Pregnant Australian woman wants rid of her cat because partner is pet-obsessed

NEWS AND VIEWS: A pregnant Australian woman living in New South Wales (I believe) has put her cat up for adoption on Facebook because her partner, she said, is pet-obsessed and she thinks that if the family cat is got rid of he will turn his attentions to her and the new baby. 

 Pregnant Australian woman wants rid of her cat because partner is pet-obsessed. Photo: Pixabay. The photo is for illustrative purposes only.

She has done this in an underhand way because she has not told her partner about getting rid of the family cat. And she says that she won't be able to care for her cat once the baby arrives. Note: she might be alluding to the difficulty some women have in believing that cats do not present a problem to pregnant women because of the possible transmission of toxoplasmosis, provided they take care. I think she's referring to that but it is not mentioned in the story.

SEE A NUMBER OF ARTICLES ON THE HUMAN-TO-HUMAN RELATIONSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF CAT OWNERSHIP

She said that she wants to focus on her baby and herself and that she knows someone can take care of her cat after the birth of her baby. She said that she is exhausted by the fact that her partner won't "let our cat go". She said that her partner thinks that their cat is his "first child....And he's literally obsessed with the cat, like a cat daddy."

As a consequence she said that she feels sorry for their baby already but believes that he will change and take care of the baby when it is born. She still believes though that things would be much easier if he let the cat go by which she means relinquish or give up the cat to somebody permanently.

She said that she does not want to be mean and throw the cat away which is why she is looking for somebody on social media to take the cat off her hands. Unsurprisingly, Facebook users are unimpressed. They feel that the woman's behaviour is absurd and one commenter suggested that her partner should leave her. They rightly said that companion cats are part of the family. They should not be 'thrown away'. Note: the cat is not being thrown away, strictly speaking, but I take the point.

Another was astonished that she was giving the cat away without her partner knowing. They were baffled as to why she would feel overburdened looking after a cat once the baby had arrived. Comment: I'm not sure she is actually referring to the workload. I think it is more to do with toxoplasmosis and that unfounded fear plus a desire to force her partner to pay attention to her and her baby. I think it is more to do with attention-seeking.

Despite the social media criticism by some she has doubled-down and said: "I've tried my best and I am frustrated as there is no other option but rehoming our pet."

Comment: she is determined to get rid of the family cat and no amount of sensible argument will force her to change her mind.

P.S. I think she might be violation of Facebook policies but I am not sure.