Entitled family refuses to let daughter take the cat she raised from kittenhood with her when moving out, claiming the cat is their property: 'Casper was a gift for me'

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jan 24, 2026 11:00 AM EST

No one can come between a girl and her cat. Not even her family.

Family can be a struggle to deal with sometimes, to say the least. We've had our own fair share of problems with relatives, most of which we won't go into detail here with you, but let's just say that we know what it's like to have to fight for yourself when you and your family don't see eye to eye. Luckily, it's never been an issue with our pets, like it is in today's story. The daughter in this scenario was given a kitten by her aunt when she was 18. She raised the cat, taking care of it and taking it to the vet, and now that she's ready to move in with her fiance and out of her family's house, they're trying to keep her cat with them.

After years of complaining about how much of a hassle having a pet was, they suddenly want ownership of the cat they eventually grew to love, but it was because of the daughter that she stayed in their home. Her younger sister was able to convince her parents to side with her, so now it's the whole family versus our loving cat mom. She stood her ground, and said that she was taking her cat, 'Casper' with her. No exceptions.

Just because you're related doesn't mean you're always going to see eye to eye. At a certain point, you grow up, move out and you have to start prioritizing yourself. You know what dads love to say, "When you live under my house, you live under my rules." Well, dad, she's no longer living in your house anymore, so she gets to make her own rules. And her cat is coming with her.

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  • 01

    [Am I wrong] for wanting to take our cat with me after my marriage?

    Woman holding a black kitten including ''They have 3 months to make their peace with the fact that Casper is coming with me''
    via Natalia Sotikova

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

  • 02
    Hi, this issue has lead to fights in my house the past week, and at this point I thought I'll ask here.
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 03
    I'm going to get married in a few months, and currently live with my parents. 6 years ago my aunt had gifted me my cat for my 18th when he was a kitten. She knew I loved cats, I'd always wanted one so that was her gift and it was the best gift I've ever received. I was the
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 04
    one who organized his diet, litter trained him, named him Casper, got him to respond to his name, had him snuggle with me, had huge arguments with my parents in the initial days over him and defended him. Over time Casper became an integral part of our family.
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 05
    Last week we were just planning on how to start moving my stuff to my fiance's place and I also brought up his cat tree. My younger sister was like why would you take his cat tree you're not taking Casper. I said ofcourse I am, he's my cat, and my fiance loves
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 06
    cats too, I'd already discussed this with him. My parents too were against taking him, and my sister started full on sobbing. I was beside myself, and we had an argument, I told them Casper was a gift for me, I had raised him when he was a kitten, and I
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 07
    brought up to my parents how they used to say he's too much work and a mess in the earlier days. Since then whenever the topic has been brought up my sister gets heated, my parents low key side
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 08
    wirh her saying Casper is used to the house and cats are creatures of habit, I've told them they have 3 months to make their peace with the fact that Casper is coming with me.
    via LawfulnessDue8961

  • Cats usually have a “person”. Sure, they love the whole family in their way, but they have a hooman who they will always go back to. That purrson is clearly the daughter, as she was the one who spent most of the time with her. They're not wrong, moving cats can be hard on them, but what would be harder would be for her “mom” to mysteriously leave, and almost never come back. The cat should go with her. It will adjust to the new home, in time.

  • 09
    Family with a cat
    via Elena Nichizhenova

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

  • 10
    Edit: To address some frequent questions. My college was in the same city we live in, as is my job. I commuted to college from home. And no, my fiance and I haven't been living together.
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 11
    The first time my dad and I took him to the vet he was registered under my name. Until I got a job after college, I would do his expenditures with my pocket money and my parents would also pay. Since I've been working, I do the bulk of spending on him, but my parents do too.
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 12
    My sister is 17. And yes we'll be living in the same city she'll be seeing him often. Its the fact that my parents are siding with her and not even just to support her but of their own accord, they too have been saying Casper should stay here. I'll try to bring up them adopting a new cat.
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 13
    INFO: At the end of the day, what's best for the cat? If Casper is your shadow when you're around, and would pine without you, then the only decision is to take Casper with.
    via helgirl
  • 14
    If Casper is now closer to your parents or sister now, or prefers to hang out it a certain spot in the house over and above spending time with you, then Casper should stay at the house.
    via helgirl
  • 15
    Does Casper ever get anxious, show signs of separation anxiety or depression when you're not at home? Like if you go away for a few days? What about if Casper gets taken away from the house, like for trips to the vet? How does Casper cope in those scenarios?
    via helgirl
  • 16
    Also, does your fiance have any other animals that Casper have to acclimatise to? Has your fiance spent much time with Casper? Is Casper comfortable with them? If you can get a clear answer from asking these questions, then this should make the decision easy.
    via helgirl
  • 17

    Author's response:

    Thanks a lot for this (a bit begrudgingly because you've made me rethink stuff lol). I love Casper, and I know he'll be happy with me. And I know my family loves him too and he knows he's loved. I'll think over this.
    via LawfulnessDue8961
  • 18
    NTA. Get your aunt to confirm Casper was a gift for you. End of issue. Casper is your property. He is attached to YOU, not your parent's home. He will adapt just fine to your new place as long as you are there.
    via parodytx
  • 19
    Who is Casper's person? Who does he snuggle with, meow for, sleep with, etc.? We have two cats and they have chosen different people in our family to be their person.
    via Turbulent_Lab3257
  • 20
    Will the other house have other pets Casper has to live with? Will he have to leave any other pets that he has grown up with this whole time? All of this should go into determining if Casper's home is with you at the new place, or the place he has lived his whole life.
    via Turbulent_Lab3257
  • 21
    Happy woman laughs as her cat plays in a box during unpacking.
    via wattanaracha

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

  • 22
    NTA. What do those people not understand about a gift? About your property? Is there a chance your aunt would weigh in on this, in your favor? "Cats are creatures of habit." And also clever, adaptable creatures. (Last year I happily rehomed a family of three cats, not
    via ReadMeDrMemory
  • 23
    mine, to a new owner and different premises.) It's low of your family to pretend they're worried about the cat's happiness when they just want to steal your aunt's gift. Here's a wild idea: they could get themselves a cat of their own and keep their mitts off of yours.
    via ReadMeDrMemory
  • 24

    Author's response:

    Yes, I can 100% have my aunt confirm Casper was a gift for me! She used to have a cat when I was little and I would be so happy to go to her place when I was little to see her cat! Thats why she gifted me Casper.
    via LawfulnessDue8961

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kitten gift property daughter Cats animals entitled people
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