how to say it?

you see, Ms Nya was very excited about halloween and wanted to do something something speshül because everybody was catnificent and loved her mews the last time.

think of it as her token of a loving lick to you~~

it a bit awkies

so Nya did what any good cat does, she delegated.

and this time the rabbit went over to Aphurrdite’s peacemakersss meadows with said speshül intentions to convey…

it seems like somewhere along the way as it hopped, skipped and jumped over the meadows, it dropped some thing things and some words were tossed over the hill…

in the end, Aphurrdite has been busy pawparing for halloween season, after some delays…

has you met aphurrdite?

aaahh~~ there she is, what a beauty~

springing over the meadows with abundance and bliss~

aphurrdite is the cat goddess of harmoney and reigns over the peacemaker cats, granting them all the powerr of love and tranquility…

*scratches head*

a bit odd that she was picked to look over the halloween scares? does she even have a scare bone in her???

look at her, not a care in the world and the smug little face that knows more than we do ~~~ maybe she knows who may be contacted by the cat distribution system next

so.. erm, it seems like, as queen bee of the meadows, she is bringing on her loving matchmaking charrmmm to all you hoomans to bring some peaceful lovin’

noooo, not like …. 👉👈 kissy kissy rromance

(I mean, you could.. no one is stopping you from canoodling with your 😉 after a good scare ykwim??)

aphurrdite means all the loving exchanges that make a joyful meowment with other hoomans and she thinks bees are the purrfect carriers of that!

Step 1:

your mewssion: please to write a love note to another hooman ~~ “bee my boo?”

who preferably loves you back. or is amicable with you and won’t be weirded out with your love note.

no hanky panky in the office types, or stranger danger either. the cats are watching you 😾

but… maybe to your grandpawrent? or your sibling? or your pawrent? or your bff that you spend every minute of your day with but just can’t get enough of..? or your bff who lives oceans away that you wish you could give them more of your presence and heart? orr that one neighbor who always remembers your favorite snacc?

the worrrld is your ocean and there are so many hoomans to sparrk joy for!! It doesn’t even have to be big, just put it on a sticky note, put it in an envelope and send it.

if you would like, and have access to a cat near you, they may be willing to lick your paper to go in the mail too… we hear those things travel well.

to activate the beeloved magick, hold it in your paw paws for 3 seconds before sending it ✨🐝

Step 2:

*ahem* aphurrdite would purrsonally like to oversee three free love meows, at no cost to you~

you see, THIS was what she brought out of the cat chest for halloween.. and..well.. we’re just going along with it *shurgs*

she trried to make the halloween carrds full of love and mischief but they came out a little too… drramatic… (ykwim?)

so yes, where were we?

aphurrdite would like to help three hoomans speak your love meow to your speshül hooman through one of the 3 free Bee My Boo cards

think of *one* hooman. go to the comments below on substack and leave:

• the hooman’s first name

• + one emoji that feels like your connection

~

fur example:

Maya 🌼

Dad 🫖

Sam 🍊

Grandma 🌙

~

aphurrdite says she can *feel* the vibe. (not to be drramatic, but she IS dramatic and she does not apologize for being ameowzing~)

🐾 how we’ll choose the 3 to send the free love meows~

aphurrdite will read through the comments and pick the three entries that feel:

warm, soft, a little sparkly around the edges

(sorry to say, there is no science to this, just a some cat magick yahhh)

the cats will announce the three chosen hoomans on the pawspicious day of 15th November, Caturday on this mewsletter~

so check back then! the meadow will hum softly when the names are revealed /ᐠ˵- ⩊ -˵マ

feel free to like and reply to each other in the comments if someone’s entry gives you The Gentle Ache™ ~ a smöl meowmento of …

“I thought of you.”

“Me too.”

“Love is silly and soft and allowed.”

Step 3:

if you’d like *me* (your rresident cat-scrribe) to write & send your love meow *for* you…

you can adopt a Bee My Boo card for $7 USD which will all go to chimken food monies in nya’s name

you give:

• the hooman’s name

• the general flavor of your affection

• any note if you’d like to add

• the mailing address

me, together with the cats, will paw-write the note and mail it to your chosen hooman.

aphurrdite will be sure to oversee the emotional sparkle of it all ✨

the bees will carry it, the cats have probably convinced them… 🐝💌

P.S. we also only have 3 of these~

adopt a bee my boo

thank meow in joining us to share some chaotic good energy! the world feels hard, heavy and foggy at times, but ms nya reminds me everry dayy that the opposite can be true and we hope you hold that pawsibility with us 💖

we have oodles of goodies we’ve made over the years as shiny things that sparrk joy and we will continue sharing with you here and there~

bye bye meow~ toodles, until the pawspicious day

P.S. if you has questions, nya’s hooman will answer, please to not disturrb her or aphurrdite or the other cats

P.P.S. give you a boop on the nosie ~*

‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ . ‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ . ‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ . ta-daaaa~

This shiny™️ new verrsion of Ms Nya, Her Royal Felineness waves henlo~ to you!

Who is Ms Nya you ask? 🤨 (because said cat’s hooman was flailing around life far too long and hasn’t done cat employee tasks of semding the cat cuties to your inbox).

*ahem* Please be to bow to our queen of sunshine and naps, and the hoarder of greatest supply of chimken food (a goal currently in paw-gress)…

You may find her on LinkedIn here where you will see her hooman has conveniently forgotten how to access it and now cannot change the royal pawtrait.

The story behind the royal pawtrait and the re-introduction of Ms Nya to the high hooman society is that… her hooman drew it. by hand. *gasps* in the age of AI no less!

All it took to change a stock image of this cat that lives rent free in her hooman’s head was the age of AI to come down upon us all.

We are now mostly committed to sending you bad drawings drawn by said hooman hands, and occasional cat paws so DEAL WITH IT.

whoooo? whaaaa? whhhyyy?

Yes…yes, yes, we know.

You subscribed to this random cat email list thingamathing, and… haven’t heard from us in a long while and now you don’t know what it’s about????

And honestly? The cats are mad about it because they KNOW people signed up to get cat nonsense mews… you know… the spark joy kind.

SO WE PAWMISE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.

We’ll rip through some updates because.. uh… the cats are dashing through your inbox today.

it a season of change

TW: losing a cat fren, scroll quickly to the next section if not wanting to read

Ms Nya’s hooman has written posts and rewritten them and never sent them out over the course of this year. Their firrst catto, Biboo, crossed over the rainbow bridge at the end of January this year and it has been muchly heartache and grief.

At first it was the cursed worrrk that kept the hooman away from sending cat mews, and then the grief of navigating Biboo’s farewell.

Bye Biboo, we love you. 😞

We’ve always intended this space to be warm, joyful, filled with cozy vibes and some mischief that we didn’t know how to show up when the grief took over.

Life has been… a challenge growing up and Biboo was our first safe space that gave us warmth, safety, comfort and unconditional love during difficult periods… it has been difficult to find words, but we want to remember him for his love (and his ever gwummppyy face 😆).

So thank mewww for bearing witness to this.

After some life happening, we think we’re ready to show up and practice holding optimism and joy once again. And we hope you’ll join us.

It’s not a request, Ms Nya decrees, so be it.

