I'd seen this video before and it's still fucking funny. ;)

That's one angry kitty!

Isn't feminism the devotion to equal rights for humans and animals? I don't think this video is appropriate.

Yep, that sums her up pretty well.

That's funny, but that poor cat. I hate seeing animals caged like that when they are afraid and confused.

Isn't feminism the devotion to equal rights for humans and animals?

...No. Feminism is about advancing women's rights. Many feminists find animal rights activism meaningful, but others of us...let's say others of us don't.

That is awesome (it's funny because it's true!). Now I'm going to go cook a leg of lamb for dinner.

Mmm...lamb. Thank god I live in Astoria (Greek area of Queens), I need easy access to lamb chops.

My brother pointed out that it might be something terrible thats made the cat that way, and I partially agree. Still, I hardly think its in that cage so people can laugh at it getting so pissed off. It needs to sell its self a little better than that, if some loving owner is ever going to want to take care of it.

I had to chuckle, more at the fit the cat gets in than its own circumstances. Still, if anything it shows some measure of similarity between animals and humans. Ive seen plenty of people get pissed off when a camera is shoved in their face when they dont want it.

I love this website and visit you guys often.

What's with this video?

This cat has clearly been traumatized and abused in some manner, and the giggly female (shame on her for not seeing a clearly terrofied, traumatized animal), who thinks its humorous obviously knows little about human/animal behavior. A reaction like that doesn't just develop out of thin air. It develops from abuse, neglect, SOMETHING, no matter if its a human or a horse, or in this instance a cat.

Oh my god. Seriously guys. It's an angry cat. You have NO idea why it's angry. Chill.

this cat reminds me of how I feel when I happen to browse the IWF website....

ROFL! That is hilarious. Now if only we could get it to blog.

You have to admit, the cat was very moderate.

Burger and Fries was the first thing I thought of when I saw the Althouse video.

Chill. Burger and Fries looks like a feral cat at an animal shelter. My cat was feral and from the shelter and wailed like that when she didn't get her way. It's adorable.

It seems like a huge percentage of feminists are hardcore carnivores... I guess it makes sense since vegetables and healthy food are traditionally "feminine," but please don't damage your health while rebelling against the patriarchy... that's what they want!

On another note, my cats always freak out when they hear cats on TV. I'll have to try this video when I get home....... :)

I guess it makes sense since vegetables and healthy food are traditionally "feminine," but please don't damage your health while rebelling against the patriarchy... that's what they want!

So the patriarchy wants women to eat vegetables and healthy food, and to ruin their health by eating as much meat as possible?

a) What's left to eat? and b) I thought there was general agreement that food-shaming was, in fact, the province of the patriarchy - not of feminists.

Ohh man. I made the mistake of watching that clip while my cat was all cuddled across my lap. Now my lap's scratched up and I'm laughing so hard I'm crying.

I can't even say I didn't know what was coming! I've seen that video before and recognized the screenshot

The folks who believe this cat must certainly have been traumatized to act this way have clearly not spent much time around cats. :-)

Jesus, that's disturbing. Poor kitty.

I just have to say, though, that this video is basically identifying Althouse with an angry cat, yes? So... this is a catfight, if it's a fight where battling women are being identified with cats? So Feministing.com is calling things catfights now? I don't know. I'm a fan of the site, but it seems like a low blow, and I- for one- am not living in a world where "catfight" can be dissociated from its original anti-woman context.

Just something I hadn't seen brought up. It disturbed me, and I don't think I'm totally fabricating connections here.

good point RobberBride. I agree with you.

Also, this clip makes me sad. Poor baby. He is so scared and probably ferral. I don't like to see frightened animnals in cages, and I CERTAINLY don't think there is anything remotely funny about it. Sorry.

I'm not really sure this is applicable... that kitty is angry because its been shoved into a tiny box against its will and is being laughed at. Althouse gets angry because she pisses in her own Cheerios and realizes that her piss tastes like, well, piss (as opposed to ambrosia). Not quite the same thing. I mean, really, the comparison is an insult to the cat (not trolling for apologies, just pointing out how horrendously insufferable Ann Althouse is).

Okay, maybe I'm just out of the loop, but who is this Ann Althouse? Is she the one who decided that one of you fine ladies is a Bad Feminist because you met Bill Clinton and didn't leave your breasts at home?

