Well, sounds like your "ex-friends" are real jerks and bullies. Death threats? Seriously? Do you have that in writing? Report them to the police! Retaliation by spreading rumors? That's just as nasty, but I'm not sure the police would follow up on that. But you may want to talk to your parents and the condo people about the situation and make sure that they understand that this is retaliatory bullying for refusing to let your "friends" continue to take advantage of you and put another puppy at risk. That should put your "friend's" stories into the right perspective. Tell them about the death threats! This is lowest scum level.
You did what you felt was best for the puppy. It appears your "ex-friends" are not fit to have animals. They sound like irresponsible pet owners, repeatedly getting animals they know they can't keep, taking advantage of your kindness and never following up on their promises to care for it, stealing money to get more pets and threatening to steal pets. Three puppies and two didn't make it over two months? That's alarming. These folks should not have any animals at all.
To avoid being taken advantage of in the future, you can draw up a foster contract or something similar if anyone asks you take care of their pet for them. That way you have it in writing what they are expected to do (e.g. take the dog out for walks, pay for food and vet bills etc) and what you can do with the animal if they don't follow up on their part of the contract. In that case, you have something written and signed to show if there is a conflict and (worst case scenario) things go to court.
And concerning your mom's meddling with the kitten purchase: Are you spending your mom's money? Do you owe her money? If not, it should be your business and not hers how much you spend and on what. Other people buy a new sofa, or spend the money on a vacation. Would your mom also tell you you can't get that new sofa or go on the trip you want to take? If you're of legal age and it's your own money you spend, it's none of your mom's business. If she threatens to throw you out of the condo you co-own because of spending too much (in her opinion) on a kitten, she's just as much of a bully as your "ex-friends" with the puppy.
As for the price being too high for a kitten: I don't know what you were going to pay, but a pet kitten from a reputable breeder doesn't actually cost all that much if you take vet costs for a "free to good home" kitten into account. In my experience, you can probably count on spending about $300 on a "free" kitten for shots, tests, parasite treatments, spay/neuter surgery and other vet costs in the first year. The same might be true for a kitten purchased from a store or unethical breeder. So if you get a pet kitten from a reputable breeder for say $600 and it is already vaccinated and fixed and comes with a health guarantee, you could save that money and the true cost difference to a "free" kitten would just be $300. If you were to adopt a cat from a shelter or rescue, you could spend up to $200 in adoption fees.
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