#theramblingfluff

[the-adventures-of-dave]

Not a question directly for you (though you're welcome to answer as well) but more for cat-blr in general and you're the best way I know to get opinions from there. What is the lowest maintenance water fountain you've found works for kitties?

I’ve only used two, one of which broke (and I can’t remember the name of).The Drinkwell 360 is pretty great though, it’s easy to disassemble to clean or repair, and I think it’s dishwasher safe (though I just clean it in the sink). I’ve had this water fountain for almost 5 years now and it’s still trucking along.

Does anyone else have any good cat fountain recommendations?

[kdinjenzen]

have 3 things I associate you with Kdin. Robin Hood, Monster fuckery, and chaos (typically of the gender variety, but overall chaos is just... a you thing).

That’s all I’ve ever wanted to be known for, thank you 😭💙

[bunjywunjy]

What's the most unexpected (high tropical level) predator you can think of?

Something that will make everyone go "wait, that thing hunts!?"

the slow loris!

they’re omnivorous and active hunters that can and will eat any small animal they can physically cram into their mouths, up to and including birds! (which they catch while they’re asleep)

and they’ll maintain eye contact with you while they’re eating them, too.

[what-the-heck-is-rwby]

So... uhhh... Watcher? You remember that episode where Pyrrha took Jaune to the roof and they talked? And he said something like "I know I'm depressed but I'm not that depressed."??? Well... a decent portion of the fandom took that to mean that depressed people are ENCOURAGED to commit suicide in Remnant to avoid attracting more Grimm.

>:[

NOW WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!!?!

Jauney… ;-;

WHY would you SAY that????

[ask-palaeoblr]

'kay so... I know all the "swimming dinosaurs" weren't actually dinosaurs, but how do we know for absolute certain that there were no marine or aquatic dinosaurs? I mean, there are marine and aquatic birds (descended from dinos), reptiles (marine iguanas, sea snakes, etc), and of course the closest living relatives of birds the crocodiles are almost entirely aquatic with some marine variants. So why are we bang on certain no dinos were aquatic or marine adapted?

[mylordshesacactus]

Only cuz I've seen your stuff with Kdin about dogs... There are no bad dog breeds, only bad dog owners!

Well, that’s a dramatic oversimplification of just about everything.

But I suppose “Every dog breed has both positive and negative qualities, and the metric for what ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ mean depend entirely on the owner and are not objective in any way. Regardless, while every dog is an individual and breed traits only provide an average rule of thumb, the fact of the matter is that different breeds DO have specific requirements that, if not met, will result in a dog that is neither stable nor happy. Some dogs are inherently prone to human reactivity or dog aggression that cannot be socialized or trained away. Stigmatizing that fact only makes it harder for these breeds to find happy homes and increases the likelihood of a tragedy, which makes their reputation worse; a tragedy that could have been avoided by being honest and forthright about specific breed traits and breed histories, and prioritizing education about the needs of the dog to ensure they are only placed in appropriate homes” doesn’t sound as good on a bumper sticker.

There are no inherently bad dog breeds; but there are absolutely, objectively, 100%, bad dog breeds for you. (”You” here meaning a general “you”, ie, any individual person.)

And responsible pet ownership starts, Step Zero, with being able to acknowledge that.

[followthebluebell]

Since everyone is asking... thoughts on ragdolls?

oh, one of my favorites!  Again, they’ve got a few problems: PKD and hip dysplasia most notably.  They’re also very well known for having a few neurological ticks, with severe separation anxiety topping that last.

But it’s the DEVELOPMENT of this breed that really gets me.  The original breeder, Ann Baker, tried to make a fucking FRANCHISE out of the breed.  She wanted to treat breeders like a goddamn McDonalds.  She wanted ONE ragdoll breeder per state.  These breeders weren’t allowed to just breed their cats how they wanted either; they had to follow some VERY specific rules, which mostly meant ‘inbreed like your cats are the House of Habsburg and it’s the 1700′s.  Which is why I believe that they are so prone to weird anxiety problems now.

like the drama was SO INTENSE that people who loved ragdolls but hated Baker just went “...FINE, we’re going to build our OWN BREED CLUB away from you!”  When they tried to call the breed ‘ragdoll’, Baker went ‘no, that’s illegal’. 

And that’s how the ragamuffin breed was created.  It’s literally just ragdoll under a different cloak! the original ragamuffin standard actually included some pretty specific shade against Baker, which I still find hilarious.

i know the dog show world is full of drama but come on

cat show drama literally included slights against ONE SPECIFIC PERSON in the BREED STANDARD. 

[ask-nora-love]

Princess Nora, you should take your guard out for a picnic.

Nora squealed, flapping her hands. They were covered in a pair of pink gloves her mother had given her, but with half the length of the fingers shoddily cut off, an odd but endearing contrast to her sundress which reminded one of a cloud of strawberry frosting. “Oh my gosh! That is such a cute idea! We could pick flowers together and I could arrange them in her hair...” Her eyes and heart were sparkling. “I had also been thinking of asking her to go to the festival with me once it’s opened... we’ll buy flowers and chocolate and strawberries and rose water and I’ll try on silly clothing to make her laugh.” A cloud shaded her face, and her shoulders dropped slightly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her laugh. Well, something to work for, I guess.”