When I think of common pets, I think of cats and dogs; however, not all cats are treated like pets.

In today’s story, we meet a woman who lives on a farm where cats sleep in the barn with the rest of the animals.

She refers to the cats as working cats and not pets, but her friend doesn’t understand this way of treating cats at all.

Let’s read all the details.

AITA for snapping at my friend about her ‘concerns’ for our working cats?

I (21f) live with my grandparents.

They own a lot of land and a lot of animals.

My grandparents also have multiple working cats.

These cats have many important roles on the farm and we take excellent care of them- they’re vaccinated, chipped, well-fed, have shelter, and get medical attention when needed, but they ARE NOT house pets.

They’re not used to being overly pampered.

There’s a new, older cat.

We also welcomed a new edition to the family- Lucy, a scrappy, older feral cat.

She’s one of the only cats we’ve gotten as an older kitty and while she’s still not super into human contact, she’s made ‘friends’ with some other cats and is thriving.

Jane loves animals.

Recently, my friend Jane (22F) came to visit.

She’s a huge animal lover.

The moment she arrived, she was super excited to see all the animals on the farm (this is her first time visiting since I moved).

She loved all the animals, but when we got to the barn cats, things got a little weird.

Jane tried to get the cats’ attention.

She immediately tried to approach them, calling them over like she would with a house cat.

Most of our barn cats just ignored her (they’re busy doing their own thing), but Lucy (the feral cat) was nearby.

Jane spotted her and got really excited, saying how cute Lucy was and how she must need extra love because she ‘looks rough’.

She tried to explain that working cats are different than house cats.

I told Jane that Lucy’s a feral cat who’s adjusted well to life on the farm but isn’t comfortable with people getting too close.

I explained that Lucy’s thriving in her own way.

Jane didn’t seem convinced and said something like ‘isn’t it sad that she’s not loved on? She looks like she needs it’.

I explained again that love for a working cat doesn’t mean constant physical affection.

The cats are happy and safe, which is what matters most.

Jane still seemed uncomfortable and kept bringing it up throughout her visit, saying we ‘try harder’ to socialize Lucy.

Jane thinks the cats should be treated differently.

At one point, Jane got a frustrated and said ‘I just don’t get why you wouldn’t want her to feel like a pet. It’s like you’re giving up on her.’

That really upset me and I said that we’ve done a lot to help Lucy feel safe and cared for.

Jane responded ‘it just seems cruel that you wouldn’t let the cats into the house at night, either. I would never let my cats stay out at night’.

I explained that that’s when the cats do the most work at night and they have heated pads and hay to sleep on, as well as food and water.

Jane just wanted to help.

She didn’t seem convinced.

I told her bluntly that she doesn’t understand what it takes to care for working animals, and her insistence on treating them like house pets was disrespectful.

Jane got quiet after that and didn’t say much for the rest of the visit.

Later she texted me saying she felt upset.

She said she was just trying to help and thought I was being defensive.

She wonders if she messed up.

I understand that animal welfare is super important to a lot of people and I can understand why Jane would have concerns initially, but she seems dead-set on undermining my experience with working cats.

AITA for snapping at her?

It definitely seems like these two friends don’t see eye to eye on how to treat cats.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

It can be culture shock coming from the city to the country.

This person thinks the working cats might have a better life than cats that are pets.

Cats are not toys.

Here’s the perspective of someone who works at a rescue.

Many cats prefer their independence.

These cats all seem to be happy enough without human touch.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.