Maybe I missed something, but I thought the joke was in how freaking loud and scary the cat was, not that it was angry. That's not normal. I mean, it was like a little wildcat. I nearly plotzed.

It's funny. Webster says 'catty' means 'malicious'. Althouse is malicious. Thus the funny video.

Speaking of orange cats who don't like cameras, did anyone else see this? :)

http://www.worldwildlife.org/cameratrap/trap2.cfm

This video disturbed me as well. I just don't think it's right to be laughing at the fact that the cat is clearly upset. What upsets me a bit more though, is the fact that people are saying "chill" and such to those who are disturbed by it. As feminists, aren't we often told by non-feminists to "stop being so sensitive" and to "lighten up" when we get upset? I would hope that in such a venue as this, we could be a little more sensitive to each other and our views.

My reckless disregard for my own sanity led me to Althouse's site, which, as expected, was a digital minefield of inanity and sycophantic ass-lickings. I met only a few kindred souls who were valiantly fighting for reason and good manners, but it was a rearguard action. Althouse's minions were too many; I, myself, barely got out alive.

Beware, all ye who would venture there: rationality has forsaken that land.

I'm the only one here who still thinks the cat is cute huh?

I like how it stops briefly, to clear its throat, and then screams again. Its really funny.

Animals... is there anything they can't do?

my taxes... i guess.

...Um, yeah. For me, all the video really does is evoke a huge urge to get the kitty out of there and into a quiet and comfortable environment with a comfy place for the cat to sleep.

On some of the topics brought up in the comments here: I don't see how feminism would cause one to eat more meat, unless you previously had actually been adhering to all that "women should be dainty eaters for whom eating out means poking at salads" stuff. But I've never actually known anyone who let that notion influence their behavior at all (although I'm quite willing to admit that I might run in fairly limited circles).

Also, I personally am a vegetarian and a big proponent of animal rights, but this is separate from my feminism... at the very least, I'm wary of the implications of saying something like "I care about women's rights for the same reasons I care about the rights of animals." Even though I may know, generally, what you're referring to when you say that, I don't trust the vast majority of the rest of the world not to make the "women = animals (= inferior beings who we sometimes help out because we are *such* good, selfless individuals...)" connection

Um. So quite apart from the discussion on animal welfare and carnivore...ism... comparing Ann Althouse to this animal just doesn't feel, ah, kosher to me. (Sorry.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the woman for a second. Her attack on Jessica Valenti (and subsequent behavior) has been puerile and twisted. But mocking her in this manner only reduces the tone of this blog and perpetuates a stupid flame war.

Let Althouse and her minions speak for themselves. They don't need anyone else's help to look like fools.

You had to be there during the drawn out Althouse affair. She's something else.

The Burger and Fries video used to be longer also and it was clear to me this feral cat was in a shelter and that the worker was lovingly teasing her.

I realize this is a site about feminism, but I just have to agree with all of those who think this video is not funny.
I worked at a shelter for two years, and that place looks like one to me (the cages and set up and all are almost exactly the same). That cat needs a towel thrown over the door of the cage to give it some privacy. I really doubt it's a feral cat, as I glimpsed a collar there, but it is clearly in distress and needs to be left alone. Also, if that cat was surrendered to the shelter it is also a very dead cat by now. Not my idea of funny.

"Still, I hardly think its in that cage so people can laugh at it getting so pissed off. It needs to sell its self a little better than that, if some loving owner is ever going to want to take care of it."

It's in that cage because someone moved/had a baby/couldn't be bothered.

It is not the cat's problem that it's previous owners were arseholes: it is SCARED and STRESSED OUT.

Or feral. Either way, the situation isn't funny, but the reaction of the cat is

"This cat has clearly been traumatized and abused in some manner

...

A reaction like that doesn't just develop out of thin air. It develops from abuse, neglect, SOMETHING, no matter if its a human or a horse, or in this instance a cat. "

Um, no. A reaction like that comes from (a) a FERAL cat. So you've pretty much got a wild animal that's terrified of humans and put it in a cage. Or (b) a really terrified and never terribly social abandoned cat. That has lost it's liberty and all familiar surroundings.

It is possible it was abused, but unlikely.

