To ask my 15 year old to clean up cat sick

[Iwantatrio]

15 year old DS has text me to say the cat has been sick on the kitchen floor. I asked him to please clean it up using antibacterial wipes. He’s replied no way, I’ve put a tea towel over it. He has a history of behaviour issues at home and at school. I’m on my own with him and these things are the things I can’t tell if I am losing perspective about and I don’t have anyone objective to ask.

This happens to my friend with her 17 yo DS. In addition to the cat sick, if the cat brings home a dead mouse he will either leave it there or at best, throw something over it. She's given up trying as he argues it was her decision to get a cat.

as he argues it was her decision to get a cat.
It's a pretty compelling argument, to be fair.

I think a lot of teenagers would baulk at that - I know 16 yr old ds would. Your ds probably thinks he's done well covering it up with a tea-towel tbh! Other two grown-up ds (who would have been just as reluctant as teen ds, if we'd had a cat back then) would and have cleared up sick, and dead rodents, no trouble! They do get more responsible, usually after they've been away from or have left home!

My kids won't do this sort of stuff either so actually I've started getting them to do smaller and less icky kind of stuff, as in 'shit just spilled X, could you please clean it up, really sorry (make up reason I can't)' then loads of thanks after. Yes it's babying them, but I got an eye opener when my sil and bil left sick under a towel and told mil they wouldn't clean a pot of stew out cos it was too disgusting. So I'm building them up. (The other night 13yo cleaned bathroom floor as I looked in and it was wet and I did a big ott 'crap I don't have time and someone is going to slip etc") I nearly fell over when he offered (in general I have to tell him not to tell people not to get stuff for him etc)

I wouldn't be encouraging teens to use disposable wipes tbh, why are people still so bloody blase about them? Vile things.

Dd was an utter horror as a younger teen, but she did look after our cats and did clean up cat puke.
He really should, I know it won't bother the cat but still, they are living creatures, and should be cared for and all that comes withe them.

If it helps, OP, I was generally a “good”, if moody, teenager (not in trouble outside the home) and yes I would have refused to deal with my mum’s cat’s mess at that age - not proud of it of course. I think it’s within the realm of normal teenage selfishness - some will be funny about this, some will be unhelpful in different ways.