There's a strange temptation we all feel when someone who treated us poorly suddenly comes back into our lives. Is karma finally coming back around? Is this the cosmos giving us the chance to break even?

It's tempting and gratifying to imagine this chance to set the record straight. The kind of thing that you fantasize about in the shower when you're having arguments in your head, that moment where you get the chance to establish your worth and finally get that validation that you never received.

At this point, though, it's important to realize that seldom in life are people ever going to recognize that they were wrong. That they treated you wrong. These things might come if they discover self-reflection. 

With certainty, that realization is never going to come from an argument, let alone one where they were left burned and without a response. If anything, they'll just get their ego up and convince themselves that they were "right about you" or whatever else they need to tell themselves to be able to sleep at night. 

It's sometimes incredibly hard to stomach, but it is almost always better not to burn bridges behind you. What purpose does it serve to go scorched earth and leave a wake of bad feelings and enemies behind you, when you could instead be measured and collected?

One deep breath, a swallow of pride, and you'll find it's easy enough to shake that monster of pride off your back and get on with your life. 

In the professional setting, especially, in time, these people could become references or word-of-mouth supporters as they, too, let old disagreements fall away and look upon your relationship with rose-tinted glasses.

This is how this employee, a service worker, approached the situation when their former boss, from a job they had been let go from back in July, reached out to them to see if they would be willing to return to their former role. A boom in trade over the holidays had meant that they had found themselves short-staffed.

Certainly, the opportunity was here for the employee to "get theirs" and put their ex-employer in their place, but they chose instead to figure out how they could respond professionally, seeking to carve out a response that refrained from being spiteful while still politely declining their former boss's request. While they were happy with the new job that they had found in the meantime, this ensured that there were no hard feelings and would give them options down the road. 

You can't judge a cat by how they act in an animal shelter. Cats are their best selves when they have safety, security, a routine, and space. They have next to none of these things when staying at a rescue. They're cramped into tiny metal boxes, surrounded by other cats, and are constantly stimulated by people and other animals. It sounds purrfectly stressful to us, let alone a cat. So when this volunteer decided to foster the new feisty feline at her rescue, she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to get.

He wouldn't leave his "safety" box since he arrived. Everyone assumed he was too spicy to deal with. But when she opened his cage and offered her hand, all she was met with was love. She took him home (he had a lot to say about it), and now he's exploring his new home while waiting for her to find him a furrever family. In the video below, you'll see how sweet and gentle this "spicy" cat is, and it breaks our hearts that no one even went to check just because he was shy.

Give the spicier ones a chance. Purrhaps they just need some time and space to open up. They could be the best cat you've ever met.

This neighbor wrote a fiery note about how unsightly a local resident's Christmas decorations were, but it turns out that a lot of people disagree with their sentiments. 

Christmas decorations can be very cheery — all those extra warm lights make the environment feel cozy during a very chilly time of year. No 2 houses decorate exactly the same. Some people put up decorations that are decades old, and made of plastic, wood, or metal. But modern inflatable decorations have never been more popular — or less expensive. Even when I was a kid, if you wanted to buy an inflatable snow globe to decorate your front yard, it would run you like $500 or $600. There weren't even many inflatables to choose from. But these days, there are so many more on the market, and you can get a perfectly good one for under $100. For people who are just growing up and getting started buying their own decorations, that's made inflatable snowmen, reindeer, Christmas baubles, and Santa Clauses all the rage. 

This person might've found the largest Christmas decorations on the market, and placed them in their front yard! While I, and many other people who commented on this person's decorations, think they're very cute and silly, one neighbor was an absolute Grinch about them. This person wrote a lengthy letter sharing their distaste for the decor (1 compliment: they do have lovely penmanship).

However, this irate neighbor went a step further than just telling this person how tacky they thought the decorations were. Instead, they also vowed to contact local authorities who could demand that this person take down the inflatables. Bah humbug! What a Scrooge! Can't they just let people enjoy things? They aren't hurting anyone… there are plenty of other things this person could be doing with their time rather than penning long notes critiquing other people's yards. 

