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Bodega cats of New York

bodegacatsofnewyork.com

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Re: Bodega cats of New York

#101

Post by kulahan »

timschmidt wrote: post #86
kulahan wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an incredible amount of drama over one of the most common animals on the planet.

It's an incredible amount of privilege thinking that about the most common allergen affecting humans. Only someone who's not affected could think it. For those of us who are, it's literally the foundation bedrock of every choice I make during the day. My work is cat-free. My family don't own cats. My persistent friends are the folks who don't own cats that I can visit regularly. My world is a lot smaller than yours.…

No, you’re just being really dramatic over an allergy. My brother literally will actually DIE if he gets too close to peanuts and he’s not this insufferable.

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#102

Post by timschmidt »

kulahan wrote: post #101
timschmidt wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an incredible amount of privilege thinking that about the most common allergen affecting humans. Only someone who's not affected could think it. For those of us who are, it's literally the foundation bedrock of every choice I make during the day. My work is cat-free. My family don't own cats. My persistent friends are the folks who don't own cats that I can visit regularly. My world is a lot smaller than yours.…

No, you’re just being really dramatic over an allergy. My brother literally will actually DIE if he gets too close to peanuts and he’s not this insufferable.

If you can't suffer some words, then your brother and I have a much higher pain tolerance than you do. lol

Will you DIE from words like your brother and I from our allergens? If not you can calm down about it. Unlike us you can just walk away from this. If it causes you suffering you're choosing to suffer by engaging in the conversation. That's not good for you. Take care of yourself.

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#103

Post by timschmidt »

zdp7 wrote: post #99
timschmidt wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think you are exaggerating the severity of the issue You and everyone else who doesn't suffer. But I was conservative by stating 10%. Medical literature says 10 - 20% and even qualifies that as a potential underestimate. I have looked for stats on severe sufferers, and they are unfortunately very difficult to find. It does suck. But I would caution you not to discount the discomfort of others so easily. People te…

Less than 0.5% of people are at risk of anaphylaxis from cat allergies. Since you brought up peanut allergies, it's relevant to point out that we haven't banned peanuts. It sucks that you and others suffer, but getting rid of cats doesn't make sense when you can ask if there are cats around, much like people with peanut allergies ask about the presence of peanuts.

So that's 1 in 200 at mortal risk. Roughly 1,744,000 people in the US.

1 in 5 to 10 in discomfort. Roughly 69,760,000 people in the US.

Good to know. Given Dunbar's number it's likely that most people in the US know someone with a severe cat allergy.

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#104

Post by zdp7 »

timschmidt wrote: post #103
zdp7 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less than 0.5% of people are at risk of anaphylaxis from cat allergies. Since you brought up peanut allergies, it's relevant to point out that we haven't banned peanuts. It sucks that you and others suffer, but getting rid of cats doesn't make sense when you can ask if there are cats around, much like people with peanut allergies ask about the presence of peanuts.

So that's 1 in 200 at mortal risk. Roughly 1,744,000 people in the US. 1 in 5 to 10 in discomfort. Roughly 69,760,000 people in the US. Good to know. Given Dunbar's number it's likely that most people in the US know someone with a severe cat allergy.

Cat owners have significantly lower cardiovascular deaths. Children growing up with a cat have an almost 50% lower development of asthma and allergies. They reduce stress and depression.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3317329/

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#105

Post by nonethewiser »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #21
nonethewiser wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah this is why I dont find it endearing. It's just pointing to unsanitary conditions. It's ubiquitous in NYC which may have dulled some senses but it's not ubiquitous everywhere. Cat's themselves are not very sanitary. Better than rats, sure, but they are a source of toxoplasmosis which is very dangerous to pregnant women for example. Limiting exposure is manageable when keeping as a pet, but its a terrible baselin…

> Cat's themselves are not very sanitary. Better than rats, sure, but they are a source of toxoplasmosis Hyperbole and toxoplasmosis go well together. In particular: it's a limited time window when an infected feline could transmit toxoplasmosis. It can be dangerous to pregnancies, or immuno-compromised individuals. Most humans (and other beings) aren't pregnant or immunocompromised, but the drama of the topic gets c…

> In particular: it's a limited time window when an infected feline could transmit toxoplasmosis. It can be dangerous to pregnancies, or immuno-compromised individuals.

> Most humans (and other beings) aren't pregnant or immunocompromised, but the drama of the topic gets clicks, so it's a meme of sorts, and it resurfaces every six months or so in the news as if a revelation.

I already addressed this. It's one thing if you keep an cat in your home and can manage the risks. It's another thing entirely as some unknown variable in a cramped public store.