We don’t pawmise anything at all, no regular publishing hours (the cats will be in touch with you at their own time, thank you very much). But what we do know is we have a world of fun, joyful cat stories and little bad doodles and other cat thingamathings to share with you.

Stay if it fits your vibe, otherwise, the cats totally understand they need to run more ads to fill your spot on the email list with the chimken money they has saved up… 😭

We will be in elaborate touch, we have received an EXTREMELY STRRRONGLY WORDED LETTER from Ms Nya that has meows paaages long, so while we get through all of her agenda and share it with you… we leave you with two things.

cats are working overrtime to suppawt their stressed hoomans 🧐

a very unscientific finding by Ms Nya, her community of cats. so she brought Dr. Fin-tastic, deep sea philosophurr and former apex predator to come up from the depths of the ocean to a tiny parrking lot that we took over an evening to preach some deep sea wisdom so hoomans get better at hooman-ing.

anyway, the point being, Ms Nya has come together with some cats to guide you on a mini-catventure today, it’s your lucky day!

Take this sparrk joy cat-quest quizz to see which cat be your guide today.

SPOILER: THEY’RE NOT ALL CAT CATS, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??

(don’t worry you dont have to give your email in YET another place, this one is enough, it’s just a sparrk joy thing and you’ll also get your cat furrtune for the day 😻)

take the cat-quest quiz

Ms Nya is more popular than her hooman it seems, so she is flexing, whatever the cat verrsion of that is

you won’t believe it (actually maybe you will), Ms Nya’s followership is in thousand plus (wow, how did she get here but it totally makes sense that a cat is popular????) while her hooman is barely scraping the low tens and twenties 🤭

she’s being an influencer and doing a shout out to introduce her hooman one time (and one time only for now, she’s had to repeatedly tell her hooman, influencing costs more chimken monies than she is currently getting for this exchange she’ll have you know)

please to join nya’s hooman tmr if you is interested in oracle card making as a way-finding tool for business way-finding. there will unforrtunately be no cats live at the event, but we are inforrmed that it involves hanging out (maybe make it your background noise?) or come make a cute collage.

the cats are sending their fav nat geo cat magazine to be cut up to make cat oracle cards to channel some feline god magick for their hooman’s business ✨

anyway, this may or may not be your vibe, but we’ll just leave it here if you wanna join on substack live for 30 mins.

All the deets you need:

30 October 2025, Thursday, 11.00 am to 11.30 am Eastern Time

Read more about it here on nya’s hooman’s substack which is all about an arrtist-strrategist (hooman) looking at business from an arrtist’s purrspective to make it more cat hooman.

join live limk

OK THAT’S IT, hooman has run out of assigned word count so no more, no more. back to cat prrogramming.

bye bye meow, semding you lots of licks and luffs and sunshine~

P.S. Ms Nya’s assistant Patches is still at his cabbage patch helping durring harrvest season so Ms Nya may not respond quickly but you is still welcome to bombard her comments and mail with your love for her, or gentle enquiries from your cat, from one cat to another. she reads them all.

P.P.S. The cats are deeply sorry this was not sent on a Caturday, but would like to assure you that everyday is a Caturday, and the concept of days beyond Caturday is one that hoomans have made up to make everyone’s life complicated. Don’t you wish every day was Caturday? Life would be so catnificent. 😻

P.S.P.S. WHO IS YOUR CAT MASCOT GUIDE????

Henlo hooman~

Ms Nya is pleased to infurrm you that word of what catnificent gift you wants has reached her. She gladly will bring some of her tiny cat frriends who are looking for hoomans to adopt.

The cats were too busy celebrrating 100 hoomans, and in that time we’ve grown to over 300+ hoomans waiting to receive mews frrom the cats :’) thank mew from all of us 💛

Much joy, many celebrrations. to celebrrate this pawsome milestone with mew, we're not just doubling down on our tiny cat adoption - we're launching a full-scale tiny cat adoption adventure! get ready to meowt your purrfect tiny companion~

Kindly note that the cats would like to infurrm you that tiny cat adoptions are happening soonly for mewsletter hoomans but as you know, the cats and their unwillingness to work, this may take a while to put together.

Not to worry, the cats have set their no. #1 hooman employee to worrk to arrange *waves paws around* all of this.

This is the winning paw vote for Ms Nya’s surrvey of the kingdom for the celebrrations:

a tiny cat who will adopt you to become a one-time cat-pal and write you a purrsonal letter for mew~
limited to first 10 to put their paws up and will come with:

• a tiny cat carrying your purrsonal letter

• nya’s paw paw of apprroval for you

• nya’s wax seal on the envelope

But we have managed to recruit more than 10 tiny cats who have put their tiny paws up to be matched with a hooman frrom the mewsletter reads, so we're launching a full-scale Tiny Cat Adoption Adventure.

Please to wait for adoption details soonly okay?

where do tiny cats come frrom?

Long ago, the world was populated by tiny, tiny, tiny cats, the very first organisms to inhabit the planet.

These single-celled tiny cats evolved over millennia, adapting to different environments and growing in complexity.

As they evolved, they formed distinct clans, each thriving in unique habitats like enchanted isles, serene meadows, mystical waters, and skybound clouds.

The cats’ story however was misrepresented in history when Charles Darwin's cat shared the theory of feline evolution, which was later co-opted to show hooman evolution.

Each tiny cat clan developed specific traits and skills suited to their environment, guided and protected by their respective cat gods.

These gods, seeing the potential in their tiny feline followers, gifted them with special amulets that signify their heritage and enhance their natural abilities.

Purrsephone, the goddess of mischief, gave her pranksters the gift of playful cunning.

Aphurrdite, the goddess of harmony, granted her peacemakers the power of love and tranquility.

Mewlysses, the explorer god, inspired his wanderers with boundless curiosity.

Purrcules, the god of social, imbued his party paws with the strength of friendship and community.

Tiny cats are remnants of the pre-Cat Distribution System era, an ancient companion system that existed before the OS upgrade to modern cats.

This makes tiny cats the perfect precursors to being an irl cat hooman: for aspiring cat hoomans, who haven't yet been claimed by a real-life cat, are especially in need of adoption by a tiny cat.

For those already claimed by cats in real life, tiny cats can offer additional guidance and support. And tiny mewssions for everyday self-care.

Tiny cats believe that hoomans have zero cat skills but many hooman problems. That's why they've taken it upon themselves to care for them with their best meows and licks. How thoughtful of them, right? 😽

Whether you’re an aspiring cat hooman or already living with feline overlords, a tiny cat is here to enrich your life and pawpare you for the ultimate cat companionship.

did you know? your cat has a secret clan too! 🙀

Now, you’re probably wonderring at this point if you’ve been blessed by the cat distribution system if your cat is part of one of the clans too.

Yes they do! every cat that is born is tied to one of the cat god lineages, and this has been so since the dawn of time.

Just like their tiny counterparts, your cat companions might belong to:

1. Purrcules's Party Paws: Is your cat the first to greet visitors and always in the middle of the action? They might be a social butterfly from this clan!

2. Mewlysses's Wanderers: Does your kitty love exploring every nook and cranny of your home, or try to sneak out for adventures? Sounds like you've got a Wanderer on your paws!

3. Aphurrdite's Peacemakers: Is your cat a calm presence in your home, always ready for a peaceful snuggle? They could be spreading harmony as a Peacemaker!

