to ask that if you are thinking of getting a pet, to read this first

[coffeeisnectar]

I want people to properly research everything about an animals needs, life expectancy, behaviour and costs as well as no such time is needed before getting anything.

This month I have taken on another cat (our third) because it's owners now have a baby. She is not the only one, I know someone else trying to get rid of their cat as they now have a baby. I could scream.

Animals are expensive, a lifelong commitment and not some toy to play with until you get bored, have a baby or just can't be bothered any more.

Wolfiefan any more info on that? There is another organisation that I need to research who might let an over enthusiastic 10yr old volunteer. I personally am not bothered about having a pet as struggle to keep up with everything. But ds is desperate to look after animals, shame is that his age is a hinderance.

Teenage Dd wants a micro pig for Christmas.

I reckon she thinks it can live in her bedroom on the scraps left on all the dirty plates she leaves scattered around.

DH and are almost tempted, as there are always ways of, um, recycling pigs.

Google the Cinnamon Trust. I think he would need to be a bit older unless you volunteered and he went with you. I walk a dog for a housebound lady. You can do it once a week or 7 days a week if you like.
Other charities may also be interested. Dog walking. Cat cuddling, grooming and litter tray emptying.
Rats are also fab pets!

This is why we waited to get a cat until after DD was born, had grown up a bit and we were sure no allergies/lifestyle issues would mean rehoming.

IceBeing rats are brilliant. We got some earlier this year. DCs were desperate for a pet, I'm allergic to most. I looked into rabbits and guinea pigs but they would have been expensive and a huge commitment plus I am allergic to both and I know their care would fall to me. We settled on rats (DS wasn't sure at first) but the more I showed him and told him about them he couldn't wait. They are brilliant. So friendly and playful. You do need more than 1 and they need to come out regularly. We get ours out in the bathroom as they can't escape and can roam free, some people let them out around the house but we can't block off the wires and don't have doors downstairs so can't do that. We have females and they are pretty fast and crazy at times, I've heard males will sit on you etc, ours definitely won't do that. The DCs love them, they are very cute, I'm quite taken with them myself .

Yanbu in any way at all. Read this post with my utterly gorgeous cocker sleeping at my feet but he was a very long considered pet and I knew what I was taking on.

I also hate hearing about pets with terminal conditions either being put through invasive medical treatment or being left to die naturally. I believe very strongly that part of the commitment to a pet one should make at the very least is a painless dignified death at a time best for the animal not when the human can cope with it. I cannot bear to see an animal suffer because the owner can't let it go.
But I have a clear conscience as we have never regimes a pet and had over the years about 6 cats, 2 dogs and a parrot

Am I the only one who doesn't see cute when it comes to kittens? I just see a destroyed house, a scratched body as they climb up you and stress when they vanish into small places.

Often I think the costs of healthcare for animals can be a huge shock. It's kind of assumed widely that a pet doesn't cost that much to say, get an injection for, or if it has a minor injury, but then you take it to the vet and find its a massive bill to pay and while you want to do the right thing, it becomes a matter of paying for veterinary treatment or feeding your family, for some people.

I think that typical vet charges ought to be outlined to anyone buying a pet. I mean seriously - this is how much flea products are, this is what it will cost for an antibiotic, this or that is unlikely to be covered by insurance, etc etc etc.

No one tells you about this when they're trying to sell you an animal. I'm not saying people should give away their pets when times are hard. I'm just saying that they need to be made aware of potential costs before they make the purchase.

I hear tamagotchi's are nice

I would never buy a pet from pets at home - i have seen the state of some of the breeders set ups. Disgusting. They are selling live animals much the same as toysRus sell action figures.

If you can't get a pet, how about signing up to one of the 'borrow my dog' services, where you (it would probably need to involve a responsible adult) and your DC could go and take another person's dog for a walk as and when it suited you - you could meet different breeds this way, too.

I think if you were saying no-one should ever give up a pet for re-homing then that would BeABitU. All sorts can come up in life and most animals seem relatively adaptable to a new home. We've not had any pets here, but DC have just enjoyed playing with friends' pets. Maybe one thing that would help would be if more people saw it as a choice rather than a necessity?

When I want a quiet rage to myself, I wander onto Gumtree.
There are some breeders on there.
There are some people who want to rehome for various reasons.
There are people who have a lone animal (I'm a guinea-pig keeper) and obviously haven't read that they need company or that "kids got bored" children DO get bored .
They want to profit (they say 'to ensure a good home, I'm asking £20' ) I think "Well I bet you pais and it didn;t mean a good home did it? "

My guineas are all rescues.
They are hard work, very untidy little animals

I overheard a parent telling his child that they weren't getting guinea-pigs and if I'd been nearer (and wasn't at risk of looking BONKERS ) I'd have asked the young lady if she really knew the work involved and far from being a Grinch, her Dad was (probably) right.

My DD and I look after ours together (though I do 50%++ because I am the adult, the parent and ultimately they are my responsibilty)

And after years of keeping the piggies, my DD is allergic to certain fur types.

minifingers
Though when I held the freshly dead body of one of our piggies, I thought "In Peru...................." but I didn't feel tempted to eat him.

