like to complain about work, our hope is always to find somewhere that truly makes us happy. We imagine that if we were to find a place of work that truly brings us joy, we would never leave it, but that is not always the case for many who have managed to do so. Sometimes, people find themselves leaving jobs they really like for reasons they can't control.

The main reason would be, and you might have guessed it, if the workplace itself decides it's time for you to leave, aka you get fired. Even if you really love a job, that doesn't mean you will necessarily get to keep it. Perhaps your boss doesn't think you're doing a good enough job, you might get replaced by AI, and maybe you are simply a victim of some inner politics you cannot control.

Either way, you find yourself without the job you liked so much, having to somehow find a workplace that will bring you the same amount of joy.

Which leads us to the question: if your old boss were to offer you the job back, would you take it, and on what terms? How much are you willing to sacrifice for a job you really like?

The employee below found themselves facing this decision, and it wasn't an easy one to make. They were fired two years ago due to business beyond their control, but recently, their old boss reached out to offer them the job back. Even though they liked the job, they weren't quick to accept the offer, especially after they asked about the pay. Apparently, all their old workplace is willing to offer is pay lower than what they got when they first started the job five years ago. As much as they might have wanted to return, this doesn't seem like a fair offer.

For many of us feline pawrents the relationship we have with our cat children is unique to say the least. Not only unique in the sense that each cat and hooman are different, but also unique from all other kinds of relationships as there are things that you will often find yourself saying to your cat child that you would not dare utter in public. And today we are proud to share with you this collection of hissterical phrases that feline pawrents pray they will never say by mistake in public.

People turn to ask the reddit community all sorts of curious questions, but when we came across this thread of outrageous things we say to our cats but to anyone else, let alone a grown adult in public, we knew we had to share it with you. After all, there is a certain madness to being a feline pawrent. Felines have no filters and so you are subjected to intense highs, lows and strange situations that you could have never seen coming.

For example take into consideration the pawrent who takes a relaxing bath with the door closed to keep the cats out. Nonetheless, the felines break in and proceed to walk along the edge of the bath, stopping especially close to their pawrent's face when their behind has purrfectly lined up with their pawrent's nose. A fine show of trust in feline culture, but an act that is more than likely going to cause an outburst from the hooman relating to the smelly situation. A phrase that we cat pawrents have used far too often in our pawsonal lives, and one that we hope will never slip out in our public lives. 
 

Rain is tapping against the windows. The sky is turning gray. Staying at home feels like the best plan imaginable. So you grab a blanket, ask for movie recommendations, grab some snacks, and get ready for a cozy afternoon lying on your couch. The best part? Your cat is there to cuddle with you.

That's what rainy days are for. Cancelling all your plans and staying home with your cat. Yes. Why not? Sometimes we need to slow down and find a warm place to relax. A fluffy companion can make the plan sound even better. Cats are the kings of coziness. They sure make any cozy plan feel much cozier if they're included. And they are clearly included. How come you're lying on your couch and they're not invited? No way. That cannot happen. Your cat will be there even if the activity requires zero cats. 

But this activity requires a cat. Cuddling requires a feline friend. If your cat is in the mood for cuddles, there's no way you don't accept them. Not every cat shows affection in the same way, and not every cat wants to show affection all the time. They enjoy company but don't always want to be picked up. So, whenever they feel like it, lucky you! You have to be available. Otherwise, it is a missed opportunity. 

The best cuddles happen when a cat is comfortable and chooses to stay. Offering them a soft place and allowing them to curl up in there with you can make the experience more relaxing for everyone. No, you can't go to the bathroom now. You should have thought about it before your cat lay on your lap. Now you stay there. Don't be disrespectful to a cute cat, please. Disturbing such a peaceful nap would feel almost criminal. 

If it's raining and your cat would rather curl up with you than a blanket, go for it. Cancel your plans. Stay indoors. Love your cat and let them love you back. Let the rain become the background music for a lazy day.

Even as grown adults, a lot of us feel no smarter or prepawed for the ways of this world than we were fifteen years ago. So we figured we might turn to our feline friends for a few words of advice, and hope that their purrspective on the world is able to shake things up for us.

There is no denying that the older we get the staler we get. Like a loaf of bread left on the counter, with each passing day we become crustier and tougher and soon we will all be toast. But until that time, we have the opportunity to change to grow and today we do that with the help of some funny feline friends. Chosen for their unique perspective on the hooman condition. Think about it, cats spend so much time in your company. They see you in your highs, they see you in your lows, they see you when you fret and they see you when you celebrate. They know a whole heap about our lives that we have probably never noticed ourselves.

So if you are ready to take life by the reins and take control then leap on into this clever collection of cat wisdom. At the very least you'll get a good laugh out of it, felines are known for their exaggerated nature and so some of the life lessons are a little over the top. And at best you come away with a new way of looking at the world and a lighter heart. 
 

Cat children come to us in all different ways. Trash cans, dumpsters, alleyways, sometimes shelters and in the rare case through purchase. But there are greater forces at work, forces far more focused on the spiritual connection that a cat should have with their pawrent. And it is those forces that have brought this story's starving cat and her new pawrent together.

We are of course talking about the Cat Distribution System, the delivery mechanism where universal forces choose cats to deliver to hoomans who are purrfect matches for them. Causing them to instantly fall in love and live wonderfully happy lives together. It is a delightful thing and when it blesses you with its powers, your life changes furever. And while the beginning of this tale is a true CDS classic, later on in the story it turns out this feline-hooman meet-cute was not solely the work of the CDS. But this story is actually brought to us by a collab if you will.