We say this as people who love cats and love adopting cats and think that cats are the best: do not gift cats to people. Generally speaking, we think that is something that you should not spring on people as a surprise. Adopting a cat, at the end of the day, should be the decision of the person who is going to have the cat live with them. Of course, sometimes, it works, and you get wholesome stories of people receiving kittens as gifts and completely falling in love. We get that too. If someone gave us a kitten as a gift right now, we would probably be happy, but that's because we are at the right time for it in our lives. 

We completely understand why the woman in this story was reluctant in accepting the kitten that was gifted to her by her sister. She wasn't ready, not after the loss she experienced. And that's okay. And yet… although she might not have been ready, her cat clearly was, and so the cat called dibs, and the kitten stayed, and now, slowly but surely, the kitten is winning over everyone. 

A new PhD graduate in STEM finally lands a job after months of interviews that kept falling through, but the relief doesn't last long. The workplace turns out to be one of those setups where the boss is the entire chain of command and runs things by mood instead of logic. Even basic requests like a proper chair or getting paid on time cause tension. Whenever something goes wrong, blame seems to land in the same place every time.  

Two months in, the tension breaks. The employee asks about the delayed salary again, and that small request turns into a firing over email. The next day, the boss explodes, shouting and picking apart every possible thing, from attitude to tone to not using tools "the right way." It doesn't sound like an evaluation, it sounds like someone justifying bad behavior. With no HR or structure to turn to, the ending was probably inevitable.  

Now the job sits as a two-month line on a resume that already shows years of academic work and applications that nearly worked out.

Sometimes, especially during colder days like this, when we're sitting at the office, or when we're going grocery shopping, or doing any of our other responsibilities, our minds… wander. And we think about the one thing that we miss the most at home. Our cats. Their softness, their fluffiness, their warmth. We miss that feeling that we get whenever we press our faces into their soft, soft bellies. That's the feeling that we miss. And although nothing can quite replicate it, we think that these wholesome cat memes are about as close as we can get. 

Silly cat memes are one of our favorite things in the whole wide world. Truly. Scrolling through some cat memes throughout our day, whenever we can, always brings a smile to our face. It makes going through doing all of those responsibilities a little bit easier, a little more bearable, and it makes the time that we have to spend until we get back to our cats at home go by a little bit faster. Take a break, we promise it's worth it. 

Perhaps firing someone while they're fresh off their surgery anesthetic isn't the most intelligent, nor considerate idea! You know how they say there's a right time and place…Well, we think that phrase may have been especially created for this day. But then our brains unfogged, and we were reminded that in the corporate world, the phrase is slightly altered to: my time, my place. 

This VP decided on his December lay-offs, and was set on his decisions…He stays, she goes, or something of the sort. The thing was, he failed to be informed that one of his only female employees was on approved medical leave, emphasis on he word approved. Yet, he demanded that one of his employees call her and lay down the unfortunate news of her termination…on her surgery day! However, and unsurprisingly, this employee refuses to kick someone while they're down, bringing matters into the legal team's hands instead! Bosses take notes: if you want your employees to respect you, try to avoid blatantly ignoring their approved leave dates, and then acting like they're the unreliable ones!

We keep telling people, especially cat people, that is it important to stay vigilant. The CDS can get you anywhere and at any time. The CDS, for all the non-cat people out there, is the Cat Distribution System, and the CDS has no mercy. It doesn't matter where you are, what stage in your life you're at, whether you want a cat or not, if the CDS chooses you, there will be no mercy. You will be adopted by a cat. 

You can be caught by the CDS during a midnight picnic, a romantic date during which you did not expect to adopt a pet-baby. You can be adopted by a cat on your morning walk, when all you were looking for was some fresh air, not a screaming kitten. You can even be at home, playing video games on your computer, when a kitten will suddenly fly in through your window and straight into your heart. Really, that's how it works. We've never heard of a cat popping out of a sewer, following someone how, and getting adopted that way, but… we suppose we shouldn't be surprised at this point. 

Imagine discovering that your mother-in-law conspired to make you look bad in your in-laws' Christmas portrait. Talk about a warm welcome to the family!

