( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Hey.

Cut to junior year of college. I took Classical Greek as part of my degree, and I was feeling like I had a leg up over my classmates, whose Greek handwriting looked like kindergarten chicken scratch, while mine was smooth and quick. I turned in my first assignment feeling pretty damn proud of myself.

About three assignments later, my professor pulled me aside with the goofiest look on his face...

"I appreciate the effort, but..."

You remember that phase I think all little girls go through in middle school/junior high? Where we have swirly tails on our G's or our Y's get all swoopy, or we dot all our I's with little hearts?

Yeah...

chinese:

korean:

russian:

greek:

This is legitimately a huge (and still somewhat controversial) topic and I don’t really have the time to go into it in a lot of detail right now but here is a quick summary: 

- Cats are damaging to local ecosystems. Well-fed pet cats still enjoy hunting and end up killing not for food but for fun and to practice their hunting skills. It’s a natural instinct, not malice, but it can absolutely devastate local songbird and wildlife populations.  

- Outdoor cats are at MUCH higher risk of injury from vehicles, other animals, or even ill-intentioned humans (we once rescued a black cat with a broken tail I’m 99% sure had been broken by a group of kids swinging her around by her tail)

- Outdoor cats are at greater risk for contracting communicable diseases like Feline HIV

- Outdoor cats can get lost or even stolen (I’ve had both happen to me before)

- Outdoor cats are at higher risk of suffering from the elements (getting caught in snowstorms, freezing to death, etc.) 

- Outdoor cats are much more likely to contract parasites like fleas, ticks, and worms

- It is much more difficult to spot irregularities in your cat’s health if they are regularly outdoors (you can’t monitor how frequently they urinate or defecate, and whether or not there are any changes to their bathroom habits)

- Outdoor cats are more likely to end up consuming something dangerous (rat poison, spoiled food, etc.)

- Outdoor cats who are not fixed are likely to increase the feral cat population by getting pregnant/impregnating other cats. 

In general, outdoor cats are damaging to local ecosystems and at great risk of premature death. 

Now, that’s not to say you can’t find ways to let your cats enjoy the outdoors, though! Here are some fun solutions: 

Catios: 

Cat harnesses (yes, cats can be taught to walk on leashes!)

Cat-safe plants for nibbles and noms:

Cat “TV” (ie shelves or seats near windows where cats an easily observe the outdoors from the safety of inside)

but then cue Marisha just fucking taking all of it, and never changing how she plays Keyleth, and never changing how she acts around her friends. Marisha who specifically calls out haters in her first Keyleth playlist and who makes an offhand sarcastic remark about how ‘the internet is super welcoming toward women’ in a promo for Signal Boost. Marisha fucking Ray who says in her BtS interview that she could take the hate as long as it didn’t hurt anyone else. that it wasn’t being on the receiving end that bothered her the most–it was seeing other women hurt and afraid and turned off from nerd culture

Marisha Ray who took everything that toxic internet, nerd, and fandom culture threw at her and threw it right back because she knew that there were other women and girls out there watching her, and if she doesn’t back down maybe they’ll see that they never have to, either

The burglar that broke into my house: bodily autonomy?