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We got two new cuddly kittens just over a month ago. One is a delight. The other...well, since getting them, I've picked him up twice. On the first occasion (bearing in mind he was 10 weeks old) he bit through my nail bed and ripped my right arm to shreds in about 2 seconds.
Round 2, he went through my right palm like a knife through butter.
Last week, on their suggestion, I took him to the vets to make sure there was no physical reason for his refusal to be touched.
I chased him around for a good 10 minutes before cornering him and getting him into the carrier. Not a peep after that, and when we took the lid off the carrier at the vets, not a peep either. Mind you, he was seriously petrified.
We're just about back on tolerating terms again now, a week later. That's me and the cat, not me and the vet. The vet thinks I'm delusional. Or a self-harmer.

Hope you feel better soon. And thanks for trying to save me from myself - although I think it may be too late!

April fool!

Hmmm... Brian, maybe I need a few more posts first.

Can I say something as a relative newbie? I feel I can say this because I haven't used the classifieds at all up to now. However, who knows, that time may come...
It's often kind of difficult, however welcoming a forum may be, for some people to "break in" to an established community. Lurking is a way to get a feel for things, but unlike standing in a corner at the pub or a party, no-one can see you doing it, so you're only "visible" if you post. However, most of the time when you're new you haven't a lot to say. It can be a bit intimidating to post nothing but questions and requests for help/advice, and just being a newbie means that you are far more likely to be "taking" than "giving" because you haven't accumulated much knowledge to pass on.
I can see that if someone is putting up a particularly sought-after piece of kit for sale then it would be nice if it went to a proper contributor to the site, and not just a passing chancer, but perhaps the minimum posts limit may have a negative effect. Maybe not, but I think it's wise to be cautious about putting too many obstacles in the way of newbies.
I'll get me coat.

I must be unique, here. I haven't had a cold AT ALL for a couple of years, and when I have had colds in the recent past, they've been pretty feeble ones. I'm actually dreading what might happen now I have stopped smoking, because my colds have always been significantly worse during my previous non-smoking periods. In fact, and I used it as a "get out of jail free" card for years afterwards, I once went to my GP with a really bad cough when I was off cigarettes, and she informed me that stopping would very likely have made things worse, because, as smoke is an irritant, your throat compensates by producing more mucus, and so when that stops, your throat isn't as lubricated, so your cough hurts more.
Hopefully, however, from what others have said, vaping might help reduce some of the symptoms. In my case, though, I'm resigned to probably getting a cold soon..

Ha! We have poundland, poundworld AND a 99p shop! Spoiled for choice..