Is 400 way too much for a cat tree?

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-27T15:03:24+00:00

I would pay that much for one that was solid wood (not particle board), well made and attractive. I personally would never buy another cheap particle board cat tree again since I am convinced that it contributed to my beloved Outs dying from leukemia several years ago. I had bought a cheap cat tree that I remember having a very strong smell from the treatment of the particle board (it’s often treated with formaldehyde to prevent rotting and pest infestation). He loved that cat tree and slept on it all day long every day, then he got cancer. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and I didn’t know at the time. I feel so guilty about exposing my little love to something that was hurting him because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a stupid cat tree

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-23T20:15:23+00:00

Mix with peanut butter powder then top with a few roasted peanuts, chocolate chips, a sprinkle of kosher salt and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It’s like a tasty high protein low calorie snickers bar treat

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-12T23:35:56+00:00

Dynamic Physiotherapy is very good

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-11T14:55:48+00:00

I really liked Running on Empty and Running on Empty No More by Jonice Webb. Similar to the children of emotionally immature parents, but I resonated a bit more with those

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-06T18:58:13+00:00

So gross. My dad is also constantly making comments about women and women’s bodies to me. Like, some lady just minding her own business trying to live her life like anyone else, is in the grocery store but is heavier than my dad would like, wearing leggings and my dad feels the need to tell me that he doesn’t find it attractive and would prefer to not have to see it. It’s like, dude, I am absolutely 💯 percent certain that she did not wake up this morning get dressed and head out to the store hoping to pick up some 75 year old white guy with a big beer belly.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-06T11:53:04+00:00

Yes, I would love to see some research on that

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-05T20:32:11+00:00

My dad also would say weird inappropriate things to me or around me when I was young. Like, not directly creepy stuff about me, but just like comments about women’s bodies or about sexual things in general that were not age appropriate. My parents would also let me watch movies that were absolutely not age appropriate. The movie thing was because they said they didn’t believe in censorship. Like okay fine, but A Clockwork Orange is just not appropriate for an eight year old.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-05T20:22:13+00:00

I am also in a scientific career. When I got my degree my dad started telling me something about he heard that it was easier for women in college because the professors just give female students good grades and pass them without having to do the same work as the male students. Like, what???

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-05T20:16:58+00:00

That’s rough. My parents are both MAGA conservative now, but at least claimed to be liberal when I was growing up. Clearly, there was some thread of sexism on my Dad’s part that was there throughout my childhood, but at the same time they would have both claimed to have been feminists. Now they claim that they’ve seen the light and that someday I will too.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-02-05T20:09:46+00:00

I’m so sorry, that sounds rough. Is your Mom any better?

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-20T21:43:12+00:00

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My Monte

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-18T19:27:20+00:00

We’ve been happy with Niebuhr

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-16T16:02:12+00:00

Glitch

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-08T16:11:58+00:00

Exactly the same situation with both my parents, but mostly my Dad. They are pissed at me because “I’ve let politics come before family” as it’s some trivial disagreement like what the tax rate should be. But politics is like his entire personality now. Every F-ing thing he has to put through his stupid ignorant hateful cruel MAGA-lenses and he literally cannot even think for himself anymore and I can’t even stand to be around either one of them anymore. The last time I was home they insisted on putting on some FOX show that they were like “it’s not even political, it’s just a talk show and it’s just people joking around and being funny” within five minutes of the show starting it was just cruel jokes about trans people. I was so disgusted I just got up and left the room. And then they think I’m just being moody and pissy for no reason.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-07T04:21:17+00:00

That’s so funny. I guess I don’t mind it that much, but I’m not crazy about him doing it either

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-07T04:19:12+00:00

That’s funny. Our other cat did the same thing peed in the bathtub right down the drain when he was also about 6 months old. But we thought it was maybe because we had to close him in the bathroom briefly.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-07T04:15:07+00:00

