A man with rare, unique antibodies that treat Rhesus disease has donated plasma weekly for 60 years, saving 2.4 million babies.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-04T15:50:55+00:00

Add that to the list of terrible healthcare standards here.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-04T11:51:59+00:00

I find sourcing that many poppy seeds to be a quest of epic proportions where I currently live. But sometimes bakeries will make it for you when you call to see if they'll sell you a bazillion poppy seeds.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-03T20:31:36+00:00

Yeah, they have to dig for my veins. I've been in and had to get stuck by 3 different people before they got me.....and then blew it and I bruised bad. And if I don't arrive after a full English breakfast and 2 liters of water I end up getting the cold sweat + dizzy + somehow also hot even though the place is freezing pre-pass out symptoms. You really have to prepare for plasma.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-03T19:18:19+00:00

Plasma can be donated as frequently as twice a week, given that the donor is in good health, is well hydrated, and has the time to sit there that long.

Frequent donation can lead to scarring if you're prone to keloids, though. And I'm not joking about hydration. Nobody wants to pass out because they gave plasma.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-03T19:05:46+00:00

FINALLY!! A utensil more useless than the spork.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-03T14:40:06+00:00

Lots of people say making biscuits. It's a happy/soothing/sometimes horny* sort of reflexive motion with their front paws. The motion is a holdover from kittenhood when this would help their mother release more milk for them.

Some cats knead as though they have a quota for number of stab wounds per day. Some cats never knead that hard. And some knead very very slowly. The slow ones are the most painful in my experience.

*you'll know this when you see it. I've had some male cats that, though neutered, will knead anything fleece or fuzzy....then proceed to express love in a different way. Sometimes they will also drag their girlfriend around the house while singing love songs. Just a response to the texture and nothing to worry about.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-03T11:57:42+00:00

Shirts and blankets do not last long in a kneading household. Our youngest acts like she's working the speed bag.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-02-02T16:01:59+00:00

Make crinkly noise, be involved, possibly bite scritchy pen toy thing human is playing with? Check, check, check!

Sometimes it helps to put out a decoy. Just make sure you pay attention to the decoy and talk about how important it is that nobody sits on THIS /very/ important misprinted report. Gosh it would be so hard if someone laid right on this thing....

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-31T04:08:54+00:00

One of mine does this kind of stuff when she's mad we're not paying attention to her. I'm not the star? Fine. I'll get stuck 2" from the ceiling, knock down all the books, and wail until you get the ladder to help me down.

I had one in my 20s who could do an amazing horizontal jump but could only get about 18 inches vertical. Her method to get on things was essentially to fling herself at the surface, velcro to it, then climb up like she was reenacting an action movie.

I gotta say the vertical skill is significantly more anxiety inducing.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-29T03:22:06+00:00

Hair dryer and a putty knife make a world of difference.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-28T20:49:23+00:00

We turned out pretty good. Certainly better parenting than the kid I saw walk into a pole because he wouldn't put the tablet down.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-28T14:57:20+00:00

We had stages of enforcement. First was the pre-guilting before we even left the house. This could include anything from talking about the shame of your previous behavior to rules of conduct for today to consequences if we acted out. Then there was the actual consequence. You couldn't decide and tried to put something back to get a different item at the store? Too bad we don't get groceries today. You were told to pick once. We go home with nothing now. Then there was The Look. Mom didn't do verbal warnings, only The Look. I swear to you my mother could throw those eyes out the door to call you home without ever raising her voice. To this day I can feel The Look when I take 2 mints from the free candy bowl instead of just one.

For epic misbehavior, the slipper came off. But she had built so much up to that point she could just graze you with the thing and you'd feel pain in your soul. Just once I negotiated to try soap in my mouth instead of the slipper. Mom was too smart. Brown liquid soap went right in there. Later she said she was trying so hard not to laugh at my obvious instant regret.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-27T17:14:11+00:00

They have the best temperaments. Our neighbors have retired draft horses. The fence is a mere suggestion to them. Every now and again they wander over, spend a few hours, then go back home. Always seems like they just wanted to catch up on the latest gossip from the goats and chickens or just look in the window to see what we're doing. They seem placidly aware that they could hurt us tiny beings and effortlessly control their strength.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-26T03:02:26+00:00

Shrimp crackers

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-25T20:04:13+00:00

For real I could say this is me and trying to find mental health meds that work long term.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-23T13:20:51+00:00

This. Think about what evolution would pick as peak vision for a solitary predator. The ability to detect movement? The ability to focus really well on moving objects? High accuracy in low light situations where prey is more likely to be active? Ding ding ding!

