If You Laugh at the Cat, the Terrorists Have Won.
ICanHasCheezburger? is a blog of funny animal macros, mostly of cats, but sometimes gerbils, bunnies, dogs and monkeys, too. By "macro," I mean "a picture with a hilariously anthropomorphic saying on it," usually in child-like 'netspeak to add to the cuteness.

A couple of days ago, cheezburger posted this macro of a Siamese cat, ostensibly after having eaten something very sour, with the caption "ME NO RIKE REMONADE." Cue fan, which the shit hit immediately. 632 comments later...

Accusations range from "racist!" to many, many tl;dr essays, yes, essays in the comments, most of them preceded with the disclaimer/qualifier, "Well, I am [insert ethnicity here], so..." Dreama explains for us plebes that the macro is inexcusably racist which causes other members to suggest that she change her user handle to "Drama" (hee!). Jimmy compares the macro to the Japanese internment camps of WW2, which causes a LOT of people to go all "Bitch, are you for real?" The comments are the straw on the proverbial camel for Ben, who declares, "I am just waiting for the asteroid to come and kill the rest of you." rubbr tries and fails to be the voice of reason: "...it's only a picture of a cat..." Squalo says that if you're complaining about this and not doing something about the terrorists, you should be ashamed of yourself!11!1!!1

All I could think was: "Aww. Siamese kitties have the CUTEST meows."

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	toph 2007-03-03 05:04 am UTC (link)
	I think they can develop, like allergies to many other things. My mom had cats all her life until she became allergic in her 40's. I became allergic to sulfa antibiotics after using them twice previously to no ill effect. Allergies are weird. :\ (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dana
2007-03-03 05:27 am UTC (link)

I suddenly developed an...well, intolerance is the word to gluten and dairy products, which was a whole load of fun, I can tell you.

But isn't there medication to help with cat allergies?

I also read that you can get over cat allergies if you're exposed enough, but obviously that is not the case if you have been exposed.

I also know that it's most likely to happen to those who weren't brought up with cats, I had a cat from the time I was born, so..yeah.

I would so hate it if I became allergic to my kitty.

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tephra
2007-03-03 07:02 am UTC (link)

I didn't know I was allergic to cats until I went to college. I came home for the weekend to the seven adorable kitties and had an uncomfortable night of sitting up in a chair trying to sleep. If I reclined too far I couldn't breathe.

Turns out that I'm basically allergic to everything with fur or feathers. I just didn't know it because I was always exposed to something furry (cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, gerbils....) and was used to not breathing that well. When I went away to college I got used to breathing properly and coming home let me get hit with all the allergens at once.

That said... I have three cats. OTC Claritin knock-off FTW!

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	onyxnoir 2007-03-03 10:31 am UTC (link)
	OTC Claritin knock-off FTW I soooo hear you on that. I didn't know I was allergic to cats until I got my first one. As she was a rescue kitty from the pound, I wasn't about to return her. If it wasn't for the meds I'd be miserable. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	gunshou 2007-03-03 09:51 pm UTC (link)
	My exact story, only replace cats with dogs. I always knew I was (fiercely, horrendously) allergic to cats. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	annabelle_lee 2007-03-04 04:48 am UTC (link)
	You can get over cat allergies if you're exposed enough? Really? Can you tell me where you got that information? I'm kind of curious now. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dana 2007-03-04 09:56 am UTC (link)
	I've got a couple of books on cat care from the library and it said that people can develop a resistence to their intolerance over six months constant exposure. I do recall vaguely reading that on the interminets as well. I don't think it works for everyone. Hmm, I'm sure google will come up with more answers. (Reply to this)(Parent)

from Wiki

dana
2007-03-04 10:01 am UTC (link)

I think this is also where I found it on the interminets:

Some people who are allergic to cats≈typically manifested by hay fever, asthma or a skin rash ≈quickly acclimate themselves to a particular animal and live comfortably in the same house with it, while retaining an allergy to cats in general.

I'm at my boyfriends place a the moment, so I can't quote you the book I got the info from. Sorry.

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	Re: from Wiki annabelle_lee 2007-03-04 10:18 am UTC (link)
	That's very confusing. I can't tell if they're talking about select people whose allergies manifest with hay fever and the like or if they're saying that the allergies in general manifest that way. Then again, wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt and all. Thanks for the information, though. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: from Wiki

caoilte
2007-03-04 10:33 am UTC (link)

I think it's more like they get used to feeling like shit so don't notice until another cat (or animal) comes around making them feel even worse. I'm another one of those who's always been horrendously allergic to cats (and dogs, and birds etc.) and lived with animals all my life. I still couldn't be in the same room as my beloved dog without suffering, so yeah.

This is why hubby refuses to allow me to get a cat and is insisting that when we do get dogs, they will stay OUTSIDE. *sulks*

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	ladyvoldything 2007-03-11 07:26 pm UTC (link)
	I found out my allergy after a getting an asthma attack that lasted three months. x_x It was a rather severe allergy, too- but apparently I was tolerant to MY kitty. Who was the one who caused my allergy in the first place. Allergy shots FTW!!! (Reply to this)(Parent)

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