Cats Get Rehomed After Family Find Out Their Kid Is Allergic, 4 Years Later They Demand the Cats Back When Kid Goes to College, New Owner Refuses

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 9, 2026 6:15 AM EDT

Once you decide to give up your pet, any claim of ownership instantly evaporates.

Sorry, we don't make the rules. 

We can't imagine how tough it must be to discover someone in your household is allergic to a beloved pet, and we don't even want to try to imagine what we would do in this scenario. There is simply no correct answer or right way to go about it.

If the only solution you can find is to rehome the pet, it might be a good idea to find a friend or family member who can take the beloved furriend in. That way, you will know that your companion is in good hands, and you will still have a chance to visit them whenever it is possible.

That is what the owners below did with their cats, after one of their kids developed a heavy allergy to them. They couldn't really rehome their own kid, so finding a new, loving family for the cats was the only possible solution. This led them to turn to close family members and ask them to take the cats in, and luckily, these family members happily stepped up and adopted the furry felines.

For 4 years, these cats lived happily with their new family, while their previous owners, along with their non-allergenic kids, came to visit from time to time and kept the relationship going. That worked out great, until the allergic kid went off to college, and the previous owners decided it was time for them to take the cats back. According to them, the cats were only temporarily placed with a new family, and they always planned to take them back once the allergy was no longer in the way. However, according to the not-so-new owners, they legally adopted the cats 4 years ago, and they have no plans of letting them go now.

The discussion on who should keep the cats was posted in an online community, so keep scrolling to read the full tale and share your own thoughts in the comments below!

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  • Cute grey cat inside pet carrier in car
    via Liudmila Chernetska

    Cute grey cat inside pet carrier in car

  • AITA for not giving my cats back?

    4 years ago my partners sibling, lets call him Max (50m) sent his cats to the pound becasue his 14 y.o kid (oldest) at the time developed allergies. In the middle of the
    via gremlininacoat
  • night they called us to ask us to "adopt" the cats back from the pound becasue the kids were devastated, and the pound refused to give the cats back to them. I adopted the
    via gremlininacoat
  • cats, and gave back to the sibling. They tried to mitigate the kids allergies- didn't work. Partner and I decided to keep the cats, despite having a pet already. We moved to a bigger
    via gremlininacoat
  • place, becasue the apartment I had before with 3 pets was too small for us, we moved to a place with an extra room and an extra closet that I "renovated" for their litterbox
    via gremlininacoat
  • to keep the mess at bay, and the room that's considered a cat room now has cat shelves and other towers they can climb. Kids were happy, so was
    via gremlininacoat
  • Max, they can come and see the cats anytime. And I love these cats now.
    via gremlininacoat
  • Recently Max said that now the cats can come back now since his kid is going to university in September, so naturally I saw red and said absolutely not. They're my cats
    via gremlininacoat
  • now. In fact adoption paperwork is in my name becasue I was the only one able to adopt them out of that family becasue me and my partner aren't married, so they
    via gremlininacoat
  • didn't catch on my last name being different since the pound refused to give the cats back to the OG owner - Max. I had a back and forth with Max becasue he felt I was keeping
    via gremlininacoat
  • cats temprorarily. 4 years isn't temprorarily, I moved, renovated a closed and built cat shelves, and developed a bond and a routine with them, what do you mean teprorarily.
    via gremlininacoat
  • Young Woman (Model) with Cute Orange Cat in Kitchen
    via pixelshot

    Young Woman (Model) with Cute Orange Cat in Kitchen

  • My boyfried agrees, we're keeping the cats because he doesn't recall this arrangement being temprorary either.
    via gremlininacoat
  • The younger kids apparently were always under impression that the cats will eventually come back, they're not allergic. AITA for keeping my cats?
    via gremlininacoat
  • KrofftSurvivor NTA What kind of a parent sends their child off to college and then promptly brings a life- threatening allergen into the household, making it almost impossible for that child to return, even for summer break??
    via KrofftSurvivor
  • That aside they're not his cats. - You adopted them you've cared for them for years they're your cats.
    via KrofftSurvivor
  • HappyGardener52 NTA. Thank you for doing right by those kitties. People who think that animals can be bounced around from home to home, don't deserve to have pets.
    via HappyGardener52
  • JosieJOK NTA. Tell the kids that they have visitation, within reason, but the cats have settled down with you and it'd be cruel to move them. Surely, they're old enough now to understand.
    via JosieJOK
  • Pipereatsdogs NTA, cats don't like change and you are now the cat parent. 4 years is permanent.
    via Pipereatsdogs
  • EchoMedic2 You WBTA if you gave those cats back to Max. Those cats are yours 1,000%
    via EchoMedic2

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wholesome hoomans adoption heartwarming cat adoption cute cats feline sweet cat rescue family Cats rescue
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