You don't "deserve" to be gifted a cat

You see it all the time online, "gifted the kitty I've been wanting since forever". No, you didn't earn the cat because you "deserve" one, you just have a pet.<br><br>Check out any cat sub and you'll see tons of people justifying getting another cat because they "deserve" one. It's always framed like "hey, you wanted a pet, so here's one. You deserve to have this pet because you are the kind of person who is so selfless that you should have a pet of your own". That's not an accurate representation of how pets work. <br><br>You didn't get a job, you got a pet. Now you have a pet, and that pet needs care. Full stop. You are being gifted an animal that you need to care for, or you're adopting an animal from a shelter where it may have been abused or was given up on.<br>The first comment on any of these posts is always "awwwww, you deserve it" like yes, they deserve a pet, but they also deserve to understand that they now have the responsibility to care for it.<br><br>Don't get it twisted, I love my cat more than my actual friends. But I also understand that she's a pet, and I am beholden to her. I'm not beholden to my friends, they can go fuck themselves if they want, I can just walk away, but I can never walk away from my pet.