Thats awesome news on the rats front...I am leaning more and more that way. They really sound great.

I just need to get DD over the only living for 3 years thing.

I have cats, and a child. I get really annoyed by the 'but you can't possibly have a cat and a baby' brigade.

I will keep my cats until they die. Despite having developed an allergy. God bless antihistamines.

Yes, pets at home disgusts me

We did get two of our rabbits from there, sadly - because we'd just lost some to a fox, and needed a companion for our remaining one quickly and no one else had any.

And we felt dreadfully sorry for them as they were about 20 weeks old, in the 'adopt us' enclosure, and it was basically because they had got 'too old to be cute' and were being offered at a reduced price - selling them as though they had come from a desperate situation and needed to be rehomed urgently, when it was simply a by product of the horrible system the shop operates, is morally disgraceful.

One of them had a parasite which made him blind within weeks , this is often caught prenatally - I hate to think how many were being bred from the same mother.

I think PaH is a particularly vile company and completely irresponsible. I can't go in there, it makes me want to buy all the pets and take them home, but that would just help with what they are doing.

I wish they would close down.

Btw I know I shouldn't have bought them. Never again.

And also that pets' needs change over the years just the same as families' do. My elderly cat is now at the point that I probably wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him to go on holiday for more than a few days, and certainly not abroad. This comes at the same time as teenaged children who I am well aware won't want to holiday with us forever - and just as we have more money than we have ever done for exciting trips abroad.
I have always had pets but had not considered this squeeze of elderly pets at the same children who want to see the world and go here, there and everywhere. It is a depressing revelation to me. But the cat was my firstborn(!) and is just as much a part of the family as any of us so his needs must be considered. Maybe a non animal lover couldn't accept that.

Does anyone else here get 'you are so obsessed with your dog/cat/etc)' or words to that effect.
I'm sooo 'obsessed' with my dog because I spend a bit more to feed him a high quality diet; I don't go on nights out unless we have a sitter; he is a consideration when choosing jobs and houses; I won't leave him all day etc etc.
I just nod and smile, but inside I think, wtf - you don't do those things?!

Also friends love to tell me about their pets, but a lot of the time it makes me cringe. Like the primary school teachers planning on getting a puppy, or the single mum with 2 babies living in a tiny flat getting numerous kittens, bearded dragons and puppies which only appear on fb for a week. (I'm not actually 'friends' with the last one, I went to school with her and I can't bring myself to delete her due to the entertainment value )

I am chucking in a plea for Terrapins/Turtles aka "Britain's most disposable pet".

I have two turtles which came to me after umpteen owners who passed them on once the novelty has worn off.

They were in a stupid plastic novelty container with a tiny space and basking area. They'd probably been in it their whole pet lives.

They live 25-30 years
They need space
They need a huge tank
They need UV lighting for their shells
They need basking lamps as the heat helps them digest their food properly.
They need regular cleaning and a really good filter as they are messy.

I love my two "Myrtle" and "Scooter"(so named as he scoots away when there's a lot of movement near the tank).

I am in for the long haul with them and I adore them. Little characters all of their own,

So yes please please think.

I've put up a similar post on our local FB selling group after seeing a Staffy advertised with "need gone today". Heartbreaking...these are living breathing creatures.

YANBU I had three cats when I first got pregnant and the number of people who told me I would have to get rid of them was ridiculous. Cats and baby lived together just fine. Only have one old mog left and he lives the life of riley as he should in his twilight years.

I got s bearded dragon a while back thought I knew what it involved I didn't his set up was all wrong (don't start me on the PAH set ups and advice) ive spent about £300 sorting it all out but he's my responsibility. Hate the number of reptiles on gumtree etc too.

We had a long think about what pets to get (if any) and left it until the DC were old enough to know how to treat them. The DC would have liked a dog but DH who WFH would have been doing the day to day care wasn't keen (he comes from a farming background so doesn't really see dogs as house pets). We compromised on Guinea Pigs as I am happy to do basic care like nail clipping and the DC are good at feeding, grooming and playing with them. I have kept rats in the past but DH would have struggled with them in the house (see previous comment on farming background).

I would quite like a dog but I am at work all day.

Very informative thread, thank you!

It has confirmed that DH and I will remain firm on our no pets rule!

Mice are stinky (DD used to have 2). They smell even though you clean them out weekly. Other than being smelly they are pretty easy, though of her 2 only one of DDs ever consented to be handled - the other one bit if cornered and had to be caught inside things for cleaning out.

We've had a fish tank up and running for 7 years and it is no trouble now - you have to cycle the tank at first, but once its been running 6 months or so, as long as you don't over stock it it is very low maintenance - change filters weekly and do a partial (not full) water change, no actual cleaning with a fairly light stock (i.e. fewer than the maximum possible number of fish) and a couple of plecs to clean the sides (125 litre tank with a pump). Of course fish do die sometimes but only occasionally - lots of small aquarium fish seem to have a life span of about 3 years, though plecs appear to be immortal, and we have extremely long lived Ruby Barbs... You don't even have to feed them every day - every other day is fine.

Rabbits are quite a lot of work and destroy the garden - ours have lived 10 years and still going strong. We had guinepigs long ago and they were much, much easier.