Finally, no feminism has nothing whatsoever to do with animals. Nothing at all. But I'd like to think that any decent human being gives at least a minimal flying fuck about all the abandoned/abused animals >:|

Morals and ethics aside, I just blinked at this video, thinking, "What the fuck?" Weird, yes. Funny, no. I just wanted them to leave the cat alone.

As a feminist and potential spinster, cats hold a very special place in my heart. And people who irritate them do not.

My feral kitteh wailed like that every time she went to the vet. Very cute. She was loved and cared for. She distrusted human beings until she died because she fended for herself the first six weeks of her life. The shelter said she wandered off from a loving home on a Connecticut farm.

We don't know if she was abused but fending for herself the first six weeks of her life was traumatic.

I adore cats, and I still think this video is funny.
I own a very moody cat that I adopted from a shelter, who will go from sweet and cuddly to demon cat in seconds without warning or provocation (I suspect he was abused; he's also got a bad limp). It's quite possible this cat is feral, or coming out from under anesthesia (which can freak them out), or formerly abused. Is it funny that he's frightened, or may have been abused? No, not at all. Is it funny how much volume such a small animal manages to achieve? Hell, yes!
As for the woman who's laughing, she sounds to me like she's trying to soothe him, but can't help laughing at his extreme reaction. I had a similar response when my cat decided to jump in the bathtub with me (not realizing it was full of water.) If you've ever seen a cat try to reverse direction in midair, or tried to comfort a frightened, dripping cat while wet and naked yourself, you'd know that sometimes, as sympathetic as you are to their plight, you still can't help laughing.

Additionally, the cat is obviously either in a shelter or vet's office, and I've never heard of anyone chosing a career in animal care because they didn't love animals. Speculating about what a horrible, uncaring person the woman is just because she dared to laugh in disbelief at a cat so obviously (and LOUDLY!) unhappy is just concern trolling.

I also resent the "catfight" reference--from the commenter who first made it. Are feminists forbidden from making any reference using felines under any circumstances whatsoever just because negative stereotypes have been perpetuated against women using cat-related vocab? Are we also forbidden from making any reference to dogs on account of the dreaded "bitch" appelation? Honestly...

Cat: Loud, yellow, clearly overreacting to an imagined threat.
Althouse: Loud, blond, clearly overreacting to an imagined insult.

Works for me.

there are food and animal concern trolls on this thread. i've noticed people who food or animal concern troll are either borderline feminists or real trolls.

Oh HELL no.

At this point, just stop giving the woman attention, since clearly it's all she's got going now. Now she gets to complain about how the mean liberals compared her to a feral cat. Sheesh.

Continually referring to HER just increases her magnetism (even if it's that car-wreck kind), and continually referring to "Boobgate," well...me thinks there's a fine line between Althouse getting the shitstorm she deserves and the lady doth protesting too much.

"there are food and animal concern trolls on this thread. i've noticed people who food or animal concern troll are either borderline feminists or real trolls."

I'm a little concerned for the cat..don't know why it's so pissed or scared but don't find it that funny either.

I'm not a troll either. Happen to be pretty hot actually. And a big ol feminist.

shall we make the cat/woman connection? it does seem to re-affirm something old, tired, and bigoted. Can we maybe make better jokes; come up with newer, better metaphors?

"Troll" in internet terminology has nothing to do with beauty and apperances.

shall we make the cat/woman connection? it does seem to re-affirm something old, tired, and bigoted. Can we maybe make better jokes; come up with newer, better metaphors?

Sometimes, when I read comments on here, I can't tell if some of you folks are comedic geniuses or actually take pretty inane shit way too seriously.

I haven't watched the video and am not going to, but did have a comment on a couple of comments. One, I worked at an animal hospital, and the vet who owned it was the kind of "animal lover" who loved them when they behaved how he wanted them to and was an abusive prick when they didn't. As was another of the vet techs there. Common in folks who work with animals? I don't know. But certainly does happen. Two, there was a cat who used to come in for baths and such who scared the hell out of everybody by way of screaming like a woman being murdered if you just walked within ten feet of her carrier or cage. People had mixed reactions. Some of the workers at the animal hospital disliked her for being "difficult." Some had compassion. Some, like me, had compassion but also found her really fucking funny - I liked her balls. I might like the above cat's balls too, but I won't be finding out as, like I said, I won't be watching the video. It's not necessarily trolling - or calling anyone who finds it funny a bad person - to simply be someone who isn't always amused by upset animals, whatever the reason for their upset.

