'I'm not a cat person': 24-year-old considers rehoming 27-year-old fiance's chaotic kittens after chewing catastrophe sparks hissteria and arguments

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Sarah Brown • Writer and Editor
May 23, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

This story is a real claw-shredder. A well-meaning hooman thought it'd be a cute idea to adopt a kitten—or two—with her fiancé, who's a certified cat guy. She, on the other paw, has always been more of a dachshund devotee and knitting queen. The feline duo moved in, pounced on hearts…and then pounced on yarn.

At first, the kittens limited their mischief to loose balls of yarn. Then they started chomping through bags, gnawing wooden needles, and recently, one of them devoured a special project made with Swiss yarn. Hissteria ensued.

She's adapted and adjusted: switching bags, securing supplies, sacrificing her former craft room. Meanwhile, her fiancé's video game setup stays purrfectly untouched. The cats are living their best nine lives while she's living in a stress loop of tangled threads and resentment.

Despite knowing pet ownership is a commitment, she's starting to question if she and these yarn-chompers are a mismatch. She doesn't want to be the villain, but the claws are out and not just on the cats. Is it time to rehome, or is she just feeling frayed at the edges?

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  • 01
    'I didn't know what I was getting into'
    via By pixelshot / Canva

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
     

  • 02
    Hey all, I desperately need some advice. I (24f) and my fiance (27m) adopted two kittens that are a little older than a year, and I'd like to rehome them. I already know that I'm the ah le, and I feel awful about it, but I'm not sure what the right thing to do is. Some important context:
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 03
    - - I'm not a cat person. - My fiance loves cats. - It was my idea to adopt the kittens to begin with (a coworker of mine who volunteered at the shelter invited us to come pet some kitties at a local business. I really liked one kitten that slept in my arms the whole time. I
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 04
    SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS THROUGH WAY MORE, I didn't know what I was getting into. Quickly one kittnen turned into 2 after pressure from shelter workers on adoption day).
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 05
    Cheezburger Image 10508994816
    via By Michal Collection / Canva

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 06
    - - I have never owned a cat before, let alone 2. - I have a mini dachshund (Frank) that I've had before my fiance and I met.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 07
    - We got the kittens while dating, but had the understanding that the kittens were his, while Frank was mine. (I think it's good to plan for just in case, as no one wants to fight over pets and deal with a break up IF we ever had to go down that road.)
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 08
    - Because of this and our pet prefrences, a condition of the cats was that they were my fiance's responsibility (financially, litter box, feedings, etc.), with resonable exceptions.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 09
    - I am an AVID knitter. Yarn and crafts are how I spend the bulk of my free time, and knitting greatly reduces stress in my life. - We are currently living in a two bedroom apartment, but hopefully moving into a townhouse/small house over the summer.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 10
    - Before my fiance moved into our now shared apartment, the second bedroom was my craft room. It's now been converted into his office and the cat room. (houses his desk, their litter box and feeding situation) - I believe it's important to follow through with commitments.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 11
    OKAY with that out of the way, here's my problem with the cats. They love to eat my yarn. They'll chew it, break it, swallow it, and just generally ruin my projects as I'm working on them (for a long time it was only loose yarn they
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 12
    would chew on, NEVER anything that was knit up. So mostly they'd destory a whole ball of yarn, or bite it off right were it attatched to the worked fabric). They also chew wooden knitting needles.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 13
    At first, it seemed resonable for me to adapt to them, but it feels like the more careful I became, the sneakier the cats got. I have several knitting bags, and I've started to only use the bags that close (mostly). A lot of knitting bags are designed with small openings so that the knitter can
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 14
    have their bag closed but still pull yarn out. I've found the cats getting into my crafting things at least once per week since we got them over a year ago. I am not leaving my bags open, and just laying around for long periods of time, if I was being absolultely careless it would be easy to fix.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 15
    I'd also like to point out I used to have a whole room as a dedicated space for my crafts, and have already done a lot of adjusting to accomodate my fiance and now the cats.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 16
    It's gotten to the point where I can't even get up to grab a glass of water and leave my knitting bag on the chair. If I do, there's a good chance that one of the cats went snooping. Feeling this hypervigilant in my home is. miserable, and makes me
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 17
    Cheezburger Image 10508997888
    via By Peopleimages.com - YuriArcurs / Canva

