Black Cats and Code
@bcatbc.northsky.social
Cat lover, trans, queer and disabled. Computing student with the Open University.
For sure! It's an experience that shaped me and once I'm in a position to (currently mostly bedbound by inaccessible housing) I absolutely hope to foster to help more scared cats because being able to live with this loving, cuddly cat who wouldn't let me within 6 feet of her at first is amazing.
September 4, 2026 at 8:45 AM
For sure! It's an experience that shaped me and once I'm in a position to (currently mostly bedbound by inaccessible housing) I absolutely hope to foster to help more scared cats because being able to live with this loving, cuddly cat who wouldn't let me within 6 feet of her at first is amazing.
I remember this phase with my now very much less scared cat. It was simultaneously so exciting in seeing the bits and pieces of progress and really hard not to let the hisses and such demoralise me. I essentially had to have a mantra 'hissing and growling aren't mean, they're communication'.
September 3, 2026 at 9:00 PM
I remember this phase with my now very much less scared cat. It was simultaneously so exciting in seeing the bits and pieces of progress and really hard not to let the hisses and such demoralise me. I essentially had to have a mantra 'hissing and growling aren't mean, they're communication'.
Ohhhh I'd somehow not heard this about T. My hair was never quite as curly as I wanted it to be, so I *hope* this happens to me :D
August 8, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Ohhhh I'd somehow not heard this about T. My hair was never quite as curly as I wanted it to be, so I *hope* this happens to me :D
I went and saw it and am *definitely* not someone with any real expertise, but I really enjoyed it despite it not being my 'normal' kind of moving. Genuinely great story and well worth seeing. I'd fortunately been insulated from all of the political nonsense as well.
July 19, 2026 at 1:22 PM
I went and saw it and am *definitely* not someone with any real expertise, but I really enjoyed it despite it not being my 'normal' kind of moving. Genuinely great story and well worth seeing. I'd fortunately been insulated from all of the political nonsense as well.
How can I have done literal EMDR therapy and not made this link?!? New tool in my toolkit time :D
February 28, 2026 at 10:13 PM
How can I have done literal EMDR therapy and not made this link?!? New tool in my toolkit time :D
This is part of why damn near every single time I'm forced to cross or change routes or worse forced into the road by shit parking, I make *noise*. The sort of sweary indignance that is very difficult to ignore. If I guilt even one person into not parking like a prick next time then I'm happy.
January 11, 2026 at 9:05 PM
This is part of why damn near every single time I'm forced to cross or change routes or worse forced into the road by shit parking, I make *noise*. The sort of sweary indignance that is very difficult to ignore. If I guilt even one person into not parking like a prick next time then I'm happy.
Babylon 5! Fantastic characters, long and pretty complex arcs but they don't punish you for missing something. Can be a little dark, but I wouldn't say hugely moreso than things like SG1.
January 1, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Babylon 5! Fantastic characters, long and pretty complex arcs but they don't punish you for missing something. Can be a little dark, but I wouldn't say hugely moreso than things like SG1.
As a wheelchair user I've been known to strategically plan any trip to my local tesco where I won't have help to minimise the number of items I will need help with. I rely very much on 'nearby tall people' :D
December 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
As a wheelchair user I've been known to strategically plan any trip to my local tesco where I won't have help to minimise the number of items I will need help with. I rely very much on 'nearby tall people' :D
I adopted an incredibly shy 10 year old void and it was one of the best things I've ever done. This cat who wouldn't let anyone near her for a long while now weaves between ambulance crew and climbs on their equipment because she does not care :D (I'm fine, just disabled!)
August 3, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I adopted an incredibly shy 10 year old void and it was one of the best things I've ever done. This cat who wouldn't let anyone near her for a long while now weaves between ambulance crew and climbs on their equipment because she does not care :D (I'm fine, just disabled!)
Mine do the extremely irritating trick of not telling you (and sometimes not the GP) why they're going to be calling. Which is not great when at any given moment there's probably 5 things it could be. I have a call on Wednesday which I think is for some much needed MRI results but 🤷♂️
June 23, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Mine do the extremely irritating trick of not telling you (and sometimes not the GP) why they're going to be calling. Which is not great when at any given moment there's probably 5 things it could be. I have a call on Wednesday which I think is for some much needed MRI results but 🤷♂️
As a side note, for those with hypermobility, muscle weakness from neuro bullshit sucks absolute arse when the only reason your joints were remotely stable is because your muscles were desperately holding them together!
June 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
As a side note, for those with hypermobility, muscle weakness from neuro bullshit sucks absolute arse when the only reason your joints were remotely stable is because your muscles were desperately holding them together!
She pulled the sheets to start the assessment and just went 'my god you're hypermobile aren't you' (reader: my knees were hyperextended backwards while lying in bed!) My elbows were also in a very 'I didn't know that's not normal' position.
June 4, 2025 at 9:58 PM
She pulled the sheets to start the assessment and just went 'my god you're hypermobile aren't you' (reader: my knees were hyperextended backwards while lying in bed!) My elbows were also in a very 'I didn't know that's not normal' position.
