‘CLEARLY, Karen was ramping up for some big fight’: Mother of 5 regrets trying to rehome kittens after colliding with buyer named Karen and her relentless requests obsessive late-night questions and fake veterinary emergencies

If you ever want to experience humanity at its most exhausting, skip the national news, avoid the parking lot at Costco, and instead try offering kittens to strangers on the internet.

Author image for Etai Eshet Etai Eshet
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  • Crazy Cat Karen

    "Ended up talking to this woman until 3:30am!"
    via ddcreativohn

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

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  • Anyone who thinks “crazy cat people” (this is coming from me: a full adult who speaks to more strays than humans EVERY SINGLE DAY) are just a meme has never met a true aficionado of panic, paranoia, and unsolicited late-night text messages. The world is full of ordinary pet lovers, busy people just looking for a fuzzy accomplice, and then there is Karen, who elevates kitten shopping to a cross between an FBI sting operation and a hostage negotiation.

    There are those for whom a reasonable deposit and a handful of cute pictures are enough to trust you with the solemn honor of adding another mouth to feed. Then there are the Karens of the world who recast you as head veterinarian, expert photographer, part-timer at Cat Fancy magazine, and available-on-demand therapist for her first-time pet parent anxiety. Time, boundaries, and Sunday afternoons mean nothing to this breed. If she needs a high-resolution headshot and a written analysis of the kitten’s soul, you will be delivering it before sunrise or there will be a lengthy, cryptic complaint citing “a friend who has a lot of cats.”

  • Not sure if this goes here but man do I hate dealing with the general public. Sorry if this is long,
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  • I just can't believe some people. I am a health care worker and a mum of 5 kids so this is not my day job!
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  • I bred my cat really as a hobby and figured a basket of kittens would help brighten things up. I live in the country
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  • and love animals so what the heck. I always intended to sell them to good homes and I was asking a really reasonable price.
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I was more or less trying to recoup my costs than make money. I sold them all within 24 hours of putting my ad up with deposits
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  • to hold each kitten. I had to respond to like 50 people and most were fine. I don't mind sending a few extra pics or answering
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  • questions about the kitten or its care as I want to know they are going to a good home. I don't even mind getting ghosted
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  • on a potential sale or strung along. It comes with the territory. All the people I sold to were normal, considerate people looking for a new pet...
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  • except Karen (actual name, not joking). I had sold most of the kittens and it was getting late, maybe 10pm. I had closed everything down to
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  • be done for the night but got sidetracked chatting with a first time pet owner so I responded to her message. Stupid. Ended up talking to this woman
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  • until 3:30am! I know I should have cut it off but I wanted to be done with the selling part. I told her at the beginning that
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  • People like to joke about how owning pets brings people together, but they skip over the collateral damage: three a.m. consultations, off-the-wall allegations about ocular issues, and a parenthetical review of every grainy photo you send. You emerge from the group chat with the wisdom of a thousand cat midwives and a new understanding: sometimes the only thing more exhausting than raising kittens is selling them to humans.

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

  • I had 5 kids and had work in the morning so I needed to keep it short. I sent her over 20 more photos. In the end
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  • I told her I needed to go to bed and she could make her decision. If she put down the deposit he was hers but if not I would
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  • move on. Hilariously thought that was that. I'm the AM she had sent the deposit so I let her know he was hers. She then asks
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  • for more pictures. Ok fine, but they will be whatever is on my phone as I was at work. They were mainly group shots. I get a reply
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  • a few hours later that the kitten looks "darker" than in the original (20+) pics I sent the other day. I explain that firstly, there are 8 kittens there.
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I don't even know if you are looking at the right one. Second, the pics I sent were in good lighting and super clear. These are
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  • whatever I could grab off my phone at work. I just straight up asked her if she wants the kitten and told her to take until the end
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  • of the day to think because I've got other interested buyers. I told her that if she wants to back out to let me know by end of day
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  • and I would refund her deposit. She began with the whole "oh no we love him already!" And "we just can't wait" etc. Apparently she has kids
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  • and they are all excited. Ok, cool. I hoped that was it and letting her know that there were other potential buyers would gently let her
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  • know she needed to decide. I get a message from Karen again the next morning. Like 12 hours after she was "super excited". She is now worried
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  • that there is something wrong with the kittens eyes. Now, I'm not a professional breeder but I have been helping to deliver and raise litters of kittens since age 10.
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  • Karen had already explained that this was her first pet. I told Karen that like human babies, newborn kittens can't always focus their eyes. Totally normal.
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  • All babies have weak eyes. She accepts my answer but several hours later asks for " a clear photo of the kitten's face from all angles including the eyes face on and from an angle".
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  • Well. Ffs. Have you ever tried to get clear pictures of a 4 week old kitten? How about from specific f-ing angles. It was a ☐☐ nightmare.
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  • Not to mention it was Sunday and I had a million things to do. I was burned out after working the day before on no sleep and wasn't that into digging
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  • ONE particular kitten out of a pile and trying to pose it. I got the best shots I could and sent them along. The next morning I get a text
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  • at like 7:30 am, from Karen of course. She tells me that she "has been to the vet and he diagnosed a issues with the kitten's eye. I therefore
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  • must rescind...blah blah blah. My first though is THANK. GOD. My second thought is LUL. Again, not a breeder but I am a pet owner.
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  • We are in the middle of a lockdown with a STAY AT HOME ORDER! I do happen to know that vets are working reduced hours and existing patients are having to book weeks in advance unless its an emergency.
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  • I'm certain that Karen did not find her self a vet after sent the pic at 7pm on a Sunday, see said vet with a picture on her phone
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  • and get a diagnosis all before business hours on Monday morning? Not how this works lady. I am also certain that her urgent vet visit would be far more
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  • than the deposit. If she has a vet who is diagnosing via photo she should reconsider his services. CLEARLY, Karen was ramping up for some big fight.
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  • If I refused to give her back the deposit im sure she would have threatened to say I was selling sick animals or some b/s. Obviously I gave her back her $$
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  • and was happy to do so. I could not have dealt with this woman for another minute. I couldn't help but mess with her a bit. I asked her
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  • for more details and the phone # of the vet so I could ask more questions. For the health of the kitten of course! If he is really as ill as you say
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  • I need to know so he can get treated. She gave me some b/s until the transfer went through and then tried to just f-off. Best part ever,
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  • she was trying to open the refund in internet explorer and it crashed (no sh) so she had to give me some panicked response to my questions about how it wasn't REALLY a vet but a friend
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  • who had "lots of cats" and the transfer didn't work ?! I honestly did send it but she totally thought I screwed her. 2 minutes later... thank you for your patience.
    via EMBA10353
  • I received it. God Bless! These sweeties are darn cute but I'm not sure its worth dealing with the humans.
    via EMBA10353

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