4. Purrsephone's Pranksters: Does your feline friend have a mischievous glint in their eye and a habit of causing adorable chaos? You might be living with a proud Prankster!

You’re probably curious to know, maybe ask your cat? We’re not sure if they’ll give away their clan identities so easily though 😶‍🌫️

Let us know in the comments what clan you think your cat might belong to and why. Does Mr. Whiskers have the telltale signs of a Prankster? Is Fluffy clearly a Party Paw enthusiast? Share your thoughts and let's see wait to see if Nya and the tiny cats can help us identify your cat’s clans.

Share Mewsletter

And now for some hooman attempts at sharing mews. Nya’s hooman has been hard at work learning cat skills.

a tale of tiny cats

I’ve lived away from my two cats for almost 9 years, separated by life circumstances as I started looking for a space for personal growth and healing.

They live with my family of origin with my birth parents, and live a good life. I don’t think I’d be able to give them the same access to space, care and enrichment if I had moved countries with them.

I’ve considered relocating them, or getting a cat here. (I moved from India to Singapore after I graduated from photography school).

Life unfolding with an endometriosis/adenomyosis double diagnosis as well a late diagnosis of autism/adhd has left me with little to no spoons and at capacity.

Tiny cats have lovingly comforted me, reminding me everywhere I look that a cat is perhaps looking down at me and booping me.

It makes me feel held in thought, it makes me feel cared for.

I see them peeking out of my coffee mug in the mornings. I see them floating on the foam as I wash dishes. I see them snoozing on the petals of the flowers on my table. They’re there everywhere.

I’m an aspiring cat hooman, in a life era where an irl cat is not possible. One day, one day, things will change. But until then, the tiny cats keep me plenty occupied and warm. :’)

And so I hope they’ll do the same for you and/or your loved ones. I can’t wait to share this experience with you 💛

Spread the Tiny Cat Love!

Know someone who could use a tiny cat in their life? Share this post and help grow the cats’ army of hoomans! The more, the meow-rier!

And don't forget to tell us all about your cat in the comments. What's their name? What clan do you think they might belong to? What silly antics do they do that is prime reason for clan classification?

Toodles, until next time! Stay tuned for the tiny cat adventure. Maybe raise a paw in the comments if you’d like to toss yourself into the ring to let the tiny cats know you want them to adopt you?

Share

Want to Receive Mews Straight In Your Inbox?

wow. last year the cats made a purr-paganda poster to recruit more paws, hands and feets for Nya’s army so cats all around the world can be loved and celebrated.

but as life has it, the cats’ hooman was hard at work doing life instead of the cats’ work. the cats had to sit their hooman down with a strrong meow till they understood their assignment as employee no. 1, y’know?

and now. bam! the cats are pleased that their strong meow has led to their hooman purr-ioritizing the cats, which has seen more hoomans signing up to be part of the cats’ cause + receive mews from the cats.

all this while the cats’ hooman *pat pat* chugs along with their work and life and health and speshül interests and tries to apply lessons from the cats on how to lead a bountiful blissful life, still learning #halp #imnotacatyet #whatdoidotobeacat #iwantthecatlife #ykwim

woooow the cats want to send you some sweet something

but.. uh… they can’t quite agree on how to go about this so they need your help!

we are beyond thrilled to have 100+ subscribers to this substack. it’s so joyful to think you’re here, curious and follow along the journey of Nya + her hooman Anyā.

this is us, waving henlo~ to new and old folks, nice to mewt you! get in the comments and share about you > your cat > if you’re an aspiring cat hooman maybe, send the word out to the cat gods so a cat can claim you > send pictures of toebeans to the cats if you please 😽

Meet Nya~

our kween, our fearless leader, her royal felineness, chief cat to her hooman anyā, had to put on a bow-tie when she was purrty young to turn into a pawfessional cat when times were tough to earn chimken food monies.

though times are different these days, worries are the same. nya never wants to see the bottom of her food bowl ever again!

Meet Anyā (they/them)~

nya’s employee no.1 and chief hooman to nya, a disabled bipoc arrtist currently waving henlo~ from the sunny (and rainy) island of Singapore whose chief responsibility is to do the work that the cats don’t want to (they just want to have all the fun).

anyā hopes this playful prractice of building nya’s world + doing her bidding can be a way to heal their inner child (pictured here) and also spread more cat joy because times are dark eesh

and now, you help us decide how you want to receive your cat love~

we have lots of ideas but can’t land on one, and since we’ve committed to making our play in public, why not ask you!

it goes without saying, it comes at no additional cost to you. this our bid for connection with you, and hope this spreads some cheer and joy~

1. a postcarrrd in the snail mail for every pawdy

   will come with:

   • postcarrd from nya

   • nya’s paw paw of apprroval for you

   • nya’s wax seal on the envelope (loookitty at the video above with us playing with the wax melts)

2. a purr-sonalised cat collage for you in the snail mail
   limited to first 10 to put their paws up and will come with:

   • a video of nya’s hooman making the collage for you (or your cat, if we can snoop your cat pics)

   • nya’s paw paw of apprroval for you

   • nya’s wax seal on the envelope

3. a tiny cat who will adopt you to become a one-time cat-pal and write you a purrsonal letter for mew~
   limited to first 10 to put their paws up and will come with:

   • a tiny cat carrying your purrsonal letter

   • nya’s paw paw of apprroval for you

   • nya’s wax seal on the envelope
     

We’re sorry that this choice is overwhelming, we feel it too! So pick what sparks joy! We’ll make a call later after a week, so your vote matters, do it fast fast.

P.S. You can ask us to send any of these to your frriend or family as a gift, instead of sending to you~

and now for some other cat mews 😽

clickety clickety, chopity chop

1. Cats + corporate = purrfection - which corporate girly named these cats?

2. In Hong Kong, cats (among other pets) can get a permanent residence card with a lifetime monthly salary for food with lifetime health insurance ft. Jumbo, Bubu & Waffle

3. Raise your paw if you don’t like going to the vet

4. In a filing with the SEC. ⁦RoaringKitty confirms -- not a cat after all

5. Cats enjoy “cat-specific music”

6. Cat in tall grass

7. First recorded boop attempt

8. Top 5 career paths for your orange cat

9. Feeling wheel for cats

Share Mewsletter

Nya's Purrfect Pawliday is coming!

This International Cat Day (8 Aug 2024), Nya is inviting hoomans to take better care of themselves so the cats don’t have to work so hard.

Nya’s hooman is making the webbie as we speaks, we’ll share when it’s ready. we hope this sneak purrview sparks joy for you~

Want to Receive Mews Straight In Your Inbox?

The cats send gentle mews for you if you are in your transformation era.

This is a converrsation space in the Substack app that we’ve set up exclusively for all subscribers — kind of like a group chat or live hangout. We’ll post short prompts, thoughts, and spark joy thingamathings that come my way, and you can jump in to add to the cat chaos, soak it all in from your corrner or send as many emojis as hoomanly pawsible to the cats.

To join our chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app, now available for both iOS and Android. Chats are sent via the app, not email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss the cats.

But not gonna lie, we turn off our own notifications, so we encourage you to do the same, and come in when it feels right. There’s no right or wrong timing to cat stuff, ykwim?

How to get started

1. Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.

