{ 114 comments… read them below }

  3. Ariancita*

    Gawd, she looks like such a scrumptious morsel. I just want to eat her up! If she were mine, no posts would happen because it’s hard to post with one’s face firmly burrowed into her small soft tummy.

    1. Emma*

      1000 internets to you, friend. I was trying to think of why her facial expression looked…familiar. And you nailed it: she’s got that Scissorhandian confusion!

      Adorable!!!

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      I know! I’ve decided that the trick is to foster more than one at a time. A couple of years ago I fostered two, and I didn’t get nearly as attached — I think because they were focused on each other, whereas she was exclusively bonded to us (and vice versa).

      1. Arbynka*

        After I adopted our second cat, my husband asked me not to please go shopping at Petsmart anymore, he would take care of it. I adopted our third one from our vet. So guess who does vet visits. Couple of years ago I went to my UU church and it was animal blessing service and county shelter had animals for adoption there…and I came home with a puppy. My husband gave up :)

          2. Gjest*

            In the town I just moved from, I used to volunteer for the animal shelter organizing fundraisers, grantwriting, etc. But I only went into the shelter maybe 2 times, because I would have taken all of the cats and most of the dogs home. People always thought it was weird that I spent so much time on shelter issues but never went to the shelter itself.

          3. Elizabeth*

            I’m fortunate in that my cat has made it Very Clear he is to be an Only Child. Otherwise? We would have a house full of cats.

            Our local shelter is set up to house 250 animals. Last week, they were at 1000 kittens and climbing. They were begging for kitten food & shredded newspaper kitty litter.

            1. Jamie*

              We donate food and litter…buy some for ours and buy some for them.

              Little PSA – most shelters have lists of things they need which are inexpensive or things you’d get rid of anyway.

              Like old towels, old throw rugs, blankets, etc. The little guys don’t care if they are fancy or not – just clean and usable.

            2. Chinook*

              “I’m fortunate in that my cat has made it Very Clear he is to be an Only Child.”

              My cat has taught me the same thing. We tried getting a second cat. It was a barn kitten and cute as can be. Then we noticed our cat slowly stalking it and, I swear, licking its lips. We immediately segregated the kitten and called up the original owner and explained that it would be best if we returned the kitten.

              Luckily, the only casuality was more poor dog who believes that every living creature is put ion this planet to play with him. He followed us when we put the kitten in the spare room and hauled the adult cat out. The cat immediately turned on my dog and scratched him and hissed. Poor dog was so frightened of what his faithful friend (whom he had raised form kittenhood) had done to him that he immediately pissed himself while he shook in fear.

              All was fine the next day when we returned the kitten.

              DH has since then taken a pet wolf into the home and while the cat is still not overjoyed at having a creature that sheds more than he does, he atleast hasn’t figured out how to hunt him yet.

                1. Chinook*

                  Wolf Dog Sanctuary near Calgary. Wolf dogs occur naturally when rural folks don’t spay their dogs. Marley was rescued by by-law (dog catcher) officer whose sister runs the sanctuary after she “ran away from home” too many times. DH waned something intimidating to guard his home while he was on duty and needed a hobby, so he checked out the sanctuary and fell in love. It took him a year for her to come when called (because she was timid and wolves don’t want to impress but rather obey and you have to earn their loyalty). But now she is the perfect pet. She will give hugs when commanded by leaning into you, knows how to walk on a leash and loves to be chased at the (fenced in) dog park. She listens to me when DH isn’t around, obeys the cat and worships the dog (because he is old and blind but has found the perfect life). According to vet records she is a husky cross but by-lkaw knows about her because DH is a cop and he takes her to the office in his off hours.

                  I bug him because DH is now Benton Fraser of Due South complete with red uniform, a wolf and a killer bod. For the record – he had none of those when we got married! Score!!

              2. nyxalinth*

                She’s adorable. Bless you and your kind heart, Alison. More people need to foster and adopt from shelters and rescues.

