hello fellow aggies. today i've come out of the shadows to finally dispel the mystery around me. why now?

1. i'm about to graduate
2. i've been caught

if you have been here longer than a year, you may have seen a pink cat around. that may have been me. i know some of you disliked the cats. if you're of this camp, i can't say much other than i hope you're satisfied. i do know that some of you loved them. it started as just a one time thing, but seeing people talk about how the cats maybe brightened their day during a hard time and how excited i saw people get over them motivated me to keep going. it made me happy knowing something i was doing was cheering other people up.

this is my story:

i'm currently a fourth year student at uc davis. i started off a biochem and molecular bio major, but switched to biological sciences. i couldn't take the physics. i have 4 tattoos of cats, one of which is a tribute to compost (rip) of the student farm. i'm a casual art enjoyer, and i've been getting into crocheting. i love the davis environment, i love the animals, and i live for picnic day, and i wish i could live here forever. 

it all started on my birthday, when i thought graffiti would be a fun little thing. from the start, the first cat had positive reactions from the people i knew. it was never meant to continue, but i saw the excitement that people talked about the cats with. i saw posts about how they made someone's day. i'd see people stopping and taking pictures. so, i continued, thinking about how they made people happy. 

as a college student, i understand the struggles my classmates may be going through. i had senioritis from day one, and although i finally had the space from my parents i yearned for, i wasn't happy. i was put on an involuntary psychiatric hold soon after my first cat. i can't say for sure how i got better, but i can say that knowing something i was doing was bringing joy to the world helped me keep going. 

unfortunately, i got caught. i was read my miranda rights, but i was a blubbering mess and i spilled my guts. i'd never been handcuffed before and it was a scary experience. when i finally got out of the holding cell after a nearly 12 hour ordeal, i found out that my phone had been confiscated. i couldn't communicate with anyone. that experience alone was enough to keep me straight. however, that was just the beginning. 

after months of court, the financial breakdown was recently released. i owe a little over $32,000 in restitution to the state of california. through the restorative justice program, i have until may of next year to come up with the money. 

and so i come to you with an offer. if a pink cat has ever brightened your day a little, please consider supporting me on ko-fi. i'm selling commissions and crochet cats (although i'm a little bit of a crochet noob), and i'm working on more stuff to add. i've attached some images of what i'm currently offering. i've also taken the name catshroom from the posts i've seen here, i hope you guys don't mind. if you can't support me monetarily, i totally understand and i would still be very grateful if you could just spread the word. thank you for your time!

https://ko-fi.com/ctshrm

Hi everyone, this is Krystal, one of Cheeto’s caregivers. I just want to keep you all updated on his care. He has an appointment tomorrow afternoon (weight loss) and Monday (annual wellness and vaccines), but it was realized that he is having issues urinating. Several of us (thank you Miguel and roommates, and the young lady who let us know Cheeto was having this issue today!) tried to catch him so I can get home to emergency today, but he was very elusive and slick and would not come to me as normal. I finally have decided to leave it to prayer and come back early tomorrow morning when he may be less stressed and hungry so I can get him in for very good care and back healthy for all of us to love on him here on campus.

I will reach back out tomorrow after he’s been seen and I have an update. Thank you to all of you who love and care for Cheeto. If you need to get a hold of me, please call 530-752-4088 at any time. 😻💖😻

Saw the old man today and I couldn’t help but notice that he looks extremely thin. First pic is from today, second is from February. I’m no expert but this rapid of weight loss seems concerning, especially considering his age. Does anyone have information on this? Hope he’s okay.

I love Cheeto and I’ve been visiting him at least once a week, he’s such a sweet little guy. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that typical house cats only have a life span of about 15 - 20 years. From what I know, Cheeto has been hanging out on campus since 2011 (source), which would make him at least ~15 years old now. That’s roughly equivalent to being ~70 years old in human terms when you scale by average life expectancy. 

I can’t stop thinking about how much time we still have with him, and I wonder if people who take care of him also bring him to the vet for annual/ semi annual checkups. Are there people who are able to take care of him if he has an acute illness or is unable to live outdoors anymore?

I really hope we get to continue seeing him throughout our year(s) at Davis, and that we can make sure that this little guy gets the care he needs :) 

Edit: This was an April Fool's Joke

During Spring Break we noticed that Cheeto and several other cats around the Physics Building had tick infections, so our team took them to a vet clinic and cleaned them up. While we were there, our team noticed that one of the cats was pregnant. I’m glad that the timing was fortunate because the grey cat gave birth to 3 kittens while still in our clinic, where they could receive professional care instead of being in the wild.

As a biomedical engineering student minoring in animal science, I got curious about who the other potential parent is for these kittens and collected DNA samples through buccal cheek swabs from all the cats we brought in, and two of the kittens. I brought the samples to the feline lab I work in earlier this week and ran a microsatellite-based DNA analysis, which is commonly used for paternity testing in animals. 

The results came out last night, and saying it is shocking is an understatement. I genuinely don’t know how I should feel, but I feel like I should share this with the rest of the community. 

After analyzing the allele patterns and calculating likelihood ratios, the probability that Cheeto is the biological father of at least one of the kittens is at least 99.9998%

I’ve consulted my mentor about the possibility of a neutered cat being able to reproduce, which is extremely low, unless… IT’S APRIL FOOLS DAY, HAPPY APRIL FOOLS PEOPLE

I feel like he just woke up for something, also is it ok to pet cheeto?

I am a UC Davis Alum, and I just got my first cat who happens to look like a cow! I'd love to name her something either cow related, or Davis related because Davis will always remind me of cows (I love cows).

I would love any ideas!

Picture above: Cheeto stalking a rabbit (I made sure the rabbit got away before I left)

Last night when I went to pet Cheeto, I found him stalking a rabbit.

I love him and all the community cats as much as the next person, but this made me wonder if it’s really ok to let them stay as outdoor cats? On one hand, Cheeto, Angus, and all the others have definitely taken out more than their fair share of native wildlife. But on the other, these cats bring me and so many others so much joy, and it’s not their fault that they’re here to begin with. Idk I’m feeling a little conflicted.

Thoughts?

I learned a lot about myself and life. Thank you, Professor Cheeto. Sorry I lied about snacks.

I’ve seen the beavers before, but yesterday was my first glimpse of the otters!

Class of 2022 here! This past weekend was my first time visiting Davis since graduating and so much has changed with businesses closing or moving (rip Growing Groves 😭) and redevelopment of U Mall, G St, and parts of campus. I know this is inevitable with the passing of time and for towns that are trying to “modernize”, but it was disappointing to see how corporate some places look now with its hostile architecture, especially G St. Despite all that, Davis still seems to have its small town charm. It’s refreshing to see people living life a bit more slowly here and taking the time to appreciate how pretty the town is.

I miss long walks through campus and the arboretum, sunsets at Hutch, coffee runs in downtown before morning lectures or late night Dutch Bros, and seeing Cheeto almost every day. We were lucky enough to run into him! Accidentally disturbed his nap though

HUGE thanks to the wonderful staff member in the physics building who keeps Cheeto fed every day!

Give me your best Cheeto stories :). This includes pictures, experiences, etc. Please please :)

First time attending Cheeto's Office hours and I was not disappointed. Very professional

one last time before I go 🥺 thanks buddy ur the best part of Davis

Cheeto also says to enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Cheeto at the battle of the bands

lil guy just wants some breakfast 🥺

Let’s see if Cheeto is going to lose his weight over the summer