Woman legally adopts her roommate's cat, ‘Luna’, after she abandons her for a 4-month backpacking trip to Thailand: ‘Luna deserves better than being treated like a houseplant [she] can abandon for months’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jul 9, 2025 11:00 PM EDT

Cat meowthers know that our feline fur babies reek of independence; that is, until they realize they don't have opposable thumbs and can't open their gigantic bag of dry food (or use a can opener to pry open some Fancy Feast).

The common myth is that cats can go days without their hooman taking care of them. This could be further from the truth in my experience, especially if you've nurtured an indoor cat from kittenhood. They need their litter boxes cleaned, their water topped up and replaced (if you don't use a fountain with a filter), and of course, attention! Though cats like to play hard to get, they actually want someone to at least be in the room so they can ignore you. I know this ritual well…

In this next story, a cat mom (if you can even call her that) abandons her Persian cat, Luna, to go on a multiple-month trip to Thailand. Her roommate was left to care for the cat, and after over a month, she took Luna on as a legal pet. When the absent cat mom returned from her trip, she expected everything to be fine. That's not how it works in these parts. Scroll below to read the entire story.

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  • "Her excuse was always 'cats are independent!""|
    via Elena Mozhvilo for Unsplash

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITA for legally adopting my roommate's cat after she abandoned it?"

    I (25F) need some outside perspective here. My roommate Jenny (24F) and I shared an apartment for two years, and she had this beautiful Persian cat Luna. Everything was fine until Jenny got a new job that had her traveling constantly.
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  • Instead of finding proper care for Luna, Jenny would just leave out huge bowls of food and water when she'd go away for weeks at
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • a time. Her excuse was always "cats are independent!" But Luna's a Persian - she needs daily grooming and has health issues requiring regular meds.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • I ended up becoming Luna's default caretaker. I cleaned her litter box (Jenny never did), took her to vet appointments (Jenny kept "forgetting"), paid for food (never got paid back), and handled all the grooming and medication.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • Things went sideways when Jenny left for what was supposed to be a two-week trip. Three weeks passed with no word from her. Her rent was late, her phone got disconnected, and I couldn't reach her anywhere - calls, texts, email, social media, even her work.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • Then Luna got really sick with a UTI that needed emergency treatment. The vet bill was $1,800, which I paid because I couldn't let her suffer. Still no response from Jenny despite trying every possible way to contact her.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • After six weeks of complete silence, I called animal control for advice. They walked me through the legal process for claiming an abandoned pet. I did everything
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  • properly posted notices, - documented all contact attempts, kept all vet records and bills. Two weeks later, I legally adopted Luna and updated her microchip.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • Yesterday, four months after disappearing, Jenny shows up at our old apartment (I had to move since I couldn't afford it alone).
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • Turns out she decided to spontaneously backpack around Thailand and "didn't think it was a big deal" to tell anyone. Now she's threatening to sue me for "stealing" her cat.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • Cheezburger Image 10527219456
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I showed her all the documentation - vet bills, abandonment papers, adoption records, texts showing her
    via Usual_Emergency5225A
  • neglect. She says none of that matters because she "always planned to come back" and I should've just kept caring for Luna indefinitely.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • Now she's blasting me on social media as a pet thief. Some friends say I did the right thing for Luna's wellbeing, others think I should've waited longer. But
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • like... I gave her every chance to be a decent pet owner, and Luna deserves better than being treated like a houseplant you can abandon for months.
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • AITA for legally adopting Luna when Jenny disappeared?
    via Usual-Emergency5225A
  • fliccolo NTA: My god I hate to say this but return fire on your socials with all the receipts.
    via fliccolo
  • Genericlurker678 She left without a word and you couldn't afford the rent so you had to leave? That alone is enough to cut ties with her entirely. Luna is your consolation prize for putting up with her BS. Block her, block her friends, be content. NTA goes without saying and I'm not sure why you'd need to ask.
    via Genericlurker678
  • Forever916 NTA! You stepped up and did what she didn't and took full responsibility for the cat without having to. She should be a better owner if she wants a pet. And there is no way she would win in a lawsuit against you because she would have to admit she abandoned the cat in the first place
    via F0rever916
  • MochaMellie NTA pets aren't toys she can collect and then leave in a corner for whenever she wants to play with them. You did the right thing, f your roommate. If you didn't adopt the cat, the next best thing would have been to give it to someone else or bring it to a shelter, because that is ABSOLUTELY neglect
    via MochaMellie
  • Allaboutbird NTA. Jenny should never be allowed to have a pet. The kitty is lucky to have you.
    via Allaboutbird

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