                My calico and white kitty came from a cat rescue last year. She’s quite the cat, and I love her so!

    2. ThursdaysGeek*

      In fact, I think posting cat pictures was a main part of your PIP, and we’re happy to see the quick improvement.

    1. Jamie*

      I’m stealing this. Next time someone asks me “what’s wrong?” (which is more often than you’d think) I’m going to reply, “Nothing. I’m just adorably alarmed.”

      Seriously though, you know how they say petting a dog or cat can lower your blood pressure…for me even seeing pictures is soothing. It just puts me in a better place. That’s probably why my daughter sends me tons of pics from lolcatz and icanhascheesburger before she asks to borrow money. :)

  12. TheSnarkyB*

    She’s such a little cutie! She looks like she’d be funny :)

    Does this count as an open thread? If not, disregard. If so, I’d love to hear your morning routines- I’m trying to finesse/create mine. Started an AM job 2 weeks ago and still very much adjusting!

      1. ChristineSW*

        Verrrry tempting, but I’d just whine about my career (or lack there of) situation, and this thread is just too sweet to ruin :)

    2. A Teacher*

      Well, since we also have a cute cat here–if you have pets, I get their bowls of food ready the night before and put them in the microwave so they are put up; I also lay my clothes out the night before and I usually wear what I’ve picked out; and I make sure to leave myself with 10 minutes to eat something small for breakfast.

      1. the gold digger*

        I pick my clothes out the night before. I pack my lunch and my gym bag. I download podcasts to my mp3 player. The only thing I do when I get up is shower and drink coffee (from a coffee machine I loaded the night before).

        My cats get dry food. It’s not heated. I am mean, I think.

        1. ThursdaysGeek*

          I think the microwave was just to keep the cats out of it until it was time for them to eat. They can get into the cupboards, you know.

      3. The Other Dawn*

        I think A Teacher means that the dishes are put in the microwave so as to keep the cats from chowing down 10 minutes after she goes to bed. I have lots of cats and I do this when one is going to be having anesthesia the next day. That way he or she can’t snack on dry food all night. I don’t like to segregate because the cat would be stuck in a tiny bathroom.

    3. Jamie*

      Do you mean work routines or getting ready for work routines?

      Because as much as I would love to say I get up early, go running, eat a healthy breakfast, shower, and jet off to work looking as smooth as Clair Huxtable on a good day I would be lying.

      I get up when my husband’s alarm goes off, swear lightly, go back to sleep. He wakes me as he’s leaving bringing me a cup of coffee which he leaves on my nightstand. My youngest gets up and comes in my room and we watch a couple Friends re-runs (or Big Bang) while I read and answer work email, log in if need be….and then catch up on my feeds.

      Then it’s off to the shower, then moisturize because I’m no longer 25, dry my hair and on a good day curl it. On a bad day I pretend the straight look is intentional and I want to look like an auburn haired middle aged Marcia Brady. Then make-up, say good bye to everyone still home human and fur baby, and swear again because I meant to leave earlier, and enjoy a relaxing and very zen like 33 mile commute doing 20 most of the way on the Stevenson.

      I park in my spot, assuming no unknowing visitor has taken it, and walk into work muttering a prayer under my breath that nothing horrible happens today because I’m tired.

      Looking at this I should so not write a motivational book on how to start your days right!

      1. TheSnarkyB*

        Claire Huxtable, I love it!
        Thanks for the detail- it’s nice to know that someone else out there doesn’t have all night to pre-prepare.
        (And yes I meant getting-ready-for-work routines). Out of curiosity Jamie, what time do you wake up & what time do you leave for the office?)

        1. Jamie*

          I wake about 5:15 and leave about 7:15 – 7:30. I don’t need 2 hours to get ready but my husband wakes me as he leaves and my youngest is an early bird so we watch tv while I get a jump on work via my iPad.

          And AAM, Cracked, and my new medical forum won’t read themselves!