Just love people who ridicule other people for taking "inane shit way too seriously".

It's kind of like they take it personally when people take things seriously. As if it's a personal affront to their life motto of "it's all a big joke anyway." Then they manage to work in some self-aggrandizement via their stupid post.

Feminism-- can be pretty fucking serious: If you don't like it-- why don't you ignore it instead of post about it (life? anyone?)

don't care what "troll" means on the internet-- has a negative connotation about appearance.

Is this performance art?

Not feminist enough? Par for the course.

Is this performance art?

Not feminist enough? Par for the course.

“don't care what "troll" means on the internet-- has a negative connotation about appearance.�

If you were at storytime at the Montessori school, you would be correct. But you’re on the internet. No 3-year-olds here. “Troll� has no implications to someone’s appearance on a website thread. 100% of the time absolutely never.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

I tend to agree with bettie at 11:09; the best revenge against a narcissist is to ignore them. Of course, this advice at this stage is like trying to stop a tsunami with a seawall made of Lincoln Logs.

JoanKelly: I stand corrected.
Bettieclem: Good point.
Everyone else: Apologies for another longass comment.

To clarify:
I'm not sure if there's an official definition, but in my own mind, a "concern troll" is not someone who merely expresses concern about something, but someone who takes the next step and uses their expression of concern to create drama and attention for themselves, and to condemn others. In other words, they're not really concerned about much beyond themselves. Ergo, troll.

Using the above video as an example:
Comments like "Oh, poor kitty! He's so unhappy," or even "I wonder what happened to make kitty so angry?" are all normal responses. Even speculating that the cat is feral or might have been abused is NOT concern-trollish.

A concern-trollish response would be something like:
"This cat has OBVIOUSLY been brutally TORTURED! The woman laughing is AN EVIL PERSON who will probably start BEATING HIM and POKING HIM WITH STICKS the second the camera stops rolling! This cat is DEAD by now, and you are all DISGUSTING, HORRIBLE people for laughing at that POOR TORTURED DEAD CAT!!1!"

In short, it's the combination of morbid melodrama, a cynical certainty that the absolute worst possible scenario is the true one, and a superior, self-righteous tone of condemnation for all who dare to disagree.

You see this a lot on places like CuteOverload.com, or in comments on blogs or videoblogs that post pics or clips of animals or children. Pic of a small child sharing an ice cream cone with a dog? Most people would think it was cute. A concern troll would vehemently denouce the parents as abusive for exposing their child to all those horrible, doggy germs, and add that anyone who thought it was cute is sick, sick, sick. Picture of a sleeping kitten squooshed between couch cushions? A concern troll would announce that the kitten was CLEARLY DEAD of SUFFOCATION (and you're all sick, sick, sick for thinking it's cute, etc.) And so on.

That's child or animal concern-trolling, of course. Food concern-trolling usually involves telling people what they should and shouldn't eat and how unhealthy they are...shows up a lot in threads that discuss body image or anorexic models, etc. Once again, there's the familiar assumption of extreme circumstances and a tone of scorn and condemnation for all who disagree. Just a slightly different format.

I don't throw the "troll" label around too freely. Everyone makes trollish or semi-trollish comments from time to time. Only those who consistently behave in a trollish manner really deserve the title. No one here has made what I would consider an genuinely concern-trollish comment on this thread (yet), but some people are definitely leaning that way, which is why I tried to head it off by pointing out that making dire assumptions about kitty's "obvious" trauma and the "heartless" nature of his caretaker edges dangerously close to concern-trolling. As Jessica said, you don't know why the cat is angry.

At any rate, that was the definition I was working from in regards to my "concern troll" comment. Anyone who wishes to infer additional insult about their appearance, et al from it is welcome to do so, but should recognize that insult was never intended, exists only in their mind, and that they are in fact choosing to be offended by an imaginary insult.

Much like Ms. Althouse.

Animal Rights have NOTHING to do with Feminism? Please think about that.

Vervain - I like your longass posts, FYI. And it's not just because I'm about to post one of my own. And thanks for clarifying about the concern-troll issue. Makes sense to me.

