‘I kicked my dad out of my house because he made insensitive joke about my cat’

The woman wasn’t happy with her dad’s behaviour and since they’d always had a strained relationship, she felt like it was time to say goodbye to him and his toxicity

One woman was so horrified by her dad’s behaviour when he temporarily moved into her house that she felt she had no choice but to kick him out. She admitted that her and her father don’t have the best relationship ever, so she was nervous to move him in, but since he wasn’t working due to a medical condition she felt she couldn’t say no.

She took to Reddit’s ‘am I the a**hole’ forum to ask people whether they thought what she’d done was reasonable given the circumstances. The woman explained that the first couple of weeks had been fine, but suddenly there seemed to be a change in behaviour.

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She wrote: “I (19F) bought a house about nine months ago with money that I inherited when my mother passed away back in 2017. It’s not big just a simple two bedroom house with a small backyard. Recently my father (39M) had to move into my second bedroom because he couldn’t keep his job due to medical reasons.

“We have always had a very rough relationship to say the least so I was hesitant to let him stay. For the first few weeks we got along fine and there were no problems. As more time started to pass I started to notice he was getting lazy about cleaning up after himself. Not just leaving his cans everywhere but he would for example make a mess of the bathroom and leave me to clean it up.

“I was starting to feel like I was looking after a teenager instead of a full-grown man. My final straw was when I found my cat outside and when I asked him about it he just said ‘oh you know how I don’t like cats so I got rid of her be happy I didn’t take her to the river.’

“When I tried to gently bring up the subject stating I kept up after myself when under his roof so I expected the same from him. That is when it all hit the fan, he went on a tirade yelling and throwing random little things he could get his hands on.

“The things in my house may not be expensive but I took the months to specially decorate it and make it my perfect safe space so seeing him destroying some of it in front of my eyes really irked me.

“When he finally left I packed anything of his I could find put it in garbage bags and put them on the front step with a note saying he was no longer welcome in my home and will need to find a new place to stay. The bags are gone from my step and I haven’t heard from him since.”

People were quick to check that the woman was able to make her home a safe space again, insisting that she take steps to do it quickly.

One wrote: “Please change your locks immediately!” with another insisting that she “get security cameras immediately”.

Another commented: “Change your locks immediately, and if you at all feel he might come back and cause harm consider a restraining order against him.

“I’m so sorry you lost your mother at such a young age. I hope you have other people in your life who offer you love and who support and respect you. You deserve good things.”

Someone else pointed out that her dad hadn’t behaved in the best way, writing: “You gave your father a chance, he acted like a spoiled brat, you tried talking to him when it didn’t work out, and yet he still kept misbehaving under your roof.

“Especially the thing with your cat (and his reaction when you confronted him) means overstepping boundaries. And that the stuff at your house he was throwing at you wasn’t expensive hasn’t got anything to do with it, he disrespected you and your property. Just make sure he doesn’t have any keys to your house.”

One Redditor pointed out that the original poster had every right to feel safe in her own home. They wrote: “As the one person assuming the financial burden of maintaining the house you should always feel safe in your own home. And if you desire to have pets in your home you should feel that they will be safe in your home. And children, no matter what age, don’t owe their parents anything.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.