    4. Chinook*

      My home routine consists of hitting the snooze button for 30 minutes (I intentionally build the time in and have both my phone alarm and an alarm light to wake me up because I am paranoid). I then turn on all the lights and the tv (set the night before to the correct station for the morning news), get dressed, feed and water the animals, make breakfast and lunch at the same time, eat breakfast, put the cereal bowl down and watch the cat try to lick it clean (depending on how evil I feel, I sometimes put in such a place that he has to almsot stand on his head), do make up, brush teeth and comb hair (I do not own any electrical hair appliances), walk the dog and then either drive or walk to the bus depending on how long the dog took to be walked and whether or not I feel like scrapping the car. While on the bus I check my email and that day’s “Daily Lines” from Diana Gabaldon on twitter and then nap for 30 minutes.

      From getting out of bed to heading to the bus takes me abotu 45 minutes. If I want a shower, I usually skip hitting snooze. And, once the snow hits, the snooze button routine will disappear to give me time to suit up appropriately for the cold walk because I will NOT be digging out my car that hour.

      1. LV*

        “I intentionally build the time in and have both my phone alarm and an alarm light to wake me up because I am paranoid.”

        I am also really paranoid about oversleeping. My phone alarm has failed to wake me up just often enough that I don’t trust it anymore, even after months of reliable early-morning beeping. So I have an actual alarm clock as well… on top of my husband’s phone alarm and HIS actual alarm clock… and every night before we go to bed I make him show me that both of his alarms are on, and check mine about 5 times. He makes fun of me for it sometimes, but hey, it lets me sleep easy.

    5. Lucy*

      I am 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now.

      After I remove the ice pack, I use a water activated cleansing gel then a honey almond scrub. On the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I finish the rest of my routine.. I always use an after shave lotion with no alcohol because alcohol dries out the skin and makes you look older.

        1. Lucy*

          I was very surprised to be the first one.

          I was also surprised at how much i remembered… what does that say about me?

    6. The Other Dawn*

      I think Olive should be the mascot for our open threads. As soon as we see her, we’ll know it’s an open thread. :)

    7. PuppyKat*

      I can’t really say that I have a good morning routine. I’m a night owl, plus I work at a performing arts center. When I’m forced to go to work before 10:00 am, I set two or three alarms spaced about ten minutes apart. So the first 30 minutes are usually spent just trying to wake up enough to get behind the wheel of a 2500 lb. vehicle and drive safely.

      The things that work best for me, though, are:
      – Decide what I’m going to wear and set it out
      – Decide on my lunch and snacks; prepare as needed
      – Always keep all my office necessities (purse, backpack with laptop, sweater, etc.) in one spot
      – Have several different breakfast options so that I can have something available for those days when I have a few minutes to eat, and other stuff for those days when I need to scarf it down and jump in the car

    8. Clever Name*

      My morning routine is utter crap. In addition to feeding every finned/furry/human creature in my house, I make sure my 1st grader gets dressed, make his snack, make my lunch, shower, dress, dry my hair, and apply makeup. Thank god my husband is happy to be left alone.

    9. Jen in RO*

      I go to sleep fairly early (11-12) so I wake up without an alarm between 7.30 and 8.15. Instead of the morning coffee, I have my morning blogs… depending on the game of the week, I might also check my auctions and do a free short dailies in Rift or WoW. Then I feed the cat, shower, put on light make up (5 minutes), get dressed and leave. Then I’m late for work, but it was a flexible place that didn’t really care what time you got there as long as you got your stuff done. The official start of the day was 9, but I don’t think I made it earlier than 9.15 in 3 years. I don’t prepare anything the day before, that sounds like too much of a hassle.

      All this might need to change, because I start a new job on Monday… but I hope it won’t change too much!

  13. Windchime*

    She is beautiful, and I love her new name! Now that my cat is an adult (barely), I’m kind of jonesing for another kitten and Olive might just push me over the edge.

    1. Jamie*

      Bit of trivia – Marie Osmond’s real name is Olive Marie Osmond – named after her mom.

      I have NO idea how I know that or why I remember it.

