Is it fair to favour a new employee over the older ones? Doesn't seem like it. 

Patience is a virtue, one that many people lack. An IT employee posted on r/pettyrevenge about a new coworker who had no patience or manners. The guy had a PhD in marketing, and the company hired him due to his promise of getting them a lot of money. Since he thought of himself as a big deal, he asked to be settled in a big office, which was the office the hardworking IT department shared. The company agreed and happily told the IT guys to leave the office on the very same day. Since they had so little consideration towards them, one of the guys played with the A.C to make it stop working. Mind you, it was the middle of summer. This led the new marketing guy to move in and spend all summer showing up sweaty to meetings, since it never occurred to him to ask maintenance for help. 

When these things happen, it makes you wonder: how necessary is it to be really qualified for a job? The new guy apparently had no qualifications, besides having written a marketing book, while the IT guys had been there forever, doing their jobs properly. Still, they were pushed aside without a second thought for his sake.

When someone starts a new job, they inevitably have to pay their dues. But in this case, that never happened, so it raises the question: how fair is it? What's the difference between some employees who have to work hard for everything they have and others who just get what they want without anyone batting an eyelash? 

Companies are hardly ever fair to their employees, and no one is irreplaceable. The boss or the owner can suddenly decide to fire people who have worked there for ages, and hire shiny new people who don't necessarily have a clue what they are doing. Not fair at all, but still a recurrent situation. There's not much in the real world that employees can do about it. But what they can do is make sure to leave a few surprises for those playing favorites. Being petty has its advantages, and if you can't beat them fairly, you should learn to play their own game.

Is it really quitting if your boss tells everyone you were fired?

After accepting a better job, a contractor tried to leave on good terms by agreeing to stay an extra week and help with the transition at their manager's request. Instead, they were abruptly let go the following day after completing a knowledge transfer. To make matters worse, the manager announced to the team that he had fired them and even shared a "You're Fired" meme in Microsoft Teams, leaving the former employee wondering whether there was any appropriate response to such a public humiliation.

I could not believe my eyes when I read this story. This is a great example of what a "bad manager" is. Maybe this man was so upset that one of his good employees was leaving for a way better offer that he had to take revenge and pretend they were the ones who fired him, instead of admitting that the employee quit. But that's not even the worst part of all: sharing that meme and making fun of him is super immature.

I'll say that the only good thing we can learn from this is that there was no reason to stay in that company if people have this type of behaviour. If there was a part of him that was hesitant about leaving, I'm sure that after this there really is nothing else to think about, and he must have felt so relieved to start working for somebody else, hopefully someone who's more responsible and takes his coworkers more seriously.

In a workplace environment, this type of attitude cannot be accepted whatsoever. There's never a reason that is going to justify making fun of someone at the office for deciding to leave the company that's more willing to pay what the employee deserves and treats them accordingly. Anyways, maybe this is affecting me more than I was anticipating, but I cannot get my head around why these happen and how that manager was so immature.

Turn the volume up, these cats have something to meow about.

Some cats spend their days snoozing in sunbeams or plotting their next zoomie session. These furry performers have much loftier goals. They've got albums to record, world tours to plan, and purrformances to deliver. All they need is an instrument and an audience that doesn't mind a few off-key meowsical numbers.

Every cat seems to have a signature sound. The pianists delicately tap the keys like they're composing a meowsterpiece worthy of a standing ovation. The guitarists strike a pose before unleashing a solo that's equal parts rock star and scratching post. Then there are the drummers, who firmly believe every tabletop, cardboard box, or unsuspecting human knee was built to keep the beat. It's less of a concert and more of a full-blown meowsic festival.

Of course, no legendary band is complete without a little drama. Someone storms off stage after exactly twelve seconds. Someone else insists on sitting directly on the keyboard in the middle of the show. One cat refuses to acknowledge the rest of the band entirely and somehow still steals the spotlight. Creative differences happen, especially when one bandmate keeps knocking the microphone onto the floor.

Not every note lands where it was supposed to, but confidence has always been a cat's greatest talent. These whiskered virtuosos never let something as minor as actual musical ability get in the way of putting on an unforgettable show. They play every instrument like they were born to headline Meowchella, collect a few treats backstage, and call it a night.

