Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Tag: cat box cake

Origins of an urban legend: “litter boxes for furries” joke gets revived for moral panic

by Patch O'Furr

Update: Thanks to The Daily Beast for linking this and quoting me. – Patch

No school ever had litter boxes for students who identify as animals. So how did the rumor explode into mainstream consciousness, like bad diarrhea from a diet of concern trolling and right-wing blogs?

In January 2022, the malodorous myth rose from local news in Michigan to the New York Times: Litter Boxes for Students Who Identify as Furries? Not So, Says School Official. Furries in the Times is a rare achievement. (Check the 1996 example at bottom of this story.) That isn’t simply debunking, it also has cultural potency for a post-truth era full of flat-earthism and Qanon cults.

I can’t count how many headlines there were about one incident. One is just absurd, but it keeps happening. That shows cynical calculation by Otherphobes. They’re demonizing minorities by proxy, with a target behind the target. It’s a cousin to transphobic memes like “I sexually identify as an attack helicopter” using weirdos to make it easier to swallow. But before we digest that, let’s go to the splatter zone and trace the patterns.

At Dogpatch Press, I’m obsessive about tracking media mentions and memes, and we also do debunking — like for a misinterpreted “nazi furries” photo — and I’d been asked to trace the old litter box myth before. So I dug deeper than the mainstream news. Furry News has the real shit.

The oldest mainstream source I found is in this 2008 photo from Anthrocon in Pittsburgh. He’s a broadcaster named Bob who likes furries, although it’s complicated. More on Bob in a minute.

Read the rest of this entry »

Creators of furry fetish party “Wild Things” explain “human sized cat box”.

by Patch O'Furr

citadelLet’s be clear:  Furry is an art and fiction thing, not a sex thing.  It’s always been a sensitive topic.  In the earliest days of organized furry conventions, many felt that they were derailed by advertising in bad places.  Media exploitation and nasty “hit pieces” deepened resentments. Without forgetting this background, sex is a topic that can’t be dismissed.

Adult activity is one optional ingredient in a wide open collection of interests.  Some furries prefer clean activity only.  Some prefer adult.  Many express both interests as part of life, in the right times and places.

Such personal interests don’t represent everyone, but they have value.  Adult activities pushed limits to open new freedoms and rights.  They’ve led advances that built the internet and alternative communities.

In San Francisco, some furry fans recognized a demand for adult-friendly space.  An opportunity was caused by overflowing crowds at night life events, that don’t host adult activities. More opportunity came from an invite to join forces with a venue that does.  The Citadel is a BDSM “dungeon” club, with a supportive community of 1000+ members.  It invites other communities including leather and petplay together for this event.

These sparks grew into the first “Wild Things” party, scheduled for November 8, 2014.

Private parties happen among friends – but as far as I know, there’s never been a bold open-invite event promoted like this.  The San Francisco Bay Area has a huge population of geeks and sex-positive subculture, making it more likely to work here than anywhere else.  It’s caused attention and rumors among furries, bystanders and others.  I reached out to “Wild Things” organizer Catarina to get the real scoop.

Read the rest of this entry »