“I’ve always been mad about cats.” ~Vivien Leigh
So I hope you have read the background, here. Pearlsky’s mom moves out, takes David, gets a boyfriend, he moves in and then he brings in a cat. Pearlsky is severely allergic to cats. Got the picture?
David’s birthday, father’s day, whatever, to get the kids together, we go over to her house and hang out in the driveway. We cannot go in. Why doesn’t she bring David to us? She never bothered to get a wheelchair friendly vehicle. She could not take him anywhere, I needed to take him to appointments, etc.
Every six months or a year the issue of the cat comes up. She has no clue what the problem is/was. Her two best friends, she claims, don’t see a problem (note: neither has children). And, she knows how it incites me. How abhorrent I think it is.
I got a call a few days ago. Pearlsky’s mother. Note, she and her husband have decent jobs, and they have no mortgage.
We are thinking of renting out one or two of the bedrooms our condo and one of the possible tenants may be allergic to cats. Do you remember how we “de-catted” the house when Pearlsky was allergic?
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”
(why end with that quote?)
wow. She’s really a piece of work, isn’t she? Self absorbed, party of one, your table is ready…
i hate cats …
I am rather in shock right now. I know the woman, I’ve always thought of her as relatively intelligent (at least, more intelligent than me), and possessing a decent amount of common sense. But this….
She has issues about Pearlsky. I get that. In that sense, it’s not not really about the cats, so I’m not gonna judge, it’s not my place. But this….
As an aside: does she REALLY think you can “de-cat” a place? While still keeping the cats? Seriously? No. Seriously??
Um………..huh?
I do not know and will not judge, but I was reminded by your anecdote that the people in my life who most desperately need a whomping from the clue-bat would never understand why. And clue-bats are heavy things to be carrying about all the time.
That said, we understand your frustration and think of you and Pearlsky often. Stay strong.
Wow. Just… wow.
Your story serves as proof that simply giving birth doesn’t make a woman a mother.
Your children deserve better from her.
Oh, my. She is a special snowflake, isn’t she.
How to ‘de-cat’ a house/condo in two easy steps:
1)Place cat/s in large canvas bag and swing around head rapidly
2)Fling bag into burning house/condo.
Alternatively…. Go f@#k yourself.
to mis-quote the Bard, ‘What a piece of work is woman’. Are you SURE she’s not a redhead. Her attitude is sounding awfully familiar…
My kid’s bio-dad bolted after she became disabled at age 3. He has had almost nothing to do with her or me since. This story makes me feel very fortunate.
Don’t know how you do it, SD.
I’ll admit it, I am a crazy cat lady minus tons of cats. However, I understand that not all people can have or be near cats. De-catting a house will probably take a haz-mat team or one of those disaster-clean-up crews and lots of time.
Side note:it’s not the cat’s fault someone is allergic to her, it’s the owners fault for not thinking.
i should re-state my earlier comment – i hate that i am allergic to cat dander 😉
Wow, she really has no soul. Either that or she has a personality disorder.
Just to clairify that she’s saying what I think she’s saying…she’s looking at getting rid of her cat for the sake of a potential tennant when she would not do so for the sake of her own daughter, correct?
Reading the other comments, I don’t think we all got the same message.
*Faceplam* I did not get that at first. I was just thinking about how SD was sick of her talking about her cat… Note self: don’t comment when too tired to think.
This is in response to Rivka wondering if it’s possible to de-cat a place without getting rid of the cat.
my sister is mildly allergic to cats. they make her sneeze and her eyes water and itch, but she is otherwise oka. She was almost an adult by the time I was born and we never lived together. We got cats when I was a teenager. Since her allergy is not severe, we were able to de-cat the house by doing a thorough vacuum before she arrived and then everyday while she was there. She takes a little benadryll and is fine for a week-long visit.
This would not have worked if she had a severe allergy like Pearlsky does, in which case it would be wrong to get a cat, but it worked well for a minor one. So, it depends on the severity of the allergy and whether the tenant wants to live some place where they will have to take daily anti-histamines and do lots of vacuuming.
Rachel, I don’t even think she’s willing to get rid of the cat, just do what Pthalo is saying, trying to “de-evidence” the place. But yes, she’ll willing to do that for a tenant, but not her daughter.
Maybe the tenants can camp out in the driveway.