DEAR ABBY:
I’m hoping you can help with a delicate situation at work. I share an office space with a wonderful woman — she’s intelligent, kind, upbeat, and genuinely a joy to work with. There’s just one issue that’s become impossible to ignore: she smells strongly of cat urine.
The odor is overwhelming. I’ve had to move out of our shared office, and management is considering relocating her to a private office, but that could take months. In the meantime, she’s still working in a shared space, and others have started to notice the smell as well.
She lives alone with two dogs and what I assume is a large number of cats, although she hasn’t said exactly how many. Her children are grown and live far away. I’ve brought the issue to management’s attention, but they seem unwilling to address it directly.
I want to be sensitive — I genuinely like her and don’t want to embarrass her. But something needs to be said. How can I approach this in a kind, respectful way?
— TRYING TO BE TACTFUL IN THE SOUTH