To ask what is the worst pet you have ever had?

[TomLee475]

I had a cat for 3 weeks , first cat , didn't realise it scratched I was 16 at the time , quickly sent the cat back.

Pets we've had:
Dogs (super needy but often sweet)
Cats (sometimes bastards but generally adorable)
Hens (awesome. trash the lawn but otherwise totally rock)
Quail (so cute)
Skink (friendly and chill but rare)
Bearded dragon (slightly less friendly but also chill)
Stick insects (easy but dull)
Goldfish (ditto)
Tropical fish (ditto but more colourful)
Koi (good fun in the outside pond)
Hamsters (totally unsociable bitey nocturnal bastards)
Gerbils (friendly but prone to biting everything)
Guinea pigs (great noises but so shy)
Degus (diurnal and playful but attention-hounds who need loads of space)
Tortoise (consumed with hate for all of creation but quite cute in a rage-fuelled way)
Rabbit ( bundle of aggression and vitriol in a fluffy coat)

Three generations of peacocks over several years. Noisy, destructive and poo everywhere. Unfriendly. Early morning wake up calls every day. But worse than that they have a death wish. First peacock hanged himself roosting on a pipe atop a wall. Second disappeared. Third shot by neighbour by mistake (so NOT a pheasant then?). Fourth drowned in his own water bowl. Peahen sat on and squished almost every chick. Occasionally peacocks are spectacular, but definitely not worth the carnage 98% of the time.

My dad was given a four year old rabbit on a lad's night out.

It was so bloody evil, my dad used to swear at it so much it must have thought its name was fucking bastard.

In the 70s your dustbin men would come into your garden to get your bin. Not at our house they wouldn't.

We were the only house on the estate to have a Beware of the Rabbit sign.

A Jack Russell that we adopted from a rescue centre who assured us he was good with kids and cats.
He was a liability from the start. The bloody thing could jump our 5 foot garden wall, he refused dog food and seemed used to a diet of crisps and biscuits.
He constantly tried to get at the cat and bit my hand.
None of us felt safe.
We tried with him, but in the end he had to rehomed with my cousin who used to be a police dog handler...........and even she said he was hard work!

My rooster. He’s a massive arsehole if he doesn’t know you, but he’s amazing with his women and he also loves to come into the house for a cuddle in the evening.

He’ll happily sit on me, gazing into my eyes, for 30-40 minutes before asking to go home to his ladies.
My son and I love him. No-one else does.

A pug. My best friend is currently living with us and has a pug. He walked in and scared our 4 big dogs and 2 cats.

He has face snot and when he smells fishy, he has to have his anal glands cleaned

And the bastard thing has adopted me as his second mum.

What is it with all the stick insects?

I grew up in South Africa and we never had them as pets.

We did do silk worms though.

The rooster story below is so damned cute ... and I'm saying that as a non feathery friend person.

Skittle is right about the hamsters. The ones who are biting like that are probably stressed out and unwell. If you want to tame them, try sitting in a bathtub with them and just let them come to you :). Don't ever pick them up from behind as they often hate it and get scared. They can be amazing pets as long as you take it slowly and look after them. Also important to put them in a very quiet and dark place to settle for 24 hours after getting them back from the breeder/pet shop.

A white furry cat!

He is attacking my furniture as I type this!

Dieu - we do have these moments of connection. He knows he’s safe with me and/or my son so he relaxes for a short while.
He was very sick this time last year and I spent several days syringe-feeding him back to health. One evening, I fed him and then placed him on his towel next to me on the sofa and he elected to climb back onto my lap and fall asleep. For a dog or cat person, that’s nothing, but when you have what’s basically a shit velociraptor...

Budgies, they tried to kill me. Well, I discovered they were a massive trigger for my asthma. They lasted a whole week before they had to be rehomed.

Hamster who my mum nicknamed Houdini. He escaped from his cage every other night, knawed through the telephone wire, phone charger, skirting boards.
And when the fucker did stay in his cage, he'd be running a marathon on the poxy wheel all night long!!!

Mental note to self: if any of my DCs want a hamster they can move out, promptly!

The family cat when I was growing up. He was an evil bastard.

He hated me the most (I am an animal lover and was never mean to him so god knows why) and would start to growl when he heard my voice. He jumped off the table as I was talking on the phone once, bit my face and gave me a black eye. He terrorized any people that came to my house, my friends were so scared of him that they wouldn’t walk through the house alone. My dad had to rescue workmen who were trapped in rooms by him multiple times.

He lived a very long life of luxury and my mother was shocked that everyone was happy he was gone when he finally died. Friends still talk about how awful he was and he’s been gone probably 5 or so years.

I have a lovely cat now who has never once scratched me, bit me or attacked anyone. It’s much nicer this way.