Currently dealing with some medical shit, and I've known for *an while* I have EDS but it's not on my notes bc medical bullshit and misogyny. An OT came to help assess transfers etc and I hadn't even mentioned being hypermobile.
June 4, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Currently dealing with some medical shit, and I've known for *an while* I have EDS but it's not on my notes bc medical bullshit and misogyny. An OT came to help assess transfers etc and I hadn't even mentioned being hypermobile.
Also, as an addition (and not a criticism at all!), the two can and fucking do coexist and it can be an absolute nightmare of balancing conflicting access needs within a single person. This is why I use able bodied when I mean 'not bodily disabled' and abled when I mean 'not at all disabled'.
June 4, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Also, as an addition (and not a criticism at all!), the two can and fucking do coexist and it can be an absolute nightmare of balancing conflicting access needs within a single person. This is why I use able bodied when I mean 'not bodily disabled' and abled when I mean 'not at all disabled'.
Yes, this, so much! The words we use are descriptors to help us describe our orientation and identities to others but they're not binding, prescriptive boxes (or at least, they very much shouldn't be).
June 1, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Yes, this, so much! The words we use are descriptors to help us describe our orientation and identities to others but they're not binding, prescriptive boxes (or at least, they very much shouldn't be).
I'm trans and disabled and have recently deteriorated significantly and I'm trying to make my life now I'm largely bedbound (with not nearly enough carers) a lot easier and more independent.
I'd appreciate any help at all.
www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/...
ko-fi.com/blackcatsand...
I'd appreciate any help at all.
www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/...
ko-fi.com/blackcatsand...
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May 16, 2025 at 8:03 PM
I'm trans and disabled and have recently deteriorated significantly and I'm trying to make my life now I'm largely bedbound (with not nearly enough carers) a lot easier and more independent.
I'd appreciate any help at all.
www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/...
ko-fi.com/blackcatsand...
I'd appreciate any help at all.
www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/...
ko-fi.com/blackcatsand...
Former change ringer, and my immediate reaction was 'I hope to god those bells hadn't been left up or they're going to get one hell of a surprise'.
May 9, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Former change ringer, and my immediate reaction was 'I hope to god those bells hadn't been left up or they're going to get one hell of a surprise'.
I hear this. Another way I've tried to think about it is that I can't control whether they choose to do some introspection and apologise. And it's like walking around with a weight tied to my ankle hoping that they will. And if they do, all it changes is that it opens the door to reconnecting.
April 14, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I hear this. Another way I've tried to think about it is that I can't control whether they choose to do some introspection and apologise. And it's like walking around with a weight tied to my ankle hoping that they will. And if they do, all it changes is that it opens the door to reconnecting.
pitted against each other for no reason other than it serves car drivers for us to be at odds. I'm just pleading with cyclists on the pavement to recognise that on the pavement, they are not the most vulnerable road user and to act accordingly. This is only referring to non-mixed-use pavements.
April 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
pitted against each other for no reason other than it serves car drivers for us to be at odds. I'm just pleading with cyclists on the pavement to recognise that on the pavement, they are not the most vulnerable road user and to act accordingly. This is only referring to non-mixed-use pavements.
comes barrelling at me at a speed where they would definitely do me harm if they crashed into me. Kill me? No. But certainly ruin my day, week or even a couple of months if they do damage to my chair. It's infuriating because pedestrians and cyclists *should* be on the same side but we're often
April 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
comes barrelling at me at a speed where they would definitely do me harm if they crashed into me. Kill me? No. But certainly ruin my day, week or even a couple of months if they do damage to my chair. It's infuriating because pedestrians and cyclists *should* be on the same side but we're often
It's especially jarring if you're a wheelchair user and the cyclist then gets mad at you for not getting out of their way (when generally I *can't*). I *completely* understand why cyclists are on the pavements, the roads suck. But I *will* get upset when a cyclist on a non-road-legal ebike
April 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
It's especially jarring if you're a wheelchair user and the cyclist then gets mad at you for not getting out of their way (when generally I *can't*). I *completely* understand why cyclists are on the pavements, the roads suck. But I *will* get upset when a cyclist on a non-road-legal ebike
Yeah that sounds like a solid solution that would certainly have worked for me. It's not like it's such a huge height that the ramp would have to be either very long or very steep.
March 9, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Yeah that sounds like a solid solution that would certainly have worked for me. It's not like it's such a huge height that the ramp would have to be either very long or very steep.
Absolutely, makes sense :)
March 9, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Absolutely, makes sense :)
If it's similar to the trains used for the double-decker RE trains, there was a small level area (with a space for a chair) before it stepped down. You were limited to a pretty small space but yeah.
March 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
If it's similar to the trains used for the double-decker RE trains, there was a small level area (with a space for a chair) before it stepped down. You were limited to a pretty small space but yeah.
This was a RE train rather than an TNCF one, I should note. But I would imagine the solution is similar - ramps and staff assistance.
March 9, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This was a RE train rather than an TNCF one, I should note. But I would imagine the solution is similar - ramps and staff assistance.