I mean, I like them, but close proximity to them makes me all sneezy, which is never good. Nevertheless, I love watching big cats – you know lions and tigers and panthers, and such – so when I saw the latest shapeshifter scent at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, I had to order it:

From the BPAL website:

BAKENEKO
In sharp contrast to the stark sterility of Hunger Moon, we present a carnivorous chaotic charmer: the bakeneko. The Monster Cat is a shapeshifter, and is empowered to take the form of a beautiful woman (to entice lonely gentlemen) or a winsome young maiden (to the peril of childless couples). Though some bakeneko are benevolent, and only wish to find someone to care for them, or to show gratitude to a mortal that has done them a great service, others are furry balls of malevolent mayhem. Their mischief ranges from simply destructive — knocking over lamps and destroying property, tossing ghostly, freezing fireballs from their hands — to horrifying acts of carnage.

(Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon.)

And speaking of watching cats…

My friend Rana is an amazingly caring cat-mom. So much so, that in an effort to both save cash and not torment a recently-ill kitty, she’s trying to do a natural capture of a urine specimen. I know this because our relationship is generally limited to online exchanges and the occasional sharing of coffee and conversation in person, but today she actually called me. Why? Because she had errands to run, and needed someone to watch the kitty cam and see if the cat used the litterbox. I was happy to help.

She made me promise to not make her seem like a moron. I don’t think there’s anything moronic in caring for your pet that much – I mean, I learned how to give Zorro rectal injections of valium when he was seizing, so HE wouldn’t have to sleep in a cage.

Of course, that wasn’t televised.