Homeowners' patio collapses after they insist on feeding neighborhood squirrels, which earns them holes in the porch, son refuses to help: ‘I warned them’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 7, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

If you give a mouse a cookie…

Every little kid had that Disney phase where they imagined themselves running off to the woods and living with the wild animals. We would befriend the birds, the chipmunks, and the deer, and live happily ever after with them, without our annoying parents or loud little siblings.

While we don't know anyone who has actually lived up to this fantasy, some people do manage to bring that magical lifestyle into their lives. Even if they can't whistle at their bedroom window until birds come flying in, that doesn't mean they can't be kind to animals and take care of them as much as possible. That Disney life can still happen, within reason…

If you want a taste of this life, a good start would be to install a bird feeder in your backyard. You can feed the birds and befriend them without crossing any boundaries, and you can even get a magical moment out of it if you really try. Just be careful that you don't take it too far, because feeding wildlife in your yard can lead to some trouble, as it did for the family below.

To be fair, these homeowners were warned that they were taking the wild lifestyle a step too far. Their insistence on feeding birds, red squirrels, and chimpunks on their patio led these wonderful yet very wild animals to create huge holes in the foundation of the house. Yet, the homeowners didn't really care and refused to do anything about the damage to their house; all they wanted to do was keep feeding the animals.

It was only when their front porch completely collapsed in on itself that they realized the huge mistake they made. But since they ignored all the warning signs, including the ones from their own kid, they had no one to turn to. Did that stop them from demanding help anyway? You can guess where this is going, or you can keep reading to find out for sure.

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  • Feeding a squirrel.
    via narcisa

    Feeding a squirrel.

    Subject is a model.

  • AITAH because I refuse to help pay for the aftermath of a problem I warned them would happen?

    My folks live in a 60's house in an older neighborhood. Some time ago they decided to befriend (i.e. "feed") the wildlife. Started with trying to feed birds.
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  • Which became trying to satisfy the squirrels so the birds get a chance. It then "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"'d itself down to
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  • having red squirrels and chipmunks. Aww... cute... Generations later, they were causing visible gaps between the stair and the floor of the front porch. I
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  • could fit my flat hand into the holes in several places. I don't know how long the tunneling was going on but when I first saw it, it was already a potentially HUGE problem.
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  • I pointed it out and both of them said, "Yeah, we know. We've seen em go in and out." I have very weird and fairly focused anxieties and "Patio Collapse Due to Chipmunk" doesn't seem
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  • like a ridiculous headline to me. I asked if they'd get it fixed and I got nonchalant shrugs. "Why?"
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  • I brought up the upcoming fall/winter and water getting under the patio to the foundation and the damage that it could cause.
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  • The structural integrity of the patio is compromised. What if the holes become a trip hazard and one of you or both of you get really hurt? You'd never be able to cover that.
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  • Shrugs all around. The next year, after a couple days of nonstop rain, they returned home from wherever to find that the front porch had, indeed, collapsed in on itself.
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  • Fortunately there were no injuries - according to the door camera no one had been standing on it when the slab cracked like a shotgun blast. Cue the
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  • whole insurance mambo and inspection and rigamarole to try to get it repaired or replaced.
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  • Cut to now, months later, and I've been asked to help pay for half of their deductible and the expenses insurance wouldn't cover. They
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  • insisted on exact same as before and wouldn't compromise on a cheaper option so insurance gave them money for the cheaper and the difference
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  • was out of pocket. To my understanding at least. I have flat out refused. They said I owe it to them since I didn't warn them
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  • when I knew it could be a problem. I said that I had warned them, they had laughed it off.
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  • "You should have warned us more than once." I had. Until they told me to shut up about it.
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  • It's gotten to where they're threatening small claims court. Family is divided. Some say I should know by now that it takes more than one mention to get
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  • Cheezburger Image 10653690368
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  • anything done so it was my fault. Most are of the mind that I did everything but get it fixed for them and I owe nothing. I'm 99% sure that this issue would either be
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  • dismissed or go in my favor. I'm not worried about if the one percent has me pay out. I'm worried about their wellbeing. They can't afford this if they lose.
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  • I don't want to go down without a fight - they've used my money to bail them out of financial woe more than a few times and I need to draw the line somewhere. I can't keep
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  • saving them forever. Maybe the only way they'll learn is to be in real difficulty. I could keep them out if this real trouble and try to stand my ground before something happens. I'm torn.
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  • AITAH because I'm not just giving them the money this time? Edit 1: ok, this is more attention than I expected. Thank you for pointing out
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  • what should be patently obvious for me. I replied to a few people about their disbelief about the situation. Manipulation, guilt, and anxiety for decades will alter every
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  • perception of every problem. I stress myself out about being stressed out over stupid stuff. Because "what if" is always there. I know I am in no way responsible legally. I don't
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  • live there. I know they'd lose. Where my dilemma comes is that I can just stop this whole nonsense for now with a check. I'm not and I feel like I'm
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  • abandoning them. Hmm what else. Oh. Yes. "Cutesy writing." I liked that one. I'm not writing a novel (sorry person who questioned my use of porch/patio descriptions) but I am also not boring.
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porch birds homeowner squirrel chipmunk squirrels parenting feeding animals patio parents children
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