'She's like a sister to me': Guy agrees to let his feline fanatic female friend move in during hard times, hoping their friendship survives four cats and one strict lease

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jul 20, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

We have one rule when it comes to cats: we can't be outnumbered by them in our own house.

When we were single, we had one cat. Once we moved in with our partner (we're about to get married!), we adopted another one. Now we're even, two hoomans and two cats. We can hold them in our arms at the same time if we need to. Once you start getting outnumbered, you start to lose control of your house. That's the one thing we didn't want to happen.

All in all, we understand why the guy in the post below is purrfectly nervous about letting his best friend move in (even temporarily) with her four cats. Four cats are a lot! They might steal all your snacks, they might ruin your furniture, or keep you up at all hours of the night. But, he agreed, and now he's hoping their friendship will survive the incoming feline family and one strict apartment lease. 

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  • 01

    Friend asked to move in with me, she has 4 cats

    000000 'Taking on 4 cats that aren't yours is a huge risk'
    via Canan YAŞAR from Pexels

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

  • 02
    I hope this is the right subreddit for my issue. This is a very hard situation for me but please give me your honest opinion. It'll probably be a bit of a long read.
    via Milariel
  • 03
    My friend needs to move out of the apartment she is currently renting at some point and she asked to stay with me for a while in my four room apartment as she has trouble finding rent because of her four cats. She
    via Milariel
  • 04
    makes an okay living but she can't afford to throw another ~200 EUR on top of the rent in our city to find a decent place for her cats without rehousing any of them, while also saving money to maybe buy an apartment for herself or just use it for experiences to get herself past this rough period.
    via Milariel
  • 05
    I instantly said yes because realistically there's no other answer I can give her. This girl is my best friend, we've known each other for many years and she's like a sister to me. She is going through a breakup with a guy she though she'll marry and
    via Milariel
  • 06
    she has no other support but me. Her family has a lot of issues I won't get into and she cannot rely on them. I don't want to let her down too and have her fend for herself, especially since she feels hurt and alone. If I can help in any way, I'm here for her.
    via Milariel
  • 07
    The cats are very sweet and I enjoy spending time with them but I'm worried about many things, like lasting damage to my apartment after she moves out, the smell (I've been to her place a lot and I think at least one of the cats likes to pee on
    via Milariel
  • 08
    Cheezburger Image 10531239680
    via anastas_

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

  • 09
    the couch...), my freedom being restricted like being able to sleep, maybe find someone to date and I don't know, what if I find the perfect woman but she's allergic to cats or something?
    via Milariel

  • Having pets is a huge adjustment to your lifestyle - anyone who tells you anything else is lying. Now, cats are a bit of a softer landing than dogs, for sure, but you still have a lot more cleaning to do, and more things to pay for. That includes the things they ruin “by accident”.

  • 10
    I plan on locking two rooms and the kitchen from the cats so they'll be staying in her room, the living room and the closed balcony. Other than that, she said she will get covers for the
    via Milariel
  • 11
    furniture and keep the place clean. She has a roomba, though I don't know how much that will help. My friend also promised to pay for anything the cats will break.
    via Milariel
  • 12
    If you have any practical advice to help with managing the cats, please let me know. I don't want to resent her, she is like family to me. I also haven't voiced any of these concerns to her as I want to let her focus on herself and not worry about this. After I
    via Milariel
  • 13
    get a better idea of what needs to be done so I can live with her cats, I will just lay down some rules for her, so any advice for what they might be will help a lot.
    via Milariel
  • 14
    But be brutally honest, will this be hard for me or am I overthinking?
    via Milariel
  • 15
    Cheezburger Image 10531239936
    via 2LM's Images

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

  • 16
    Hello_JustSayin • 1d ago This is hard to answer without knowing what her cats are like. My cats don't have accidents outside the litter box or break things. They do shed, despite being short hair, and track litter,
    via Hello_JustSayin
  • 17
    but the Roomba is great for this. With frequent cleaning and an air purifier, my house doesn't smell, nor is it messy (I'm a bit of a clean freak, though).
    via Hello_JustSayin

  • In our purrsonal opinion, it doesn't matter so much the age of the cats - four cats into a new home is going to be a big adjustment. Not just for him, but for the cats as well. It's a new space with a new hooman, he should prepurr himself for a potentially rough and lengthy adjustment period.

