Pet owner incites wave of rage after accusing commenters of “gatekeeping animal ownership” when they accuse fellow animal lover's 1-bedroom apartment of being too small

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Aug 24, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

We were 100% ready when we adopted our first puppy. We're also a Virgo, so we're pretty much 100% ready for everything (because we planned it out meticulously for weeks in advance). We had the training cage, the bed, the bowls, the toys, everything! But you don't need all that stuff at first. What you do need is an open heart, a willingness to accept the responsibility of another living being, food to feed them, and patience. Lots of patience. We also recommend you have a healthy stock of treats (you can easily make pet treats at home if you have the time). Treats help a lot.

All this to say that we agree with the pet owner below. He accused commenters of "gatekeeping animal ownership" after defending a young woman who adopted a cat and lives in a one-bedroom apartment. You don't need a mansion to give your cat a good life, nor do you need 10 acres of land to give your dog a fulfilling one. What they need is you, and the safety you provide them.

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  • 01

    Hot Take: A loving home with proper food and water is almost always better than shelter life for a pet

    Hand holding dog paw including 'They are shutting out a lot of loving, responsible adopters based on an excessive and often arbitrary list of demands'
    via SeventyFour

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    This shouldn't even be a hot take, but apparently it is in some circles. It has been on my mind for a while, but I decided to voice it after I saw a post on a different platform with unbelievable comments.
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 03
    The post was in a group for organizing living spaces and the poster "Alice" was looking for tips to maximize space and efficiency in her one-bedroom, pet friendly apartment. She had one cat. The cat was provided with food, water, a cat tower, cat toys, and a litter box. These items were visible in the pictures included with the post.
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 04
    As I scrolled through the comments, I was shocked at how many of them had nothing to do with design and organizing advice, but instead were attacking "Alice" for keeping a cat in a one-bedroom apartment.
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 05
    Multiple commenters said it was cruel, ab ive, and unforgivable. They said the space was much too small for the cat to get minimum levels of exercise or enrichment. They said that "Alice" should either move into a bigger place or re-home the cat immediately. They said the cat would be better off in a shelter. One commenter wished she had the authority to seize the cat and give it to a rescue.
    via LostLuminary4254

  • If you have love to give, the money to pay for their food and vet expenses, and the time to take care of them, an animal is better off with you than in a shelter. Period. Anyone who thinks otherwise has either never been to an animal shelter or is extremely privileged and doesn't know how the real world works. 

  • 06
    IMO this is absolutely insane! A one-bedroom apartment is a very common living situation. In what world is it more humane for a cat to live in a 2'x2' stainless steel cage, or a single room with 12 other cats, in an environment that reeks of disinfectant and litter boxes, with pets yowling and dozens of strangers streaming through every day, and nearly zero one- on-one attention/enrichment?
    via LostLuminary4254

  • For animals like dogs, who take so much of their pleasure from interaction with others, living all alone like that must be something akin to a waking nightmare. Cats live in small metal cages and only come out if their shelter is big enough to have a large communal area (this is also assuming they are fine with being around many other strange cats).

  • 07
    Woman petting ginger cat
    via corelens

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    I have also seen people who believe that a high energy, escape artist, large breed dog with destructive impulses would be better off in a animal shelter or in a home, crated, with two or three on-leash-only walks everyday, instead of the escape-proofed 1800sq.ft. shaded area, and off-leash training/exercise that the owners were providing.
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 09
    I could go on and on about this ridiculous mindset that is also behind the insanely restrictive adoption requirements that many shelters and rescues have. However well-intentioned they may be, they are shutting out a lot of loving, responsible
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 10
    adopters based on an excessive and often arbitrary list of demands, even when the adoptive home is vastly better than the kennels, cages, and stress of the shelter/rescue environment.
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 11
    99% of the time, a loving home that provides proper food, water, some toys/enrichment objects, and attention, is a much better, more humane option for a pet to live, compared to any shelter/rescue environment.
    via LostLuminary4254
  • 12
    ten_before_six Yes, and I'll go you one further. I think it's preferable for that pet to live a slightly shorter lifespan or eat a cheaper food in that loving. home due to financial factors than to be on the street or languish in a shelter.
    via ten_before_six
  • 13
    (I'm specifically speaking to stuff like not being able to afford a catastrophic $5K-$10K intervention. Not basic veterinary care.)
    via ten_before_six
  • 14
    Helly OHaint Dogs and cats who spend time in shelters almost always have some level of trauma from being there. I agree with you.
    via HellyOHaint
  • 15
    Woman working on computer with two dogs sleeping on the couch
    via dimaberlinphotos

