A woman can’t help but feel offended after her co-worker and boss joked about her not attending company events to care for her sick cat.

Not only was the woman determined to provide her pet with the care she needed, but she also did not anticipate having to travel due to the remoteness of the location to begin with.

Now she’s wondering if her cat’s failing health is a valid reason to miss the trip.

The woman’s boss and co-workers are unhappy that she is missing scheduled personal events because of her sick cat.

Woman He shared his dilemma on his “Ask a Manager” blog and announced earlier this year that he had been hired to work as a fully remote worker.

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However, during his first field visit, he learned that his friends working in the same department with him had resigned. “Instead of being the junior member of a small remote team as I expected, I suddenly became the team,” the woman wrote.

“The CEO told me that day that he wanted me to go to head office once a month, and I was still in such shock that I gave a non-committal answer like, ‘If it’s for something important.’ “We had only discussed ‘some’ trips during the interviews.”

In addition to taking an unexpected trip for work, the woman also took with her her 16-year-old childhood cat, which she had recently received from her aging parents.

“He was healthy, but in mid-June, he developed symptoms that we realized last week were severe and chronic pancreatitis,” the woman shared. “The treatment plan includes injections once a week, liquids 2-3 times a week, pills and ointments twice a day, and plenty of hand feeding all day, every day.”

The cat’s treatment plan is a two-man job, which his fiancée was thankfully able to help with, but it has made traveling for work much more difficult.

“Adjusting to working remotely with my boss has already been challenging, with limited communication from both parties (my bad!),” she wrote. “I skipped a first emergency appointment and tomorrow’s event from an event in July due to the new treatment plan (the organization did not lose any money on airfare or hotel).”

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Although the woman was able to travel for a conference in August, she claimed things “went badly” because she was unable to attend every event on the schedule.

“This time my boss expressed his displeasure and told me to find a way to participate ‘if possible’ and ‘take the cat with you,'” she said.

“Even if we were both able to do it independently, I don’t think I could put all this care on my fiancée.”

A remote worker’s colleague who attended a meeting to finalize a project expressed disappointment that he could not attend an event the next day due to his cat’s health condition.

“He didn’t see the pet as a valid excuse and didn’t believe me; he was not a tame person, and in the military that was called a ‘personal problem,'” the woman wrote.

After her colleague’s statement, the woman said:ruder than I should be‘ but he was surprised by what she said to him. If it would make her or her boss feel more comfortable, the woman could get a veterinarian’s note detailing how important it is for her cat to follow the treatment plan.

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The woman also couldn’t help feeling disrespected. his boss was gossiping to his colleagues about why he missed scheduled events. She later had a phone call with her boss, who said she was “disappointed” he didn’t call to check on work-related events on the way to the airport.

“I also made it clear later in my interview that I would not be committing to travel by this time. cat recovers from illness or passes awaythe woman added.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should put his pet before his work.

“Is a pet’s illness a legitimate family matter that would result in missing a trip? What do I do from here? “They can’t see me working every day and want to make up the difference with regular travel, and I can see why they think I’m on board too,” he wrote.

“However, I felt pressured about the current arrangement, I feel disrespected and insecure, and I feel like my travel schedule is being gossiped about, potentially damaging my relationships with other co-workers.”

“If it’s a performance conversation, I’m happy to have it, but not with my boss, not with my co-workers.”

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According to the expert, employers unfortunately do not see pets as a priority before work.

The woman’s situation was difficult for manager Alison Green to unpack and find an ideal solution.

“You signed up for a job that was supposed to require some travel, and the needs of the job changed shortly after you started. “You have the right to say, ‘Hey, this isn’t what we agreed upon when I was hired, and it’s not something I can do,'” Green advised the woman.

“They are also allowed to decide that the needs of the business have changed and they need someone in your role. Who can travel further than originally discussed?. This may not necessarily be fair, but sometimes it happens.

Green, when it comes to the woman’s cat, employers Don’t always consider having to miss work for a sick pet a legitimate reason. That’s why one 2019 survey It found that 1 in 4 pet owners lie to their boss about their pet missing work.

“Refusing to go on a business trip to care for a pet is not seen as refusing to go on a business trip because of childcare. “If you were saying, ‘I’m a single parent of a toddler and can’t travel more than once or twice a year,’ it probably would have gone differently,” she wrote.

“We can debate whether that’s the case, but it’s the reality of many offices.”

“I don’t think you can underestimate the extent to which they’ll accept ‘I can’t travel at all (or much) because of my cat’ for a job they told you from the beginning would require some travel.”

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While Green empathized with the woman and noted that the situation was not her fault, he recommended that she have a “clearing the air” conversation with her boss about what her expectations were.

While each company has different policies regarding missing work or work-related events to care for a sick pet, the decision is ultimately up to the pet owner and there are important factors to consider.

How much paid leave time do you have left? Can you afford to take unpaid leave? Is it possible Hire a sitter to look after your pet while at work? Does your company allow remote work? Will you end up getting fired because of how much work you miss caring for your pet?

This often depends on company culture and your ability to use existing leave policies.

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Megan Quinn is a writer for YourTango covering entertainment and news, self, love and relationships.