Cat killed on road after parents screwed up when cat-sitting for daughter

This is not Kylo but another tuxedo cat. Image: MikeB.

I want to ask the readers (not many I guess!) who they think is most at fault in this story. I'll say right away that I'd apportion blame at 50:50. What do you think?

Here is the story:

In America, a young woman (26) with a full-time indoors tuxedo cat, Kylo, asked her parents to take care of her cat while she moved to a new state to live with her husband. She gave her parents strict instructions that Kylo was an indoor cat because her previous cats had been indoor/outdoor cats who'd come to early, unnatural deaths such as being poisoned and a hit and run.

Her parents agreed. But they had three dogs and liked to keep the backdoor open! Not good and I guess she might have foreseen what was going to happen and it did.

Kylo escaped the home and was hit by a car outside and killed. Her father telephoned her to inform her that her cat had been killed and she yelled at him: "I told you to keep him inside!". His response was, "Oh stop, it's just a cat". Not good.

This made things worse. She'd had begged her parents to keep Kylo inside but despite their promises they failed to respect her decision. The parents said that Kylo was curious and hinted at that they wanted him to satisfy his curiosity.

"I constantly told them 'no, Kylo is an indoor cat, keep him inside'. I begged and begged them to respect my decision with my cat and I had thought they had…I received a phone call from my father saying that Kylo was hit by a car and killed today. In the midst of sobbing and yelling at my dad, 'I TOLD YOU TO KEEP HIM INSIDE!!' my dad said 'oh stop… it's just a cat' so I promptly hung up on him and immediately called my best friend (26f)."

Comment: Not good enough. The parents failed her terribly. It highlights the problems of getting relatives to cat sit. It is very risky. There is a huge responsibility on the cat sitter to protect the cat or cats. I don't think they realise the responsibility sometimes. But the cat's owner failed her cat too I am afraid. She has ultimate responsibility for her cat. She made the decision to leave him with her parents who apparently were unsuitable and not up to the task.

One issue is failing to recognise the value of a domestic cat. The father clearly didn't. For him it was 'only a cat' which is sure to lead to carelessness.

The response from the daughter is to ban her parents from baby-sitting which is sad but understandable.

The daughter said:

"After a good cry and a stern talking, my husband and I decided to keep my parents from watching their grandchildren without us there, no matter the circumstances. If they can't respect my one wish for my cat, what is to say they will respect my wishes for my children? So, am I the a**hole for not allowing my parents the chance to babysit their grandchildren?"

The source of the story is Reddit.com.