Let's agree right away - cats are just wonderful. Even if you're a dog person, like me. Even if you're allergic to them. Many people only need to take a few glances at these magical 'kitty cankles' to become an avid cat lover for the rest of their days. But we must admit that the difficulty of keeping cats increases with their number.
For example, the user Meelack, the author of the story that we're going to tell you today, was recently completely discouraged by the prospect of helping her sister take care not of 2 cats as usual, but of 4 of them. Of cats, kinship and the painful problem of choice - in our tale today.
More info: Mumsnet
The author of the post is not a cat person at all but her sister is - and the lady has owned 2 cats for over 5 years
Image credits: Elle Hughes / Pexels (not the actual photo)
And the author has also had to help her sister by cat-sitting them from time to time
Image credits: Meelack
Image credits: Arina Krasnikova / Pexels (not the actual photo)
However, recently the sister told our heroine that she'd adopted 2 more kitties, so their number had doubled
Image credits: Meelack
Image credits: Arina Krasnikova / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The main problem was that the author had already agreed to cat-sit the sister's pets for a few days, not knowing there are 4 of them now
Image credits: Meelack
So now the lady is in two minds on whether she should still agree or to reject the sister's plea and face her backlash
So, the Original Poster (OP) has a sister. And the sister, until recently, had 2 cats. For more than five years. And it's quite natural that when the cat lady went somewhere on her own business, she asked her sister to look after these cats. Our heroine honestly admits that she's not a cat person at all, but she couldn't refuse her sis either.
This went on for five years, until recently the woman received a joyful message from her sister, showing a happy cat owner with two more furry and long-tailed members of her family. Yes, now the woman owns four cats. And everything would be fine - but not long before that, the sister agreed with the OP that she would cat-sit again while she's on vacation.
But you must admit, two cats and four cats are completely different things. In addition, the author has learned from previous experience that each of the furry members of her sister's family is a bright individual with character traits inherent only to them. And nutritional requirements, too. And grooming needs as well. And frequency of going to the litter box. And whatnot, et cetera...
And now our heroine is in two minds. On the one hand, she has already given her sister her word about cat-sitting the pets. On the other hand, when she agreed, there were only two cats in the house. And no one warned the OP that their number would soon double. Although, of course, most likely, this was her sister's spontaneous decision...
So the original poster decided to seek advice from netizens to find out what they think about this particular situation. Should she agree and spend a few days in the company of four cats, two of whom are completely unfamiliar to her - or still refuse, and inevitably face her sis' backlash.
Image credits: Liza Summer / Pexels (not the actual photo)
"Let's ask honestly - if we discard all the nuances about kinship and consider this situation from the point of view of business communication - is it appropriate to change the terms of the contract after it has been signed?" wonders Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and a certified NLP specialist (and a cat lady herself as well), with whom Bored Panda got in touch over this case. "Of course not."
"Of course, this is not a business, and this woman is not a contractor providing a cat-sitting service. But it was at least impolite and inappropriate of her sister to first have her agree to look after her pets, and then, after the fact, take on two more cats."
"Based on my own experience, I can say that some people, when they find themselves in a similar situation, also begin to manipulate relatives and friends. For example, by stating that if they refuse to help, they will have to cancel their trip or significantly change the plans. In general, if this woman also encounters a similar reaction from her sister, I'd recommend that she say a flat-out 'no'," Irina concludes.
Most people in the comments to the original post also think that four cats are too much. "Feeding and changing cat litter is one thing, but individual care plans for each cat would tip me over the edge," someone sincerely admitted. "Could you say you will do the basics but nothing more?"
And some of the responders even advise the author to recommend her sister seek some professional help. "Cat sitting is a growing business so she will be able to pay someone to go and look after them who will be go along with the individual cat requests," another person suggested. And what would you, our dear readers, advise the author in this case?
People in the comments mostly sided with the author and even suggested her sister ask for professional cat-sitters' help