For it was not too long before the telling of this tale that our pawrent's soul cat had passed away. A feline that she had deeply loved and who had supported her through thick and thin for many many years. He was so much more than just a cat, so much more than a child even. He was part of her soul and now that he is gone she is left with a hole where he used to be. But knowing how much love his pawrent had to give to a cat, we like to believe he had a hand in guiding the CDS to choose the purrfect cat to heal his hooman's heart. 
 

You can't have your cake and eat it too, but you can have these cat memes. 

This English proverb didn't gain popular recognition for nothing. The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain possession of a cake and eat it, too". If the cake is eaten, then it's gone. There's no going back. You can't have two incompatible things at once, or at least you should try not to have them. You can't have the best of both worlds, you have to give up something for something else. But let's talk about actual cake. Being a baker and cake designer is a life filled with flour, dust, and imagination. Colors and sticky frostings surround you as you wake up before the sun where the kitchen is quiet and everything feels silly already. There's something so comforting about measuring ingredients and slowly cracking eggs one at a time into a bowl. The level of precision is immaculate, and it's both a science, an art, and an expression. Cats are honey-sweet, which is why we've curated this collection of sweet kitty memes to make your summer morning a bit nicer. 

Bakers learn patience, dough needs time to rise, and cakes need cooling. You can also put cats on cakes! There's no saying you can't. And if you have one cat, you don't have to listen to the above proverb. You can have your cat, your cake, and eat whatever you please. Meaning you can have your cat, cake, and still lazily scroll funny cat memes for the weekend (or work week). Enjoy these silly cat memes for the whole family. You can't have too much sugar! 

We never think about the moment we lose something precious until it happens. Don't let it happen to you. 

Days come and go. Usually in our hustle and bustle lives we don't stop to consider everything good; usually we just carry on each day with the same tiredness or happiness without the sense of immense gratitude, and that's completely human. There's too many complicated feelings all the time to focus just on gratitude or appreciation, but you just never know what you had until it's gone. That's exactly what happens in this story, when a cat owner has to let go of his 22 year old Norwegian Forest cat, Sofus. He's had her for nearly 15 years, and claims she's been with him through everything. Is it possible to grieve for a four legged animal the same you would grieve for a person? He would say yes. Sofus had been with him through thick and thin, through all the good and the bad. He had some health issues, and Sofus was always there for him. After he recovered, he put a lot of his energy outward, and thought that this was the way to go about life, without realizing that everything he loved and cared for was just at home waiting for him. After Sofus crossed the rainbow bridge, all the little memories came together and hit him like a brick wall. Sometimes that happens with grief, and we all experience it differently. 

He leaves us with a message outside of just the appreciation and acknowledgement for how amazing of a cat she was. It's to take the things we love in life and appreciate them day after day, and not wait until we can't. Sofus saved him, and made his life more bearable, and that's why he wants to leave everyone with the notion that we should be appreciating our fur babies. Here's to Sofus, who gave someone a beautiful life. If you're someone with a fur baby, or want a fur baby, keep in mind the immense responsibility involved. Don't wait for the last minute to give love and appreciation to your beloved pet. 

Are we really that excited to return to the office?

Every week, a new scary RTO Reddit story emerges from the internet's trenches. We've finally gotten used to our work-from-home routines, only for them to come and take them away from us.

Now, all of a sudden, we have to think about traffic, vehicles, public transportation, fees, getting dressed elegantly, sharing with other people, preparing your food the day before and putting it in a lunchbox, and a long list of unwanted etcéteras.

I really don't understand why this is such a common tendency when everybody is having such a good time at home. Maybe they could offer the possibility for those who would rather go to an office (yes, they exist, and sometimes, I'm one of them) because it helps with time management, getting out of your house more often, and interacting with other people, basically.

At least for this employee, it will only be three days at the office. When all of the working-from-home thing started, I thought it was going to change the world so fundamentally that a lot of people would move out of big cities and the world would reorganize itself, and in some way it did, but right now there is definitely something pulling us back to old habits. Should we conform? And also, am I the only one who doesn't want to return to the office at all?

At least for me, going to the office should be reserved for days when you need to get out of the house a little and interact, something like that, at your own pace, but well, we'd have to restructure the entire economy of the world to do that, wouldn't we?

When the CDS finds you, you can go from not wanting a cat to desperately needing one in one meowment. 

More often than not, you don't get to choose when a cat comes into your life. You may want a cat, you may not, it doesn't matter. The choice is left in the hands of the CDS, and we have seen the CDS turn people who have never even thought about cats into cat people in an instant. See? You may claim to "hate cats", but if you get chosen by a cat, you will end up loving it. And you may be someone who has never wanted a cat, but once a cat has found its way into your life, you suddenly can't imagine your life without it. And maybe you're someone who loves cats, who, like the person in today's story, works with cats and takes care of them all day long, but you just don't see yourself adopting in that exact moment. Doesn't matter. Once you're chosen, it's done. 

The vet tech in this story was certainly not planning on being chosen by a cat. They may love cats, but it just wasn't something that they planned. And then Odin ended up in the hospital. And Odin was in bad condition. Odin's eye was not quite right, but that didn't stop this vet tech from looking at him and instantly knowing that Odin is his. Now, it was up to Odin to choose him back. And for Odin, it was a difficult choice to make. If he survived the operation on his eye, he would have a home to go back to, but he needed to be strong for that. He needed to be a hero. And he was.