“Friend Asked Me To Catsit. She’s A Bit Of A Germophobe So This Was The Natural Thing To Do”
Mysophobia, also known as germophobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. Symptoms include an obsession with sanitation, a need to clean excessively and an aversion to people touching your stuff.
So when Iva, from Bulgaria, asked her friend Petar to catsit for her, Petar cheekily set about having a little fun with her phobia by taking selfies around the house, fingering a variety of stuff.
“I can’t say her germophobia is a condition or a severe state,” Petar assured Bored Panda. “More of an always-have-to-have-coasters kind of person, or no-shoes-in-the-house. We joke about it a lot, she tags along with it.”
“She didn’t ask me specifically not to touch her stuff, she even let me stay at hers for a week while she was away and I was looking for a new flat! I was just hungover and had to wake up at 10am to feed her cats and felt a bit annoyed and wanted to wind her up as payment.”
He certainly succeeded with that! Touching everything from cushions to cats and lamps, Petar’s hangdog, deadpan expression while doing his dastardly deeds only adds to the humor of the post.
Even the cat’s stuff wasn’t safe from the finger! And we all know how fastidious felines can be… “There are two cats, a black one called Bonka and a white one called Stoycho,” Petar explained. “I had to do it over the weekend but it’s an ongoing thing. Whenever she is away either me or some of our friends goes and catsits.”
“I get along with the cats very well!”
What do you think? Do you know any germophobes? How do you think they would react to photos of their stuff being touched like this? Is germophobia even a laughing matter, or should we take it more seriously? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Here’s how people reacted to the deadpan prankster
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this is iva, the girl w/ the germophobia. here's the plot twist: don't really have germophobia, nor germano-phobia (sorry @lulik). i just obsess about dirt, dust & flying hairs, cat fur including. so yes, my vacuum cleaner doesn't get a day off (that comment was so dead-on btw) but also my life doesn't get paralysed because i haven't vacuumed today. i felt i should clear the air about my "state" as ppl usually use the term too broadly which belittles the serious states of phobia. there are ppl who experience serious life consequences due to an irrational/pathological fear of something and they deserve to be taken seriously. mine is just a quirk that got some internet points (thanks, petar).
Ok this is funny and all, but can I just say that her house is really nicely decorated! Simple, but cute! And all the plants are nice too - I wish that I could have plants like that but unfortunately I have a thumb about as green as a brick :/
I even have a green thumb but one pain in the behind moved in and started chewing on everything what is green, except her own grass so now I have zero plants but excess of cat hair.
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Erm, as a bulgarian I must say that usually we don't message each other in english... just to let you know
Erm, you would if you wanted English speakers to appreciate your humor and posts.
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I couldn't have done these photos with his face expression, I would have laughed half the time. I like how he has the same serious expression on every pic.
I love this guy and his humor, I would do the same thing that he did. I might have added " I'm touching your stuff you better come stop me."
I had a friend once when I was 13 and younger who was a total germaphobe (we're no longer friends but for a totally different reason) and she had 2 dogs and she would not pet either (but for some reason she was fine petting her cat). She washed her hands so much they bled. There was one time she was going through my bags and purses (uninvited and without permission) and found a, um, feminine product (unused, obviously) and she literally screamed EW and ran to the bathroom to wash her hands XD like seriously you're a girl what do you even do for a week every month?! She wasn't OCD-- her room was a total mess. Just a really weird person with an unnatural fear of germs (but not all germs).
Also (this is kinda unrelated but it's the same person) her parents told her (and, as far as I know, are still enforcing this) that words like "stupid" and "dumb" are bad words. They don't allow her to read or write romance of any kind (not even married couples). They do not let her wear makeup or get her ears pierced. They don't even let her draw semi-realistic girls bc they don't want her drawing boobs (even a barely noticeable outline on fully clothed characters). This is a 15 year old girl. As much as I dislike her now (for various reasons) I kinda feel sorry for her. If she turns out to be a serial killer later in life I won't be surprised (I'm also 80% sure she's an actual psychopath bc she has no emotions and lies all the time and manipulates people for fun).