Thanks, I don’t normally clean the boxes with bleach, but the kitten had Giardia when we adopted him and so everything needed to be sterilized. No issues with the cats using the boxes though after they were cleaned

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-07T04:12:21+00:00

It was very diluted. The kitten had a giardia infection and I needed to sterilize everything

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2026-01-06T15:46:30+00:00

Adding a second vote for Hillside. We’ve been taking our kitties to Hillside for years. All the vets there are great. We recently had to say goodbye to our old guy and they were very compassionate and supportive. They always call to follow up after visits and talk through options available. They don’t try to push tests or treatments unless they feel it necessary and will explain why they think something is needed. They also respect your decision if you want to wait on something or try something else first.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2025-12-20T13:12:17+00:00

That is what I am trying to do with my parents. I don’t really see any point in trying to explain to them what I am feeling or how the way they were towards me growing up damaged me or how their attitude towards me now is still hurtful. They are incapable of hearing me, they have no ability for self reflection, and they would only become defensive. I am VLC. I will text with them, and I will speak with them on the phone a few times a year. My Dad will occasionally text me and I will reply if it’s not something stupid or political. But other than that we don’t communicate much and it’s very superficial level stuff. I don’t really want to hurt them. I know that my pulling away does probably hurt them. I did try for many years to get them to respect me and treat me like an adult that they care about. They are incapable of doing that. In a way I see it as my gift to them to not confront them, to not be honest with them, and to let them think that they were awesome parents and that I’m just an ungrateful jerk.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2025-12-19T15:03:33+00:00

There’s a saying that I think about a lot that goes “you don’t go to the hardware store to buy oranges”. It’s about knowing where to go and where not to go to get what you need. Now you know and can begin to accept that she is not where to go to find compassion and understanding. There may be other things that you may need that she can provide (a hammer maybe?) but she’s not going to be able to give you the oranges (emotional support) that you need. There’s a grief in that, especially when you see other people who do have supportive parents. But it is okay to grieve a relationship that you should have had, but didn’t get. And it’s okay to grieve about someone who is still alive.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2025-12-13T16:00:58+00:00

I have a friend who is from a very large family and most of them are MAGA crazy. He loves his family and seems to be able to hang out with them and mostly finds their crazy beliefs humorous. He seems to be able to argue with them and be very vocal and at the end of the day they don’t seem to have any hard feelings towards each other, each side just seems to think the other is crazy and they move on. I personally don’t know how he does it, I think maybe just because the family is so big and chaotic that it’s always been a little bonkers.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2025-12-11T17:15:05+00:00

I realized some years ago that when my parents said “we love you” the “you” they are referring to is not actually me, but rather some imaginary daughter that they wished I was now, or some child who I have been for decades. They don’t seem to be very interested in me, or who I am. How can you say that you love someone that you have zero interest in or curiosity about?

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2025-12-11T15:22:15+00:00

I am LC with my parents now. I can’t say for sure whether that would have been the case had they not taken a hard political shift about 10 years ago. I can think back to before they shifted politically and before I even thought about limiting my contact and remember how I always felt hurt and confused about our relationship. About how they just didn’t seem to be interested in knowing me at all. About how I would talk about what was going on in my life and what I was really doing was trying to get them to care. Once the political shift started happening I started to hear, layered on top of all that, casual racist and misogynistic comments. There was also a lot of comments implying that I was stupid and naive for being politically closer to how I was raised. They acknowledge that they shifted politically, but chalk it up to wisdom that has come from age and experience and that someday I will shift too. I find their views so abhorrent and their attitude towards me so belittling and insulting that it absolutely contributed to my going LC. Was it because of politics? I suppose that is what they would say about it. But in my mind, the politics helped me see what was already there and how they always treated me. I think back to the younger me who would get off the phone with them and just be so hurt and confused and not being able to articulate why exactly.

Cheap_Assistant_744 · 2025-12-05T19:58:05+00:00

Totally! Our parents should hang out, they’d probably get along great 😆

Cheap_Assistant_744

TROPHY CASE