What pets have you had and which do you think are best?

[Biochemistree]

I've had cats, budgie, parrots, hamster, dog, snake, beardie, chickens, fish and guinea pigs.

By far my favourites have been the guinea pigs. So easy to take care of and very affectionate, funny pets.

My least favourite was the bearded dragon. Absolute arsehole to look after (don't know why they are marketed as a starter reptile?! Snakes are much easier) expensive, fussy and quick to get poorly.

I don't even count the dog as a pet any more, he's more like an extra child!

Interested to know what others think

Thankyou for the reassurance Eoin.

Ds put a tractor in snake's tank! Seems to enjoy 'playing' on it !!

Dogs and cats are equal to me but different

I've had two cat soulmates and one dog soulmate

I love my dog so much

This sweet little one is my favourite today.
She is being very cuddly

Cats, goldfish and guinea pigs. As an adult just Guinea pigs. I am with you, OP, they are so cute and funny.

Cats, fish, guinea pigs and hamsters

Love them all for different reasons - all fairly easy to care for

Now just have 2 cats which i love cars are so cuddly and affectionate

Cat guinea pigs chickens hamsters rabbits ghecko.
Wouldn't bother with any of those again tbh.
My dog is my 5th child. I hope I'm never without a dog.

We had goats growing up, we loved them! But despite having all the right food provided in plentiful supply they ate absolutely everything and anything, including the washing off the washing line and part of the back gate!!

Dogs though, dogs are the best!!

Dogs hardest work of all the pets I've had but I love my dog like a person. I am on my own a lot and he is a fantastic companion and really has made me happier.

Cats, my Bengal was the best cat ever.

I've had cats, a dog, chickens (my favourite was called Camilla), goats and currently a Syrian hamster.

The cats were my favourite, very affectionate (more affectionate than the dog), and by far the easiest to look after. Ours were short haired and had cat flaps (and we had a garden they did their business in, there was a sort of sacrificial spot around the back) so all I needed to do was clean a refill their food bowls once a day and occasionally de flea them. Obviously they were played with etc too but I don't really think of that as a job to do do much as a perk of having them!

dog least favourite. Noisy, smelly slobbery, lots of effort re walks and baths and grooming and picking up endless poo and the constant chewing. Didn't have a particularly nice personality either. Dp has had other dogs that were as sweet natured as you like. I think the issue was they had all been from puppies, ours was a fairly old rescue and I think the poor thing was just too traumatised to ever be really 'fixed' again. He was OK with us but very jumpy /scared around pretty everyone else.

Chickens are hilarious and very very dim in a sweet sort of way. Goats are brilliant but very smelly. Had to be wary where the goal was kept because if he was by the public footpath strangers would feed him and he ended up quite poorly once or twice. We moved him after that. He had the most fabulous set of horns so going near him when he wasn't well was, erm, not the most fun.

I'm more attached to the hamster (which is technology ds's) than I expected to be. It was a bit of a nutter when we first got it and escaped into the air vents in my dms car the day we got him. He's calmed down loads over the last few months though and now is very cuddly. Comes over to say hello and for a cuddle when I walk past his cage and regularly falls asleep in my sleeve. Adorable little bastard. It's a shame they only live a couple of years. Though I won't miss cleaning out his cage and run. It's amazing how much poo something so small can produce.

Cats, rabbits, hamsters, rats. Rats were my favourite. They do interesting and interactive.

@Biochemistree I looked after an axolotl, most boring pet ever!

@MyNameHasBeenTaken I love that snake! I have one too - a bit older and bigger than yours, I think, but he's such a big, soft thing. It really feels like they can show affection, even though you know logically that they're not...

Having been a fishkeeper for decades, I'd say it's one of those things where you have to throw yourself into it and accept them on their terms for the experience to be at all enjoyable. It's not just about keeping a pet, it's about creating a habitat. I love it, all the extra reading, understanding why certain things don't work, why some fish huddle in corners unless they are surrounded by their peers and others just try to beat the shit out of each other, why some will happily breed in my hard-as-nails Hampshire tap water (dechlorinated) and others don't seem to thrive at all. It really has enriched my life.

And yes, there are fish with personalities, fish that you can handfeed and which learn to recognise you.

But the work and understanding has to come first. Basically, fishkeeping is someone looking for a project: the pet keeping is a bonus.

Cats, dogs, horses, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, degu, rats, canaries, budgies, finches, gerbils.

Best were the horses. Just amazing to own and look after (sadly time and expense put an end to this). Cats are great too and easy to look after.

Worst were the fish. Disgusting to clean out and I got an awful infection in my finger as a kid from cleaning them. Birds are also pretty dirty and wouldn't bother having them again.

Cats, guinea pigs and gerbils.

I like the cats best, but they are a responsibility to take on. I think guinea pigs are the best as pets in terms of the fun/niceness vs work ratio, and they only live for about 6-8 years so not quite as long term as a cat or dog. I liked the part where you save all your veg peelings and they eat them :)

However I got a bit bored of the guinea pigs after a while (not with the ones we had - but in terms of not being keen to replace them when they died).

Gerbils were OK, but I didn't feel I got to know them and their personalities in the way of the cats and guinea pigs.

In my life I/family have had cats, a dog, a hamster, budgies, and snakes (DS1's really, the rest of us don't have much to do with them). Currently have 2 cats and 2 snakes.

I'm definitely a cat person, they're affectionate but not needy, independent enough that you can leave them and go out for the day, don't have to take them out in crappy weather for walks, don't need any real specialist knowledge...they're just easy to look after!

In order of preference I’ve had...

Dogs, cats, mice, guinea pigs, hamster and fish.

I love my guinea pigs. Everyone has a different personality. They don't bite or scratch so are DC friendly. My elderly pig hangs out in front of the radiator with the dog each evening. The younger one will run so fast he skids along the floor when he hears the veg bag that signals bedtime.

I love rabbits, but Omg they are hard work for very little reward. The vaccinations cost more than my dogs ones. I think my trio of buns actually hate me, but they do look majestic hopping around. They are destructive and have taken over my garden.

Over the years we have had dogs, fish, cats, rabbits, hamsters and horses

The fish were the hardest of all! I’ll never get more

I love my cats and current rabbit.