AITA for refusing to buy my roommate new meals after my cats knocked them off the counter?

A Reddit user recounts a dispute with her roommate, Rose, about some food her cats had spoiled. Rose frequently prepares her meals in advance for the week, and she usually lets her food sit out all night to cool down before refrigerating it.

Rose chose to disregard the user’s cautions that her cats could topple or consume the food, and persisted in leaving her meals exposed. As predicted, one morning the cats pushed numerous food containers from the counter, destroying a significant portion of Rose’s prepared meals.

Rose grew angry, insisting the user compensate her for the food, but the user declined, pointing out she had already cautioned Rose about the potential hazard. This sparked continued friction, as certain mutual acquaintances sided with Rose, feeling the user should cover the cost of the spoiled groceries, given her cats were responsible.

‘ AITA for refusing to buy my roommate new meals after my cats knocked them off the counter?’

My housemate, Rose, 24F, who is 23F, makes all of her lunches and dinners for the week in advance. Every Sunday night, she waits until late to cook everything, and then she usually leaves the containers out on the counter all night to cool since they are too hot to put in the refrigerator before she goes to sleep.

Two months have passed since my cats joined me in the apartment. While I forbid them from accessing the counters, they will attempt to consume any food that is left exposed. I cautioned her that the cats might be tempted to eat or topple her food if left unattended overnight. She dismissed my concerns, assuring me it would not be a problem. I warned her that an incident was inevitable.

Monday morning, I discovered the kitchen was a disaster. The cats had pushed a number of containers off the counter and their contents were all over the floor. After cleaning up, I salvaged what food I could and put it in the refrigerator. Of the 7 lunches and 7 dinners I had prepared, approximately half were no longer edible.

After Rose awoke, I recounted the events and expressed my regret. She became extremely angry with me, as she lacks the financial resources to replenish her food supply for the remaining days of the week. Rose insisted that I purchase additional groceries to compensate for what my pets consumed, but I am equally unable to allocate funds from my personal food allowance to provide her with supplementary meals.

I informed her that I wouldn’t be covering the cost of replacements, as she had acted carelessly by leaving her food exposed, a situation I had cautioned her about. Despite this, she remains angry with me, and some friends suggest I am responsible for replacing her food, given that my cats were the ones who spoiled it.

Here’s what people had to say to OP:

Sylvurphlame −  YTA. Keep the cats in your room Sunday nights. They are animals. You are the human. You’re responsible.

sandiercy −  YTA. Your cats caused the problem, you are responsible for your cats, therefore you are responsible for this. Also, pissing off your roommate is never a good idea, you have to live with them, you don’t want them pissed at you all the time.

ThrowRAzilla −  Both are TA . You are indeed responsible for anything your cats damage…also your roommate is an i**ot for leaving so much food out . Gross …but also irresponsible. I’d offer to pay a portion of the lost goods, and remind her that if it happens again that risk is on her or she can move .

KronkLaSworda −  NTA. She left food out, overnight, in a house with cats in it. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

NotCreativeAtAll16 −  NTA. Honestly, she shouldn’t be eating anything that’s been left out all night unrefrigerated.

StatisticianFar7690 −  YTA – whether you warned her or not. YOUR cats did this. I can’t even believe you’re asking this.

annawhowasmad −  I was ready to say otherwise based off the title, but NTA based off the post. She was warned and disregarded that warning.
Also, there’s a big difference between leaving something out for half an hour and your cat knocking it off the counter, and leaving it all out ALL NIGHT. Apart from anything else, she needs to go on a food safety course.

mencryforme5 −  This could go everyone sucks but I’m going to go with NTA. Cats are notoriously not trainable. OP doesn’t allow cats on counters but I’ve had cats and if there’s no one around of course they will knock anything they can off the counter for sport.

Leaving food out where it can be reached is guaranteed to pique a cat’s interest. The habit of the original poster to leave an abundance of food exposed all night is strange and an inconsiderate housemate action, which restricts their access to the kitchen for roughly half a day.

OP was okay with what happened, but cautioned their roommate that leaving food out with cats around would likely lead to trouble. The roommate persisted in their bad habit, and trouble ensued as expected. OP even cleaned up and rescued food, which OP wouldn’t have done, considering it was the roommate’s fault for leaving it out.

The flatmate is now requesting reimbursement, yet hasn’t indicated any intention to alter their unsustainable behavior. The original poster’s roommate created a problem and is now facing the consequences. It could have been more severe, such as food poisoning. Instead of rendering the kitchen unusable for an entire day, the roommate needs to improve their planning.

Jazzlike_Humor3340 −  NTA. She’s being foolish. She’s cooking food for an entire week, and starts by leaving it out overnight at room temperature?. Hello food poisoning! You don’t leave food out overnight with cats in the house – but if you’re smart, you don’t leave it out overnight at all.

It should be separated into smaller quantities to facilitate faster cooling, then quickly put in the refrigerator, with food intended for later in the week possibly being frozen.

dwells2301 −  NTA. You can’t leave food on a counter overnight and expect cats to leave it alone. Leaving food out all night is a good way to get sick.

Was the user justified in declining to compensate her roommate for the ruined food after cautioning her about the potential danger, or should she be held accountable given that her cats were the cause of the spoilage? What would your course of action be in a comparable scenario with a roommate? Let us know what you think!