Get app

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for Nya’s Mewsletter chat inside.

3. That’s it! Jump into our thread to say hi and send a cat photo if you feel like (or not), and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.

Join chat

Listen. Shhh. Don’t tell the cats. But this hooman has made an error. >.<

I’ll tell you about it just a bit!

But the cats probably already knew 😒

what in the name of Nya is a Whisker Type?

In Nya’s world, every being is classified by their "Whisker Type."

This classification system is inspired by the feline belief that a cat's whiskers can sense things beyond the visible realm.

Just as whiskers help cats navigate the world with precision and grace, the Whisker Type helps categorize everyone is cats’ life.

Each entry in the Whiskerpedia—from the different cat breeds to the magickals like Bobos—is given a Whisker Type.

This system emphasizes the unique characteristics and special abilities of each being, much like how a cat's whiskers detect subtle changes in their environment.

For example:

Feline Friends: Different breeds of cats, each with their own Whisker Type based on personality and skills.

Every non-cat is lovingly referred to as a "cat," whether or not they possess feline genetics.

This inclusive worldview means that even beings like Bobos or dogs proudly wear a sticker that says, "Hi, my name is Cat," embracing their (token diversity) place in Nya's life kingdom.

The classification "Non-Cat Cat" is assigned to folks that don't fit the traditional feline mold, but are still seen through the lens of cat-ness, recognized for their unique traits and how they contribute to the feline world.

Each entry in the Whiskerpedia—from the various cat breeds to the Bobos—is cataloged with this inclusive spirit.

Nya would like to infurrm you that she deeply values the contribution of any cat or non-cat to the quest for the most robust hoarding of chimken food & bringing the cat joy to more hoomans’ lives.

bobos and booboos (aka hooman mistakes)

Today, you’re lucky that you’re getting a sneak a peek at Bobos and their mischievous counterparts, Booboos.

No hooman mistake goes unnoticed. With every mistake you make, there is a cat waiting to acknowledge your mistake and convert them into mewstakes (aka gossip in cat land about you).

You better watch out. No, mebbe we’re just joking. 😌

These mistakes manifest in the form of a charming, tiny creature known as a Bobo.

These floating rainbow blobs, visible only to cats, give cats a heightened sense of the missteps of hooman life.

Bobos appear whenever a hooman error is made, reminding our feline friends of how cats are just better. Don’t ask questions.

But what about the Booboos?

Booboos are the actual human mistakes themselves, those little slip-ups and blunders that make life interesting.

Whether it's a typo, a misplaced item, or a clumsy stumble, each Booboo births a Bobo.

While Booboos are a source of mild frustration for humans, they are a source of endless amusement and insight for cats.

Cat-tribution Rating:

Lovability: 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 (5/5)

Bobos are adored by all cats for their cute and cheerful appearance.

Helpfulness in World Domination: 🐾🐾🐾🐾 (4/5)

By revealing hooman errors, Bobos help cats get closer to world domination.

Chimken Contribution: 🐾🐾🐾 (3/5)

While Bobos don't directly provide chimken food supply, they boost the cats' morale, indirectly supporting their quest for endless chimken food.

We hope the next time you spot a cat facing the wall or a corner, you know and learn that a hooman closeby (maybe you?) has made a hooman error, and that cat is infact hanging out with a Bobo.

Share Mewsletter

And now for some hooman attempts at sharing mews. Nya has been hard at work teaching her hooman cat skills.

a big booboo happened :(

Henlo, Nya’s hooman here. She would like me to confess to a big booboo that gave birth to one of the shiniest, brightest, rainbow-iest bobos she has ever seen.

It was shortly after the last mews the cats sent you. Yeah, it’s been a while.

The cats are anggyy that their employee no. #1 has not been dutifully at work sending mews from the cats. Turns out not much happened between the space of time from then till now.

Except that we officially lost the domain we’ve been using for our art and this this at pawcatguide.com (don’t click the link, it doesn’t work anymore 😭).

Nya and I have spent years cultivating our little corner and tending to our hearts there.

Nya is my personal arts practice, she helps me reconnect with myself. And when we put things out there, we hope that people get to soak in some wholesome joy too.

Nya thinks this is a serious set back for her purrsonal goals.

My booboo is that I forgot to renew the domain, we lost it and only noticed AFTER MONTHS.

Because life took more out of me that I had capacity to give. There are lots of emotions to process here, and lots to grieve.

Apparently, Nya knew about my booboo before I knew because a bobo popped out of nowhere and has been hanging out with her for months.

For context: we lost the domain in October 2023 (I think?) and we only noticed in April 2024, and by then it was purrchased by someone else.

Who might I say just looks like someone who wants to make some quick bucks off hoomans making errors like me. 😒

where to from here?

We have decided to move forward after this tragedy and start fresh. I am in the pawcess of rebuilding Nya’s website from scratch. We have a brand new shiny domain.

We will rebuild from scratch.

The cats have been both anggyy at the state of affairs, but gentle and loving with me. Probably because their employee no. #1 still needs to put all the pieces together for them because they are anti-work.

We also decided that if we can’t have pawcatguide as part of the domain, we might as well scrape the idea. All of our social handles have/will change.

One step at a time. *pat pat*

introducing nyaaa.life

yup, that’s it.

I don’t know how, but we ended up with a super fun and joyful new domain at nyaaa.life. There’s nothing there yet, but oh well, the domain works and is more impurrtantly owned by the cats at the mo.

So we’re just going to do it. Take the jump and change everything to nyaaa.life.

See our Instagram at @nyaaa.life

It’s going to take a lot of love, time and effort but we’ll welcome you into this pawcess and even chip in with decisions where we are struggling (or too tired) to make them.

The cats don’t really think they want democracy, but I’m trying to push for it, ykwim?

We’ll say a proper goodbye to Paw Cat Guide sometime soon, and take you on a tour of all the wonderful cat thing things we’ve done that sparks a lot of joy~!

what really happened?

To be honest, looking back I can tell I was burnt out and life felt over capacity. I was in functional freeze.

I spent most days just crashing and fully exhausted after the day’s work. Everything feels like a blur, and I can’t fully recall what transpired during this time.

All I recall is being able to keep up with “obligations” including the daily demands of a job, functional self-care and trying to keep up with the people I cared about in my life.

But all this left me with no capacity to *really* give to myself, rest and recharge and meet my needs, and sit with my art.

Everything got ignored until it really had to be done, even then as you can see, things slipped through the cracks.

I spent months filled with desire to do more, unable to do more, in so many aspects of my life ranging from my art to health and many more aspects.

moving furrward

I recognise that the organizing principle of the modern world is pain, but I have been actively seeking to reorganize it around pleasure.

I dream of my purrsonal art blending into a spectrum of collective expression from people from different walks of life. And I hope they are not hoity-toity, in a museum, put away behind a glass wall.

I hope the art I get to birth brings joy, awe, wonder, curiosity. Most impurrtantly, I’m now setting the intention that it’ll give you a little rabbit hole to dive into to access some form of agency and power in your own life.

With this, Nya and I have a (soft) announcement. It’s a sekret one, mostly because we are under-pawpared. We don’t have any collaterals, or any links for you to access. It’s a purely an idea we’ve been nesting with for a while.