So grab your backstage pass and settle into the front row. These feline meowsicians are ready to strike every chord, hit every note they can find, and prove that when it comes to entertaining the internet, they've still got plenty of talent left to share.

Tiny kittens have a way of making even the most logical plans fall apart.

One family learned that the hard way after finding an illegally smol little void sitting alone in the middle of the street. The kitten couldn't have been much older than a few weeks, and there wasn't much debate about what to do next. Even though the rescuer is allergic to cats, leaving the tiny feline behind was never an option. Before long, kitten formula, a feeding syringe, and everything else needed to care for such a young baby had already been picked up.

That says just about everything.

The family's child shared that they grew up with cats, so bringing another one into the house wasn't exactly unfamiliar territory. These days it's just the parents at home, which makes the whole situation even harder. The plan is to find the little void a loving forever home, but anyone who's bottle-fed a kitten knows how quickly "just until we find someone" can turn into something much more permanent.

Making things even more tempting, the person sharing the story already has three cats waiting back at their own two-bedroom apartment. Taking in another one isn't exactly practical... but there's one problem. Their feline family doesn't include a black cat. As every cat person knows, that's a dangerous realization when an impossibly tiny void suddenly appears.

The Cat Distribution System has a way of testing people's self-control. One minute you're telling yourself you're only helping for the night. The next you're buying formula, learning how to bottle-feed, and catching yourself wondering where a fourth food bowl would fit. Whether this little void stays with the rescuers or charms a brand-new family, it already accomplished one thing. It reminded everyone just how impossible it is to resist a kitten that small.

There has to be a way of showing kids that something they do is wrong without having to scold them or punish them.

The story below made me think about how to teach children that what they are doing is wrong. There are thousands of ways of doing that, but which one is the correct one? Do you have to take away their phones for a week? Or maybe forbid them from going to a friend's house? Is there a way that doesn't involve scolding or punishing? Is there a way to resonate with them so they can actually understand that what they did was wrong and not to repeat it?

I always thought that punishing is not a way of teaching. Just because the child had his phone taken away, it doesn't mean that they learned that they can't mistreat people. It just means that they know that if they do, they may face consequences. That is not learning to be better. That's just learning to be sneaky so that they can still do what they like but avoid punishment.

I'm not a parent, which means that I'm not exactly sure how you can teach a kid something. But I don't think punishment is the right way. Maybe talking and having a serious conversation, as any adult would, makes them understand not only that what they did is wrong but why. Is important for a developing child to know the difference between right and wrong. To start to think for themselves and realize if what they did is correct or not. To only say "this is wrong, you're grounded" seems just as the simplest way out, and it doesn't secure the fact that they know it is wrong. Conversation is key, and maybe if more parents talk to their children more, society could be better. 
 

Cats understand our acts of kindness, and that's extra clear in this specific stray family rescue.

Cats are highly social creatures. Despite them being classified as "facultatively social", meaning they are socially flexible, cats bond strongly with the ones they choose as their own - human, cat, or otherwise. While they evolved from solitary hunters, domestic cats form deep social bonds with humans and other pets. They are highly selective, however, preferring to control when and how much they interact, and they require abundant personal space. But this is why when a cat chooses you, like this one mama cat chose her caretakers, it is one of the best feelings in the world.

And the thing is - cats don't just choose their people randomly. Some seem like they do, all courtesy of the elusive Cat Distribution System, but some cats deliberately choose their person - mostly because this person has shown them kindness, earned their trust, and was patient enough for the cat to make the active decision. Exactly as this stray cat feeder and this mama cat, who decided to trust him fully with her newborn kittens. Newborn! Do you understand? She gave birth, and the first thing she's doing is bringing her newborn kittens to a person who's her safe space.

There's nothing that warms our hearts more than seeing a cat who trusts their human 100%. Yes, even more than abandoned kittens adopted from the street - because in a case like that, they're still scared, learning to trust, and hesitant. But if and when a cat reaches a level of trust so great in their human, to actively adopt them and choose them to be the ones to help them with newborn kittens - this is a wholesomeness level we can't really describe in words. We feel it, but it's hard to describe how the heart expands knowing that.