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 18
    resent the cats constantly. Yes, I laugh at them sometimes, but I feel that all of the joys of cat ownership are overshadowed by the revolving door of ruined items.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 19
    On the other hand, the cats. NEVER destroy anything of my fiance's. His primary hobby is playing video games. The cats don't chew his cables/wires, which to me resemble my yarn by way of shape and movement. I've expressed to him how upsetting it is to me when my things are
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 20
    wrecked, and it always feels like he's on the side of the cats. The repsonse I get is typically "well, could you have put it away better?" or "sorry that happened, hopefully they don't do it again." I would like to think if my dog had been reguarly destroying art
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 21
    pieces that he had spent a lot of time, money, and care making, that I'd do something. I know that cats are so so different, but I also have no idea becuase this is my first time having them.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 22
    The peak of this problem occurred yesterday. Until yesterday, they'd only chewed my loose yarn, NEVER something fully worked up. Last night, I decided to make cookies, so I tucked all of the loose yarn deep into the bag, and left it on the
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 23
    coffee table to keep an eye on it while I was a few steps away in the kitchen) One of the cats stole an icord (pls google non knitters for context, it's important) out of my knitting bag while I wasn't watching and chewed it to absolute pieces. An icord is the
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 24
    littlest step up from yarn, but this was a five stitch cord, so much more substantial than the yarn they had chewed previoulsy. I had a bit of a melt down, because the yarn was gifted to me from my parents trip to Switzerland years ago, and I was just barely going to have enough yarn to complete my planned project.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 25
    The item I was knitting was a matching baby sweater and hat set for my future little ones, so I was particuarly attatched to it. Anyway, now that they cats have shown that they'll chew knit up objects (which are WAY HARDER to fix) I am seriously concerned for the rest of my work around the apartment. Since we're
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 26
    moving and the hot weather is arriving, most of my knits are put away for now. For 8 months out of the year, I have had knit blankets across every chair, and handknit mittens/hats/scarves end up on the ground sometimes because sh happens.
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 27
    I am sick to my stomach worried about my projects, and resenting these cats, and I don't know what to do. I know my fiance loves them, but I think they deserve a home where all of the occupants want them. At the same time, we signed up to care fo them, and part of me feels that I should s k it up and see it through. I am so worried that this is only going to get worse, and my fiance more attatched to them. pls help :)
    via u/kidfrankiesmom
  • 28
    rosewoodbriar If you force your fiancé to rehome a pet that he loves, it's going to create resentment between the two of you, and it's not fair to him or the cats. If your dog was chewing up the wires for his video game consoles, would you let him rehome your dog?
    via u/rosewoodbriar
  • 29
    They're still pretty young and rambunctious. I've lost my fair share of good headphones to cats chewing on them. But there are ways to train them out of chewing on things they shouldn't chew on. There are things you can spray on wires/cords/etc that make them taste bad, and a lot of the time, the best way to get them to calm down is to play with them more.
    via u/rosewoodbriar

  • They're still just a couple of curious catlets. Full of claws, chaos, and cattitude! Here’s hoping they grow out of their yarn-munching phase before they pounce on another project.

  • 30
    -cat-a-lyst- They are young cats and will mellow out. But you need to curb their behavior fast. More than just trying to keep it out of their view. Yarn and anything string like can kill cats. This is serious. Your fiancé needs to get on board with training them. Actively telling them no and redirecting them to other activities to start. So if you
    via u/-cat--lyst-
  • 31
    on every surface that touches it. You will accidentally get some in your mouth too. That is the way. But it kept my cats from eating my Christmas tree. You both need to learn how to parent them properly for their own safety. This will actually be a good test for your parenting of actual children. Children will act like this too and you can't just rehome them.
    via u/-cat--lyst-
  • 32
    see them going for your yarn give them a loud no and then play with them doing something else. Also I suggest getting some bitter yuck spray and setting up traps. If they start to think all yarn tastes bad and you put cat nip on something else they'll get redirected. Start doing this before knitted weather season. Also warning, bitter yuck spreads
    via u/-cat--lyst-
  • 33
    APT206 I don't have a solution except for a follow up question, which may also lead to a solution. How much time per day is your partner dedicating to playing with the kittens? It should be blocks of several minutes, several times a day. They are associating what you play with, with what they should play with.
    via u/APT206

  • A tired cat is a good cat! These playful pouncers clearly need more paw-sitive outlets. Maybe if the fiancé added some wand toy workouts to his routine, her yarn could finally rest easy.

  • 34
    mesarasa I foster kittens, and I love knitting. So I get your dilemma. I can see why you are starting to resent them. It's very hard to protect your work from playful cats.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 35
    I don't think rehoming is necessary, because one day, the cats are going to be less playful. My daughter just adopted a senior cat specifically because the cat is already past the mischievous stage. The key is accommodating everyone's needs in the meantime. It seems like your needs are not being accommodated.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 36
    So see if you can live with the following, and offer it to your partner as the alternative to rehoming.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 37
    You need a closet or cabinet to store your yarn and finished work in. If an armoire will hold everything, great. But if your partner has to keep his clothes on a rack in your room so you can use his closet, he should agree to it. Since you gave up your craft room to him and his cats, it seems reasonable that he should give up some space to you.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 38
    You also need a trunk or crate or storage ottoman, something with a lid, where you can easily stash your knitting when you get up to get a drink. If this requires that some other item of furniture has to go into storage or get crammed into his office, then that's what happens.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 39
    You can also put the cats in the room they share with the office while you're knitting. There is no reason that they have to have the run of the house all the time.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 40
    Will this make your apartment seem crowded? Possibly. But you ARE short on space, because there's no longer room for your crafts. Even if there were no cats, you would still be without a craft room while your partner enjoys dedicated space for his video games.
    via u/mesarasa
  • 41
    Which I think you already know, since you said you plan to move to a bigger place soon. Make sure you have a 100% cat free craft room with a comfy chair for you to sit in while you knit. You need your hobby space, even once the cats are too old to care about your yarn.
    via u/mesarasa

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Cats pets kitten knitting relationships advice cat owners argument pawrents chewing
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