Intrroducing Nya's Purrfect Pawliday: Celebrate International Cat Day With Us

As the world navigates through challenging times, our feline friends have been working tirelessly to provide us with unconditional love, comfort, and emotional support.

This International Cat Day (8 Aug 2024), Nya is inviting hoomans to take better care of themselves so the cats don’t have to work so hard.

To kickstart the celebrations, Nya encourages you to make the Purrfect Pledge – a promise to prioritize your own well-being by playing well, eating well, and sleeping well.

As a hooman, making this simple commitment and actually taking smöl steps towards it is a big deal for the cats. This means you take the labour of the cats seriously and that you are committed to them.

That’s it, simple. We won’t ask you to make purrchases or do any shares but we will NOT say no to pictures of your cute cats and their toe beans. *wink wink nudge nudge*

We’re still in the pawcess of putting together some ideas that’ll be fun for all of us, and not feel like yet another demand that we have to fulfil.

More impurrtantly, the cats also want to reach more hoomans for the betterment of all cats, so if you have any ideas, please write to Nya at nya@nyaaa.life.

We welcome all chaotic good ideas. 😻

Paws & Ponder With The Cats

As we think about eating well, sleeping well and playing well, the cats invite you to rreflect on how these have been going for you?

Here are some prompts for your to meow over:

1. What yumz food have you been enjoying lately and has it been nourishing you?

2. Has you feed enough yumz food to your cat (if any)?

3. If you could plan anything for yourself to recharge for a day, what would you do to fill your cup?

4. If you had a period of doing nothing (hypothetical question, stay with us), what curiosities would you chase?

You Can Send Mews Too!

Know a cat or a hooman who may enjoy the word of the cats? You can furrward this and share mews with them yourself. The cats will be extremely pleased with you if you share.

Who knows, maybe then this hooman may feel better about their mistakes because in the grand scheme of things mistakes were meant to happen because cats like the company of bobos.

Or maybe you have mews from your cat, in which case we will receive them in the commets section.

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The cats send gentle mews for you if you are in your transformation era.

Excuse and pardon the cats that they spent the Caturday making some private mews that they are now ready to share with you. Nya learned that her hooman is moving houses, which means Nya’s Head Quarters is being uprooted and moved to a different location against her purrmission.

Lots of debates were had, lots of negotiations. Hooman received lots of chimken food offers to stay but sadly had to no to the cats.

They are not pleased. Nya has had to say lots of bye-bye meows lately, this is one more to add to the list.

Come say bye-bye meow along with Nya to her tiny little spot on the table next to the window.

Share Mewsletter

And now for some hooman attempts at sharing mews. Nya has been hard at work teaching her hooman cat skills.

BRB, I am pruning

The cats would like to imagine that I slowly turn into a prune and become a nom nom nom. But no, sadly I do not have such a delicious fate on my cards (as of right now, but hey, never say never?!). Maybe one day I will get the honour of turning into a potato. A potato something. Maybe a jacket potato, maybe a golden fry. The future is bright.

Okay, but the type of pruning I am trying to practice these days is figuring what parts of my life, what branches, need to be cut/cleaned/taken out.

Plant peeps tell me that when plants grow, drying or dead leaves and/or branches take nutrition away from healthier parts of the plant that could benefit from that little excess to continue their growth.

Another analogy I was presented is that of pruning bonsai to shape the tree. It’s a way to intentional shape the direction of me and my life. As much as life feels like we have no control over it, we can shape the path we take with intention.

With the house moving upon me, it occured to me that I have been “on the move” since 2007. The year I left home, in what felt like a monumental decision because I was merely 15 years old. Even though I wished it wasn’t true, even though I couldn’t vocalize it or acknowledge it, my sinking heart knew that was when I would “move out” due to circumstances.

And so, somehow, my home has been the box of things that has accompanied me since then, from one hostel to another, from one room to another, and from one house to another.

Maybe it’s time for things to change. Maybe I didn’t have to carry around my history with me. Maybe it’s okay to put those bags down now. And look inside to see what I need to carry on forward with me. Maybe it’s okay to let go of what has gone by.

It took me a long time to make sense of it, but my sense of identity was tied to everything I carried. My story, my name, my emotional and physical baggage.

But those are not me. The purrson behind all of this is much more than any of this. So it finally feels safe enough to let go.

I’ve never tried pruning before, but I’m convinced this is the process that my life needs right now. I’ve been navigating it messily and wonderfully, allowing it all to unfold at its own pace. It’s overwhelming to confront so much of the past put away into boxes and cupboards, it’s sobering and empowering to see how far I’ve come, it’s exciting to meowmagine where I will go next with the cats, and what life brings to us in this new season.

Join us in setting some intentions as we prune.

1. What are the essential aspects of your life that you want to carry forward?

2. Are there physical possessions that no longer serve you or bring you joy that you're ready to let go of?

3. How can you declutter your current space to create a sense of clarity and simplicity?

4. Are there any relationships or connections that you'd like to deepen or reevaluate as you transition to a new phase in your life?

5. How can you create a harmonious and inspiring atmosphere around you that aligns with your life values?

Want to Receive Mews Straight In Your Inbox?

The cats send mews to you, through tough days and easy breezy days.

The cats aspire to send mews on Caturday, but some Caturdays, life gets to them. So they send it on Sun Day Fun Day instead. We hope you, just like the cats, prioritise your care, your joy and well being.

And maybe welcome the cat mews into your inbox.

The cats have a speshül skill. They are ameowzing at staring at walls. Every cat passes down these speshül genes through generations, so they are convinced every cat is born with this skill. Hoomans on the other hand… the cats are not so sure.

In their attempt to teach hoomans cat skills, the cats hope the Purr-spective Glasses gives hoomans a way to step into the cat world. Now, hoomans too can slow down, sit down in front a wall and meowmagine.

Meowmagine (verb):

Definition: The act of a cat (or cat enthusiast) vividly visualizing or daydreaming about scenarios filled with playful antics, endless chimken food, and sunlit windowsills. Often used to refer to the boundless creativity and wonder within a feline's mind.

Example: "Whiskers was staring off into the blank wall; he must have been meowmagining his next grand adventure."

Share Mewsletter

And now for some hooman attempts at sharing mews. Nya has been hard at work teaching her hooman cat skills.

Control & the opposite of control

In this season of life, I am am faced with many life transitions. This has led me to question my renewed commitment to many things.

Do I want to continue with this now?

What does the shape of this look like in my life moving forward?

If not this, what else feel right for now?

What do I need in this season?

While the answers to these questions are still making their way to me, the emerging theme has been one of control, and letting go of control.

A lot of my older identities hold onto control tightly. Control got us (my many selves) this far, navigating through life when my survival was in question.

But as I commit to letting my life bloom, step into my thriving era and reconnect with myself fully, exerting control somehow feels… wrong.

My brain says one thing, but my heart says something else.

My brain thinks control is safe. Control, of shaping things, of being imposing, has served us well so far. Surely, a tried and tested method is the way to go as we step into the future?

My heart feels the resistance and hesitation with exerting control. In this new phase of life, where we believe and witness life to be easy, where is the space to push? We are in my pull era, magnetizing and pulling all the things that were meant to be our way. 💫

Control feels like it comes from a place of fear. A way to make sure the outcomes, or whatever the end is is wholly shaped and expected. It’s a way of saying no to surprises, a way of saying no to “bad things”.

