Which pet/s would you never have again and why? (light-hearted)

[Fckingfuming]

No real reason, just wondering if any of you have or had animals you couldn't bring yourselves to have ever again and why?

I will never own Russian dwarf hamsters again. Bitey little sods.

Budgies: Christ, the noise! Constant chirruping, screeching, grating sounds, and the ACKACKACKACKACK din from them when you're sat there and your heads splitting, just NO.

Dogs: Have 2 at the moment, I don't see myself having them again in the future, like toddlers, always wanting attention, barking at nothing, standing in the bloody doorways of the room I need to go in, trying to get on my lap when I have a hot drink, etc, etc, I could go on😂

Rabbits: Too upsetting when they eventually die, I always think they're like small dogs without the constant fuss!

Like the title says, this is a light hearted thread, I'd never hurt an animal despite thinking WHY DID I GET THIS BLOODY THING?

Over to you lovely ladies!

Cats. They destroy my furniture. Destroy the carpet. Meow ALL THE TIME. Sick up hair balls EVERYWHERE. Dig up and shit all over the garden. And they are so dirty!

I have a broken cat. He doesn't scratch furniture, cries if he accidentally claws me/knocks something over. Will only toilet in a tray, couldn't catch a cold and happily lets insects run over his paws while he peers at them, and wants nothing except cuddles
Cats protection "you do realise most cats only pay attention if they want something? And they don't look at you adoringly like he does?"

Our (properly tiny) Pekin bantam cockerel used to attack strangers, proper talons our attack mode. Was very very funny when burly builder-types ran away from an animated, teensy ball of cotton wool.

Dogs.. probably not 'never' but not for a loooong time.

Ducks.. lived for EVER, messy.

Cockerel - had one evil one and one lovely one but we thought they lived about 2-3 years.. 11 years later he was still waking us up at 4am...

Sheep... why have they not died out through utter stupidity ? We took on an wether that had been hand reared as a baby. Zero boundaries and a inflated sense of self entitlement in a huge very stupid sheep is no fun.

LOVE our guinea pigs ! They are soooo cute and chatty. And you have to respect anything that small that can make that much poo...

Our cockerels were Pekins too !!

Chameleons. Such beautiful and interesting reptiles but so delicate with such specific needs that cause constant worry.

Rabbits too, they are a lot of work and their bite really hurts and the hay gets everywhere!

I wouldn’t be without my dog, bearded dragon or snakes, though the former does drive me mad.

Ferrets. So cute and funny, but whiffy and nippy. Never again.

The day one of ours bit the vicar and drew blood was a particularly low point.

Russian dwarf hamster - bites a lot and when it escapes it can fit under the door!!!

Geese - shit everywhere!

Any bird - looked after budgies, macaws, African greys, love bird and Senegal's. They are SO noisy. They need to have a very decent size cage and be able to fly and trained etc. Lots of mess!

African Pygmy hedgehog- hisses at you. Bites hurt. Generally not nice lol

Love reptiles tho! Used to breed balls, hog nose, geckos. Easiest pets of all. And both kinds of snakes were amazing when handled which was good for the kids

Cats - I had a beautiful cat growing up. Moved out got a cat and it's destroyed my dining chairs, new carpet and walls. I was quite thankful when he preferred the lady opposite me and then she started feeding him lol she was happy and so was I

Gerbils

About five years ago, I was persuaded by a pet shop to take four rather than the two I was going to get. They’d been trying to find a home for them for months and think I had “mug” written on me.

All was going well until two escaped. Managed to capture them (eventually) and popped them back. This however led to a massive fight between one who had escaped and one who hadn’t. On a Good Friday I had to go to Pets at Home to get two new cages as the one I had was so chewed up where they’d escaped.

I split them into two pairs, and should’ve done it as the two who escaped and the two who didn’t, but the two who didn’t were the same colour so I popped one of those in each cage followed by one of the others. This lasted a few days then one pair had a falling out so I then had a trio and a single. Then one day, the two who escaped just dropped dead. Literally. So I had two greys left who used to be buddies and who I tried to reintroduce but they were having none of it.

I rehomed them in the end. The most frustrating pets ever, and I say that from someone who loves hamsters

Anything in a cage, its just bloody annoying having to clean them out! Got one guinea pig left who is nearly 7, they have cost me a fortune!! Had 13 at one point due to a mis-sexed male! Never again!

Was quite sad when out betta fish died, getting another one next weekend, though I'm sure i will be fed up of the water changes by christmas!

Only pet i would have over and over again is cats. Love them! Although absolutely heartbreaking when they die.

Nothing caged ever again, it’s horrible. I can’t bear to see them in a cage.

Same with cages. Not doing it again.
It’s not right. I love my dog and cats though

Oh wow! I didn't think this thread would still be going....I know most of us love our pets like family, I thought I was one of those people who had something 'wrong' in my head when thinking, 'When xxxxx is gone, no more!'

I honestly think now looking back to when the dc were young, there is a lot more expectation to take on different pets purely for the children, and then the parent becomes resentful of being the one the animal has to ultimately depend on to care for it for the rest of its life.

