vs

Because his Munchkin nature is not marked as his breed, they are always surprised and excited to see his little legs. It’s a little bit funny when they ask, because it seems pretty obvious to me. At the same time he’s completely normal to me so I also don’t think a lot about how he’s different from other cats.

And before any one argues about the ethics of munchkin cats, munckins have to be mixed breed, purebred munchkins do not exist, meaning that munchkins have far less risk of health issues overall than any pure breed. The gene that causes the dwarfism seen in munchkins is not the same gene that cause the dwarfism in corgis and dachsunds, and does not affect cartilage broadly (like the gene in Scottish folds). I have a degree in biology, I worked in a genetics lab, I have read into this, and I personally have a genetic connective tissue disorder causing chronic joint pain. I promise, my cat is fine.

While there may be a connection between kidney issues and munchkins, people have unfortunately been falsely making connections between the breed and health issues for a very long time, so I need to look into that further and also CKD is very common, so while it’s *possible* he is at increased risk because of his mutation, it cannot be completely attributed to it. Yes people can unethically breed munckins, but they can unethically breed any breed, and with munchkins there is little incentive to do so.

Everyone at the office loved Earl. They kept raving about how cute and cuddly he is. How they would do something he didn’t like (like take his blood pressure) and he would pull away because he didn’t like it, but also immediately lovingly accept pets when offered from the same person. He’s tolerant and friendly in a way I forget other cats aren’t. This is partly just his personality, and partly what happens when you alternate harassing your cat and offering the pets he cannot resist, *and* have a roommate he adores but who doesn’t understand cat body language beyond the basics and therefore did not know when to stop.

I have watched someone interacting with him, giving too much attention to the base of his tail and watched him warn this person several times to stop (turned his head, turned further, acted like he was going to bite but didn’t, put his teeth flat on their skin) and when they didn’t stop and he finally bit them and they complained all I had to say was “he warned you repeatedly and you weren’t paying attention, you didn’t stop. He did his best to communicate and you were not receptive. What was he supposed to do?” He did his job, you do yours. He didn’t walk away because he still wants pets; he’s not mad at you, he just doesn’t want to to focus on that spot so much.

That's it. Those are your options. Homelessness doesn't go away based on "crime crackdowns." You will imprison the unhoused, and when they are free, they will be unhoused again. Or they will die in prison.

When you burn encampments or force people out without their stuff, they remain unhoused or freeze to death.

After working with the unhoused, it's become abundantly clear that those who don't want to support them instead want them dead.

even if someone WAS just lazy and simply didn't want to do anything but lie on the couch and watch tv, they should still have these things. it's irrelevant whether some people aren't actually lazy because everyone, including hypothetical lazy people, should have their basic needs met.

if we have the resources to do it, there is no defense of letting people die because they don't want to work, and much less because they can't.

At this point, we all have to acknowledge that insurance companies are acting as entities that harm patients in the name of profit by denying care and as physicians we all took an oath to first, do no harm.

I don't wanna get all kumbaya and woo-woo about this but when I took my oath (over zoom because of my covid graduation) upon graduating from medical school I, like, meant it? Like, taking that oath was meaningful and symbolic and when I made that oath I genuinely was committing myself to uphold the things I said for the rest of my life, it wasn't just another thing to check off the list in my medical training journey. The moment I became a doctor was when I took that oath.

And I think as a profession, we need to start ousting these doctors who are working in tandem with these insurance companies to act as barriers to care in the name of profits. Who are lending their medical licenses to be used in this way, who are harming the dwindling public trust people may have left in our profession by using their position in society to literally hurt people.