Cats Not Kids #1
Purple Donna
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/purpledonna
Cats Not Kids 1 is an A6 black and white perzine about life with a dysfunctional uterus, the heartbreak of leaving furry family members behind in the UK when moving to Australia, and preferring to have cats rather than kids.
Cats Not Kids starts off with a brief introduction about finally making a zine after thinking about doing it for a long time as well as an introduction to Donna – a fellow expat who fell for an Aussie and made the leap to land in Melbourne. (You bet I love how much we had in common right off the start.)
The things Donna and I had in common continued with Donna talking about dealing with period problems from youth and the frustration of uninterested doctors forcing her to take things into her own hands. It’s always frustrating to read about people coming up against block after block with medical professionals, but there is some comfort in knowing you’re not alone.
Things take a very sad note when Donna writes about needing to leave her beautiful cats behind in the UK – not by choice but because of bad timing. A sudden change in legislation meant all the preparations to take them along were lost time. As someone who lives with a lovely cat and two rambunctious dogs, I really felt for Donna’s position of really having no options.
This zine was a quick read and one I enjoyed a lot. I was worried that this might include some negativity towards people who want or have kids (given the title), but it doesn’t. I’m looking forward to reading the next ones.