How did TDK come to be anyway?

I lurked on the main page and admired the kitten each day. Then I started posting on the kitten. Many people posted every day and people got to know each other. From that evolved friendships, the core of which was still the kitten. Friendships evolved into getting to know where people were from, and arranging ‘meet ups’. The comments for the kitten got longer and longer, with several conversations going on; you could post under someone’s post from an hour ago and it would ‘nest’ under that comment. Conversations evolved to helping each other with kitty problems, then lots of other things, like ‘what’s for dinner?’. Commune is one of the few guys here now; back then ‘Chester’, aka, Jerry posted a lot, and felt sorry for the kittens who were featured on weekends and holidays, as they didn’t get as many viewers. There was also Ivory Bill, who posted a poem for the kitten.
After a few years, KM saw the need to re-arrange The Daily Kitten because it was overloading the server. He also saw that his project was not something that could be abandoned. I often wonder if he ever imagined it would be so much more than a little project posting pictures of kittens on a website each day. KM had other projects that required much of his time, and he passed the TDK torch to a trusted successor, you know him as KMv.2.
I think that brings you up to date!

I’ve been here long enough I had to think how I found the site. I think a friend of mine sent me a link to it with an exceptionally cute kitten. I lurked around for probably a year before I posted, don’t remember what made me decide to. Of course this is about 6 or 7 years ago and everything was on one page…

Many years ago, the photography site Webshots featured two “Cool Links” each day. One of them was Cats in Sinks, another KM1-sponsored production. Somehow I found my way from CiS to “TDK” (I’m putting “TDK” in quotes from now on so that the Shopping Link added by SkimWords won’t recognize it and throw it out of place in the post.) That was back when the site was all on one page. I registered, I think, the day after the site branched out to post some news about a houseful of abandoned cats in my town. (There were more than 40, and all who were adoptable–that is, not sick and dying–were placed in homes.) It wasn’t necessary to register for the one-page site.

Joined in the last year before the changeover from 1 page to the different pages so its been about 7-8 years now. Never had any of my Crew as the Kitten of the Day as none of mine except for Haje and Ms B (his sister) were mine as kittens and they were already full grown kits by then. We had the Cafe and the Night Shift every day, I normally was on the Night Shift as I always work midnights except for one 3 month rotation every 18 months. Now there aren’t enough of us on the Night Shift, so most of the time its only the Cafe.

And we also have had the Christmas Card List for the last few years, but I fear that it too has gone by the wayside. Last year some got upset with it not being updated as they saw fit, so they complained to the person who was doing the list 🙁

I have been a member for almost seven years – and I’m so excited that the new site is letting me post again, as I was blocked from posting for some reason.

We travel lots with our best friends here and they always shudder when I tell them that there are TDKer’s where we are going. We hauled them to a fantastic meetup in London with MCW, Rubia and Polly’s mum. We had them in tow for a meetup in Florida with Great Dane, Cat Woman and Sammy and Oliver’s mom and they came away with new friends, too. (Even though they are dog people). Mr. WWM and I have been to the meetups in Austin and we have been to San Antonio many times to see Kittymom.

I remember with special fondness the baby shower that Terri organized for Crickets mom – we all sat at our computers as she opened her gifts.

There have been riotous birthday parties, skating rink parties and just about any other reason we could think of to have a party. There have been so many times that I have sat here in tears from laughing so hard. And there have been just as many times that I have sat here in tears from crying.

TDK has changed lots through the years but the friendships survive all of the change.

I, too, have been here for a long time. I found “TDK” through yahoo. And, one more male who posts occasionally, we cannot forget – Instinct.
I have made some wonderful connections here as well. Made it to a few meetups as well!

I’m grateful to an former co-worker, who turned me on to “TDK” *using Leeny’s trick to fool SkimWords!* after my dad was diagnosed w/ Parkinson’s and I was in desperate need of a daily smile. That would’ve been back in 2006 or 2007, in the days of the single-line chat. Along with the daily smile for the kittens, and the wonderful, funny, rambunctious antics of the Night Shift, I also witnessed the love and caring among the group as they supported each other through the hard times of losing loved furry friends, and I know it helped me to grieve my dad as well. I was a lurker in the beginning, then signed up in 2009 so I could post for Terry’s memorial (although I chickened out at the last minute), and finally delurked and jumped in recently, and I have to say, the water’s fine! I love participating and truly feeling like I’m getting to know all the fine folk here. And I would also love some day to attend a “meet up” if that possibility occurs down the road. (I’m retired now, so I would have the time!) “TDK” Forever!!

Not only did I wear Depends to jury duty, but FondaHonda made me special ruffly Depends! Sadly, I had jury duty again a few weeks ago and none of y’all were there to help me 🙁

When I was just a babe (so the family history goes), I had a pair of white rubber pants with ruffles (they went over cloth diapers in the days before Pampers; now I’ve betrayed *again* how old I am!). I was so crazy about my “ruffly pants” that when someone gave me a white stuffed bear for my b-day, I named him Ruffly Bear.
*TMI, I know, she said sheepishly…*