      1. fposte*

        If they traipsed through television in the 1980s, you will know their Social Security Number.

        Can’t throw stones–I always had fantasies of having an MTM character actor as a plane seatmate and delighting them by knowing their credits. (Oh, Clyde Kusatsu, you’d have been so impressed by me!)

  14. A Teacher*

    Welcome to the foster fail club! I’m a failure two times over–my first is a 12 year old lab/schnauzer mix and my second is a 4 year chabrador (chow lab mix)–brings us to 3 dogs and I still foster for a local rescue. Animal people are pretty great IMO :)

    1. Kay*

      I’m so there. Three dogs that started out as fosters. I’ve basically decided that if I foster an animal, I’d better be ready to keep it. o_O

  16. Tai*

    Hello, darling calico cat! Olive looks like a sweetie. Congratulations on formally making her a part of your family!

  17. PJ*

    You gotta watch those torties. They’re a handful. And, as you probably know by now, they’re not above using cute to their advantage.

    1. The Other Dawn*

      I have two torties (sisters) and they definitely get the ‘tude going sometimes. I love them though and they’re very bonded with each other. Affection hounds, too.

  19. Pussyfooter*

    Has Olive doubled in size? She looks so much bigger now!
    (roll the olive across the floor and let her chase it = another cute kitty pick!)

      1. Jessa*

        My cat Parker Dot McGonagall is staring at my screen looking at the pic of Olive. It’s funny. She was named after the thief on Leverage (she’s black mostly and likes to hang upside down on a chair arm,) Dot Warner the Animaniac (because she gets in trouble a lot, and Dammit Dot Don’t DO that, sounds nice,) and of course the transfiguration teacher from Hogwarts. Also the cat who left us, that she came in after was named Minerva so that’s kind of now her “family” history.

  20. ChristineSW*

    Awwwwww!!!

    It’s so weird…I always tell people that I’m not really into pets or kids (although we do have one cat; used to be two, but one died earlier this year). However, when I see cute pet and baby/toddler pictures, I just melt!

  21. Mrs Addams*

    This picture alone is making me reconsider marrying my feline-allergic OH. I thought I’d come to terms with the idea of never having kittys – but now I’m not so sure I could last too long!

    She is incredibly cute!

    1. ThursdaysGeek*

      When my parents determined that I was allergic to cats, my siblings were pretty clear: “She’ll get over it, or we’ll get rid of her.” If the allergy is mild enough, it is possible to get over it.

      1. VintageLydia*

        I guess it depends on the allergy. Most of my friends can get acclimated within a few months of a particular pet, but I have a few that would be miserable for years. I’m thankful no one in the household is allergic, though.

  22. Chinook*

    It is good to see AAM working so hard on her recent PIP and, with the recent slew of kitty photos, we should soon be able to remove her from it (with the caution that any backsliding would be unforgiveable).

  24. LV*

    My local humane society has a policy that pet fosterers can’t adopt their fosterlings (that’s a word, right?). It’s probably in place to prevent crazy cat ladies like me from becoming pet hoarders, but it does make me sad to think of the heartbreak that must happen when people get really attached to adorable little kittens like Olive and then can’t keep them!

    1. Jamie*

      I hear ya. If I didn’t force the logical and reasonable side of my brain to take control in this area I could easily become the Michelle Duggar of rescue animals.

        1. Ruffingit*

          Anytime someone mentions Michelle Duggar, I think of that poster I saw of the Duggar family with the caption “It’s a vagina, not a clown car.”

          Yes, I know I’m a horrible person. But I laugh every time I see that anyway.

  29. voluptuousfire*

    :goes into uncontrollable itty bitteh calico kitteh spasms:

    One of my old fart cats looked JUST like this as a kitten. <3

  30. Treece*

    Should I be worried? I started a new job 2 weeks ago and my manager hasn’t introduced me to my co-workers. I can’t tell which employees are on my team because there are so many contractors sitting in our area. I introduced myself to some people are they are not receptive to my charms! Everyone is crazy swamped and heads down. People do not smile or chit-chat. They are over-worked and there has been a lot of turn-over. Ugh! Wish I had thought to ask about the person who was in my job before me.
    I had some training this week and only saw my boss once. I tried to talk to her to check in and hopefully get some direction. She didn’t have time. Did I mention it is my second week?