Joining a new family comes with inevitable challenges. After all, no two sets of parents bring their children up the exact same way. It takes a decent amount of grace, respect, and understanding to navigate that difficult transition, but there is no way that transition is even possible when one party has no desire to be kind.

This lady seemed to have it out for her future daughter-in-law well before the wedding, but once she realized she couldn't control the outcome of this engagement, she decided to get some revenge when she hired an illustrator to make a family portrait. She gave the illustrator a photograph of the family from the wedding as a reference and kept on giving notes throughout the process. However, the illustrator started to notice something strange about the feedback she was receiving. They were all about the bride's appearance.

It eventually got to the point where the illustrator had to ask the mother-in-law what was going on, and the woman just started to fully ask the illustrator to make her daughter-in-law look less "thin." She wasn't even mincing words anymore! That's when the illustrator put her foot down and refused to incorporate this harmful feedback!

If you haven't found your Christmas spirit just yet, don't worry—we have some Christmas cat content to help you believe in Santa Claws again! There's nothing better than the holiday spirit during the holiday season. It makes everything meowgical, and without meowgic, the world feels so greyscale. We need to bring the color back into our lives, and we can start with red and green and take it from there. What do you say?

Even though our felines have no clue that it's Christmas time, they sure are familiar with Christmas trees and how to jump on top of them. If you've been online recently, you have probably seen multiple videos of cat pawrents trying to "train" their cat to avoid the Christmas tree. It does not work. Why? Well, you know the saying: Curiosity and cats, ectetera. We don't like that saying.

No matter what, cat content is guaranteed to make you feel a bit better, especially around the holiday season. Who wouldn't want to see an orange tabby in a Santa hat? Exactly. You get it.

If you're looking for some holiday spirit, you're in the right place. Scroll below to get a taste of some much-needed Christmas magic, the feline way.

A summer visit to Ohio turned unexpectedly memorable when a routine check on backyard chickens revealed something surprising… a tiny kitten hiding beneath the coop. She was too quick to catch that day, darting away the moment anyone got close, but the encounter stuck with everyone. Two days later came the call that changed everything: the kitten had wandered inside the chicken coop. With churu in hand and plenty of excitement, the rescue team rushed over and finally coaxed the little girl to safety.

Naming her Athena felt immediate and right, even while discussing what to do next. Then life delivered perfect timing in the form of a post-grad job offer the very next day. While moving and settling into the new routine, Athena stayed with the partner's family until she could join her new home for good.

Since August, Athena and her hoomans have been living their best lives together, all thanks to one unexpected moment by a chicken coop. Some bonds form the instant you find each other.

The world cannot evolve past allowing entitled people's behavior to slide because that means we would be eradicating a social hierarchy that is integral to keeping those on the lower end, low. Customer service jobs often feel like a humiliating ritual because customer-facing roles usually require you to go against your better judgment, flash a smile, and take everything from just about anyone. It's unfair, but that's just the way it is.

You know when you wake up, and you just have a feeling that the day is going to fight you, vigorously, until you submit to the unluckiness of it all? The employee in the next story had prayed that their shift at the grocery store would be seamless, ensuring that no entitled customers found their way to their cash register. It seems like when you speak things into the universe, they might come back to you in the way you didn't want them to.

A customer decided to police the employee's speech after nitpicking their niceties with another customer, exclaiming that their "you're welcome" should have instead been a "thank you." I'm sorry, but were they even talking to her? Scroll below to continue reading the full story.

Cats helping wrap gifts during the holiday season is its own special kind of challenge. The second the wrapping paper hits the floor, they appear out of nowhere like tiny supervisors. They plop themselves right in the middle of the sheet, refuse to budge, and treat the tape dispenser like their new favorite toy. Before long, bits of paper and tape are stuck to their paws as they trot proudly around the room.

Folding corners becomes a near-impossible mission when a cat decides the box you're wrapping is officially their new home. They climb inside, roll around, and pop their head out just when you think you've finally made progress. And ribbons? Absolutely irresistible. One swat and suddenly it's a full-blown play session, complete with leaps and pounces that send bows disappearing under furniture.

