kotaotan

Being a parent is exhausting, whether it's to hooman kids, cat kids, or both.

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding things we've ever done in our lives. It's also one of the most tiring. Between the cats, kittens, and the kids, we haven't slept a full 8 hours in years, but that's okay. We get to come home every day to a family that showers us with love, in the form of hugs, meows, and cuddles. 

We're lucky enough to be able to work from home, so technically, we're the stay-at-home pawrent, and we couldn't be prouder of it. We get to watch each family member, with both four legs and two, grow every day. We wouldn't trade it for the world.

That being said, it would be nice not to have dozens of cat toys to pick up every day, plus kids' toys, litter boxes to clean, meals to prepurr, and all the time being everyone's entertainment while trying to get our own work done. It's like working four jobs all at the same time. 

But there are those rare meowments of silence where the cats are resting, the kids are napping, and we can enjoy some "me time". During those times, it's crucial that we do things that refill our battery so we can keep going throughout the day. Our choice? Cat memes. They make us laugh, require minimal brain power, and we can put them down at a moment's notice to go check on whatever infant or kitten needs our help. 

For all you proud (and tired) stay-at-home pawrents, we see you, we're proud of you, and we hope you get a giggle out of these hissterical feline posts.

Growing up with a cat best friend is a gift that not a lot of people get to have, but the few who do can attest to how purrecious it is.

There are many advantages of growing up with a pet in your house. Kids who grow up with animals learn to tend to another creature, which is a valuable lesson about responsibility in and of itself. But then there are the specific kids who grow up with cats - they don't just tend to the culinary needs of a goldfish, they don't just get to pet a bunny, and they don't just get a (wonderful) playmate as a dog. They grow up with an animal that teaches them a lot more than responsibility - boundaries, respect, loyalty, and many different ways of showing love. That's the way of the cat.

And when a bond between a cat and their human, once a child and later an adult, spans over two decades of tight friendship, of overcoming hardships, you get the most beautiful bond to witness. And one such person shared with the online feline family the strong connection they have with their 21-year-old cat. This is an old cat with a wholesome story.

Taking in a pregnant stray could be a lot for some people, but not this guy. 

He didn't regret a thing after he took her in. He named her Honey, and had been feeding her on the street for a while, until one day he decided to make her a permanent addition to his life. About two weeks after he adopts her, she has her litter of three – an orange cat, (Jonesy), a grey cat (Reilly), and a black cat (Bonnie McPurray). He's never been happier about keeping the whole family, and he really cherishes them. Read the full story below. 

There's nothing more practical than cat memes. 

We all need a bit of play in life, and we all need something practical. The balance between work and play, free time and production, and happy and sad can take many routes, forms, and paths. It's not always a straight line, and life will bring us down roads that seem unfamiliar far too often. The important thing is to be gentle with yourself, to let yourself do or feel whatever it needs. Play could look like literal play – maybe you're a video game person, or you like sports, or maybe "playtime" for you is enjoying a good book under the sun, or taking a warm bath and doing your ritualistic nightly routine, or maybe it's scrolling these precious cat memes because there's no better down time than cat time. 

We live in a world where being productive and practical are more popular than having "fun." In past generations, people liked to party, go out, see friends, or be involved in hedonistic rights as part of their outside of work time. Nowadays, being healthy means being happy. Going to bed at a decent hour, always working on yourself, stretching, exercising, eating healthy, and having your skincare routine down before 8 pm are the main flaunts of happiness today. We all need to give ourselves what we need, and even if it's not popular to doom scroll or be obsessed with your cat, you can do it anyway. Don't pay attention to social media trends or what your ASMR vlogger tells you about what a healthy lifestyle means. It's all about what you want, and you clearly want cat memes. These cats are playful, precious, practical, and just waiting to be laughed at. Laughter is the best medicine, so don't hold back and enjoy these kitty cats. 

Why are we, as humans, so obsessed with the cat loaf?

Is it the perfect symmetry? The way their tiny paws disappear like magic? Or the fact that they somehow turn into a warm, fluffy little bread with zero effort? Whatever the reason, one thing is certain: when a cat goes full loaf mode, everything else suddenly feels a little less important.

There's a certain look cats get when they've clearly seen something… and decided not to share. These wide-eyed felines seem to be in on a secret the rest of us aren't, caught somewhere between curiosity, judgment, and mild existential dread. Whether they're staring into the void or directly into your soul, one thing is certain: they know something we don't, and they're not about to explain it.

You might not have known that an International Day of Happiness exists, but with this collection of smiling cattos you will be hard pressed to forget it ever again.

Much like us hoomans, heck, far more so than us hoomans, our cat children are not known for expressing their happiness all too often. Sure sometimes they will come up to you with a gentle purr or make some biscuits on your chest, but these are simply learned behaviors that they know appease us hoomans and lead to them getting more food and treats. But to see a cat sitting and smiling, just for the sake of it. Well, that is truly a special occurrence and one that we wish would happen more often. Both in the lives of our cute cat children and in our own.

So to celebrate this year's International Day of Happiness we made this list of smiling cattos to shine light into the hearts of each and every one of you cat loving hoomnans. Now go forth, scroll and smile to your heart's content. 
 

Hot take: It's much easier to convince someone to love cats than it is to love dogs.

You might think the statement above should be reversed, but we're going to convince you why it's purrfectly right just the way it is. First, let's break down why people may dislike cats versus disliking dogs.

Why would someone dislike cats? Probably because they either never expurrienced the love of a cat, or they've only been around cats that were stressed. There's the off chance that they were attacked by a cat before (scratched, or bitten), but those instances are far rarer than in dogs. The last option that we can think of is that they're allergic, and there's not much you can do about that.

But for dogs, the number of reasons has the pawtential to be much greater. There are lots of stories of dog attacks, especially in young kids who don't know how to properly approach dogs, causing the dog to lash out (even if unintentional), causing an early fear of dogs. Dogs also require a lot of responsibility. You have to commit to taking them out 3x per day, exercising them, playing with them, and going outside whether it's raining, snowing, or as hot as the Sahara desert outside. Most dogs have very loving purrsonalities, but they will also destroy your house if you don't take care of them properly. And finally, the allergy problem similarly applies here.

To turn someone into a "cat person", all you have to do is introduce them to the right cat. To turn someone into a "dog person", you have to convince them to adopt a dog-friendly lifestyle. 

Which is why we love our story below so much - it's about a guy who used to "hate cats", until he traveled the world and befriended a bunch of stray cats. They showed him that there was nothing to dislike about them and that they just wanted to be loved like anyone else. See all his fuzzy friends below and more of his explanation by scrolling down!

Finally, this imprisoned cat has found freedom. 

Generally, cats are creatures that don't need much. They need food, they need water, they need someone to change their litter every once in a while, and a little love to be given to them every once in a while, when they need it. Cats like their homes, they like their space, and they don't like leaving. But even cats have a limit. And confining a cat to a single bathroom for ten years is a level of horrible treatment that we have not quite heard of yet. 

Cats may not need too much, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve the extras. Cats should be spoiled. That is our job as their humans. To make sure that they are as happy as they can pawssibly be in our homes. That might mean giving our cats boxes to sit in and spreading a bunch of them all throughout the house. It might mean wrapping our cats in blankets and tucking them into our beds, giving them peak comfort at all times. These little things matter, and this poor kitty got none of them. For ten whole years. But that is all over now. Finally, she is in the right hands, living the life that she truly deserves.