To think that people who don’t like pets shouldn’t be judged as “cold”?

Although as this thread shows, they are remarkably intolerant of those that don’t like pets. Not animals, pets. It’s perfectly possible to like animals, as I do, but dislike pets. And that’s dislike, not hate! Everything has to tend to the extreme nowadays, which is remarkably childish IMO

Gross exaggeration. Hitler loved dogs as does Putin.

Rubbish.

Are you fur real 😂

I wouldn't judge them as "cold" per se, but I would file it away as supporting evidence should any other negative aspects of their personality come to light.

The one that bugs me more than anything, though, is the old "When I come to your house, could you put your dogs away?". That's a hard "nope"...this is their home and not yours, so there's no way in hell I'm going to stress them out by confining them to another room for your comfort.

Then there's the inevitable follow-up - "They're just dogs, you've got your priorities twisted if you prioritise them over people". Nah, not prioritising them over "people", just you...

I've an allergy to animal fur and still have the scars from being attacked by a dog as a toddler (unprovoked, it jumped the fence into our garden to try and eat me).
Animals, especially those that are frequently kept as pets and I just don't get along.

If that makes me a walking red flag, dodgy and a psychopath well okay then.

@TarantinoIsAMisogynist

I do agree with that. I adopt old cats with a short shelf-life so to speak, and a woman at work asked why I'd bother because they'd just die soon, as if I wasn't getting my money's worth - same woman considered not treating her congenitally unhealthy designer dog.

Funnily enough my old cat appears to have ethics when it comes to other animals. He does kill the odd bird or mouse, but if he finds a baby animal, he'll come fetch us and howl until we put it somewhere safe. He's weird like that.

Nailed it.

Having pets doesnt make someone an "animal lover".

• Some pet owners are actively cruel to their pets.
• Plenty of dog owners have used puppy farms (which only exist because there's a market), fuelling an inhumane industry. Similar for kittens, but on a smaller scale.
• Plenty are outright neglectful, or don't fully meet the pet's needs.
• Lots of pet owners don't care about the impact their pet has on other animals (wildlife and/or other people's pets)
• Lots of pet owners will happily eat other animals (and pay for those animals to be killed), just not their pets.

I don't fetishise pets above people, but I do prefer my pets and my people to other people and other pets.

It's part of base human psychology to prefer you and yours to others. Some people draw the line at race, some at class, some at income, some at species, some at an individual level.

I dont like pets, which is different to saying I dont like animala. We have had pets.

• guinea pigs - I ended up being the only one who interacted with them once the novelty wore off for the kids. I felt immense sadness for them being cooped up in a (massive, room sized) cage, not able to roam free. When one died I worried excessively for the other one.
• We had a rescue dog. Unfortunatley despite spending thousands on dog trainers he was a biter and bit my then 11 year old on the face narrowly missing his eye. We had to make the heartbraking decision to givfe him up. I worried about him all the time and hated that he was 'cooped up in the house and garden and could only go out for a wallk when we decided to take him (which was several times a day and DH took him on long hikes etc.
• DD has a gecko. looks after him well but I still hate he is locked up in a tank

I hate going to the zoo as I feel so sad for all the animals locked up and not in their natural habitats.
I love horses, always wanted one but equally I hate the face that we ride them. Poor ponies having to traipse around with kids on thier backs.

I also dont like dogs jumping up at me, in fact I dont like anyone invading my personal space but dogs do it all the time. I think having suffered physical abuse as a child i find it too stressful having someone suddenly launch themselves at me as it would always mean being hit as a child.

So not liking or wanting pets doesnt mean you are cold,. Sometimes its the complete opposite.

In my experience all the people I have met who don't like pets have been generally lacking in empathy, quite anal about things and yes, 'cold'. One such person told my other half the day after his father suddenly died, 'you'll get over it'. Talk about insensitive! I think there is a difference between people whose personal choice is to not have a pet due to their lifestyle etc and the people who verbalise their dislike of them.

Animal lovers generally have more tolerance to others.

Amen

I'm not really a fan of criticising people for having certain preferences when it comes to friendships or relationships.

My animals are hugely important to me and I probably wouldn't have much in common someone who disliked them. I'd also never even consider dating someone who disliked pets as animal ownership is an absolute essential for me.

If someone else doesn't like animals then I wouldn't criticise them for it, but they also wouldn't be someone I had much interest in getting to know either.

Who are you to say what’s normal and what isn’t? Millions of people on the planet share ops view so clearly you are not the ultimate authority on this. I don’t share the view but have no issue with people who do as long as they don’t impose restrictions on me and my pet. Also, I don’t know why you need to add sorry at the end for what is just your personal opinion, no more.

Let people think what they want i dont care.
Pets are like kids to me i dont want either to much drama.

There is a difference between animals and pets. I love wildlife and that is why I dislike cats and their owners.

When people say animals they really mean dogs. Doesn't matter if you are vegan, help at a animal hospice, care for other pets etc if you don't like dogs you have something wrong with you.

You can eat meat, wear leather, kill spiders but as long as you have a dog you are seen as an animal lover.

Ah ok. I’m not vegan.
We run a farm so animals are part of our life. And we have multiple pets and horses.

I think it's hard to justify having carnivore or omnivore pets if you're vegan, because you're financially supporting the meat trade. Unless it's because you're vegan purely because you don't like/can't eat meat, dairy etc., and not for welfare reasons.

Best thing to do is overcome your fear through exposure.

You don't have to be warm to animals, but overcoming phobias is a good thing. Especially if you have kids who will learn from you to be scared of things without exploring the idea for themselves.

I don't like kids and I'm judged as cold.

I have full respect for the animal kingdom, love to see wildlife and enjoy watching wildlife documentaries etc. I have no desire for a smelly, hairy, slobbery, pooey animal in my home. The phrase "don't like animals" usually means someone doesn't want to hold them, have them jump on them, be expected to pet them etc. it doesn't mean they think we would be better off without animals.

Not wanting a pet isn’t a red flag! I like animals but I don’t want to have to look after one. I have young kids and a job and quite enough to do already.

That depends on the dog, some groups of dogs haven't changed for thousands of years, particularly the hounds and pastoral breeds.

It's largely why I don't like toy breeds and find them a bit freakish. They are so far removed from the wolf 😞