Also - I mentioned the assholes who worked at the vet's out of an ongoing anger at their hypocrisy, not at you for making what I know is a logical enough assumption about animal-related careers attracting animal lovers. I have a stick up my ass about the way some people hide in caregiving professions to gain greater access to the vulnerable while looking like "givers" to the world at large.

Re: feminism and animals - I see this as a subtle thread of connectedness, not an across the board equation. But - my boss, the one who owned the animal hospital and was sometimes cruel to animals, he also paid a male coworker a dollar more an hour than he paid me, until I found out about it and confronted him. Did we do similar or equal work? No. I worked there six days a week, ten hours a day, and (as a veterinary assistant) took on several veterinary technician responsibilities. My coworker was there less than twenty hours a week and did only vet assistant jobs, not vet tech stuff. Everybody there knew that the doctor/owner paid him more because he was a guy, including the guy who was getting paid more than me! (Who was a great dude, by the way.)

To me, the issue is that I'm just not surprised that someone who exhibits lameness on one front would do it on another.

jillas, animals are related to feminism but aren't central to feminism.

BabyPop, comedic geniuses! :)

JoanKelly - Thanks! Brevity has never been my strong point.

I agree with you WRT animals and feminism. I think it all comes down to empathy. If you can't (or can't be bothered to) imagine yourself in someone else's shoes, it's hard to sympathize with them, or care about injustices they face that might not affect you. So a person who is indifferent to an animal's need or suffering is probably unlikely to ponder much about how other people feel, either.

For me empathy is kind of the bottom line for most of my thinking. Most of my pet peeves boil down to people being egocentric and narrowminded, whether it's authors like the one mentioned in the "Sex Patch" thread who assume "everyone is just like me!", fundies and anti-choicers who can't accept that not everyone shares their beliefs, or people who cut me off in traffic. I even have an axe to grind against reality TV shows that encourage and reward backstabbing, self-centered behavior over compassion and cooperation.

No one's perfect, or perfectly selfless, of course--nor should they be. But I think the world would be a better place if more people occasionally took the time to imagine what someone else is thinking or feeling.

Even concern trolls. ;)

Ugh. Yeah. On further note, there's a "SAVE THE SEALS" advertisement on the Feministing main page.

So, there's an issue of credibility here.

Wait, what credibility? I can't think an angry cat is funny (actually, I don't care much about cats, angry or otherwise, as long as they're not trying to touch me) and be opposed to wanton slaughter of seals?

Um, obviously, EG. Egads, didn't you get the memo?
If you think the wanton and cruel slaughter of seals is wrong, then you must think that it's wrong to video-tape an angry cat. And you certainly can't find anything related to an animal funny anymore.

I am personally outraged by anyone who thinks that anything on America's Funniest Home Videos is at all amusing, unless it involves a man being hit in the nuts by a baseball (which is always funny). Children and animals are precious and should never be laughed at. If you laugh at that angry cat, you may as well be clubbing baby seals.

Hee. Well, what if I think that your post is funny, Roy? Oh God, where will the spiral of cruelty end?!

Where, indeed? It's a cruel, cruel world.

I'm pretty sure it's okay to laugh at my post,though. But only because I'm neither an angry cat, or a child. Nor am I a baby seal.

In fact, if I take a shot to the crotch, you're pretty much obligated to find it funny. At least, until the men's rights groups show up. Then you're not allowed to find men funny at all.

I'm almost positive that it's okay to keep laughing at Althouse, though. The "it's okay to laugh at irrational wing-nuts" rule is in full effect there.

Vervain voiced my thoughts as well.

I was laughing at this. I was like, damn, that cat is LOUD. I have two cats and they are the most loving boys ever, but you get my ragdoll near water and he makes some amazing noises, but I'd never heard something quite like this.

And just like Vervain said, sometimes, even when you realize they're stressed out and feel bad for them, it IS still funny, because you know they're in a safe place and are freaking out over nothing.

Uhm.. I just didn't find this funny.

And I don't think it's right for feminists to exclude issues that deal with the fair treatment of animals.
That's just my opinion though. :)

I agree with you Tofutti.
The video is definitely not funny. The cat doesn't represent a catfight, it represents someone getting off a fearful animal.