Horrible cat may save him from allergy-denier girlfriend

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Q. My girlfriend has a horrible cat. Most of this is her fault because she's never tried to train him out of attacking people, stealing food and screaming continually in the night because he used to be an outdoor cat.

Her parents live out in the country, and he was basically a farm cat my girlfriend brought with her to the city. She has not even had him fixed. That sounds very judgmental, but he's a cat. You can't blame him for this stuff; it's not like he knows better.

I don't want to live with this cat. My girlfriend says my refusal to move in until the cat is gone is a "me or the cat" ultimatum. I don't think that's entirely fair; he is 18, so I can just wait out nature.

I did suggest she could rehome the cat with her parents, who he used to live with, but that was the only "give up the cat" suggestion I made.

We are fighting about this a lot. It seems ridiculous to break up over a cat when we both love cats - I mean, I don't like this one, but I'd certainly never want to see it harmed or unhappy.

However, she doesn't want to start waiting for her beloved cat to die, and I will not move in with this animal. So maybe ridiculous is all that's left?

I am also allergic. My girlfriend doesn't believe me because I had cats of my own as a kid, but it's usually mild enough to medicate away. This cat is, possibly from sheer force of will, more allergy-inducing than most. Not enough to endanger my life, but not pleasant to live with.

Ultimatum or Condition?

A: Is it possible the cat is your guardian angel, entertainingly packaged as a feline beast?

I'd move in with a screaming, aggressive, unfixed, barn cat before I'd move in with someone who dismissed my health issues as a ploy to get my way.

Allergy-deniers have featured in some of the most horrifying stories ever published in this space. It's sociopathic.

And she's calling you a liar.

See? No more "ridiculous reason to break up" problem, and no cats had to die in the making of this answer.

If you need other reasons, then see what readers said:

• An un-neutered tomcat who grew up in a barn being kept in an apartment? That poor animal, no wonder it acts the way it does.

Anonymous

• This cat has a horrible girlfriend: doesn't care what the cat does to other people, doesn't want to find a good solution for all three of you, and thinks you're lying to get your way. Don't move in with her, even if the cat dies today.

Warning

• I'm allergic but live with two cats because there is a big difference in how each particular cat affects you. Oh, and you really need to dump her.

Allergic

• If she hasn't bothered to have her cat fixed, she is responsible for a lot of his behavior, especially the constant screaming. Thank the cat and ditch the girlfriend!

I'm With Caroline

• Exactly. And Caroline and I rarely agree on anything.

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