With two thirds of US households having at least one pet, it’s clear to see that people really do love their furry companions.

And a lot of time and money goes into keeping these innocent little souls safe and happy, while we receive a lot of love and companionship in return.

But whether it’s rolling around in poop, eating something they shouldn’t, or otherwise getting up to no good, pets can be a little silly at times, causing us a fair bit of stress along the way.

So when the cat-owner in this story had a friend to stay, she explained some easy ways to keep her disaster-prone pet safe.

And when the woman refused to heed those warnings, she took matters into her own hands.

Read on to find out how the situation was turned around on her.

AITA for confiscating a friend’s dental floss?

Recently, I had a friend come visit from out of town for a long weekend.

We’ve been friend over 20 years, and I was excited to see her.

She’s had cats in the past, but married someone who is highly allergic to almost anything with fur, so she hasn’t had any furry pets in many years (she has some reptiles).

I have numerous cats, and she was also excited to get a weekend of kitties.

Let’s see how this weekend visit went.

However, it became clear very quickly that she doesn’t live with cats. Leaving food unattended, putting cups on the edge of the coffee table/counter, etc., made it a very messy weekend. But whatever, right?

Then there was the dental floss.

For context, one of my cats ate a string he pulled out of a rug several months ago, and I paid thousands of dollars to save him.

Like, he should have died – not only was it a very long string, but he had numerous post-op complications. But he is my baby, and it was money well spent to me.

My cat learned exactly nothing from the experience – he still LOVES string and hair ties, and I am hypervigilant about such things being left out where he can access them.

Uh-oh. Read on to find out how the friend reacted to this request.

I told my friend she cannot throw dental floss in the bathroom trash – it has to go in the kitchen trash.

The bathroom trash had a lid, but this cat is very smart and very determined – and in the event the lid doesn’t get closed, it’s essentially leaving string right at cat-height.

Well, she didn’t get the (very direct, not even a hint) hint. I kept finding floss in the bathroom trash, and twice I found it just laying on the counter, waiting to be swallowed.

The first couple times, I tried to gently remind her. Then I directly told her again.

But these warnings were seemingly not enough.

When I found floss yet again just laying on the counter, I told her she needed to hand over her floss.

I have the little floss picks she can use, but I cannot have long strings just being left around the house willy nilly.

I cannot afford to have another major emergency vet surgery.

I was not rude about it, and I did not yell or anything, but it was just too big a risk to keep allowing her to leave it lying about.

Let’s see how the now floss-less friend responded.

She complied, but after she went home her husband called me and said I was being totally put of line and treating her like a child, and that I should be more concerned with teaching my cat not to eat string.

I do sort of see his point, but the reality is I tried to remind her not to do it, and it wasn’t sticking. It’s literally a safety issue in my home – one that could mean life or death.

If she couldn’t manage to dispose of floss in the kitchen, then my only choice to protect my cat is to remove the dangerous item. There is no “teaching” a cat to not use their instincts, and hunting/eating things is instinct.

AITA?

Sure, she might have been treating her friend like a child by confiscating the floss – but the friend was acting like a child by refusing to heed the warnings and act with respect in her friend’s home.

When you stay with people you care about, you follow their requests out of politeness and care for their own mental health and happiness, if not for care for the cat’s life.

Imagine if the cat had eaten the floss and died – or else cost thousands of dollars in surgery – because the friend couldn’t be bothered to take her floss to the kitchen. It shows that she cares very little at all.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.

This person agreed that the friend was being totally disrespectful and unempathetic.

While others called out the husband for sticking his nose in.

Meanwhile, this Redditor pointed out how unhinged the friend’s flossing habits were.

While the friend was being totally disrespectful during her stay, going back and moaning to her husband – who then took it upon himself to call and lecture the woman – was totally unfair.

If you are a guest in someone else’s home, and that person has pets, you behave in a way that is suitable to keep them safe.

That doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes, but when you are politely asked not to do it again, you heed that warning – just the same way you would if the person had a child.

She was out of order.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.