So, buckle up, because this is a wild one. I (25F) have been dating my now-ex-boyfriend, Jake (27M), for about a year. Things were mostly great—shared Netflix binges, cute coffee dates, the usual. But Jake had one flaw: he hated my cat, Muffin. Muffin is a 4-year-old tabby, my furry soulmate, and the undisputed queen of my apartment. Jake, however, claimed he was “allergic” (spoiler: he wasn’t) and would dramatically sneeze whenever Muffin so much as looked at him.
Last week, I noticed Jake acting super shady. He was glued to his phone, whispering during calls, and dodging questions like a politician. I figured he was planning a surprise or maybe even cheating, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Big mistake.
Yesterday, I came home from work early and caught Jake in the act of taking pictures of Muffin in her cat carrier. Not cute Instagram pics—think Craigslist-ad-level photos with a blurry, distressed Muffin looking like she was pleading for her life. I asked what the hell he was doing, and he stammered, “Uh, just… documenting her cuteness?” Yeah, right.
I snatched his phone and scrolled through his messages. My jaw hit the floor. He’d been texting some random person about giving Muffin away. The messages read like a shady used-car deal: “Healthy cat, free to a good home, need gone ASAP.” He even described Muffin as “low-maintenance” (lie—she’s a diva) and said I was “on board” with it. EXCUSE ME?!
I lost it. I screamed, “Are you seriously trying to give away MY CAT behind my back?!” Jake tried to play it off, saying Muffin was “ruining our relationship” and that he was doing it “for us.” He claimed he’d found a “nice family” for her and thought I’d “get over it.” Get over it?! Muffin’s been with me through college, heartbreak, and a global pandemic. She’s not a couch you rehome on Facebook Marketplace!
In the heat of the moment, I told him we were done. I said if he thought he could secretly yeet my cat out of my life, he didn’t know me at all. I kicked him out, changed the locks (thanks, YouTube tutorials), and blocked his number. Muffin, sensing the drama, promptly knocked over a glass of water like the chaos agent she is.
Here’s where the FU comes in. This morning, I woke up to a barrage of texts from mutual friends saying Jake’s been telling everyone I’m the bad guy for “overreacting” and “choosing a cat over a human.” Apparently, he’s spinning it like he was just “trying to help” and I blew up our “perfect” relationship over “a pet.” Some friends are even siding with him, saying I should’ve “compromised” (?!). Now I’m second-guessing myself. Did I overreact? Should I have talked it out instead of going nuclear? I mean, he tried to steal my cat, but maybe I could’ve handled it better.
Muffin’s currently curled up on my lap, purring like nothing happened, but I’m a mess. I love her to death, but now I’m single, my friend group’s imploding, and Jake’s out there playing the victim. TIFU, Reddit. What do I do now?
TL;DR: Caught my boyfriend trying to secretly give my cat up for adoption, broke up with him on the spot, and now he’s telling everyone I overreacted. My cat’s fine, but my life’s a dumpster fire. Help?
Comments
Your boyfriend is an astounding asshole and anyone who agrees with him is also an astounding asshole and you are well rid of all of them. Good fucking god.
Jake can eat shit. I’d choose my cats over any of those “friends”.
He FAFO’ed , you’re good.
Nah you did good, fuck him. Muffin for president (great name btw)
huh? How is that your fuck up?
How the fuck do you people read this and not immediately realize it’s AI?
No you didn’t over react.
This guy is crazy for doing it behind your back.
Put him on FB marketplace.
Hoes before bros includes hoes of the feline variety. Fuck that dude, you absolutely made the right choice.
Nope nope nope nope rule number 1 of being a pet owner, if a potential partner says they don’t like your pet then they’re no longer your potential partner.
Unrelated but my dog is also named Muffin 🙂
Compromise? How exactly are you supposed to compromise? He made a demand. Theres no meeting in the middle. Muffin was there first and she’s clearly a better companion than Jake the Snake.
Jake would’ve been dead if I were you.
Does your mutual friend’s where your friends first or Jake’s? ‘Cause you dodged a bullet by breaking things up with him (if he is willing to give away your cat without your knowledge, what isn’t he willing to do in the future?), tell everyone what exactly he did and if they still side with him, well, at least you’ll find out if your friend group is also full of assholes (you probably should have taken photos of the messages on his phone since he will most likely have deleted any evidence, but hindsight is 20/20)
This really reads like a well-written creative writing exercise.
The style is very good, but the behavior of the boyfriend is not consistent at all, and the overall vibe is too Hollywood-esque
Genuinely don’t understand how people can hate cats (unless they have a phobia/are scared ofc), like Muffin probably ignored him most of the time anyway 🙄 he’s a huge asshole for staying with you and trying to get rid of Muff.
Jake is a bag of dicks in a people suit. You absolutely did not over-react – pets become family, so thifor me is on par with someone trying to give away a family member!
The fact that he was sneaking around behind your back to do this proves he knows it was wrong, and he’s now trying to re-write the narrative to make you look like the crazy one. Don’t let him. His behaviour here is a massive red flag!
And those friends siding with him/. Kick them to the kerb too.
The issue here is that the Ex tried to get rid of OP’s pet. Even if it was a scarf, even if it was a plant.
Even if OP didn’t break up, this would have left them with a major scar in the relationship.
There is no fuck up here.
Only point if improvement might have been to get your side of the story out first. Tell all your friends and family the guy you trusted was about to give away your pet without permission (and would probably lie about it, ‘ran away’ or something).
Make sure Muffin is chipped with only your contact details.
I hate cats, I hate my partners cats that I inherited. They eat everything not nailed down, tear up carpet, constantly require de-fleaing as they always end up in bushes. I hate them.
But there is no universe where I would consider shipping them off behind my fiance’s back and I know that the relationship would be over the second she caught wind of the plan.
My only solace is that as our toddler is getting bigger and he’s horrible to them and loves pulling tails. Serves them right :).
There’s no way this actually happened. If it did actually happen, ‘Jake’ gets a fastpass to the front of the “go fuck yourself” queue
I’m sitting here reading your story as my kitty is purring for pets. While she isn’t my soul kitty (those were my OG kitties) she’s been my responsibility since she was 2 months old and I still love her and couldn’t imagine her living out the rest of her life without me.
The fact he can’t comprehend the connection between animal and human makes him a person you shouldn’t want in your life.
Enjoy your time with your diva. You won’t want to miss a moment with her, which he tried to steal from you both.
Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake
This is made via ChatGPT
Jake is a dick.
But everyone saying pets are more important than friends and partners are just as far out as giving away someone elses pet.
Self-centered or possibly a narcissist, he did you a favor by showing his cards. Jealousy of a cat is such a big sign of some type of abuse to come. He’s isolating you from something or someone you love. Ooooo that just makes my blood boil. Big red flag on that play! You will thank your lucky stars one day, you made the right choice. And wait…now he’s getting all your friends to side with him against you? Holy maybe he really is a narcissist. Look the term up and I bet you find more things about him that you’ll be happy you dodged.
Btw say meowllo to your diva for me!
“So, buckle up, because this is a wild one.”
AI bots love this opener. How can you say robots don’t feel love when they’re in such an entwined relationship with quirky descriptions of mundane situations?
Why the actual fuck would you even post this? There is no fuck up on your part so why post here?
not a fuck up. would have done the same thing. my cat is family, nobody is taking her away from me
That profile picture lol, cherry on top of this slop