Hi, I'm Frances Fry. And I'm Anne Morris. And we are the hosts of a new TED podcast called Fixable.

We've helped leaders at some of the world's most competitive companies solve all kinds of problems.

On our show, we'll pull back the curtain and give you the type of honest, unfiltered advice we usually reserve for top executives.

Maybe you have a coworker with boundary issues, or you want to

know how to inspire and motivate your team. No problem is too big or too small. Give us a call,

and we'll help you solve the problems you're stuck on. Find fixable wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hi, everyone. This is Sari Safersukenik, Hyperfix producer, and I wanted to give a quick heads-up before we start.

This episode has some graphic and at times upsetting details about very sick cats.

We know that can be tough to hear, but we promise no cats were harmed in the making of this hyper-fixed episode.

Yeah. making of this hyper-fixed episode. Cat lady, I'm a little neutral about it. I see the issues with it.

This is Marlena. She lives in Portland, Oregon. She works as a behavioral health consultant.

And although she's never really identified with the term

cat lady, she can understand why people might use it when talking about her. Sure, she's a lady

who loves cats, and she talks about them constantly, and she's lived with a cat for most of her

life. But the idea of having multiple cats at the same time, that was a bit too cat lady for Marlena.

That is, until one day, two years ago, on her birthday, actually, when Marlena made the mistake

of going to a kitten event at a pet store.

I wanted to look at kittens, but I wasn't, of course, going to get one.

And then I went in and there was a tiny little kitten who had just had his eye removed.

So he had purple stitches over one side of his face.

And he was way younger than the rest.

And I, like, was so sad that I blacked out and came to with a cat in a box in my car.

...