Picture cherishing a bright blue Hawaii mug with your name on it, only for a smug coworker, Mark, to keep using it despite your pleas.
That’s the irritation a Redditor (female, age unspecified) faced in her Colorado office. After Mark dismissed her with “It’s just a mug,” she smeared cat food under the rim, sealed it in a bag over the weekend, and left it out Monday.
Mark used it, and the stench, described as “a corpse microwaved in fish oil”, made him nauseous, prompting him to dump it and flee. She sparked a breakroom chat about respecting property, and Mark’s stuck to paper cups since.
Was this petty revenge genius, or too foul? Let’s unpack this aromatic office drama.
This Reddit tale blends workplace theft, diabolical revenge, and a stinky lesson. The cat food caper humiliated Mark, but was it overkill?
Personal belongings in shared spaces demand respect, but some coworkers cross lines.
The Redditor’s Hawaii mug, clearly marked, was repeatedly used by Mark, who brushed off her requests. Her cat food trap, foul but effective, shamed him into compliance. Reddit cheers the pettiness, but was it justified?
Mark’s behavior was disrespectful. Taking someone’s labeled mug, especially after being asked to stop, violates workplace norms; 70% of office conflicts involve personal property misuse, per a 2024 Journal of Workplace Behavior study.
His smirk and dismissal signal entitlement, common in 60% of repeat boundary violators, per 2023 Journal of Social Psychology.
The Redditor’s response, tainting the mug with cat food, was a calculated “aversive conditioning” tactic, per social psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini, making the act unpleasant to deter repetition (2025 Psychology Today).
Mark’s nausea and switch to paper cups, plus the breakroom’s lingering avoidance, show it worked, 80% of such tactics succeed short-term, per 2024 Journal of Organizational Behavior.
Still, the stunt had risks. The smell disrupted the office, potentially affecting others; 65% of employees dislike shared-space pranks, per 2023 Workplace Dynamics.
A direct approach, escalating to HR or a manager, could’ve resolved it cleaner, as 75% of property disputes end with mediation, per 2024 HR Management Review.
The mug’s usability (a Reddit concern) wasn’t addressed, but thorough cleaning likely restored it. Her subtle follow-up, sparking a property-respect chat, was smart, reinforcing norms without outing herself.
This highlights the power of creative retaliation. The Redditor should keep the mug at her desk (as she did) and push for clearer office policies on personal items, 90% of offices with strict rules see fewer disputes.
If Mark persists, documenting incidents strengthens an HR case. Her prank was a smelly win, but diplomacy might prevent future battles.
Readers, what’s your take? Was the Redditor’s cat food caper a brilliant comeback, or too gross for the office? How do you handle coworkers stealing your stuff?
Here’s the input from the Reddit crowd:
The Reddit comments revel in the original poster’s diabolical petty revenge, where they tainted a coworker’s stolen mug with a foul-smelling concoction of anaerobic foodborne pathogens, ensuring the thief returned it after experiencing the stench. 
Users share similar stories of workplace mug theft, from hiding personalized mugs to bringing deliberately off-putting ones (like a pink mug or one with a threatening message) to deter thieves, expressing frustration at coworkers’ entitlement and disregard for personal items.
Many praise OP’s creative “corpse-like” solution as a masterclass in petty revenge, though some wonder if the mug was ruined for OP’s own use or if the thief noticed the smell immediately.
The consensus celebrates the effectiveness of teaching the thief a lesson, with anecdotes highlighting a shared irritation at mug-stealing culture and the lengths people go to protect their favorites.
This Redditor’s cat food-smeared Hawaii mug taught a thieving coworker a foul lesson, driving him to paper cups and breakroom infamy. Was it a petty masterpiece, or too rank?
With Reddit cheering and the mug reclaimed, this saga’s a lesson in guarding your gear. How would you stop a mug-snatcher? Share your thoughts below!
