Made a new burner acc for this. So, I (24F) live with two roommates, J (25F) and T (23M). We’ve been in this apartment for almost a year, and things were okay until J decided to “surprise us” by bringing home a rescue cat. She didn’t ask, just came back one day holding a carrier like, “Guys, meet Olive!” I like animals, but I was annoyed because our lease requires a pet deposit, and neither T nor I had agreed. J swore up and down she’d pay the deposit, buy all the supplies, and keep Olive in her room until trained. Spoiler: that never happened.
Olive is cute but completely untrained. She claws furniture, knocks things off counters, and gets into everything. T just ignores it, but I’ve been the one constantly wiping up spilled drinks or shooing Olive off my desk. I own a MacBook Pro that I saved up for during college, it’s genuinely my lifeline for work. I’ve told J multiple times not to let Olive in my room. I keep my door shut, but sometimes J leaves it open when I’m not home “so Olive can explore.” I’ve told her this crosses a boundary. She laughs it off and says I’m being controlling, that “cats need freedom.”
Two weeks ago I came home to find my laptop on the floor, screen kinda cracked since Olive had tipped it off the table, with little muddy paw prints all over my desk. Olive had knocked over a glass of water, which spilled onto my keyboard. Dead. Won’t turn on. I was shaking I was so angry. I went up to J and told her about it, to which, she gave me this blank look and said, “You can’t prove it was Olive. Maybe you left the window open.” I literally showed her the paw prints and the knocked over glass. She rolled her eyes and said, “Well accidents happen, that’s what renters insurance is for.” Except I don’t have renters insurance for my laptop, it’s a personal item. I told her she needs to pay to replace it (about $1,200). She refused, said she’s broke and “was just trying to give Olive a good home.”
I genuinely lost it. I told her if she doesn’t pay me, I’ll take her to small claims court and also report the pet to the landlord since she never paid the deposit. She started crying about how I’m threatening her and “trying to take away her baby.” T stayed completely out of it (helpful 🙄). Now J won’t speak to me unless its about something like the dishes. Our mutual friends are divided: some say she’s 100% responsible and needs to pay, others say suing her would be an AH move and I should “let it go” because it’ll ruin the friendship. But it’s not like Olive just chewed a shoe, this is literally my work computer, and I can’t afford to replace it alone. I’m a broke student dude.
So, AITA for demanding my roommate pay me $1,200 after her cat destroyed my laptop, and threatening court if she doesn’t?
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Made a new burner acc for this. So, I (24F) live with two roommates, J (25F) and T (23M). We’ve been in this apartment for almost a year, and things were okay until J decided to “surprise us” by bringing home a rescue cat. She didn’t ask, just came back one day holding a carrier like, “Guys, meet Olive!” I like animals, but I was annoyed because our lease requires a pet deposit, and neither T nor I had agreed. J swore up and down she’d pay the deposit, buy all the supplies, and keep Olive in her room until trained. Spoiler: that never happened.
Olive is cute but completely untrained. She claws furniture, knocks things off counters, and gets into everything. T just ignores it, but I’ve been the one constantly wiping up spilled drinks or shooing Olive off my desk. I own a MacBook Pro that I saved up for during college, it’s genuinely my lifeline for work. I’ve told J multiple times not to let Olive in my room. I keep my door shut, but sometimes J leaves it open when I’m not home “so Olive can explore.” I’ve told her this crosses a boundary. She laughs it off and says I’m being controlling, that “cats need freedom.”
Two weeks ago I came home to find my laptop on the floor, screen kinda cracked since Olive had tipped it off the table, with little muddy paw prints all over my desk. Olive had knocked over a glass of water, which spilled onto my keyboard. Dead. Won’t turn on. I was shaking I was so angry. I went up to J and told her about it, to which, she gave me this blank look and said, “You can’t prove it was Olive. Maybe you left the window open.” I literally showed her the paw prints and the knocked over glass. She rolled her eyes and said, “Well accidents happen, that’s what renters insurance is for.” Except I don’t have renters insurance for my laptop, it’s a personal item. I told her she needs to pay to replace it (about $1,200). She refused, said she’s broke and “was just trying to give Olive a good home.”
