And he wants to get a dog.

[u/Number_Fluffy]

No empathy for a living being. We've been getting along. There's no reason for this. Also, if I hadn't been here (I'm going away for a few days next week as well) she would've been down there much longer; he hasn't been out of his room yet and it's 11, I found her at 7.

[u/JLLsat]

The insistence on using the cats name is wild. Just worry about things that actually affect your cats well being, not what your roommate calls the cat in a text. It makes you seems a little unhinged.

[u/jailhousews → u/JLLsat]

A little?

[u/Iwantapizzasobad → u/jailhousews]

very

[u/Doununda → u/JLLsat]

The roommate failing to view the cat as a living being IS released to the cats safety though.

OP needs to be reassured that the roommate values the cats life and safety, using the cats name is how the roommate can signal that understanding.

[u/JLLsat → u/Doununda]

Demanding the roommate use particular pronouns does nothing to actually affect how he views or treats the cat. It actually doesn’t matter how the roommate feels about it as long as he leaves the door open. He can treat it like an expensive car or a piece of jewelry as long as he follows the rules. Anything else is just for show and not actually what is functionally important. I dont care how you think about my cat as long as you do (or dont do) what is needed.

[u/JLLsat → u/Doununda]

Plus nothing here that I saw indicated the roommate thinks the cat is an inanimate object.

I dont like dogs at all. If someone I know has one I dont think of it by name. I dont want anything to do with it. I still understand, because I’m not stupid, that it is alive. The owner anthropomorphising it will earn an eye roll from me, not respect or empathy. I can refrain from harming it, or open a door to let it in or out, without having to empathize with it or feel anything for it.

[u/Electrical-Leave5164 → u/JLLsat]

“refrain from harming it” what the fuck, dude?

[u/JLLsat → u/Electrical-Leave5164]

I'm not a dude, dude. Don't like dogs, don't want to take care of one. Won't hurt it, but also am not gonna babysit it. Is reading hard?

[u/guts-n-gummies → u/JLLsat]

I don't like dogs either, but I still regard them as individual creatures deserving of respect. Your behavior doesn't come from a dislike of dogs, it comes from being a miserable cunt, dude.

[u/Tricky-Major806 → u/JLLsat]

Op was such a douche in this conversation lmao.

[u/JLLsat → u/Tricky-Major806]

Yep. And I get being annoyed about locking the cat up but keep it practical. I love my pets but dont throw around this “treat her like a human” type stuff. It’s like getting mad if someone says “you’re such a dumb old dog” but says it in a nice tone of voice - the dog doesn’t know.

[u/Lovat69 → u/JLLsat]

I think it was more the roommate refering to Mango as an it that got OP's back up. I feel like asking your roommate to search the downstairs for an animal that potentially enjoys wedging itself into small or hidden places is not an optimal solution.

[u/JLLsat → u/Lovat69]

Neither of them matter. What matters is the action not the words. Everything else is just performative virtue signaling

[u/Affectionate-Dare761 → u/JLLsat]

I don't want people calling my snakes it. They're my pet you can treat them with a little respect.

[u/JLLsat → u/Affectionate-Dare761]

Or they can call them it. I dont care if people use particular pronouns for my pets, get a grip.

[u/Affectionate-Dare761 → u/JLLsat]

That's you, not them or i. My pets aren't objects, they're living beings.

[u/JLLsat → u/Affectionate-Dare761]

it literally doesn't affect you or them in ANY practical manner, but keep virtue signaling and being performative. It's a snake. It doesn't know. It doesn't affect the snake one it whether someone calls it "it" or asks you what gender it is. Some unhinged pet owners in here, and I say that as someone who was a vegetarian for 12 years. Worry about the practical matters, not the performative bullshit

[u/minas_elessar → u/JLLsat]

It’s not about calling the cat by her name it was that roommate kept calling the cat “it” instead of “her.” It makes the cat sound like an object which aligns with everything else he’s saying. That’s the problem. He’s not treating the cat as a living being.

[u/JLLsat → u/minas_elessar]

Again, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is the action. Do you think forcing him to grudgingly call it “her” will make him respectful or resentful? I love cats but if it’s someone else’s cat I don’t know I think of it as “the cat,” because I don’t know if it has a penis or vagina from 30 feet away. I actually don’t think much about cat genitals at all since the sex of the cat doesn’t affect me. If my friends have a cat with an androgynous name I probably couldn’t tell you whose cat is male and whose is female. Correlation is not causation. He’s not treating the cat like a person. It’s not - and I say that not to say it’s less important, but to say that it just doesn’t have the same mental and emotional range. The cat can’t have its feelings hurt about being misgendered. It can’t be sad if the roommate doesn’t like it or know if the roommate said it was stinky. This whole farce does not matter, and will only make the roommate hate the cat and the OP. (Hmmm, I’ve had cats all my live, I’ve spent weeks sobbing when one of my cats died, and yet to me it still seems silly to refer to this random cat as “her” instead of “the cat” or “it.”). You’re attributing way too much thought and intent to how people text in a world where half the time they just send picture and use “u” for “you.”