Who really owns personal belongings after a marriage ends?

As she navigates a difficult divorce, one woman says her in-laws are refusing to return her gold ring while also demanding the phone and laptop she purchased with her own wedding cash gifts. They insist that everything connected to the marriage belongs to them, while she argues the items were paid for with her own money. Now she's looking for legal guidance and wondering whether her in-laws have any right to keep her property or demand even more.

This situation is more common than we would think. And there's a saying that can fit this situation pretty well: "You never really know someone completely", or something along those lines. Of course, when you're getting married, the last thing you're thinking of is a potential divorce. Why would you marry someone if you have this thought? So I'm sure this woman would have never expected her in-laws to be involved so much in her divorce.

But I do think that sometimes, parents will speak for their children (even if they're grown adults) and defend them in a tight situation, such as a divorce. Maybe they are scared or afraid for him, so they will demand whatever this woman had bought during her wedding and after, and ask her to return those. No matter the reason, this attitude is stepping over the line, and she should be reaching out for legal measures to keep these people in place.

Now, my main concern is towards the ex-husband? Where is he in this whole dilemma? Is he letting his ex-wife talk only to his parents? Is he not getting involved and hoping mommy and daddy will fix this situation?… I mean, I'm glad she is getting a divorce and hopefully won't see him again any time soon.

Worries? No, thanks. I have a cat.

Cats have the most special ways to boost the moods of their humans around the house. They purr like tiny tractors, they slow-blink at us to show trust, they sleep on our laps like it's their safe place, and they head-bonk us to show love. Having a cat in the house is like having a constant meowing mood booster by your side, and I can fully attest to that with my cat. She comes every night to sleep on my belly and purr, as if to say, "Good night, you are my comfort." She greets me at the door, making sure I smile every time I come back home, as if she's saying, "Hi! I've missed you so much."

But being the wholesome whiskered creatures they are isn't the only way in which cats boost moods globally, for every cat pawrent who's out there. Cats also make their humans laugh while being the silliest of creatures - even if they have no clue what's funny about how they act. Cats are just naturally funny like that. For example, my cat "couldn't" jump on the counter the other day because a pot was put incorrectly - which made her do half-jumps to make sure the atrocity was still there. I laughed so much before going over and moving the pot elsewhere so she could jump on the spot she wanted.

There are many silly ways in which cats surprise us and make us laugh. Think about cats who stand up on their hind legs, or cats who are blepping their tongue away. But then there's a new class of cat comedy which many cat pawrents experience - cats who decided the bathroom or the kitchen sink is the ultimate relaxing and unwinding place. They jump inside and clog the space with their sheer cuteness and their "What? I fits, so I sits" face. And that's hilarious to the point that so many cat pawrents share pictures of their magnificent floofs taking over the house sink.

I'm constantly amazed by how silly cats are. My cat never climbed inside the sink (even though she asks to drink from the tap) - but apparently, this is an experience shared by so many cat pawrents, as demonstrated below.

When a compliment is used for evil purposes

Insecurity is a double-edged sword. When a wound is so open like that, people tend to look for quick, effective ways to soothe its pain, but nothing quick really works, so it stays open, and things like this happen. Compliments get metabolized into aggressions used to defend the wound that bleeds without anyone touching it. This process, of course, is not the flatterer's fault, but it's nevertheless interesting for him to observe it.

Future in-laws can look forward to visiting a couple's house, but being related to the homeowners doesn't mean they can use their home as a vacation home for the extended family, especially when the couple has not even reached closing day.

In today's Reddit story, a couple bought a fixer-upper as their first home, which should bring them excitement, renovation plans, and the freedom to decide how their property will be used. Instead, they have to deal with in-law drama. The fiancé's parents have already selected it as their vacation accommodations for the entire month of August, planning to invite their siblings and cousins to join them. The problem is, the hosts never agreed to host a family reunion. Actually, they haven't even gotten the keys yet, and they don't know precisely what condition the house will be in when August arrives. More importantly, the couple wanted time to enjoy their first home together before welcoming a large group of overnight guests. 

