To be uncomfortable about pet ownership?

[aw1459]

Firstly, I know that humans have kept pets for hundreds, if not thousands of years, they provide companionship, and are supposed to be h
good for people's mental health and to reduce stress, but.... A friend of mine has just bought an 8 week old kitten from Gumtree. I went round to see the friend yesterday and the kitten, whilst cute, just made me feel sad. It's still a tiny animal separate from its mum and siblings in a house with no other cats, or animals, just friend and her DH. If she had got a cat from a rescue centre, I would maybe be a bit more comfortable with the idea but this kitten has been bred for human pleasure and the way friend talked about having to get a particular breed because of the way it looks made the kitten purchase sound a bit like buying a designer handbag.

So over night I've been thinking a bit more about the morals /ethics of owning an animal because it gives you pleasure and about the human having control over the animal's life. I know cats may be slightly different because when older they might be able to come and go as they want but if you own a dog or a rabbit etc, the human controls most things the pet can / can't do. I've never really given this much thought before so am I being too moralistic about the pet ownership or are there others who agree with me?

I have pedigree cats, as in registered pedigrees whose parents are health tested and registered active because they show the best of the breed. A real cat breeder knows what they are looking for. They also don't let their kittens leave until around 13wks after 2nd vaccinations. My cats are registered non active they are pet only. Your friend has bought a cat whose parent's were not intended to be bred from it could have so many health issues. I definitely didn't buy any of mine from a selling site. The problem isn't pedigree cats it's people buying and selling breeds or half breeds. Who are not pedigree cats and therefore sold at a fraction of the price of a pedigree cat. To become a registered cat breeder is not easy.

This will probably set off some kind of arsehole klaxon but I became a vegan after thoughts like this.
We have pets, rescues and a guide dog (who’s probably technically and employee rather than a pet). The rescues came out of really shitty situations, more than unwanted pets. Whenever I hear people discussing what colour they’d prefer I get really uncomfortable, I have a (probably one-sided) bond with the animals based on their personality. I suddenly realised I could on eat animals because I considered them lesser than the ones in my livingroom. It’s an extreme reaction but I felt like a hypocrite.

We have a dog and yes I see what you mean .However left to themselves ,and in a pack they would have a much harder time of it! Looking for food ,being the youngest and having to scrap with their siblings .They will miss their Mums obv but lots of play /cuddles means they will soon settle down and enjoy being looked after.Someone once said to me well looked after pets have a better life than some children! Sad but true unfortunetly

You could say that about Humans having children too over populating the planet for their own pleasure

YABU. What would have happened to the kitten if your friend hadn't got it? It would have gone to someone else or worse still been abandoned. Pets bring a lot to a family especially children. They teach them so much.

You can't change the world but you could choose where you got your pet which would enrich your family.

What do you want the pets to do - can you imagine what sort of life they would have if they were all turned loose? I don't approve of people breeding animals to sell as pets though, that's just wrong, but rescued pets are fine, people (mostly) are providing them with a loving home. My cats have a better life than I do!

As for dogs - have any of you seen a dog (with a responsible owner) who looked unhappy being out for a walk on a lead? Can you imagine what would happen if they were out walking without a lead, especially in a town or city?

We got our cat from an animal rescue. Her mum was probably thrown out of a house already pregnant and too young to be having her first litter, she was found living in a hedge.
We had one of her kittens and tbh I do not remember her having any anxiety about leaving her mother or siblings . I was at home all day and she would cuddle up to me at any time she wished.
7 years later she still rules the roost here. She sleeps at the end of the bed or has her own bed ( one of several ) on a set of drawers in the bedroom as she chooses to sleep with us at night. She often wakes me up during the night for a neck rub whenever she fancies, and it is her who decides when we get up in the morning for her breakfast !

We have two rescue cats (ex feral). We have a cat flap although I keep them in at night, because of foxes, but they can go out whenever they want in the daytime. They both know how to hunt. They could have taken themselves off, anytime they liked - but they haven’t!

You are being pretty philosophical about the whole thing, but there's nothing wrong with feeling something and then thinking about what's brought up the feeling. I wish more people did it.

If you're going to take a stand about human control of animals, pet ownership probably wouldn't be the most urgent place to start, though...

Maybe start with the chicken in the fridge or the creams and cosmetics in the bathroom, and work your way to the ethics of pet ownership from there.

I'd also ask you this . Are you a parent ? If you have concerns about the reason people have pets, then surely that could also be argued about having children . What is the real reason we have children ?

@Soubriquet you have missed the point.

Yes you can be a good pet owner to a pet you got through Facebook or Gumtree. However it’s well known that Facebook* and Gumtree allow unscrupulous “breeders” to give away or sell animals that haven’t always been cared for properly or given the correct vaccs or had background checks for new owners. It’s a big problem!!
If you buy from Gumtree or Facebook you are funding the problem. It’s like buying fur, you might be a lovely person and you didn’t kill the animal yourself but you’re funding the fur seller.

