I'll start this off by saying: I really should have just returned these shoes. But darn if they're not so cute, I just HAD to make them work.

I'm a pretty standard 8.5, although with high arches. Being that there are no half sizes, I had to size up. Not surprisingly, it was slightly big, but theoretically not something that I couldn't correct with toe stuffing, extra-thick socks and/or those stick-on back-of-the-heel cushions.

Unfortunately, the fit of the heel also runs on the wide side, so no amount of extra stuffing seems to fix the heel slippage. On top of that, there's basically NO cushioning and no arch support whatsoever in the insole. Thinking I could use inserts proved again, mostly wrong. Even the very thin leather arch supports designed to be inserted in shoes without affecting the fit.... well, they affected the fit. The shoe itself, not counting the giant rubber sole, runs kind of short. Inserting anything more than those nonexistent gel pads intended for high heels shove my toes up a bit uncomfortably close to the tops of the shoes; and since the backs of the heels are also short, the heel slippage problem is grossly exaggerated.

I have no idea how the reviewer who mentioned inserting her orthodics into these shoes managed at all to do it. Is there some magic trick I'm missing? Voodoo? Paper thin feet?

Some how, some way... I'm going to make these puppies (er... kitties) work. But overall, a pretty big disappointment.