Internet sides with 'horrible' daughter who gave away mom's cats while she's away
A mother with a severe hoarding problem labelled her daughter "horrible" for giving away her stray cats while she was away from home. The daughter, who is now judging her decision, took to Reddit to tell her story. The 23-year-old woman claimed that after she and her siblings moved out, her 52-year-old mother became even worse. The Redditor wrote, "Now she's living in two rooms in her house, her living room and bathroom, and even those are full of trash."
She took to Reddit's AITA? (Am I the a**hole?) forum to elaborate on the situation, with the subject, 'AITA for giving my mom's cats away while she was out of the house?' "Whenever I visit her, I have to wear a mask because the smell in the house is so bad. Her bathroom is still functional, but only the toilet itself, because the shower and sink are also full," she began explaining.
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What did the mother do?
The poster went on and wrote, "The fact that my mom lives like this is bad enough, but she also has four cats They aren't shelter cats, but rather cats that my mom 'rehabilitated' that she took in off the street. None of them are well taken care of." The woman said that the cats don't have litter boxes, and her mother doesn't let them outside, so they "just shit wherever".
'Trying to trap another cat found in her backyard'
She elaborated that because the house is so filthy and the 52-year-old never leaves the house, all the cats have fleas and possibly worms. "I've spoken to my mom about this multiple times, but she won't listen to me. She took in her most recent cat just two months ago and is already trying to trap another cat that she found in her backyard," the 23-year-old added.
'I stole the cats'
Recently, her 19-year-old sister returned from college and was equally horrified as she is. The poster wrote, "my mom is a lot closer to my sister than she is to me, so my sister and I decided that she would get my mom out of the house while I stole the cats." The Redditor caught all the cats and took them to a shelter a few hours away so her mom "wouldn't be able to find them" after her sister persuaded her mother to accompany her to visit their brother. "One of the cats turned out to have terminal cancer, so he ended up being put down but the rest of them are currently up for adoption," wrote the poster.
'Calling me horrible person and horrible daughter'
"My mom is livid," said the Redditor. "She has called me multiple times a day since this happened over a week ago, demanding I tell her where I took her cats and calling me a horrible person and a horrible daughter." The woman claimed that even her sister that helped her says she "feels awful about it now" and "regrets" doing it. The poster penned, "At first, I didn't feel bad at all, but now I am beginning to question my decision. AITA?"
'This is for the cats' safety and wellbeing'
The internet immediately supported the woman, with a user commenting, "NTA. You need to go to Senior & Adult Services and get her some help, immediately. She's suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder and needs assistance. Thank you for rehoming those cats...that's no way for them to live. :( I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. Be prepared for this to get worse before it gets better." Another user mentioned, "The mom might also get ammonia poisoning NTA OP. Animal hoarding can staty innocently, but grow out of control fast." Another person claimed, "Hoarders unfortunately often get into accidents so it's really important to get urgent help. Houses like that can go up in flames very quickly. Or she could trip and fall, or something stacked up with rubbish could fall onto her." One person wrote, "Not to mention the risk of toxoplasmosis and a whole host of other health issues from living in a house full of cat urine and feces." Another person wrote, "NTA This is for the cats' safety and wellbeing. And one of them had to be put down, which is heartbreaking because it was dying. I feel like if you tried to talk to your mom, she would immediately get upset that you want to take the cats away."
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