But what if… what if making space for the unknown means we make space for beautifully unknown outcomes to emerge? Ones that align with my life, ones that make space for magic to unfold in my life.

In this season, I am optimistic. And so I need a different way to communicate how I wish to navigate life.

So, instead of control, I’d like to do the opposite.

I want to flow through life. There is a deeper trust and knowing that the things I desire are also looking for me. And as I flow, life also flows towards me and with me.

In this season, I hope you too get to loosen your grip and allow life to flow through you.

Paws & Ponder With The Cats

As we approach the close of this year, the cats have been meowmagining with a lot of heartfelt intentions. Mostly that their future is bright, filled with an abundance of chimken food, and lots of love, sleep and play.

If you’d like to join in on the meowmagining, here are some prompts for you to meow out loud (maybe in the comments?).

1. What gentle intentions can I set for myself during this new phase?

2. What does self-care look like for me in this new chapter?

3. What dreams and aspirations do I wish to pursue now?

4. How might I stay rooted while also embracing change?

5. Which areas of my life feel ripe for transformation?

Leave a comment

You Can Send Mews Too!

Know a cat or a hooman who may enjoy meowmagining with the cats? You can furrward this and share mews with them yourself. The cats will be extremely pleased with you if you share. Who knows, maybe then this hooman may have a handy pair of cat glass handed to them.

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The cats send gentle mews for you if you are in your transformation era.

P.S. We did not explore Substack chat yet. Part scared that we’ll do the wrong thing, and part at capacity with life in the last week. We pawmise to try it next week and embrace the awkwardness.

The garden has been particularly busy this week with the Nya kicking up a lot of soil, tossing in all her anggyy. After observing that her hooman has no way to make happy anggyy, Nya has kindly extended entry to her anggyy garrdenn to her hooman.

If you too would like to make happy anggyy, kindly look for the closest cat near you and ask for speshül purrmission to use their anggyy garrdenns too. Or you can write in and ask Nya, I’m sure she’ll be fine with you entering her garrdenn.

Share Mewsletter

And now for some hooman attempts at sharing mews. Nya has been hard at work teaching her hooman cat skills.

It Me Anggyyy 😾

Yes, I feel uncomfurrtable talking about my anggyy in public.

Before I dive into the anggy, I want to take a mewoment to celebrate something. What a beautiful week it has been! I am in awe of how many new subscribers joined since mews last Caturday.

I’m not counting, but also I am (it’s my marketer brain, I pawmise). Or maybe its the cats counting how many new hoomans they have in their army.

18 mew subscribers, and all the wonderful messages that have been received with so much love and warmth from people old and new. AND WE EVEN GOT ONE PLEDGE!

What’s A Pledge?

While Mewsletter is free now, one day the cats hope to make chimken food monies. A pledge is a pawmise of sorts to suppawt them when the day comes that they take chimken food monies.

We could not have asked for a better suppawter.

Purrsenting…… Ms Kira ✨

Ms Kira, the cats have asked about you through the googly eyes (ahem… Google). And they has found you on the imstagrams.

Furrst of all, what a distinguished young lady you are!

Yes, the cats totally stole your picturr from imstagrams. Thank meow for suppawting Ms Nya. From one black cat to another, she knows how impawtent it is to stick together to share true cat stories.

In honour of Kira’s terrormendous suppawt of the cats, Ms Nya would like to furrmally extend an invitation to Kira to join the Paw of Fame. The cats eagerly await Kira’s decision, but have already started spreading the word about this new cat on Nya’s block.

For their purrpaganda poster, the cats did not hesitate to find more photos of Kira on the imternets 😼

Join The Cat Purrpaganda 🐾

If your cat gibs Mewsletter a paw paw of approval and would like the formally suppawt the cats, Nya would like to make a Paw of Fame with your cat’s picture in it. Nya pawmises to get her hooman to make a speshül collage to celebrate your beloved cat to add to the Paw of Fame and treat your cat with utmost respect that every cat deserves.

Simply mew-mail a purrty picture of your cat to pawcatguide@substack.com with your cat’s name.

More than one cat welcome. All non-cats welcome too, only if they agree to go by the name “Cat”. Strictly no hoomans not allowed on the Paw of Fame.

Paws & Ponder With Me

Okay, back to my anggyy. It has been patiently waiting for me to return to it, so now we talk about the anggyy.

But how do we talk about anggyy? I don’t really know. Is it really okay to talk honestly about “ugly” feelings that are not happy, joy or somewhere in that spectrum?

Assuming we’re all tired of the plastic social media profiles and are thirsty for some real hooman Feelings™️, how do I share without it coming across as an entitled vent about a random event in my life?

Can anggyy add value to people’s lives? Mebbe, mebbe.

Turn Back The Time Machine

Ten years back, let’s go~~~~

It’s 2013. Angsty young me is lonely, isolated, and in deep deep depression. It’s that kind of feeling where even in a room full of familiar faces and people, I felt lonely.

What was worse, I actually felt safer and more comfortable in a room full of unfamiliar faces.

So odd. At least, that’s what I thought. I wonder what kind of circumstances drove me to feel unsafe in my own life, within my home, with my family & friends?

Ten years later, I have the answer. It’s that I was a stranger in my own life with people who were close to me. I was performing roles for people, I was performing expected identities.

Faking it.

Being a “good daughter”. Being an “outstanding student”. Being the “outgoing friend”.

No, faking it here till I “make it” doesn’t really make sense here. What did I even want to set out to achieve? Nothing, I just wanted to be good at the things people expected of me.

But you see, nowhere was I paying attention to my voice. I probably didn’t even know how to recognize it. I didn’t know how to be myself in my own life.

Only when I was in a room full of strangers did I feel like I could let go.

Let go of the expectations.
Let go of who I was supposed to be.
Finally, I could just be.

One of those room full of strangers happened to be the internet. The booming days of Facebook where you HAD to poke everyone at least once a day. At least 5 pokes if you had a crush on that person, or if they were your BFF.

At the peak of my struggles, I recall posting about how lonely I felt, and I desperately wanted someone to see me for who I was.

One of the more memorable times I did this was fresh off the pills episode where I drove myself to the hospital A&E.

I groggily recall people coming into the ICU. To my hospital room. It felt like each person was given a mission to convince me of something.

Mission 1: Do not talk about the episode with the pills

Mission 2: Do not ask about the episode with the pills

Mission 3: Forget that i was in the ICU, and pretend everything was ok

Mission 4: Lie to the investigation officers about what happened

Mission 5: Take the damn Facebook post down

The Pawmise of the Internet

In case you’re wondering, yes. I did take the post down. Sort of. I think I made it private.

How dare people impose rules on me 😾

These types of requests persisted, and eventually, I got weary. Big T Trauma weary.

The emotional manipulation, the gaslighting, and the angry impositions ruined the internet for me, and now felt dreary.

The internet was supposed to be a safe place! A place for me to find friends of similar interests. To build trust with people slowly, even though they lived oceans away. To find pen pals and write letters to and swap life stories.

The internet felt like a magical place all my life until it stopped being that.

I’ve met wonderful people who decorate and present themselves in my life like flowers blooming in the gentle summer breeze.

The internet’s promise in my life is simple.