    1. Pussyfooter*

      Ask your boss, specifically, “Who are the people on my team?” and have a pen/pad in your hands to catch the answer.

    2. Sarah*

      I’m pretty inexperienced, so this answer may be wrong (readers, correct me if I am!) but if you can’t get your manager to tell you, I’d put a sign in the break room or common area that says something like “Hi, I’m a new hire and I’d love to meet everybody. Swing by my office (#123) to say hello and grab a snack.” Then I’d make or buy some cookies or something to have in my office so that if/when anybody came by, I’d have something to offer them.

      My thinking here is that this would let people come to you whenever they’re free, rather than trying to interrupt them when they’re clearly busy. And if you can get even one person to come talk for a minute, you could ask them which other employees are on your team.

      Other readers – do you guys think this would work, or would it bother you?

  31. Liane*

    Oh, how cute & sweet! I love calicos. We can’t have a cat, alas, since my husband’s cat-dander allergy is too severe–but we are adopting a dog next month!! Yay!

  33. Anon with a name*

    Such an adorable kitty!

    Since I won’t be distracting from career discussions on this post, is this an acceptable place to make a feature request for your blog?

    I know you have the “notify my of comments by email” button, and that’s great. But it sends me comments for the entire blog post, which isn’t ideal.

    I want an option where I can subscribe to any updates made to a certain comment thread. For example, if someone posts a really interesting point and there’s a lot of debate on it, I want to subscribe while replying and see when comments are posted as replies in that one sub-thread. Or maybe I ask a question in a comment, but I don’t want *all* of the comments on the post sent to me; I just want to see if people replied to my comment.

    Does this make any sense? I’m not sure I’m explaining it well. But this would be a really useful feature. I’ve been going back through the archives and reading all your posts from the very beginning (I’m up to July 2010, and have no idea what I’ll do with myself when I’ve caught up!) and I’d like to be able to know if anyone replies to my comment in the future across a wide variety of your posts that I comment on without leaving each one up in a tab, and refreshing to hope I see a response. So I think this would be really useful (and it’s actually what I expected the current feature to do (the word “follow-up” is probably what gave me that impression) the first time I tried it.)

    /rambling Oh, and I emailed you a question that’s all about doing something nice for *other* people, not about me! (How to be a good reference for others.) Hopefully that’s enough of a twist that you want to answer it, but either way I love your blog and have learned so much. So thank you for sharing it with us!

    …wait, didn’t I say I was going to *stop* rambling? All right, actually done now!

    1. Ruffingit*

      I agree with you. Also an option to edit comments would be great too. Hate saying I’ve made an error in something or I want to add something right after I post it and there’s no way to fix it.

    2. Ask a Manager* Post author

      I agree that would be a great feature, and we actually tried to implement it a few months ago when some readers asked for it. It ended up causing a bunch of technical problems though, so we disabled it. I’m sure it could be fixed with some time and money, but it looked like it was going to take more of those two things than I could justify putting into it, unfortunately!

      On the edit button suggestion, I’ve read a lot of advice saying not to do it because it traditionally can cause problems with people posting something inflammatory, people responding to it, and then the original commenter editing their post to tone it down, thus making the other people’s reactions look bizarre. More drama than I want to deal with!

      1. VintageLydia*

        Can you do it so the edit button is only there for a few minutes? I know some forums and blogs I go to you can edit it up to 5 minutes after commenting, but after that it’s done.

      2. Ruffingit*

        I don’t think that would be an issue here. It seems like most people here are adults and act like it. That is not always true on all forums though so the general concern is somewhat understandable.

  36. jesicka309*

    I need some happy words (because I’m silently screaming right now).