This thread has given me a good laugh, I can't believe the crap some of you have put up with over the years, and to think we do it to ourselves too!

You've all made me feel so much better, I know now it's not cruel to sometimes becoming exasperated for pet behaviour.

I wouldn't have a dog again, just too much responsibility and heartbreak.

I do have rats in a massive cage that's taller than me who are very very spoiled babies and I adore them. Funny, sweet, loving and cuddly babies. Except right now one is crying because his brother is daring to wash him.

I also keep stick insects and the only problem I've had with escapees was when the rats knocked their starter enclosure over and had a snack of Daves. They're now in a massive enclosure too away from greedy fur balls.

*to sometimes become exasperated for pets behaviour.

I've had many cats over the years but the current two are the only long-haired ones.

Never again. The hair gets everywhere!

Hmm, rabbits.
We had them, they free ranged the garden and were veyr cute, but ate everything, and lots of time and effort looking after them.
They didn't want to be stroked, kids got sick of them, lived a LONG time.

But we have a cat, a dog and some chickens now, and I'm happy with all of them. My chickens have a part of the garden, they aren't allowed everywhere, initially we just let them out, but then the garden was theirs and we stopped using it, as there was poo everywhere, and it stank. So now there is a huge messy corner which is theirs, and we have the rest.

Wouldn't be without a cat, ever. Can't bear houses with no animals.

Poor DH has sighed with resignation as we get more and more pets over the years. Rodents of all types, fish inside and out, reptiles, cats, birds.

The only ones he’d keep by choice are the hens. Yes, they are feathered bin-mouthed vandals, but they are friendly, good natured, entertaining and god, the eggs are good.

Plus you can go away for a weekend and they’ll be fine.

I'd love a pet again.

However, we had two cats who have long since passed away, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that whilst I do miss the companionship of them, I don't miss the scratching and the shedding, and the peeing on carpets, and the cleaning of the litter tray, and the responsibility of it all. I like being able to pack up and go away on a whim. Well, back when we could go ANYWHERE

Oh, and I'm allergic to both cats and dogs. My sinuses are much happier these days, too.

Saw this...thought of this thread

Sheep... why have they not died out through utter stupidity ? We took on an wether that had been hand reared as a baby. Zero boundaries and a inflated sense of self entitlement in a huge very stupid sheep is no fun

But oh so tasty (there’s a reason those lambs make it into the freezer so quickly).

I don’t think I’d get dogs or cats. I grew up having them but I hate dogs...so needy. And living where i am, a cat would have to be an indoor cat and I can’t be bothered with the litter tray!
Hamsters are evil, rabbits are boring, guinea pigs are cute but a bit of a waste of time.

I’ve settled in with low effort pets. I keep tarantulas now. All I have to do is feed them once a week. Don’t feed crickets cause they’re stinky horrid beasties. I feed them morio worms, wax worms, calci worms, beetle grubs, and locusts.
In the future, I intend to keep seahorses, that has been a long term dream but I need to invest a lot into a tank for that and get it running well, and ensure I know my stuff cause they are delicate little creatures.

@BittersweetMemories

Oh god so many.

African Pygmy Hedgehog (didn't even want him in the first place but an acquaintance was moving abroad and going to set him free in the garden....) Mean, spiky, stinking hissing little mare he was. And he did that annointing thing and I thought he had rabies. Never again.

Russian dwarf hamsters. Crazy little phsycotic creatures that run at the speed of light and flung themselves off of everything, even when 8 ft off the ground. The pet shop said they could life together but the tried to murder each other so had to spend another £80 off quid on a second cage set up. Bastard's.

Rabbit - much harder to look after than anticipated, as much work as a dog really but less reward because she just stomped at everything all the time even though she lived a queen rabbits life. Chewed all my stuff, peed on everything and ended up getting some weird eye duct infection that cost £5000 to fix and various travelling across the country to rabbit specialist vets only for her to randomly die 7 weeks later anyway. Nope.

We currently have 2 dogs, who are the best and I will always have dogs although the walking in the crap weather and the barking is annoying.

A Syrian hamster who is amazing, she's like a teeny weeny little dog with her little hands and cheek pouches except she escaped and chewed through the cables in my tumble dryer, costing me £200 so probably won't get another one of those.

A sphynx kitten who is basically my child and she's so lovely and warm and cuddly but she screams at everything and has shredded my legs to bits so there are downsides 😂

I had sphynxes before.... I loved the warmth but the constant waking me up 3-4 times per night to get under the duvet and then to put their frozen feet on my skin to warm them up.... no, thank you. :-)

Russian hamsters, we were told it was ok to keep two of them together so we bought two and they were fine for a month and the most pampered hamsters in the entire world then they had a massive fight, one ate the other then dropped dead.
Devastation all round. This was 20 years ago and I'm not over it yet.

@madcatladyforever

Russian hamsters, we were told it was ok to keep two of them together so we bought two and they were fine for a month and the most pampered hamsters in the entire world then they had a massive fight, one ate the other then dropped dead. Devastation all round. This was 20 years ago and I'm not over it yet.