If I had to choose between my sweet kitties and…well, anything, it would be an excruciating choice.

But in situations like this, what’s the responsible thing to do?

Let’s read the details and figure it out.

AITA for refusing to give up my cat?

Background: I, 36M, am disabled and dependent on oxygen.

My emotional support cat is a persistent chewer and is consistently chewing on my oxygen tubing.

So you can see immediately why this is a terrible problem.

I’ve tried everything; lemon juice, spray deterrent products, as well as coverings and even running the tubing along the ceiling of my last apartment.

There is a covering solution I haven’t tried yet because I keep forgetting it’s an option and have already ordered it to try.

Almost every time I say something about it to my mom, she tells me I need to kennel him, muzzle him, or get rid of him.

These are non-starters for her for the following reasons:

Now, I feel very adamantly that these three solutions are out of the question.

#1) Kennels and muzzles are meant to be temporary.
He doesn’t chew constantly, but he does chew throughout the day.
The problem is, I rarely catch him doing it.
He has learned to wait until I’m not watching/sleeping.
This means that a kennel or muzzle would not be effective unless it was in constant use, which I believe is cruel.

#2) I love this cat.
Hes a living, breathing creature who depends on me to live.
It would be like giving away my child.

#3) He’s an emotional support cat and is amazing at his job, the most affectionate, sweet, gentle cat I’ve ever had and he brings so much joy to my life.
He is irreplaceable.

But now she’s clashing with her mom.

Fast forward to today.

I’m moving and currently staying with my parents (mom and step-dad) for about a week while I finalize things with my next apartment.

My parents have taken care of my cat in the past and it hasn’t been an issue.

Now, with me here, I’m using my oxygen and he’s chewing the tubing.

My mom is upset about it and keeps saying he needs to go in a dog kennel my sister left in the garage to stop him chewing.

And it got bad.

Today, I slept most of the day because I didn’t get much sleep last night, between staying up late and waking up early unable to breathe properly and taping holes in the tubing.

When I told her why I was sleeping so much, she went to check the mail for my incoming oxygen supplies and then googled cat muzzles to prove to me they weren’t all hard plastic bubbles that entirely encompass the cat’s head.

We argued and I put my foot down before remembering that I hadn’t yet tried this last solution so I pulled it up and ordered it before asking her a tangentially related question about cost.

She didn’t answer and I thought she was texting her husband, so waited and then asked again.

She told me she was ignoring me because I “didn’t want a solution and she was tired of looking for me.”

Now we’re living in the aftermath.

It felt like a slap in the face.

I hate being intentionally ignored.

It makes me feel small and worthless.

I gathered my thoughts for a moment, then told her “if all you can suggest is those three things, you’ve already stopped looking and to ignore someone because you disagree with them is immature.”

Then I got up and went to the room I’m using and took my cat inside with me.

Idk, I feel guilty for talking to her that way, especially because I know she’s just worried about me. AITA?

Let’s check in with the comments:

Some suggested something heavy-duty:

You get where mom is coming from though, right?!

You’re gonna worry her to death.

Here’s hoping you can find a way to get kitty to cooperate, because this is serious.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.