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 16
    Antillyyy I volunteered at a local rescue for a while. Do they realise that most shelter cats are kept in small rooms and cages? Even the ones which have a large, communal room for all the cats will have less space per cat than an apartment would.
    via Antillyyy
  • 17
    artist1292 I had been looking to adopt a dog for almost a year but every local shelter said no since I lived in an apartment and didn't have a yard, as if I wouldn't be walking them multiple times a day. Even tried showing them
    via artist1292
  • 18
    pictures of my building's MASSIVE dog run right outside the back door and nope. Wound up adopting my dog from the Caribbean instead and look at us now, 3 years later, I DID manage to buy a house with a yard AND HE STILL GETS WALKED TWICE A DAY! The perfectionism is the enemy of good
    via artist1292
  • 19
    FinchDoodles I agree. I saw a poster who had a hamster cage for a dwarf hamster just 10 inch below. height for one species. (didn't specify what type so everyone thought it was that one soecies.)
    via FinchDoodles
  • 20
    They had not even got the hamster yet or fully set up the cage and people were already calling them ab ive on the their post saying 'Normalize getting everything before getting a pet' because of the cage size and wheel size + an empty cage without any substrate.
    via FinchDoodles
  • 21
    They took the actual advice warning one thing they had was bad. They post those TikTok two weeks before the set date of brining home the hamster. They also raised multiple hamsters before.
    via FinchDoodles
  • 22
    I think when perfection becomes the goal for pet owning, we focus on loved cared for pets versus one in need. When we call everyone ab ive for every little thing, people ignore the actual ab■e and see it as 'just another hate attack on a good owner.
    via FinchDoodles
  • 23
    A cat can live a happy life in an apartment as long as they have enough space to run (the entire apartment), the kitchen is cat proof for safety and they have plenty of enrichment. Thats the minimum for a pet!
    via FinchDoodles
  • 24
    Correct care, correct food, time focused on the pet, even if the space is smaller than the world desires.
    via FinchDoodles
  • 25
    cjep3 This should not be a hot take. This should be normal thinking for humans and pets.
    via cjep3
  • 26
    herstoryhistory There's a lot of upper middle class or even solidly middle class youngsters on the internet, and they don't understand the reality of life and the problems people and animals face. They just know their own experience, and since they lack the ability to understand nuance, they get dogmatic about how it 'should' be.
    via herstoryhistory
  • 27
    I have a lot of animals - most rescues - and recently got another dog who would otherwise have been eu anized because he couldn't tolerate the noise and disruption of the shelter and was scared of humans. My two dogs have been perfect
    via herstoryhistory
  • 28
    companions for him and taught him a lot about living in my home. With patience and lots of treats, he's gotten so much better with people, too. The reality is that amazing animals are euthanized every day because of lack of owners. Gatekeeping animal ownership k s them.
    via herstoryhistory
  • 29
    efficaceous Don't tell my two bonded 7 years old who live in a 550sq ft studio with me. It's set up in a racetrack, with a closet in the middle, so they could and do perform laps as they like. They also have huge windows facing an active community. Their tall
    via efficaceous
  • 30
    cat tree is arriving soon. Well managed adult cats can do just fine in this scenario. I think even kittens in my set up would do well- might have to demonstrate the racetrack a few times first. They're fed, they see the vet, they're indoor only with occasional supervised visits to the balcony. And they're LOVED.
    via efficaceous

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gatekeeping pet ownership dogs comments animal lovers Cats dog owners animals apartment
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