When it comes to relationships between roommates, harmony is crucial. Being able to coexist in a shared area with another person peacefully is unquestionably a crucial skill for adults.
One of the earliest trials of managing situations like an adult. To avoid stepping on each other’s toes, you must let each other know what your boundaries are.
You must let your roommate know if you don’t want to host friends and family for a long period of time. Your roommate needs to be aware of any habits that irritate you so they can modify if necessary.
Before introducing a pet into the apartment, it must be discussed whether pets are allowed there and which rooms of the house they are permitted in. Fortunately, OP’s roommate inquired in advance about the possibility of adopting a cat to live with them.
Fortunately, OP is a cat lover as well and approved of having a cat in their apartment. When roommates discovered they have quite different attitudes to owning cats, the tension began to develop.
OP’s roommate is from Europe, and she insists that she would raise her new cat in the same way because outside cats are prevalent there.
She had often warned her roommate about the negative environmental impacts of putting cats outdoors, so OP was startled when she went through with this idea.
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 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
Cat Owner 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.
The OP should have let her roommate know that she is violating the shelter’s rules. Also give her some time to make amends. OP, however, has observed enough to draw the conclusion that her roommate lacks the attributes of a decent pet keeper.
I contend that while OP may have behaved badly by giving the cat back without informing the owner.
Her actions were justified. Would you act the same way if you were in the OP’s shoes?