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#106

Post by nonethewiser »

bombcar wrote: post #5
nonethewiser wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah this is why I dont find it endearing. It's just pointing to unsanitary conditions. It's ubiquitous in NYC which may have dulled some senses but it's not ubiquitous everywhere. Cat's themselves are not very sanitary. Better than rats, sure, but they are a source of toxoplasmosis which is very dangerous to pregnant women for example. Limiting exposure is manageable when keeping as a pet, but its a terrible baselin…

The vast majority of NYCs problem can be tied to their trash debacle, which is so outlandish it's hard for anyone not from there to believe is a real thing in 2206. It appears they finally discovered dumpsters recently: https://www.amny.com/news/curbside-empire-trash-bins-coming-... (Another crazy trash city was (is?) Seattle with their weird judgement causing everyone to compact their trash.)

I absolutely could not believe the trash situation in NYC. For people that don't know, it's literally just piled on the sidewalk and street. Stuff like this is completely normal: https://preview.redd.it/manhattan-nyc-this-is-worse-than-usu...

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#107

Post by timschmidt »

zdp7 wrote: post #104
timschmidt wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So that's 1 in 200 at mortal risk. Roughly 1,744,000 people in the US. 1 in 5 to 10 in discomfort. Roughly 69,760,000 people in the US. Good to know. Given Dunbar's number it's likely that most people in the US know someone with a severe cat allergy.

Cat owners have significantly lower cardiovascular deaths. Children growing up with a cat have an almost 50% lower development of asthma and allergies. They reduce stress and depression. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3317329/

I think you'll find that's as true for animals who don't shed proteins evolved to elicit severe allergic reactions as it is for those that do.

Your reference begins with: "The presence of pets has been associated with reduction of stress and blood pressure and therefore may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases."

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#108

Post by timschmidt »

kulahan wrote: post #101
timschmidt wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an incredible amount of privilege thinking that about the most common allergen affecting humans. Only someone who's not affected could think it. For those of us who are, it's literally the foundation bedrock of every choice I make during the day. My work is cat-free. My family don't own cats. My persistent friends are the folks who don't own cats that I can visit regularly. My world is a lot smaller than yours.…

No, you’re just being really dramatic over an allergy. My brother literally will actually DIE if he gets too close to peanuts and he’s not this insufferable.

BTW, it's cool that your brother at least gets safety labeling on commercial food items. I hope that helps him stay safe.

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#109

Post by kulahan »

timschmidt wrote: post #102
kulahan wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you’re just being really dramatic over an allergy. My brother literally will actually DIE if he gets too close to peanuts and he’s not this insufferable.

If you can't suffer some words, then your brother and I have a much higher pain tolerance than you do. lol Will you DIE from words like your brother and I from our allergens? If not you can calm down about it. Unlike us you can just walk away from this. If it causes you suffering you're choosing to suffer by engaging in the conversation. That's not good for you. Take care of yourself.

No, which is why I’m not being insufferable, lmao.

As a side note, I get the chide about labeling. You might accidentally eat cat and die! It slips in all the time! Granted, the labeling is not enough to protect him due to the severity of his allergy. Don’t try to bring him down to your level. It’ll take months anyways.

Re: Bodega cats of New York

#110

Post by timschmidt »

kulahan wrote: post #109
timschmidt wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can't suffer some words, then your brother and I have a much higher pain tolerance than you do. lol Will you DIE from words like your brother and I from our allergens? If not you can calm down about it. Unlike us you can just walk away from this. If it causes you suffering you're choosing to suffer by engaging in the conversation. That's not good for you. Take care of yourself.

No, which is why I’m not being insufferable, lmao. As a side note, I get the chide about labeling. You might accidentally eat cat and die! It slips in all the time! Granted, the labeling is not enough to protect him due to the severity of his allergy. Don’t try to bring him down to your level. It’ll take months anyways.

> No, which is why I’m not being insufferable

At this point you're interpreting genuine care and empathy for your brother's condition and appreciation for a hard-fought safety measure as chide. I remember when it was enacted. And a win for any of us is a win for all of us. Re-evaluate that assumption of yours.

You're right that a respiratory and contact allergy wouldn't benefit from food labels. Safety labels for folks like me would go on buildings, especially public spaces. And they would absolutely be helpful. The ADA does have some protections for folks with respiratory allergies in public spaces, but they're somewhat severely limited to a 6mo period after which filing an enforcement action is not possible. If you miss it, tough luck.

You are demonstrating to others the sort of attitude folks like your brother and I encounter constantly. So thanks for that. It's good for folks to see that just talking about the things that I and others like me experience and expressing care for others with similar conditions is enough to elicit hate. Because that's not uncommon. Most folks like me have dealt with that behavior, and nothing you say about me or my allergy will have any effect other than reflecting on yourself.

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