Dear Carolyn: My roommate, “Sara,” my cat, “Ravioli,” and I have all lived together for 2½ years without any issues. But Sara’s boyfriend of six months, “Tom,” is being a jerk to my cat, and I’m sick of it.
Tom dislikes cats (which is fine), but he’s extremely vocal and tiresome about it. Tom sees some hair on the couch? Swears at the cat. Hears Ravioli meow as I open his wet food? “Oh, my God, shut up.” Sees him walk toward his (frequently cleaned) litter box? “Ugh, disgusting.” He doesn’t have allergies, and it’s not a cleanliness thing because he likes dogs fine. It’s incredibly annoying. I occasionally respond with something like, “Yes, Tom, the cat that lives here is being a cat, just like always,” but he takes that as an invitation to complain more.
