Overfeeding is Fun!

As I started my first venture into the kad world, I did it simply to gain the trophy for my lookup. I had no intention of feeding beyond that, I considered the one kad I had fed a lucky break, simply a fluke in the system. By some divine miracle I have managed to feed one of the most elusive creatures in all of neopia. I told myself that was good enough, I knew I would never able to do seventy-five kads, that number sounded insane. That was the end of my kad feeding experience… or so I thought.

When I joined a new guild, it seemed everyone in there was talking about kads; kads this, kads that, here are the times, are you guys feeding kads… kads, kads, kads! I was quick to tell them that I had no interest in feeding, it was too expensive and I was never fast enough. “But you have to give it a try, it’s easy!” They would tell me. I was still not wholly convinced that this kad thing was for me. Wouldn’t you know that just as I had declared my disdain for kading, my guild decided to do a month of kad feeding. Joy! I thought to myself, I’m never going to get anywhere with this.

So there I was with one kad under my belt, my guild telling me to go for more. What’s a girl to do? Well challenge herself to feed the seventy-four remaining kads in one month, that’s what. I didn’t know how, but I told myself that I was going to make it happen, you have got this. I did the math quickly, seventy-four kadoaties left to feed, and I was starting on the 9th. That meant I would need to feed at least three to four kads every day to keep up. My head was spinning at the thought, no way was I going to be able to accomplish this.

I was ready, I had read the guides, taken in tips from fellow feeders in my guild, this was happening. I waited nervously at first, refreshing in panic as the projected kad time approached, my heart racing. Then it happened, the whole kadoatery was suddenly full of hungry kads asking for items from all over Neopia. I had no idea what to go after, did I spring for the rainbow, or should I go for the pink? I didn’t have time to think too much on the subject. I hastily selected the kad I wanted and quickly searched on the shop wizard for the item they sought after, clicking like a mad woman, trying to get through the pages and buy the item I need. I rushed back over to the kadoatery, item in my inventory, ready to feed. I quickly clicked the kad and was greeted with the messages every feeder hopes to see “Hoorah! You’ve made Zoe a very happy Kadoatie!” I had done it! I actually managed to feed another kadoatie and the world hadn’t exploded.

My challenge had started and I had the rest of the month to feed the remaining seventy-three kads. During the first couple feeds, I hadn’t fully come up with a strategy yet, so when I saw the kadoatery refresh, I would panic and scramble. I was getting “pwned”, the act of someone beating you to a feed, a lot. Once I worked out that it was easier to go for the same spot every time, I got much faster at feeding. As my feeds increased, so did my speed. Just a couple short days later, I had already made ten feeds and upgraded my bronze to a silver trophy. My need to feed the kads grew stronger, with every feed I was a little bit closer to “going pink”, also known as feeding seventy-five kads for the avatar.

As feeding became less intimidating, I was able to have fun with it. Trying for rainbow kads or those with interesting names. It became about more than just trying to get a feed in, it became almost enjoyable. Before I knew it, I was up to twenty-five feeds and a gold trophy, something if you had asked me before, I never thought I would achieve. I decided to join in on the kad feeding boards and met many wonderful people, who encouraged and helped me along on my way to achieving seventy-five feeds. It was great having a community to talk with while waiting for the kads to “pend” or get hungry again. My guild members also continued to be a stronger supporters in my quest for pink, asking daily how many I had fed and telling me how great I was doing.

Every once in awhile, life would get busy and I would not be able to get my needed three to four feeds in. I would have to try hard to make it up the next day. As the month progressed, my kad number was growing, but my timeline was shrinking. I needed to up my game and start feeding more. The most kads I was able to feed in a single day was seven, and I was happy with that. Whenever I had a slacker day, I would try to make up for it with an intense day, evening out everything.

The month was coming to a close, It was the 27th and I only need five more feeds. I can do this, I told myself. I had done more than five feeds in a single day before, I could most certainly do it again. After all, an avatar was on the line here! I had to meticulously plan my day around the pending kads and twenty-eight minute cool downs. It was afternoon, I had made it to seventy-four feeds. I could taste victory, it was so close. Waiting for that last refresh was the longest hour of my life. At every expected pend, I my heart would start to pound. Would this be the one? Would I be fast enough? Could I make that seventy-fifth feed? The kadoatery refreshed, plenty of hungry kadoaties just waiting for me. With lightening speed I fed that kad faster than I had fed any kad before. I rushed to my lookup and was greeted with the words I had waited so long to hear, “Something has happened! You’re now eligible to use Kadoatery - Mew, as an avatar on the Neoboards!”

I had done it, I had fed seventy-five kads and achieved the avatar. Where was I to go from there? I honestly never expected to get that far, seventy-five seemed like a far off dream. Like I said, when I started I didn’t know what an overfeeder was, I thought this was the end of the line. I was wrong! Despite having already gotten the avatar, I wanted to feed more kads. I simply couldn’t resist the thrill of waiting on a pend and feeding as fast as I could. After a month of kading nearly everyday, it had become habit to open the Kadotery when I first got on Neopets everyday. I had also grown friendships with the feeders I had met on the Neoboards. I started feeding kadoaties for the avatar, but I stayed for the rush and the community. Not everyone will end up being an overfeeder, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I will continue to feed, until there are no hungry kadoaties in all of Neopia.