A Redditor has been assured she didn’t overreact after recounting a disturbing incident involving one of her friends and her cat.
Describing her cat as “super friendly, but a little skittish” and prefacing the anecdote by noting she always asks guests “to be gentle with her,” the Redditor relayed what happened when her cat jumped onto the couch near the seated guest.
“Out of nowhere, my friend shoved her off the couch. Not a little nudge—an actual shove that made her hit the floor hard. My cat ran and hid under my bed, and I lost it. I asked them what the hell that was, and they just laughed and said, ‘Relax, it’s just a cat.'”
“I told them to get out immediately. They acted like I was overreacting, saying they didn’t mean to hurt her and that it wasn’t a big deal. But my cat was terrified, and I don’t care if it was intentional or not—that kind of reaction to an innocent animal is not okay with me.”
The offending party is telling mutual friends that the Redditor “threw them out over ‘nothing,'” but others in their social circle have “admitted they never liked how this friend treated animals.”
Still, some told the woman she may have been too harsh for telling the cat-shover to leave immediately.
What do you think?
For what it’s worth, most people who responded to the AITA (“Am I The Asshole?”) thread sided with the poster, and others pointed out that someone who will casually shove a cat off a couch while the caretaker is right there might do much worse if no one’s around. In other words, don’t let that person watch your cat under any circumstances.
I have never had this problem, obviously, because no one would dare shove my incredibly ripped and meowscular cat.
Jokes aside, I can’t imagine anyone I’m friends with would harm him when they know how much little dude means to me.
And as much of a wimp Bud is when it comes to vacuums, loudly crinkling paper bags and Swiffers, he has absolutely no fear of people. If someone tried to shove or toss him off a couch, I’d actually feel sorry for them, because the next instant would involve 11 pounds of furball screeching like a furious Elmo while producing a tornado of claws.
Reddit’s AITA is a reliable source of insight into antisocial behavior and social faux pas, which makes it fun to browse, but it also offers people a chance to gauge if they’ve overreacted in heated situations.
What would you have done if you were in the Redditor’s shoes?
Pain In The Bud 
I might have done the same tjhing. It’s her house, and her guest was being extremely rude. That person probably wouldn’t have been in my house in the first place.
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Likewise. People know the cat rules the roost.
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That would definitely put a chill on any friendship! Something that needs to change is the old “cats always land on their feet” myth. No, not always, and they can be injured in a fall. Maybe I’d try to explain that, maybe not.
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Good point. You just reminded me of the first time I saw Bud misjudge a jump as a kitten, and I was surprised at the time. We believe these myths about animals, but they’re no different than us.
I’d rather someone hit me than hit Bud, that’s for sure.
I think the icing on the bad cake was the unbothered reaction, the “It’s just a cat!” which is one of my least favorite phrases.
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Yeah, “It’s just a cat” is so irritating! We extend that to all critters since we safe-trap all invading species and give them transport to more appropriate places …
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To Leah. My cat would not have landed on his feet. His right leg is injured from a bite and he would of landed on his side and freak out a bit. I know. He tried getting down from couch and fell on his side. I freaked out a bit which i never should have done and he limped up the bedroom.
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Aww, sounds like a sweet kitty! All the more reason no one should be putting cats in falling situations because they believe they’ll land on their feet …
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I would definitely have “evicted” the guest- all of our visitors know in advance that Bella has priority (she also has her own seat at the dining table and sits and watches when she feels like it) it’s the cats home as well as the humans and pushing the cat is the same as pushing a human.
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That’s funny. I’d like to see a video of her sitting at the table. That can’t happen here with Mr. “Let me stick my face in your food just to confirm for the 50th time that I don’t like it.”
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I would have grabbed the guest’s purse and other accoutrements, walked to the door, thrown them outside, and said, “It’s just your stuff! Now take it and leave.” Someone who shoves a cat deliberately is no better than someone who shoves a human.
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Buddy likes your solution! He’d probably still get the claws out, but cats need humans who’ll stick up for them.
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My nephew has 3 cats. A dog. And a huge snake.Feeds rwo ferals near his house. Big house in Colorado. Girl he was dating said why was he feeding two fixed ferals. I asked him if he dumped her. Dumb question i asked.SHE WAS OUT OF HIS LIFE BEFORE I ASKED THAT QUESTION. His pets come first and if any potential girlfriend does not share his love of animals then too bad for her.
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Before i threw that person out i would of slapped him or her across the face. And i am by no means a violent person.
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I would kicked the b***h out, too. Probably hexed her at a later date.
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Fun fact: The Witcher was called The Hexer in the original low-budget TV adaptation from 20+ years ago. I think The Hexer is better because it does a better job of two words that don’t directly translate from Polish.
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I would explain their actions were wrong within my home
They are visitiors and have no right to rule our home and fur babies. I also understand kitties rule while dogs are mire apt to listen and stand down
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Sounds like the cat was just being friendly and was excited to have a visitor. I get that. Bud loves meeting new people. A cat doesn’t understand why someone would shove them away.
I feel like a lot of this kind of behavior stems from people not understanding that cats have real emotions.
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People who treat animals like that don’t deserve friends. Nor do people who abuse a host’s hospitality in such a thoughtless manner. That makes two sins for the price of one, in my book.
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Buddy and I agree wholeheartedly!
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A person who was not kind to animals would not be my friend in the first place. However I feel it’s a good idea for the cat owner to tell guests they have a cat, in case that person is allergic or ailurophobic.
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Most people know I do because I never shut up about Bud, but you make a good point. Allergies can be really rough, as I know firsthand from friends who had an excessive number of cats.
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kudos to you redditor for establishing boundaries-especially in your home where no civilized person would ever dream to disrespect you, your cat, not to mention, other guests ; the perpetrator escalated this event beyond mere ailurophiles vs cat haters but disrespect for the very institutions for which we stand *
*hope the ending tweaked your funny bone…if it didn’t, i know which side you’re on (lol)
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Buddy: “What about the institutions for which we nap?”
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I don’t know whether I would have had the nerve to kick them out. I definitely would have told them off and not invited them back. That is not a good person
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