The original poster explained that they would still be unpacking and completing renovations, but the mother-in-law considered this boundary selfish. But the poster stood their ground and drew a line. Their home was not a public hotel. The in-laws responded with the silent treatment, while the fiancé attempted to remain outside the conflict. 

And that's the major problem of the story. These are the fiancé's parents, and the fiancé can't stay silent in a situation like this. The new homeowners have to respond as a couple. The fiancé can't let their parents think that his partner is the bad guy. If one partner establishes a boundary on their own, the in-laws may think that person is the obstacle rather than accepting that the decision belongs to the couple.

And the boundary is pretty reasonable. The in-laws attempted to claim a home that was not theirs and invited additional guests without permission. Saying no was not selfish.

Remember when your weekends were filled with wild nights, dancing, and bad decisions? Yeah, us too, and we're so glad those are over. Now, our purrfect weekend is filled with sweet meowments spent with our cats.

As we get older, we start to leave parts of our lives in the past. In our 20s, we used to call friends at 10 PM to meet up, go on midnight adventures, and wake up feeling like we got run over by a truck after getting home at 6 AM. Those days are long behind us now, and now our weekends couldn't look more different. We don't miss those wild weekends at all. Instead of going to bed at 6 AM, now we wake up at 6 AM to feed the cats and start prepurring ourselves for the day. Somehow, though, we're still just as tired.

Is there a part of us that misses that part of our life? Sure. But it's all a part of maturing and realizing what's truly important in life, and for us, that's protecting our peace and spending time with those we love. So don't mourn the loss of your energetic, 20-year-old self. They might look at what you've built for yourself, the cats whose lives you affected for the better, and be proud of you. We know our 20-year-old self would be.

Is it worth it to ruin a lifelong friendship over a misunderstanding? 

Sometimes friendships are eternal. Others end abruptly. It's not always because of a fight or a fallout, sometimes people just grow apart. Their lives change, their circumstances, their values… Doesn't mean we no longer cherish our friends; it simply means that people change and have the need to move on. That is okay, and life goes on.

There are times, though, when our friends hurt us terribly, and the friendship has to end. We are all human, and we can make mistakes and regret them, but sometimes the damage is already done. Misunderstandings are a part of every human bond, and we learn how to live with them. We forgive and forget. But when those misunderstandings reveal a side of our loved ones we never saw before, it can lead us to question whether we still want them in our lives. 

The decision to end a friendship is a painful one, but also a personal one. No one can tell us where we have to stay or with whom. Only we are entitled to the feelings and struggles of remaining somewhere we no longer feel comfortable. And sometimes leaving is even more painful than staying, but it is the healthier choice. There's no one-size-fits-all. Humans are complex, so every case deserves to be handled individually. 

A man shared on the subreddit AITAH? a situation that led him to question a friendship. He received a really angry message from his best friend, telling him that what he had done was unforgivable and that they would no longer be friends. He never said what he was mad about, or gave his friend the chance to explain. The friend just accepted it and blocked him, even though he had no clue what had happened. After a few hours, a third friend showed up saying that the first friend wanted to talk and apologize, that he'd been told he had done something mean and that the information was actually wrong. The Redditor wasn't sure if he wanted to talk again. After all, fifteen years of friendship only resulted in a bunch of angry messages. Shouldn't he have trusted him instead and just asked before assuming things? 

Sometimes, cats adopt us when we least expect it. 

We say this often, of course, and we have an endless amount of proof. Stories of people getting adopted cats when they simply go on a walk. Stories of people being handed kittens in a drive-through window, in the middle of a work shift. Stories of people getting adopted by cats at midnight when they are on a picnic, having the cat follow them home. Even one story that we will never forget about a kitten flying through someone's window straight into their lap, and instead of the person wondering how or why it happened, the first thing they did was go get kitten supplies for their new fluffball. It nearly never happens when you expect it. But sometimes, it's even more unexpected than other times. 