  • 18
    That said, if her place smells and one of her cats pees on the couch, that is indication of what things will be like at your place.
    via Hello_JustSayin
  • 19
    ShiCity_x 1d ago . I wanted to add to the suggestions of a litter robot or multiple litter boxes, maybe even getting a couple of waterproof couch covers to protect your couch. I've also heard of these wall plug ins that
    via ShiCity_x
  • 20
    help keep cats calm during transitional or stressful situations, may be worth looking into. You're really a great friend! I hope you both are able to find some good solutions for her temporary stay
    via ShiCity_x
  • 21
    Celebration|||285 · 1d ago . You're a great friend. I don't think it's that wild. From people I know w a lot of cats supposedly the difference between 1-3 cats isn't that wild... 4 is kind of a lot but theyre probably not all kittens, I'm sure 1 or more is probably a senior and this isn't a forever move this is just temporary.
    via CelebrationIll285
  • 22
    You can encourage your friend to invest in a litter robot if she works a lot but as long as she has scratch posts for her cats and some toys, enough litter boxes for all the cats, diffusers if they really need it etc they shouldn't be acting out. As for
    via CelebrationIll285
  • 23
    being able to sleep, most cats sleep near their owner or in specific spots each night so you probably won't need to worry about that. There shouldn't be damage. I know tons of people with lots of cats and if you have a cat that's actively destroying stuff it's usually a sign of a bigger issue.
    via CelebrationIll285
  • 24
    Rules should be to respect your space. She definitely needs multiple litter boxes if she doesn't already and should be cleaning them all 1-2x a day. If she can't commit to that then she definitely shouldn't have that many cats or she needs to
    via CelebrationIll285
  • 25
    buy a crazy litter robot for $700. It's wild people who keep a ton of animals and won't clean after them properly. A lot of cats. acting out is due to their owner not cleaning their litter box enough/ fast enough and some can be real about it.
    via CelebrationIll285
  • 26
    CCMeGently · 1d ago . would get everything in writing about expectations, promise to replace items, etc.
    via CCMeGently
  • 27
    Taking on 4 cats that aren't yours is a huge risk. I have 5 of my own and my options were to rent a place, claim 2 and hide the rest from a landlord or buy a house after this last rental. We were able to buy a house thankfully so it's not an issue for
    via CCMeGently
  • 28
    us anymore. There's no way I could realistically expect anyone, even family, to consider temporarily housing me and my 5 cats. 3 would be pushing it and at one point we did have family take us in when we only had 2 and even that caused tension.
    via CCMeGently
  • 29
    The main points you're looking at though are prominent cat smell: this can be a multitude of things but tells me she is not as clean as she thinks she is. This could be dirty/not enough litter boxes (air purifier can help here), improper urination from
    via CCMeGently
  • 30
    the cats (this will be a major issue for you. It's hard to curb the behavior and you need to be on top of enzyme cleaning their accidents), not enough regular cleaning for general animal smell (air purifier can help here).... A roomba can help with cat hair and litter. It does not help with anything else.
    via CCMeGently
  • 31
    But then you're also in need of cat proofing your home. Does she have wire chewers (wires, plants, straw-like decorations or cleaning supplies)? Do they get up onto surfaces they shouldn't (tv, counters, etc)... what exactly is at risk in your home? -also check the kind of plants in your home and move them to unreachable areas if possible-
    via CCMeGently
  • 32
    Does your apartment even allow this? Even if temporary, taking in animals in an apartment that doesn't allow them/not that many puts your own lease at risk.
    via CCMeGently

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friendship lease friends friend drama cat owners feline Cats animals cat lovers
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