1. Connection

2. Knowledge

3. Open the doors to my future

Finding My Way Back

The internet didn’t just stop being nice for me one sudden day. Although, admittedly, as the internet has matured, it brought a different set of challenges (hello doxxing, data & privacy security, imternet spam etc, you get the idea). It was a gradual shift, of slow ripples of difficult emotions.

I needed space and time to unpack & heal from the newer emotional struggles of presenting my life on the internet.

Eventually, I just stopped updating my status on Facebook. I mean, maybe you have too, hey? I don’t know how often people use Facebook now… (tell me in the comments if you’re on there frequently).

I stopped posting on Twitter (err… X).

I stopped engaging. I stopped showing up. I stopped showing myself.

I turned inward. I mean, there’s definitely a nice side to giving myself space to heal. But after a while, it really felt like I was voyeuristically and enviously looking at others who were brave enough to bring themselves and their art to the internet.

Could this be me too, one day? 😻

But there was so much fear. And fuzzy thoughts, and clouded ideas, and fear. So much FEAR. Fear of what? I don’t know.

Ok, maybe I do know.

Fear of disappointing the people around me by posting about myself on the internet. Fear that I would let them down. Fear, that, they wouldn’t like me if I shared more authentically and vulnerably on the internet.

PEOPLE PLEASING TENDENCIES 💔 I see youuuuuuu 👀

Taking A Leap Of Faith

The healing space, time, and intention have been a wonderful journey so far. It’s given me more courage and conviction that I am the most important purrson in my own life.

Can you believe there was a time I didn’t believe in my life? Taking a moment to stand in solidarity with all the recovering people pleasers out there. 💛

But sometime during the pandemic, I set the intention to learn to find my way back to the cozy corner of the internet that I get to invite people into. Not just cozy for the sake of being a vibe, but really a warm space to unpack our lives and also indulge in some cat chaos.

I found my way to Substack, and also found a way to access my voice when I started reading ’s . It is special to see Alex’s wonderful humour mixed with personal essays/ explorations.

Alex does an advice column of sorts, and Ms Nya tossed her whisker in with a question.

To which, Alex wrote an imploring response that’s been bouncing around my brain since I read it, and I fell off the internet once again to process it. To heal, to find some personal light, and lean into the direction.

(Read Alex’s full post below to see what he shared with me/Nya)

Both Are True

if have nothing, then how give anything?

Hello, or should I say ‘yo,’ which I am sure astute readers will know is short for ‘yodelayheehoo,’ which as I’m sure my prebiotically minded readers know is just the unabridged version of the word ‘yogurt.’ This is all true. How else could I have just written it…

Read more

3 years ago · 35 likes · 51 comments · Alex Dobrenko`

TLDR; this is what he said:

Just write.

I Heard The Universe’s Whisper

The volume level was probably more like a shout by now, but we’re here now and I’m writing to you!

Two days before my/Nya’s purrthday recently, we saw share this on their imstagrams. Shoutout to by that also moves me and gives me the courage to think this is possible.

To think that reconnecting with the pawmise of the internet is possible for me.

In ways where I feel safe.
In ways where I feel empowered to ignore the negative voices.
In ways where I feel ready to receive the warmth from people reading across the screen from me.
In ways where I feel ready for my life to be witnessed within the limits of my boundaries.
In ways where I feel happy to talk about the anggyy, which we have not discussed yet btw.

Sooooo…. maybe I didn’t want to talk about the actual anggyy looking back at what I wrote? Just whether we can talk about anggyy (something for the future I guess hehe).

But the more impawtent thing is, now you know and now I know that the anggyy can be shared and discussed in joyful ways too.

Nya’s world has been wonderful to navigate complex feelings, and anger is at the heart of what I need to release in this season.

Garrdenn With Me & Nya

Maybe you’ll walk away from this Caturday’s mews to lovingly look at your plants and wonder if a chonky gwumpy ginger cat secretly waters and whiskers sweet nothings to your plant so it grows happy.

Or maybe you want to make your own anggyy garrdenn.

Nya has kindly shared her garden with you.

This is her digital garden, think of it as a page you get to duplicate and have easy access to on your computer, tablet or phone.

We made it on Kinopio, which is our favourite infinite canvas tool and it’s free to make an account. Extra brownie points because it is ethical software created by an indie maker.

Whenever you have an anggyy you want to toss into the garrdenn, just edit any of the ‘toss anggyy’ cards — it’s as easy as that.

Why do this, you ask? Because it’s so fun!! It also has surprisingly helped me release and air grievances without getting stuck in the guilt/shame cycle. Plus it’s private to you.

Or maybe all of this anggyy garrdenn talk inspires you to create a version of your own.

Get The Template

Join The Cats In All The Excitement

We’re really feeling it now! It’s joyful to turn up here and just be. Join us and comment below:

1. Did your cat nom well today?

2. Did your cat sleep well today?

3. Did your cat play well today?

4. Were you an ameowzing hooman to your cat today?

5. Which birb did your cat chase today? (Or not chase, if it’s that kind of a day!)

Leave a comment

You Can Send Mews Too!

Know a cat or a hooman who may enjoy receiving mews? Do you think mews are missing from their life? You can furrward this and share mews with them yourself. The cats will be extremely pleased with you if you share. Who knows, maybe they’ll put it a good word with a cat today for you.

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Say no more, say no more.

P.S. Nya and I are beginning to explore more of Substack, come join us in Substack chat. There’s a quiet room for cats to do zoomies, you heard it here first.

If you haven’t yet been claimed by a cat, please send word through the USPSPSPSPS. If the cats are feline good, they will expedite the shipment of a tiny cat through the universal cat distribution system to you.

Share Mewsletter

And now for some hooman attempts at sharing mews. Nya has been hard at work teaching her hooman cat skills.

New Year, New Me

Yes, it always happens in September 😻

Hello~ It’s me, Anyā. The hooman behind Paw Cat Guide attempting to make mews. I am the hooman Nya is so worried about. I’ve been instructed to learn cat skills. I am currently a cat in training, Nya has purrsonally taken me under her wing er.. paw.

Nya and I celebrated our purrthdays on September 16, earlier this month. What are the odds that we share a purrthday?!

Nya will purrbaly catch you up on her royal celebration sometime. I spent the day reflecting. All of the thinking, all of the ruminating, all of the ugly crying that followed has resulted in this Substack.

Come let me take you through some of my stream of consciousness.

From Closed To Open

Some of you may have been receiving Mewsletter in a different format, through Mailchimp directly in your inbox.

I’m amazed a whole bunch of you on the imternets are kind + generous with your attention *ahem* towards cats… we’re now doing this correspondence.

But uh… I stopped paying for Mailchimp since I didn’t really make money from this. But did I want to make money from this? Yes and no.

Yes, because I see making silly cat jokes on the imternets as my art, and I want my art practice to thrive. I want my art practice to fulfill me. I love world-building, storytelling, cats, reflecting & growing, and playing. Did I already say playing?

No, because I’m not holding your card right now and swiping for a subscription. I’m not going to ask you, force you, beg you, and pressure you to gib me the monies.

Give it, when you feel like it, if you feel like it. But I have to add maybe the cats will not stop asking for chimken food monies, they r vry serious.

Stay, read, explore, and go on adventures with me and Nya regardless of the money part.