For the person who told their story on r/cats, it happened at the least expected moment. They had just lost their soul-cat. 12 years of having one kitty, love that one kitty, and in an instant… the rainbow bridge called her. The owner was heartbroken, hollow, not knowing what to do with themselves now that she was gone. They didn't know life without cats anymore. And without any intentions to adopt a cat a day after their baby passed, they went to a shelter. Just to be around cats. To pet them. To see them. To try to handle the grief. But in that shelter, there was only one cat. He was surrendered by his owner, and he's been at the shelter for a long time, ready for love, for a second chance. They weren't planning to adopt. And they didn't. That's not how it works. They didn't adopt Charlie. Charlie adopted them. And even though he will never replace their previous cat, he might help them start the healing process. 

Travelling with a friend is the ultimate test of friendship

It's the same as living together; one thing is to be friends with somebody, but making routines and habits work together peacefully is another. Living together has its own downside because you can't just 'go home' and escape the situation; the situation is quite literally inside your home, but travelling is pretty much the same thing: you can't go home and escape your friend because you are too far away, so you're stuck in a strange place with somebody who's way too different from you. This Redditor has already lived that once and isn't looking forward to repeating it, but her friend doesn't feel the same way, so she'll have to find a way to communicate that without stirring the pot.

I don't know about you, but I have an anxious friend with whom I travelled before, and she needs to predetermine everything we're going to do, and it all has to be on her schedule. I know it comes from a place of vulnerability and anxiety, but it still rubs me the wrong way, because if you are late according to HER plans, or take too much time blowdrying your hair, she'll accuse you of being disorganised or lazy, but will fail to understand you simply don't live according to her wishes. It's just nerve-wracking.

There is no such thing as an "evil" cat, only a cat who is misunderstood and needs to be given a real chance. 

It honestly kind of shocks us to hear shelters refer to cats as "evil". We know shelters, we work with shelters, and we know that the people working there are some of the nicest humans you will ever meet. And yet, this is something that happens. Shelters label cats. That's part of what they do. These descriptions and nicknames are part of what helps them attract adopters. But labeling a cat as "mean" or "bad" or "evil" just kind of seems unfair to us. You could be a "difficult" cat but never a "bad" one. It could be a tactic, of course. Some people want to give a chance to cats who others skip. And sometimes, it works. When a cat goes viral, no matter how "bad" that cat may be, it will get hundreds of adoption applications. But shelter cats who go viral are few and far between, so more often than not, these kitties are just stuck there, in the shelter, with that awful nickname hindering their adoption chances. 

Cobweb's story is the worst of this kind in our opinion. The person who adopted him shared their story on r/cats, and they explained that not only did the shelter label this cat as "evil", but when this person saw this cat and was actively interested in adopting him, the shelter discouraged them, telling them to look for other cats. They didn't listen, and thank god for that. They felt a bond with this cat from the instant they saw him, and finally, someone gave this "bad" cat a chance. It took a month - just one month - for him to turn from this "evil" cat into the biggest cuddlebug in the world. 

Sometimes getting fired is the best thing that could happen to you.

We always think of unemployment as something inherently bad. And it is! Losing your job, having to leave your position because of somebody else's decision. It is getting fired, having no choice but to leave. But sometimes, it also means getting free. It means leaving that toxic workplace you were stressing about for years. It means stopping being mistreated by a horrible boss, is to stop working for a company that doesn't see your value.

Getting fired in the first week seems like the worst situation. You just started, and you are already fired. You didn't even have enough time to show the company who you are and what you bring to the table. In this Reddit story, the personal assistant got one conversation with her new boss before she got shut down and finally fired. One conversation, as it was with that little, her manager was able to notice if she was a fit or not.

Even though what happened to this user is sad and undeserved, it also prevented her from being stuck in an awful job with a horrible boss. If the first interaction you have with someone involves them screaming and mistreating you, then why would you continue to work there? There is no reason to stay or to allow that. There is going to be a better job out there where the boss isn't a maniac who can express himself without screaming at their assistant. What happened to her is unfair, of course, but it could also be a blessing. She got free before it was too late to leave. 

So be free, don't cry about it, and move on. There are millions of jobs out there, and you are just wasting your time in one that is only going to cause you trouble. You don't need to put up with this, because, in the end, it's better to take some time to find the correct job than to be stuck in an awful one forever. 