    I applied for a job about a month ago. I did a phone interview, then an in person interview. Both went really well. The timeline for getting back to me got pushed back, and pushed back, but the hiring manager kept in touch. Two weeks after the interview, they requested my references. They rang them the next day (last Thursday).

    Today, they reposted the job, with a different title. I tested it to make sure it was the same job, and the system wouldn’t let me apply twice. Now, call me crazy, but I’m freaking out. They call my references, then two days later repost the job? I know I didn’t tick every box (degree preferred, while mine is in progress) but I just don’t get it! Why would they call my references then repost? They closed applications almost 4 weeks ago.
    I’m starting to think I didn’t get it, and I’m so disappointed. Anyone have any good endings from similar situations to get my hopes up again? (at least so I can enjoy the rest of the weekend without having a breakdown. I plan on emailing them on Monday to find out once and for all).

    1. pidgeonpenelope*

      Focus on the kitty….

      All kidding aside email AAM about it. Sounds kind of a crappy way to do business. I would even consider it a bullet dodged.

      1. jesicka309*

        Oh no, there’s a very similar post already about it. I always search the archives before I send an email. I just need happy thoughts to get me to Monday when I can actually deal with the issue. I’ve never had my references rung and not gotten the job. The only thing I can think of is that their department has posted a lot of jobs recently (similar, but not the same). When I interviewed, it seemed like it was just a straight replacement, but they could be restructuring – hence the delay, and reposting.

        I’m sitting at home cuddling my puppies and trying not to think about it! Very hard though.

        1. Ruffingit*

          It is hard, but you know…moving on mentally is a beautiful thing. It has helped me so much to think of it like this “Until I have an offer in hand, this job is not mine.” It’s hard to do when it’s a job you really want, but it does help to switch up your thinking.

          Also, remember not to do the tea leaves reading thing. It could be they decided they wanted two people to do this job instead of one, it could be someone mistakenly relisted it, it could be they want to offer you a different, but similar job, with more responsibility because they were so impressed with you.

          It could be so many things that trying to figure it out isn’t worth the stress. Move on mentally as best you can. Do fun things to distract yourself this weekend. Play with your puppies, call some friends and go out to the latest movie, have dinner at a new restaurant. Whatever. Go running. Hard to concentrate on other things when breathing and not dying is all your brain can really focus on.

          1. Jesicka309*

            Thanks for the advice. I wish I could have distracted myselg last night, but I was stuck at home after my friends were invited to a hens that I wasn’t. Already not the best frame of mind. And I thought I’d check the job listings (you know, moving on and applying for other jobs) when I saw the readvertised role. Like the perfect storm. :(

            1. Ruffingit*

              Yeah, I get that. Moving on mentally is not an easy thing, it takes a lot of practice. Sorry about not being invited to the hens party, I am sure that does nothing to help your frame of mind at the moment. Sometimes renting (or Netflixing) a scary movie can be helpful, it replaces your work anxiety with a different kind of anxiety. :)

              1. jesicka309*

                So….I open up my email today (Monday) to find…..AN OFFER LETTER. I got the job!!!! :) I’m so happy. AAM has definitely helped me through these anxious months of job searching, crafting cover letters, redesigning my CV with Alison’s help, and trawling the archives for advice. It was with great satisfaction that I seacrhed the archives for ‘resignation advice’ today. :) Thanks everyone.

  38. Jessa*

    Olive is absolutely gorgeous. This is absolutely the best kind of post sometimes, you don’t need to worry about less posts in a day when you put Olive up. She’s so cute. And I apologise I forgot the name of the adorable Garfield coloured kitty who is now Olive’s sibling. Kitty pictures are excellent posts.

  39. Rosemarine*

    An adorable photo, as many others have already noted. I’ve lived with two mostly black calicos (with white splashes on paws and face, and orange patches/hairs elsewhere), and both were Personalities to be reckoned with (one was a sweetie to everyone, the other was a sweetie to the neighbors but not so much to the home staff). They’re both still sorely missed.

Comments are closed.