I hope Mewsletter will bring you joy and cat chaos on Caturdays. I also hope Mewsletter will give you a window into building a world (maybe even more of your world?) with purrmission to play more and meet your inner child as I do mine.

Please be seated for cat joy every Caturday in your inbox.

I moved to Substack to make it an open practice of turning up. I don’t want to have to feel the pressure of “breaking even” or “making monies” from this. For now, I really want to turn up and build a practice of making my art in public.

Please follow me if you enjoy it. Please also share if you think this will put a smile on someone’s face.

I did a lot of things and felt quite lonely. There’s a quiet comfort in knowing someone somewhere out there on the imternets is reading this, and I thank you dear fellow hooman!

Caturday Delight

Please be the enjoy the amazement I made today. NO!!!! I will not sell my sticker collection to you. This shop is not open for business! 😤

I call this piece “New Year, New Me” to celebrate the recent birthday milestone. Before I can write, I can only express my thoughts in abstract visuals :’)

I couldn’t think of a better way to use my crafting supplies (that were bought when I was chasing some shiney new idea, and I sincerely hope to put them to use at some except the ‘some point’ never usually arrives and I eventually have years worth of craft supplies sitting in my drawers and boxes).

Paws & Ponder With Me

As I celebrated my 31st birthday, I was overjoyed to feel even more like a kid. After spending more than a decade battling inner demons, scary monsters and an unhappy life, I feel relief. So much relief to see myself still alive.

But WAIT. Not only am I alive, it’s the quality of alive-ness in my life that I’m overwhelmed by and blown away by.

In 2013, ten years ago, I could swear life wasn’t worth living.

But in 2023, I’m here to tell you life is every bit worth living for and fighting for.

Of birth & re-birth

In 2013, I peaked in the dark night of my soul era.

The “dark night of the soul” is a term that goes back a long time. Yes, I have also experienced it. It is a term used to describe what one could call a collapse of a perceived meaning in life…an eruption into your life of a deep sense of meaninglessness.  The inner state in some cases is very close to what is conventionally called depression. Nothing makes sense anymore, there’s no purpose to anything.

Eckhart Tolle on the Dark Night of the Soul

I quote Eckhart because the name seems so familiar like I have seen the name in so many places, yet I couldn't tell you exactly where or why I know that name. That, and also because I really did feel all those feels that he describes as the dark night of the soul.

2013 nearly took my life. I was in so much pain that I wanted to end the pain. So in a moment of weakness, i took a strip of pills. But then, guess what, my genius brain rationally thought this through AFTER said pills were in anya belly. So I drove myself Need for Speed style to the hospital to A&E to get help.

One day I’ll tell you about it with the appropriate trigger warning. Today is not that day apparently. And when I tell you, you’ll discover that I was not in a police chase, it was not nighttime, and I wasn’t doing illegal things. Except maybe I broke a few traffic rules on the way. And I can also confirm I did have hype music playing in the background.

You already know the ending to this story though. I’m still here in 2023, more alive and well than ever.

Through it all, I found comfort in unexpected corners: my two cats, Boo and Lilly, and my mental manifestation of love and care—Nya.

So am I a writer now?

It's funny that I have to write to make this Mewsletter. I've been dreading this moment, and I've been putting it off for so long. It's hard to see myself write anything, let alone writing my thoughts or calling myself a writer.

I get stuck in the definition of writing, which is to say, I write something on paper with my pen, or maybe I type something on a computer. But I think after sitting with it for a while, I realized maybe a lot of the writers I like …I don't actually know their processes, but I like what they have to say.

For the longest time, I've been feeling like maybe there are things I would like to say, but I don't quite know how to express it.

I don't quite know where to begin.
I quite don't know how to do it.

I struggle to take on the word writer, or the identity of a writer, but funnily enough, I was in a writer's festival one time. I thought it was an accident, but people around me kept saying it was not.

But just because someone says something is one way, it doesn't change my internal experience. I realized, maybe I feel disempowered to see myself as a writer, because at some point, I lost my voice. I lost confidence in expressing my voice, my personal voice — a voice that shares my worldview with conviction, with my values, and from my perspective.

Abuse does strange things to you, and losing my voice through years of abuse was the same as losing myself. One day I’ll tell you about it when I’m ready. Again, today is not that day.

Who was I without my voice? A puppet who repeated things that other people said? Who did the same things that other people did? I've been on a quest for a few years to find my way back to my voice.

This is part of my journey, and I hope you'll join me.

The Paw Cat Guide Mewsletter is a distinct way I express myself. It’s a way to give myself purrmission to be playful, a way to soothe my anxiety. To ease the demands and ease the expectations of things unraveling around me. To make space for discomfort in a comfortable way.

Mews is from Nya to you with love 😻

A hooman attempting Mews is my way of documenting reflections and explorations from my life as a queer, disabled, neurodivergent artist from the sunny island of Singapore.

I’ve been exploring things about work, life, play, connection with myself, and helping myself through mental health battles. I’m discovering my gender identity, expressing my gender identity, and navigating the limitations my body faces through a chronic pain disorder.

I also want to share what it means to build Nya's world, how I give myself permission to play, how I end up at the designs, and the complex, fascinating process of creating experience art through world-building and storytelling.

It's not all going to be grim, but I hope you'll make space for some of these thoughts.

Follow our adventures if you like?

I understand you probably signed up for cute cats. (Yes, I admit. I did trick you!) But stay if you like them and are open to reading something a little bit more.

As I begin this practice of exercising my voice, I fully understand that this may not align with what you expect in your inbox. And you can unsubscribe.

If you like it, maybe come hang out and play with us?

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Nya’s gift to you~

If you like the new explorations, AND your cat gibs us a paw paw of approval, Nya would like to make a Paw of Fame with your cat’s picture in it. Nya pawmises to get her hooman to make a speshül collage to celebrate your beloved cat to add to the Paw of Fame and treat your cat with utmost respect that every cat deserves.

Simply mew-mail a purrty picture of your cat to pawcatguide@substack.com with your cat’s name.

More than one cat welcome. All non-cats welcome too. Except no hoomans. That is where the cats draw the line, they simply cannot see hands as paws.

Trust the process and really google it because the cats say so.

Chimken Appresheshun Day is here! It is when the cats say it is. And in case you’re wondering, it happens a few times every year.

This is a kind & gemtle reminder from the cats to gib them a speshül helping of chimken today. They say they deserrve it 😻

The cats say everry day is Caturday. Who are we to argue with them? And on Caturdays, sometimes, the cats eat speshül food. Mmmm. Yumz.

Today’s speshül is Chimken Pot Pie.

A while ago Nya, Pawfessional Cat & Her Royal Felineness, did a very impawtent survey about chimken food. The results are out, cats agree that they like chimken food.

Today’s recipe is inspired by the cats that answered the call to the chimken food survey. But you think you has a better chimken pot pie recipe? Reply to this Mewsletter to send her the yummiest chimken pot pie recipe and she will be furever glad you makes her life better.

Nya’s hooman is unwell. In this mewsletter, Ms Nya Her Royal Felineness tells her hooman to sleep more.

Please emjoy.

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Nya’s hooman has zero cat skills. In this mewsletter, Ms Nya Her Royal Felineness has commissioned an act cute skills demo by Ms Lara of Jade to teach hoomans.

Please emjoy.

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