So, I (21F) first want to give some context to where I work, and the relationship my aunt (47) has with animals.

Currently I work in a cat exclusive shelter and have been for about a year. Its the only shelter of its kind in my area, and most cat owners here would tell you they got their cat from us.

Ever since I started working there my aunt has been talking about adopting a cat. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but my issue with this was the fact that every pet shes ever had was neglected in some way and typically ended in me convincing her to give the pet to me so I could rehome them. I dont believe she fully realizes shes doing it, but some examples without going into too much detail would be, lizards shes had not getting enough nutrition, a dog she had developed a nasty ear infection and was never taken to the vet, fish tank never being cleaned, ect. I could go on but I dont want to here for your guy's sake reading this.

Okay now... despite her saying this, I never thought she would actually go ahead and do it. Every time she would mention it I would often shut down the idea by trying to make cats seem as unappealing as possible like... "oh but what if they scratch up your furniture?" or "but cats are so unpredictable! What if they bite your son?". Im not proud of using blatant manipulation like this it was the only way I could think of that wouldn't end in an argument, and it seemed to work for awhile.

Well just last month she came into the shelter I work at during public hours looking to adopt. Awhile she was playing with the cats, I told my boss my aunts history with animals (even showed pictures of the animals) and that I didnt think we should approve her for adoption. My boss agreed, and thanked me for the information. My aunt applied for a cat before she left, but was emailed the next day and was told that her application was denied. To my surprise she applied for another cat a few days later and was once again denied.

This happened 2 more times until suddenly just today, she called me awhile I was at work. She told me that I should convince whoevers responsible for approving applications to approve hers. Being tired of this, I told her I wasnt going to do that. I'll be honest I kind of went off on her, but didnt yell or say anything untrue. I explained she has a bad history with animals and that I personally did not trust that she could care for a cat, so I told them to deny her. She told me that I just wanted to sabotage her, and that I didnt want her to be happy. She said that "a cat will be easier to take care of" and when I told her that kind of thinking is exactly what im afraid of, she hung up on me.

I just got home about an hour ago and im feeling kind of guilty. Part of me feels like im not giving her a chance to prove herself, but another part of me is saying that she already did with the past animals shes cared for. Shes a lovely lady at heart I promise. This inner conflict has inspired me to write this post. So, AITA?