I (26F) recently told my parents they’ll never be allowed to babysit my future children without me or my husband present.
They think I’m being dramatic over “one mistake.”
I don’t.
For some background, about a year ago I moved to another state to live with my husband (24M). At the time, we couldn’t immediately bring my cat, Kylo, with us, so my parents agreed to care for him until we were financially able to bring him home.
Kylo was a tuxedo cat with the sweetest personality. I absolutely adored him.
Before leaving, I made one thing crystal clear.
Kylo was an indoor cat.
He was not to be let outside under any circumstances.
This wasn’t me being overprotective. I’d already lost multiple cats because they were allowed outdoors. One was hit by a car, another was poisoned by a horrible neighbor, and another disappeared and never came home.
I wasn’t willing to take that risk again.
My parents agreed.
After I moved, though, they kept texting me things like, “He really wants to go outside,” and “He’s so curious.”
For context, my parents have three dogs and leave their back door open almost all day.
Every single time they brought it up, I told them the same thing.
“No. Keep him inside.”
I begged them to respect that one boundary.
I honestly believed they were.
Then, on September 17, 2023, I got a phone call from my dad.
Kylo had been hit by a car and killed.
While I was sobbing, I yelled, “I told you to keep him inside!”
My dad’s response?
“Oh, stop… it’s just a cat.”
I immediately hung up on him.
After crying with my best friend and talking everything through with my husband, we made a decision.
My parents will never babysit our future children without one of us present.
To me, this isn’t really about the cat anymore.
It’s about trust.
I gave them one simple instruction involving someone I loved, and they ignored it because they thought they knew better.
Then, when the exact thing I warned them about happened, they dismissed my grief by saying, “It’s just a cat.”
If they couldn’t respect such a simple boundary with my pet, why would I trust them to respect my rules with my children?
They think I’m overreacting.
I think they’ve proven they can’t be trusted with responsibilities that matter to me.
AITAH?