I genuinely lost it. I told her if she doesn’t pay me, I’ll take her to small claims court and also report the pet to the landlord since she never paid the deposit. She started crying about how I’m threatening her and “trying to take away her baby.” T stayed completely out of it (helpful 🙄). Now J won’t speak to me unless its about something like the dishes. Our mutual friends are divided: some say she’s 100% responsible and needs to pay, others say suing her would be an AH move and I should “let it go” because it’ll ruin the friendship. But it’s not like Olive just chewed a shoe, this is literally my work computer, and I can’t afford to replace it alone. I’m a broke student dude.
So, AITA for demanding my roommate pay me $1,200 after her cat destroyed my laptop, and threatening court if she doesn’t?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I might be the asshole because when my roommate’s cat destroyed my very expensive laptop, I told her she needed to replace them or I’d deduct the cost from her share of rent. From her perspective, it was unfair because “cats will be cats” and she says I should’ve kept them out of reach. From my perspective, she’s responsible for her pet’s behavior and I shouldn’t have to pay for the damage. I’m wondering if demanding she cover the cost makes me the asshole.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
do you have any for of survailence?
what state are you in i cant tell you legal stuff without knowing the state or country
and you def arent the asshole
NTA. But your roommate is certainly a completely insensitive and selfish asshole. Sue her in small claims court. Your city/county likely has a phamphlet or booklet on how to do it on their website. I’m an attorney but don’t get one. You’ll pay them more than the value of the laptop.
NTA. The reason your friends are divided is because two points are both true- she is 100% responsible and threatening to contact the landlord is going too far. I don’t thing taking her to small claims would be too much though. But anything that threatens her loosing the cat definitely is too far. That said, its a major hassle and may not be worth doing.
Cats are going to be cats, you really can’t train them. But your room is your room. She does not get to let her cat in there. That’s not just a social boundary, that is your rented property that you pay for. It is yours. By letting the cat in that room she’s completely responsible for what the cat breaks.
I think the friendship is already ruined, and not by you standing up for yourself. Look for a new place to live, this is not a sustainable long-term living situation anymore.
Obviously NTA and you have no backbone letting someone LOL about their cat needing to find freedom in your room.
All of the friends that don’t think it’s a big deal should chip in to replace the laptop.
Nta
It’s her cat. she’s responsible for damage it causes, simple. Plus her crappy attitude seals the deal for me- it wasn’t an accident, she wilfully allowed the cat into your room after being told it’s out of bounds. Get your money- if she can be so blase about your possessions, she’s not a friend anyway NTA
You can’t really train a cat (outside of litterbox training)
NTA. You tried to do everything right in order to keep the cat away from your property, even compromise by cleaning up after the cat even though it’s not your responsibility. If J is going to just open your door after you explicitly asked her to keep the cat out of your room, she can be responsible for any damages
NTA. But don’t hold your breath. You might have to follow through on your threats (and you should) obviously once the lease is up, she needs to go.
NTA, if this is even true (muddy paw prints from an indoor cat? Where do you keep the mud?). While you can’t really train a cat, roommate was in the wrong to get one without consent of other housemates, and especially in letting her cat into your room without your consent. She should pay for damage.
NTA. Be careful reporting her to the landlord though, all of you have technically been complicit in letting the cat be there without following the rental agreement, so you could end up punished too, especially if eviction is something a violation like this could result in.
Other than that, absolutely take her to small claims court. You telling her to keep your door closed should have been enough to prevent this accident. Her regularly deliberately opening it and or supervising her cat lead to this problem and so she is 100% responsible. Everyone on her side is in the wrong. Yes accidents happen with pets, but it’s the pet owners responsibility to minimize the risk of accidents and to take accountability when they happen. You were already doing your part by keeping your door closed.
NTA all J had to do was leave your door closed!
NTA
I don’t have a problem with you suing her because she should replace it – she crossed many boundaries here. What you should have done was put your foot down. There were several places you could have insisted that things change, but you didn’t. You guys let her keep it. You guys let her get away with not putting down a deposit. You guys let her get away with the lie that she’d train her and keep her in her room. You could have threatened to go to the landlord when she dismissed your concern that she opened your bedroom door.
You’re not wrong, but you aren’t blameless in letting this situation happen. And yeah, suing her will ruin this friendship, but is it recoverable at this point? Do you want it to be?
This part makes no sense ‘ I don’t have renters insurance for my laptop, it’s a personal item’. Renters insurance is there for protecting your personal items, however: Your roommate needs to reimburse you for the laptop (or you take her to small claims court)
If you’re going to keep living there, put a lock on your bedroom door. Your roommate is an irresponsible pet owner.
Does your lease allow for pets?