It really grinds our gears when we hear stories of people neglecting or abusing their animals. The worst part too is that this is usually a pattern of abuse, or a pattern of neglect, so you can bet that more animals are going to suffer if they're ever allowed to go to that owner again, too. That's why we cherish the hard work that animal rights and rescue organizations like the ASPCA do. Still, we don't have the stats to back it up, but we really think that the most positive change for animal welfare comes from animal lovers who are willing to foster pets out of harmful situations. The story below is one of those situations.
The person who made this post in Reddit's AITA page is worried that they acted a little rashly when they told a few tales out of school about a mutual acquaintance of theirs. Apparently, OP had recused a cat from this acquaintance on account of the person saying that the cat was going to be headed to an animal shelter because of massive behavior issues. But, when they got the cat home, OP realized that the cat had no behavior issues whatsoever! It was just severely filthy, malnourished, and sick. Now we know what you're thinking: what kind of owner treats a cat like that? And that's exactly what OP was thinking too. That's why they couldn't contain their frustration and had to tell a few people about the state the cat had been in. Well, the word spread like wildfire, and as you'd expect (and hope), the cat's previous owner has been largely ostracized. Far be it for us to play judge or jury in this case, but we don't have much issue with what OP did. Do you?
If this description isn't enough to upset you, we don't know what would be. This is a five year old cat, a fully fledged adult cat who should be able to take care of themself! But, this woman has kept the cat in such a state of malnourishment, that it's become incredibly sick.
It's incredibly that OP took all these steps to try to make sure that the cat would survive. We need more people like them in the world. Still, we can't believe the previous owner would be so laissez-faire with the welfare of their pets. Why even get the pet in the first place if you're not going to take care of it?
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