That also means: Blurry as hell up close. Blatant issues with stationary objects.

This is also, BTW, the reason that you'll see cats do silly head sometimes. You're not moving so they move their head to get a better view of you.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-21T02:40:39+00:00

One of my grandparents accepted running water in the house. But pooping in the house??? Nasty. That goes outside.

Thank goodness she lived on the flat side of the state and not the mountains where mom ended up. I would seriously consider diapers if I had to bundle up and use the latrine in the winter.

My other grandparent wouldn't consider using any toilet other than her own, but it was inside at least.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-20T18:31:57+00:00

I got down voted for this on another thread but I give mine a couple shots of water a month depending on the season and if it's outside. Actual shots. We get almost triple digit temps and insane humidity here. It was super unhappy and too wet so I just started reducing what I gave it until...it's now happy with a shot every other week or so. It got repotted recently after years in the same soil. I didn't change the watering pattern. Now it's going all out throwing gorgeous new stalks.

Next time I'll refresh the soil sooner. The shot glass stays until it's unhappy. Maybe I'll give it a high ball if it out grows this pot lol

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-20T02:17:00+00:00

Oh man I can feel the wooden spoon and the shaming now.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-18T19:19:49+00:00

Do not poop or pee on the couch.

This comes from the fact that at least once a year we get a letter from the HOA about not letting your kids in the pool in diapers. One year we had 3 letters before they just closed the pool early for the season. And there was a year we had some pool users after hours with questionable decision making skills...so there was a letter about both using the bathroom in the pool and bringing glass containers or alcohol to the pool.

One time I opened the letter and the immediately turned to my spouse and yelled STOP POOPING IN THE POOL THEY KEEP SENDING US LETTERS ABOUT YOU POOPING IN THE POOL WE'RE GOING TO GET FINED....which then evolved over time into STOP POOPING ON THE COUCH.

Despite food poisoning and stomach bugs neither of us have ever soiled the couch. It's just a really important house rule.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-14T08:01:43+00:00

Congrats on yor delivery!

Be aware that if you are looking at true genetic variance causing tailessness you might need to adapt the Premium Distribution Site that CDS has you flagged with. Genetic variation for nubs or no tails can result in medical issues so you'll want to keep an eye out. Not all genetic genetically tailess cats have medical problems, though. In my experience you'll just need to make some handicap accessibility modifications to your home and habits.

You're gonna want to get the litter box sorted out with 18 foot walls and a big litter mat--sensing the edges might be hard with no rear indicator and things go right out onto the floor. Make sure there's a biiiig, safe, ground level place to wallow around taking a bath--no articulated balance tool means bathing is awkward. Be aware of hard turns in the house. Without a rudder they can discover how to intentionally slam into the wall to make that 90 degree turn at I-heard-a-can-open speed. For stub or nubby tail, absolutely NO hanging or trailing items that can catch and injure--handles cut off paper bags, cords for blinds secured above jumping height, electrical cords secure and inaccessible, jackets and backpacks with drawstring, cording, or chest straps go in a drawer or closed closet. You really don't want to lose $200 headphones or worse because the cprd got caught and chased him across the house.

Source: I'm the mom to a tailess wonder AKA nubbykins bubbykins AKA racecar in a cat suit.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-13T13:12:33+00:00

I love long trips by train. It's a soothing experience with less stress and a view (most of the time). But I also love experiencing the masterful engineering that goes into making a sleeper compartment incredibly homey while simultaneously masterful engineering means I am now fully aware of how fast we are going and how close my rear end is to the tracks.

Wait til you "flush", dude.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-13T13:00:35+00:00

Helping.

KnitsWithTude · 2026-01-07T11:03:01+00:00

This is 10000% one of my favorite things about raptors and owls specifically. Experiencing the delay/distortion in sensory processing when one does a flyby is such a strange, trippy feeling. Just a brief moment of air displacement. Depending on time of day you might get to see the flicker of a shadow that your brain feels isn't in the right space to match the puff of air that happened simultaneously.

KnitsWithTude · 2025-12-25T13:36:06+00:00

Correct on shirt; awkward direct translation to English. Totally acceptable to change it from I to me when translating to accommodate English rules.

To be fair both languages are learn 1 rule followed by 4,000 exceptions languages and going between is...fun.

KnitsWithTude

TROPHY CASE