Dear Prudence,
I’ve been with my boyfriend for a little over a year. We’re really good about resolving disagreements fairly and without judgment. Except for one thing. About four months ago I decided to start fostering at-risk kittens. My boyfriend is allergic to cats. We discussed it for several months until one day I ended up with five fosters in my household. I have made every effort to clean (and hired professionals to help deep-clean), but obviously if you’re allergic to pet dander, there is only so much you can do. He’s actually helped a lot with them, so I don’t blame him for hitting a breaking point. But I’m reluctant to push them away, because I made a commitment to care for them until they’re adopted. He takes this to mean I’m trying to weasel my way out of giving them up, which is not the case at all. I just don’t see the point in promising to care for something and then giving up halfway through. We’ve got two adopted out so far, so I don’t quite understand his logic and he doesn’t understand mine.
—Boyfriend Versus Cats