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A new hire at the nightclub where I worked in the 90s -- good looking, amiable, cool -- came with us to breakfast afterward. He was making points with one of the women on staff. Breakfast came and she reached over and grabbed one of his fries. He pushed the plate toward her and said, "You can have the whole thing. I don't like my food being touched." Forever after, if he was away from the table when food came, we all fondled his chow. BTW… he blew it with Fry Girl.
So, as a diagnosed germaphobe, I don't find this super funny. I hate the way people treat phobias like this as just some weird hangup, or worse, something to laugh at, rather than a real thing that causes distress for those of us who have it. I'm not to the extent that someone touching my things would freak me out UNLESS I knew they had been out in public or handling nasty stuff (including dirty dishes, the litter box, etc). Even then it would depend on the thing. I hope these two are true friends, because if my best friend did that to make fun of me, they wouldn't be my best friend for long. Stop treating real conditions as if they're something to joke about (unless your friend with the condition is able to joke about it -- and I am, but only so far). I WOULD LIKE TO ADD that germaphobia is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -- it's something people who have it can't help. So making fun of us and thinking we're just being stupid isn't helpful. It's no different in its realness than bipolar disorder, depression, etc.
You clearly also didn’t read the whole article which showed she is okay with a little horseplay but f**k it let’s get touchy because i feel entitled to be offended. I hate people like you, because guess what, first world problems aren’t a real thing, they are for egocentrics like you
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A catowner fearing of germs and contamination?!? OMFG 😅 Joke of the day 🤘
I'm a cat owner and have germaphobia. I usually get my husband or son to deal with the gross stuff, but when I have to, I wear disposable gloves and do a ton of hand washing afterward. I wash my hands after loving on her, too. There are different degrees of germaphobia, just as with many things, and many of us can deal with our pets, we just have to take a little extra trouble.
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"zen master of deadpan humor" Yes. And now on to a little something about bacteria: WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THEM! "The human body contains trillions of microorganisms — outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about 1 to 3 percent of the body's mass (in a 200-pound adult, that's 2 to 6 pounds of bacteria), but play a vital role in human health." The body of an average man contains around 30 to 40 trillion cells. Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991899/
Chill Monika. In a world where the rainforest is burning, ice caps are melting and the ocean is plastic soup, bacteria have the better chances to outlive humans. It's sweet that you defend those little critters, but honestly, those m0therfvckers will still be dancing singing and laughing thousands of years after the last human being died.
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There's no real harm done but it's still a d**k move. If somebody went to this nerd's house and slightly rearranged all the characters in his Lord of the Rings diorama it would probably p**s him off.
Some friend you are. I hope she loses your number and quick. Real d**k move to “poke fun at” someone’s fear
Lighten the f**k up for f**k’s sake and read the whole damn article
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If you look you can see some of her responses and she doesn't seem to be that upset
Load More Replies... I don't think he was actually annoyed at anyone I think he was just tired and didn't want to be awake at that point
Load More Replies... this is iva, the girl w/ the germophobia. here's the plot twist: don't really have germophobia, nor germano-phobia (sorry @lulik). i just obsess about dirt, dust & flying hairs, cat fur including. so yes, my vacuum cleaner doesn't get a day off (that comment was so dead-on btw) but also my life doesn't get paralysed because i haven't vacuumed today. i felt i should clear the air about my "state" as ppl usually use the term too broadly which belittles the serious states of phobia. there are ppl who experience serious life consequences due to an irrational/pathological fear of something and they deserve to be taken seriously. mine is just a quirk that got some internet points (thanks, petar).
Ok this is funny and all, but can I just say that her house is really nicely decorated! Simple, but cute! And all the plants are nice too - I wish that I could have plants like that but unfortunately I have a thumb about as green as a brick :/
I even have a green thumb but one pain in the behind moved in and started chewing on everything what is green, except her own grass so now I have zero plants but excess of cat hair.
Load More Replies... Erm, as a bulgarian I must say that usually we don't message each other in english... just to let you know
Erm, you would if you wanted English speakers to appreciate your humor and posts.
Load More Replies... I couldn't have done these photos with his face expression, I would have laughed half the time. I like how he has the same serious expression on every pic.
I love this guy and his humor, I would do the same thing that he did. I might have added " I'm touching your stuff you better come stop me."