Still, their chaos somehow makes the whole thing sweeter. Every crooked edge or uneven fold feels like a little signature from the furry assistant who insisted on joining in. Wrapping gifts may take twice as long, but with a cat involved, it's twice as fun.

It's challenging to find ample privacy when you live in an apartment, especially if that apartment is situated in a much larger complex with more than 20 units. You kind of have to suspend belief when you're thinking about how much all of the neighbors you share a wall with can hear you, and if their doorbell cameras are picking up on the once-in-a-blue house guest. Either way, you are never prepared enough for a nosy neighbor who takes it upon themselves to police your comings and goings.

The neighbor in the next story is using her Ring doorbell camera to spy on the tenants who live next door. One of the tenants, who shares the story, explains that the woman goes above and beyond to make their lives exceptionally difficult. Sometimes, loneliness turns into resentment and obsession, which is what this neighbor is displaying tenfold. The neighbor even goes so far as to tell them to stop covering their faces when they pass by her doorbell camera, which they started doing after they caught on to her snooping. What would you do in this situation? Scroll to read the full story.

Cats are known for their naughtiness. Their zoomies that wake you up at 4 am, knocking the salt off the table when you leave the room, or meowing loudly at times where they perceivably have no reason to. Cats are inherently going to get on your nerves, and they like it that way. They get away with it too due to their cute demeanor, their innocent whiskers, and their huge eyes looking like they're in need of a cuddle. If you thought 2025 was chaotic, just wait until you meet the feline felons who turned this year into a full-time comedy show. These furry troublemakers did not just misbehave—they curated a whole story and narrative behind the evil cat doings. Consider this your official wrap-up of the most adorable anarchy ever recorded.

You might wonder to yourself, "it's just a cat, what's the worst that can happen?" But that kind of naivety will get you nowhere when you own one of these incredible rascals. When you're a cat pawrent for long enough, you start understanding how mischievous kitty cats can be. Despite all the chaos, messes, midnight zoomies, and property destruction, we love all these naughty cats for who they are. 

When pushed to the brink, employees start "quiet quitting," and if things don't improve, they might actually quit!

Quiet quitting has become quite the phenomenon in recent years, and it's not hard to see why. It's harder than ever to get a job, so leaving just because you're unhappy can take years. It may take you hundreds of applications and dozens of interviews before you finally get an offer that appeals to you. In the meantime, you might keep showing up to your old job… but you're not bringing your A game. You're bringing like your C- game, perhaps. You're caring about the tasks that keep you employed, but at 5:00 PM on the dot, you're putting on your coat and walking out that door. A lot of employees share that the moment they knew they were beginning to quiet quit was when they silently brought home all of their personal belongings, leaving just a plain desk. Although that's a fairly obvious sign for anyone in leadership, these bosses pushed their worker even further than that by leading them on with promises of a promotion. Unfortunately, by "promotion," they actually meant "mandatory overtime for several months, and no promotions at all."

This person acted their wage, and I applaud them for it. Life is too short to be worried about $250k/year problems when you're making $75k/year. Let your managers fret over these things! And according to this person, their managers certainly are fretting — they're lost without this person giving 200% effort every day. To avoid burnout, and to impress your bosses at the same time, try to give like 80% on a day-to-day basis. Then, when times get busy, you can give 100% without expending too much extra energy. 

Loss is a part of life, but it doesn't make it any easier to go through grief or sadness when you lose someone close to you. There's a hole there that can't be filled with anything else, and coming to terms with the loss is the best way to move on from it. The story below isn't about loss, but it centers around the potential for loss. The protagonist is a cat mom who's had her cat for 16 years, which is the age of the cat. Now that the cat is 16-years-old, he's having health issues. He has surgery to remove his bladder stones. After the vet, he's not at his full health. It's to be expected, but it doesn't make it easier. 

The old cat won't eat, won't drink. He still is trained to go to the bathroom, but since there's nothing there, he just sits next to his litter box confused. It's heartbreaking for the cat owner to see, and she's tried everything in her power to make her cat son eat, but he won't. She seeks wholesome internet advice on what to do for her cat, as she's not ready to lose her favorite person in the world.