I'll happily take a stand, arguing that "The customer is always right" isn't accurate at all. While people will quickly jump in and tell you online that the full saying is actually "The customer is always right in matters of taste," or something along those lines, there is little evidence that this is true, and it hasn't been able to be proven despite how much people on social media insist it is true. Further, the phrase itself isn't simply attributable to one source, and so the entire thing is really just a "Folk Etymology" anyway. 

Finding joy in the little things is the one thing that matters most right meow. 

It's been a slightly chaotic year, hasn't it? Only slightly, we think. Not too much, right? Either that, or our gauge for what's normal and not has been completely destroyed for like- six and a half years. And we would rather believe it's the former rather than the latter. So, slightly chaotic. And within that chaos, we have had to look for solutions. We've had to figure out how to live life without losing our sanity completely. And then, we realized that the solution was within our paws all along. The solution is us doing what we do best, which is putting together listicle after listicle of cats being cats. Adorable, funny, precious, silly, ridiculous, all of the things. Cats make us happy. They remind us to actually appreciate life's little meowments. 

Starting your morning with a collection of happy and wholesome cat memes is purrfect. It makes your day better, and it takes no time at all. Three minutes of scrolling through some cat memes, and everything in the world will suddenly start looking just a little big brighter. A tiny thing first thing in the morning, and it could change literally everything. Invest those few minutes. Appreciate the fact that despite everything that is going on in the world all the time, people are still creating and sharing these funny cat images. Nothing can take this from us. Forever and always, there will be cat memes on the internet waiting for you to enjoy them. The only thing that can take this from you is you. So, take that moment, sit back, and remind yourself that happiness is all about appreciating the little things, especially if those little things are itty bitty cats. 

To stand up for yourself can get you really far

This Reddit story got me thinking about our worth. Our value, what we do, and how much it matters. We make a difference, we are capable of something, and we do it. That has real value. Sometimes we feel as if companies only saw us as numbers or robots. Something that is there and doesn't matter outside of the workload that they do. We are far more than that. We have our own thing that differentiates us from everyone else. That matters. If it weren't for that thing, what is really saving us from getting replaced by robots or AI? 

That value matters, but not everybody is going to admit it. When a job isn't valuing you, that doesn't mean that you don't have value. It just means that they don't see it or need it, but someone or somewhere else is going to matter. And the only way to discover how important you are to others is to stand up for yourself, because if you can't see your own value, why would somebody else notice it? 

Standing up for yourself means knowing your worth and fighting for it. Is not letting anybody step on you or use you. Is knowing what is mistreatment and defending yourself. Is actually caring about you and your individuality. To get what you deserve. What this person did could have gone wrong, but he did it anyway, because he knew his worth was underestimated, that he was mistreated, that standing up for himself had value. So be more like that. Make sure people know that you know your value, and defend it even when it seems hard. After all, we only really have ourselves, and if we don't take care of us, nobody ever will. 
 

What business did you use to go to with your mom as a kid that you don't think you saw in the last 10 years?

Try as we might to avoid it, the world is changing. It is not just AI that is taking people's jobs; there are simply businesses that become less and less needed due to the changes in the world. 

For example, fast fashion became a huge thing, which resulted in the ability for people to find clothes and shoes for much cheaper than before. Sure, they might not last as long as the clothes in high fashion stores, but that only means that people would much rather buy a new item of clothing than get an old one fixed. 

That is why people like my grandfather, who had a shoe repair store in town, saw the business need slowly disappear. Who wants to pay someone to fix their one-year-old shoe when they can buy a similar one for almost the same price?

Some businesses are declining due to other reasons, not just the introduction of cheaper models. A month ago, my parents booked a vacation with their travel agent, which made me wonder how much work a travel agent actually has these days. The internet now has everything someone might need to book a vacation, including a bot that acts as your travel agent and answers all of your questions. But still, people from my parents' generation would prefer having another person book their flights and their hotels, even if they end up paying more for the service. Younger generations might not see the appeal, which means it is only a matter of time before travel agencies go out of business. 

Unfortunately, many businesses experience struggles for different reasons, until all that will be left are posts like the one below, wondering where they all went to…