I had a friend once when I was 13 and younger who was a total germaphobe (we're no longer friends but for a totally different reason) and she had 2 dogs and she would not pet either (but for some reason she was fine petting her cat). She washed her hands so much they bled. There was one time she was going through my bags and purses (uninvited and without permission) and found a, um, feminine product (unused, obviously) and she literally screamed EW and ran to the bathroom to wash her hands XD like seriously you're a girl what do you even do for a week every month?! She wasn't OCD-- her room was a total mess. Just a really weird person with an unnatural fear of germs (but not all germs).
Also (this is kinda unrelated but it's the same person) her parents told her (and, as far as I know, are still enforcing this) that words like "stupid" and "dumb" are bad words. They don't allow her to read or write romance of any kind (not even married couples). They do not let her wear makeup or get her ears pierced. They don't even let her draw semi-realistic girls bc they don't want her drawing boobs (even a barely noticeable outline on fully clothed characters). This is a 15 year old girl. As much as I dislike her now (for various reasons) I kinda feel sorry for her. If she turns out to be a serial killer later in life I won't be surprised (I'm also 80% sure she's an actual psychopath bc she has no emotions and lies all the time and manipulates people for fun).
Load More Replies... A new hire at the nightclub where I worked in the 90s -- good looking, amiable, cool -- came with us to breakfast afterward. He was making points with one of the women on staff. Breakfast came and she reached over and grabbed one of his fries. He pushed the plate toward her and said, "You can have the whole thing. I don't like my food being touched." Forever after, if he was away from the table when food came, we all fondled his chow. BTW… he blew it with Fry Girl.
So, as a diagnosed germaphobe, I don't find this super funny. I hate the way people treat phobias like this as just some weird hangup, or worse, something to laugh at, rather than a real thing that causes distress for those of us who have it. I'm not to the extent that someone touching my things would freak me out UNLESS I knew they had been out in public or handling nasty stuff (including dirty dishes, the litter box, etc). Even then it would depend on the thing. I hope these two are true friends, because if my best friend did that to make fun of me, they wouldn't be my best friend for long. Stop treating real conditions as if they're something to joke about (unless your friend with the condition is able to joke about it -- and I am, but only so far). I WOULD LIKE TO ADD that germaphobia is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -- it's something people who have it can't help. So making fun of us and thinking we're just being stupid isn't helpful. It's no different in its realness than bipolar disorder, depression, etc.
You clearly also didn’t read the whole article which showed she is okay with a little horseplay but f**k it let’s get touchy because i feel entitled to be offended. I hate people like you, because guess what, first world problems aren’t a real thing, they are for egocentrics like you
Load More Replies... A catowner fearing of germs and contamination?!? OMFG 😅 Joke of the day 🤘
I'm a cat owner and have germaphobia. I usually get my husband or son to deal with the gross stuff, but when I have to, I wear disposable gloves and do a ton of hand washing afterward. I wash my hands after loving on her, too. There are different degrees of germaphobia, just as with many things, and many of us can deal with our pets, we just have to take a little extra trouble.
Load More Replies... "zen master of deadpan humor" Yes. And now on to a little something about bacteria: WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THEM! "The human body contains trillions of microorganisms — outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about 1 to 3 percent of the body's mass (in a 200-pound adult, that's 2 to 6 pounds of bacteria), but play a vital role in human health." The body of an average man contains around 30 to 40 trillion cells. Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991899/
Chill Monika. In a world where the rainforest is burning, ice caps are melting and the ocean is plastic soup, bacteria have the better chances to outlive humans. It's sweet that you defend those little critters, but honestly, those m0therfvckers will still be dancing singing and laughing thousands of years after the last human being died.
Load More Replies... There's no real harm done but it's still a d**k move. If somebody went to this nerd's house and slightly rearranged all the characters in his Lord of the Rings diorama it would probably p**s him off.
Some friend you are. I hope she loses your number and quick. Real d**k move to “poke fun at” someone’s fear
Lighten the f**k up for f**k’s sake and read the whole damn article
Load More Replies... If you look you can see some of her responses and she doesn't seem to be that upset
Load More Replies... I don't think he was actually annoyed at anyone I think he was just tired and didn't want to be awake at that point
Load More Replies...
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