A New Cat Owner Is Devastated After Her Roommate Returned Her Cat To The Rescue Without Her Knowledge

She believed that cats cannot live a fulfilling lives indoors and made fun of her roommate for "doting" on the cat

Chelsi

• Published in Animal Stories
• October 13, 2022

Harmony is very important when it comes to roommate relationships. Coexisting in a shared space with another person peacefully is truly an invaluable asset in adult life.

It's one of the earliest tests on handling things like a grown-up. You have to communicate your boundaries to each other to make sure you are not stepping on each other's toes.

If you're not okay with having friends and family over an extended period of time, then you have to communicate that to your roommate. If certain habit grate on your nerves, then your roommate has to know about them in order to adjust accordingly.

Bringing pets into the space and which areas of the house they are allowed in must also be brought up before the said pet is brought into the apartment. Fortunately, OP's roommate asked beforehand if she can adopt a cat to live with them.

Luckily, OP is also a cat person and agreed to have a cat in their apartment. The tension started when roommates realized they have very different approaches when it comes to being cat owners.

OP's roommate is European and she swears outdoor cats are common where she's from and that's how she will raise her new tabby cat. OP was shocked when her roommate followed through with this plan despite her many warnings about the bad environmental effects of having cats outdoors.

Her roommate got defensive when OP tried to educate her and said cats cannot be happy when confined indoors

OP retorted that she is also putting the cat's life at risk since they live in a densely populated area where a cat can get hurt anytime and there are coyotes roaming about

Ultimately, her roommate did what she wanted to do because it was her cat. OP was going to let it go until the cat got home one day and OP saw that it was injured.

OP pointed it out but her roommate waved it off and said it was just a scratch despite the cat needing antibiotics to treat the wound

OP was done by this point and started looking into the shelter's adoption policies. She saw that her roommate was violating their policy of keeping adopted cats strictly indoors.

OP collected evidence and managed to take a video of her roommate leaving the cat outdoors. The shelter immediately told OP to surrender the cat back to them as they felt he wasn't in a safe home.

OP's roommate thought the cat was missing or dead and was distraught about it. OP informed her that she surrendered the cat.

She yelled at OP, broke her laptop, and tried to get the cat back until the rescue blacklisted her from adopting any animals from them in the future.

OP mentioned more details:

It was she who brought the cat to the vet for medications when it got injured, she also administered antibiotics, and was basically in charge of feeding the cat daily to make sure it didn't starve. Was OP wrong for surrendering a cat that wasn't hers behind the owner's back?

A commenter said it's just wrong to say that people in Europe do not have a problem with the outdoor cat population

They also said OP displayed responsible behavior and put the cat's welfare first while its owner simply didn't

We understand a little better why OP felt so strongly against keeping the cat outdoors because she is studying conservation as a biology major

I feel like the cat is also grateful that there was at least one person in that house that cared about him

OP added that most of the tasks related to the cat fell on her because her roommate sort of expected the cat to survive by itself

I kind of understand that OP's roommate is used to cats being outdoor animals but at the same time, OP gave her a lot of facts why it's actually bad for them but she didn't even consider what OP said

The worst part is she made fun of OP when she nursed the cats wounds, cleaned its litter, and fed it as if that was an odd thing to do

She didn't even bother introducing the cat to its new home and basically dumped it outside

Going off on the title alone, OP would have been the a**hole because you just don't do that. However, OP did what was right for the cat.

That was a scary overreaction and OP should be compensated for her broken laptop

Animals would enjoy to be outside all the time but it isn't healthy nor safe for them

I got the impression that OP did talk to the roommate why it was a bad idea to let the cat roam freely outside

In a world where it's okay to have your cat exclusively outside, you still have to make sure it gets medical attention when it's injured and it doesn't starve. OP's roommate did neither of those things.

OP probably should have informed her roommate that she is breaking the shelter's policy and given her some grace to adjust. However, OP had seen enough to conclude that her roommate doesn't have the qualities of a responsible pet owner.

OP may have acted like an a**hole when she surrendered the cat without letting the owner know but I argue her actions were justified. If you were in OP's place, would you do the same thing?

Chelsi