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AIBU?

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Original poster

Did I overreact to incident in restaurant?

172 replies

fatgirlonthebeach · 08/09/2019 06:35

Currently on holiday in Greece and was out last night for a meal with DP. It's quite normal here for cats to wander around the outside tables hoping to be given a bit of food. I like cats but I don't feed them as I know some taverna owners don't like it. We had finished our meal when a couple sat on the table next to us and started to feed the cats. I didn't have a problem with this until one poor cat started throwing up right underneath my chair. It really upset me and I didn't want to stay sitting where I was with cat sick on the floor so I told DP we would have to move to another table to finish our drinks.

The couple who had fed the cat saw me trying to move and heard me say (to my DP) that it was disgusting and I wasn't happy to stay sitting where I was. The couple glared at me as if I had gone mad and was making a big deal of it (whilst they happily carried on eating). I had a bit of a job getting away from our table as we were sat in a corner and the couple had put their bags on their spare chair which was blocking my exit. They made no attempt to move the chair to help me get out and carried on looking at me as if I was overreacting.

DP and I moved to another table and finished our drinks. The taverna owner came over to ask why we had moved so I explained and he apologised but I didn't blame him at all and smiled happily and said it was no problem.

DP seems to think that I overreacted and that we should have stayed at our table. He also wanted to order another round of drinks but I really wasn't happy to stay sitting where I was. The cat-feeders clearly thought I was bonkers.

Did I overreact? Would you have stayed sitting there with cat sick under your chair?

OP posts:
MRex · 09/09/2019 12:13

Oh FFS, that's ridiculous. You simply cannot be serious in saying that you'd request bleach, cloths, hot water, gloves and a bin then get down on your knees and clean up the floor after a stray animal. In a restaurant. They wouldn't even hand out all the stuff you'd need to customers, it would just come across as a passive aggressive way of asking them to clean the floor. When you could just politely let the staff know it's there and switch table so they can clean up at their own pace.

zukiecat · 09/09/2019 16:53

Is that meant for me MRex?

If so, yes I would, I'd just use napkins to clean it up there and then, go to the loo and wash my hands.

No need for any fuss

Littlechocola · 09/09/2019 16:58

I love cats but wouldn’t sit near vomit of any kind. I call bullshit on all of those that would.

You didn’t cause a scene, you swapped tables. You handled it well.

MRex · 09/09/2019 16:59

This is funny. Where do you plan to put the cat vomit napkins? Do you appreciate the restaurant might have preferred it to be cleaned properly using bleach to get rid of the smell and bacteria?

zukiecat · 09/09/2019 17:05

In the bin MRex

Up to the restaurant if they want to bleach the area,

I don't bleach at home, cat sick is wiped up straight away, and if they're sick on the very odd occasion I'm out, then a quick wipe up with an animal friendly spray is fine

DadDadDad · 09/09/2019 17:21

zukiecat - can I just point out (and this would be a useful observation for all of us who post on MN, especially AIBU): not everyone is like you. What works for you might not work for others.

zukiecat · 09/09/2019 17:27

Yes I know DadDadDad

I believe I said what I would do, didn't ever say everyone else has to

dayslikethese1 · 09/09/2019 17:32

How much cat sick are we talking? Grin

DadDadDad · 09/09/2019 17:33

Except, zukie, you said "no need for any fuss", implying that everyone should follow your example.

I would make some fuss, not much, but I would say, "sorry, the thought of cat sick under my chair is putting me off this glass of wine - can we move?" I'm not sure if you appreciate this but for some of us, trying to wipe up any sick with a napkin would result in gagging and would be really unpleasant.

zukiecat · 09/09/2019 17:41

No DadDadDad

I did not mean everyone should be like me, I do appreciate not everyone would like cat sick under their chair, but I'd be the one who would offer to clean it up.

I'm not trying to be difficult, but a bit of cat sick is the least of MY worries

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 09/09/2019 17:47

If my cat’s sick it makes me feel slightly queasy. You were not being unreasonable to move.

