What is good parenting? Many will say that it is, for example, about defending the interests of your child in any situation - and they would be absolutely right. But the fact is that many parents perceive this postulate in a slightly modified form. In other words, they try to realize their own whims under the guise of protecting their own offspring.
For example, something similar happened a few years ago to the user u/Lord_Pegasus6666, the author of the story that we’re going to tell you today. It's about an entitled mom, a child's birthday party, and an Instagram-famous adorable fluffy cat named Mochi. Already intrigued? Then let's read on.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post once had an adorable fluffy cat named Mochi, and she made his dedicated Instagram account rather famous
Image credits: Tranmautritam / Pexels (not the actual photo)
One day, the neighbor approached the author and asked her to "loan" her the cat for her daughter's upcoming birthday party so that the kids could play with him
Image credits: Radiant_Piglet621
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author refused flatly - even after the lady offered her 20 dollars for a "one-day loan"
Image credits: Radiant_Piglet621
Image credits: Samuel Peter / Pexels (not the actual photo)
A few days later, the mom showed up at the author's porch with her daughter and said that they'd come "to pick up Mochi"
Image credits: Radiant_Piglet621
After another refusal, the girl fell into tears, and the mom angrily accused the cat owner of being "selfish"
So, the Original Poster (OP), when she was a teen, had a wonderful and extremely fluffy cat named Mochi. The happy owner ran an Instagram account on behalf of her pet, posting photos of different moments in his life, and even made the cat a sort of a popular blogger. At least Mochi definitely had his fans.
One of such devoted fans was the neighbor's 6-year-old daughter. According to the child's mother herself, the girl was "obsessed" with Mochi - and one day the woman suggested the author bring the cat to her daughter's birthday party so that the kids could play with him.
Well, even if you are not a big cat person, you probably understand that cats are not big fans of large gatherings of strangers and various noisy people. And Mochi was rather old on top of it all. So our heroine, of course, refused. Then the neighbor tried to offer her money - 20 bucks for "renting" the cat for the day. And again, she ran into an even more decisive refusal.
With a completely indignant look, this "decent" lady left - and the OP thought that the incident seemed to have run its course... No way! On the day of the party, the neighbor, with her beaming daughter, appeared on her porch, holding a cat carrier in her hands, and the mom, as if they had already agreed on everything, announced that they had come "to pick up Mochi."
Needless to say, even this manipulation didn’t affect the author's firm decision not to give the cat away. It all ended with the tears of an upset girl, livid rants from her mom, loud dramatic claims that she had ruined the daughter's birthday, and accusations of being selfish. After all, according to the neighbor, if the author "put the cat's photos on public display," she "owed it to the community..."
The mom and daughter left anyway, empty-handed, and the author later found out that she tried to bad-mouth her in front of other neighbors. Without much success, however. Yes, this story took place about two years ago, and a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. Mochi peacefully passed away, having lived a long, happy cat life, and good memories of him remain, including in the form of such tales.
Image credits: Sam Lion / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Yes, cat behavior experts agree - the vast majority of cats dislike and are afraid of noises and unfamiliar sounds. “They are wary of strangers coming to the house and are likely to avoid them until they get to know them,” a Feliway UK dedicated blog post claims. “Noise scares them, especially if it's sudden. Unpredictable laughter, shouting, loud music or fireworks could send them running.”
And it's not just about the peculiarities of cat behavior. After all, cats, unlike us, hear and perceive sounds in a completely different way. "The cats have exceptional hearing. Better than humans, even better than dogs," says this post on the LoveMyCatz website.
"While humans can hear in the 64-23 000 Hz range and dogs in the 67-45 000 Hz range, cats can hear between 45 and 64 000 Hz," That is, the loud sounds of a kids' party can also harm a cat's ear. And a cat's psyche, too," the same source adds.
The commenters on the original post, of course, massively supported the author. And they also noted that the one who suffered the most here was actually the birthday girl. "The fact she turned up with her daughter as a prop to guilt you into handing your cat over is crazy," one of the commenters wrote. "I feel so sorry for the daughter that had to be lied to about how she'll get to have your cat for the day," another one agreed.
For many people in the comments, it goes without saying that a cat is a member of the family and is not subject to any "loan." "A cat is not a toy and the failure of people like this woman to realize this is why we have so many cats in shelters," one more responder sadly stated, but this, alas, is damn true. And you, dear readers - have you ever encountered something similar with your pets? Please share your own stories in the comments below.
People in the comments unanimously supported the author in her decision and felt incredibly sorry for the birthday girl as well
