Are pets the adult verson of teddies?

[MrsRajeshKoothrappali]

Something/someone to be friends with, love and talk to.

Always there for you, don't argue and love you unconditionly.

Someone to cuddle.

What do you reckon the psychology behind pets is?

[crazynanna]

I do honestly think my cat is a substitute for my now (grown up) child/ren. Although I do know she is obviously a cat.

[HoHoHoNoYouDont]

They have a kind of unconditional love. I love coming home to moggy. He's someone to talk at after a stressful day and I know he'll never tell me to shut up

[BicBiro]

i love the way my cats come over and touch their noses to mine to say hello, and then curl up on my lap. not sure they'd tolerate being cuddled in bed though!

pets are definitely therapuetic, look, you can even get pet therapy!!:

//www.petsastherapy.org

[MrsTwgtwf]

Look! Look! Look!

[changeforthebetter]

Nah! My teddies never presented me with arse-of-mouse as a springtime present . I do love the fact they aren't going to drink,smoke or take up with local ne'er-do-wells but they have their own personalities and preferences. I don't like all the ersatz baby stuff for puppies tbh - but that's just me. I am not keen on, and would never use the term "fur babies" but there are many, many things much more wankerish that people say and do

[aurynne]

I didn't have a teddy when I was a child, and I never wanted to have children. So no teddy or child substitute for me :). I like having pets, simply, because I always felt close to animals (sometimes closer than to humans). They have uncomplicated feelings, if they like you they show, and if they don't they also show. Animals make me feel calm and I can be myself with them.

[Unami]

Probably. But I don't think that's a bad thing. I've had chit chat with loads of people who think that having a pet is a sign of psychological weakness, that it makes you a failure as a human being, that it's shameful to use an animal for emotional support.

I don't see what's wrong with it. I know older people with dogs, and walking them three times a day brings routine and a sense of purpose to their day, as well as the companionship the dog provides. I know childless couples with pets, who feel that the love and attention they give (and receive) from their pet at home has turned their shared flat into a family home. I know single people who just enjoy having another presence around the house. I know families who got pets so that the kids didn't feel like the most dependent part of the family - there was another, younger, member of the family who they could learn to take care of too. So yeah, animals fulfil loads of human emotional needs, not just company and cuddles, and I don't see a problem with it.

[AdoraBell]

I actually call one of my German shepherds Teddy Bear unless I need to use his real name. I think that's fairly self explanatory, don't you?

[ArtVandelay]

I have guinea pigs. I like them because they are pretty, affectionate, interesting to watch and get to know. I enjoy learning about them and trying to make them happier. I like the noises they make - wheek wheek! DH and DS also have a strong bond with them - they respond differently to all of us. They do complete our family and I would hate to be without them.

[Bertrude]

I sometimes think a teddy bear would give me a better response than my tortoise. He's a miserable fucker. Not that cuddly either.

But yes, definitely a substitute for something. Maybe not a teddy bear, perhaps in some circumstances a child, or perhaps just to give another reason not to only have the husband to talk to

[Lovingfreedom]

Lol Bertrude. I have two cats, one if whom is very sweet. The other is a manipulative bully, but charming with it. I think he might be a substitute for my ex husband.

[sunlightonthegrass]

I think sometimes people try to read too deeply into why people do the things they do.

I have cats because I like them, it isn't really any deeper than that.

[StuffezLaYoni]

Hmm. I don't know. I don't want children and I do sometimes jokingly refer to my kitten as my child replacement. Definitely love how he is so excited when I come home from work, and when he hears me wake up he leaps on me and jumps around ecstatically. I also do Loud Parenting with him too and would DIE if anyone heard..
"Right Scabbers, shall we have prawns for tea? Prawns are GOOD for us, aren't they?"

I am a tragic individual.

[StickEmWithThePointyEnd]

I've still got my teddy, though it is in ds's room. My cat does like to cuddle in bed though, so long as I go to bed earlier than dh. It's lovely.

[waikikamookau]

i am not really a teddy person but I love my pets, I prefer cleaning out hutch to cleaning my house tbh.

[OrlaKiely]

No, babies are

[waikikamookau]

we had a pup before we had ds and we used to say we practised on her.

[ArtVandelay]

:) Bertrude, I'd love a tortoise

[BicBiro]

i have a special squeaky voice just for my cats.

[BibiBlocksberg]

I've just had a good belly laugh @ 'psychological weakness' and 'failure as a human being'

What sort of soulless voldemort type character would come out with that????

I'd be making a mental note never to associate with someone who held those beliefs.

For me it's all about giving my two cats the best life I can and basking in the happiness that it gives them and me from the resulting bond we have.

Plus, it's nice to have two furry bodies around the place, if I'm feeling a bit unmotivated and 'meh' you can guarantee at least one will be along with a demand or three and I'm back in the swing of things :)

[Horsemad]

I'm enrolling at Aberdeen Uni - all those lovely GR puppies to cuddle!

[rufussmum]

Bibi - at my evening class writing group there is a teacher who said that 'people who have relationships with other species are weird.' He didn't mean anything sexual, just normal pet owners. I told him I wouldn't want my kids taught my someone with so little imagination. Then I bit him .

[MrsTwgtwf]

rufussmum.

And yes to Aberdeen Uni. They got it right. I foresee a whole new job market opening up for university puppy handlers. I'm there, nvq'd and all.

[aurynne]

Weird! I would have thought that our ability to form relationships based in mutual affection and care with members of other species is precisely one of the traits which makes us human.

[Corygal]

I love my cat because he's so grounded, friendly and cuddly - just the sort of person I like.

I have always thought of animals as rather more human than a lot of people, to be honest.