ShirleyPhallus · 09/09/2019 17:49

If so, yes I would, I'd just use napkins to clean it up there and then, go to the loo and wash my hands.

This is so gross 😷 Do you not think that wild cats might have different diseases to vaccinated house cats and therefore need to be cleaned up properly?

I used to work in a bar / restaurant and customers would often break glasses and sometimes vomit, then try and clean it up thinking they were being helpful. I certainly would not have wanted vomit napkins put in a bin that would then stink and one of us would clean out at the end of the night. Likewise, people would clean up glass by brushing it under chairs / use menu boxes to clear it up then leave it around for staff to find in lovely surprise locations.

Why not just let the staff do their job instead of further spreading diseases from manky cat vomit?

EugenesAxe · 09/09/2019 17:50

I would not have wanted sick under my effing chair. What if I dropped a napkin or my bag got pushed into it? Just gross and I'm not usually that precious... sick and shit though, they offend me a lot.

I would not have insisted on dashing home though, and would have had another round once I'd moved to a sick-free area. Maybe your DH is calling you melodramatic because the evening didn't go the way he wanted.

DarlingNikita · 09/09/2019 17:54

The cat feeders were fucking loons and your DP is being silly. And I like cats. I just don't want to sit with their vomit under my chair at a restaurant. YANBU and those saying they would happily sit there and have more drinks/clean it up themselves Hmm are frankly weird.

zukiecat · 09/09/2019 18:01

I'm happy to be considered weird, everyone else thinks so anyway.

Cat sick is just something that does not bother me in the slightest

Sunshine93 · 09/09/2019 18:04

This thread is ridiculous. Of course you weren't being unreasonable. I would have left I think because I wouldn't fancy my drink anymore. An animal being sick near you is unpleasant and potentially unhygienic. The poster saying they would clean up a random wild cat's sick themselves with a napkin is just bizarre. The restaurant really wouldn't thank you for that and you have no idea what that animal could be carrying.

Ticklemeelmo · 09/09/2019 18:10

I'm a cat person but that is gross, not sure if I'd have moved but you weren't being unreasonable to.

Quite why you'd get stick about moving from people in the restaurant or on here is ridiculous- get a grip!

Michellelovesizzy · 09/09/2019 18:14

No a cat got sick under ur chair..... ur DP didnt have to sit with cat sick under his chair. I would hav been the same.

nuxe1984 · 09/09/2019 18:17

I would have picked up the bag and put it down on the cat sick ….

Jack80 · 09/09/2019 18:22

No I wouldn't sit near any sick

Puzzledandpissedoff · 09/09/2019 18:29

It wouldn't have bothered me personally, but then I've got cats; their stomachs are tiny and it's not as if they produce the pavement pizzas humans do

I totally respect that others might be bothered though, and don't blame you for moving if you're one of them. The "please don't feed the cats" are there for a reason which is why I always feed them in a car park or whatever

Toomuchtrouble4me · 09/09/2019 18:30

I was eating in Thailand once when a dog gave birth under the table opposite. I would have preferred it to be my table - might not have seen it!😁

Juliehooligan · 09/09/2019 18:38

Yanbu, both my partner and I would have moved away, who knows if it was just the scraps was the reason why it was sick, or if it had some sort of illness, after all the cat is a stray.

Fluffiest · 09/09/2019 18:43

I love cats. But their sick does stink and if it was under my chair I'd spend all my time being conscious of not putting my foot in it.

Moving and politely telling the staff why is a perfectly reasonable reaction. The only thing I would have done differently is have a second drink at a different bar if DH wasn't ready for calling it a night.

Bennyandthejetsssss · 09/09/2019 18:45

Yes!
You’re on holiday.

Are you normally so uptight? Seriously, why are you worried about how the others behaved towards you?

Some wouldn’t mind the cat, some would but I’m not sure many people would be asking about it here.

It’s ok to move if you’re not happy. It doesn’t matter what anyone else makes of that...

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