*It’s actually now not allowed to sell animals on Facebook for this reason.

My cat isn't a pet, she owns me and I am her servant and friend.
She goes where she wants and does what she wants. I wait on her hand and paw and make sure she only has the best of everything.
She doesn't like other cats and doesn't want another one in the house. If she wants company when I am at work she goes and visits the neighbours but is quite happy at home.
I'd like to be my cat.

@VictoriaBun you definitely can’t compare the two things.

@CazzaCat
Why ? If you had children, what was your motive. To satisfy something inside you, or for the greater good of the world ?

I do know what you mean in the case of caged pets. I owned rabbits when I was a child and looking back, they were probably kept in a hutch that just wasn't anywhere near big enough. I totally regret having them when I look back now as an adult. But you don't think about deeply as a kid. Even when my own kids were little I bought into the "get your kid a pet and teach them about looking after another life" etc crap. It's basically just using another living thing and that just doesn't sit comfortably with me at all. I hate seeing donkey rides anywhere etc.

I honestly don' t think that keeping any form of caged animal as a pet is morally right or excusable in this day and age. If you want to see if your caged pet is happy then why not leave the cage door open and see if it goes back to it, happy. (obviously you'd need to teach it gradually how to find its way back).

I don't even agree with "house" rabbits, whose owners claim they lead a life of luxury. I mean, WTF! Get a cuddly toy if you want something soft to stroke, and grow up in the process. A rabbit doesn't naturally live in a centrally heated house with carpets under foot and cables that could give it an electric shock if it chewed them.

As for goldfish given as prizes in tiny plastic bags at fairs, and kept in tiny bowls far too small for it.....

Pet owning is all a bit wierd when you really stop and think about it. We really haven't moved on from when wealthy ladies kept birds in tiny fancy cages because they liked to look at them and hear them tweet. I do think dogs and cats are a bit different. There are real mutual benefits there if they are kept responsibly. i.e. a dog not left alone for 8 hours each day while the owner is at work. I'd love a dog but we work FT so it would be cruel to a pack animal to leave it alone all day, therefore we don't have one.

far too many people do only get a pet because of the benefits it brings THEM, not whether it is going to be truly beneficial to the animal.

I'm not even sure that the argument about using rescues is correct. The more people take in rescues, the fewer qualms irresponsible people will have about giving their unwanted pet up. So the cycle goes on. I don't know what the answer is.

Those posters trying to compare it to having children. It's not comparable at all. We have a fundamental biological urge to procreate. It's no coincidence that in a lot of cases sex drive diminishes as we get older and fertility lessens.

In some countries pet owning isn't even a thing.

victoriabun I'm not a parent and I kind of agree with your point but that takes me down a whole rabbit hole of other thoughts about human impact on the planet. I'm also a vegetarian not vegan so am aware that there are animals being kept in much worse conditions than pets to meet some of my needs.

@VictoriaBun

Just to be clear I have pets and they have always been rescues and while there is need for animals to be rescued I will always have pets. I will never buy from a breeder as much as I think there are some beautiful and amazing breeds and great breed owners it just goes against my beliefs.
I rescue because I love animals and feel it is my duty to give a home where I can and keep them safe and well. On a selfish level I get a lot back from my pets which makes me happy. It’s win win.

Having a human baby is one of the most natural things in the world - to those who want to be parents of course. Its normal for us to choose to reproduce because we have found a partner we want to do this with. Not everyone has a baby to show it off or for entertainment. In the right circumstances it’s done out of love for that future child and a natural instinct to want to become a parent.
I’m soon to be a parent but didn’t always have those instincts and some people never do which is absolutely fine.

You can’t compare the two because it’s our choice to become parents but not the choice of some made up breeds for example the ones with health issues and short life spans that are bred and bred for a quick buck.

I support thought out breeding ie pure breds through ethical breeders. Pure bred animals have consistent characteristics and a fairly predictable temperament.

I did get asked what colour puppy I was getting when I was waiting for my westie. I replied if he's any colour other than white I'm in trouble LOL

You see some people breeding for colour regardless of risks - blue staffies, merles etc - way riskier when people have literally no understanding of the risks because they're in it for the money and don't care about the suffering of the animals they breed.

If people only purchased through breed society registered breeders, there'd be significantly fewer unwanted pets IMO. So many animals in rescues are cross breeds. It's not their fault and they deserve a loving home too (I got my kitten from the RSPCA and had her until she died at 16yo).

We got our dog and cats from a rescue centre. They are having a lovely life compared to their previous existence and poor futures. I’d always encourage everyone wanting a pet to look for a rescue rather than a pedigree.

Plus, overpopulation has come about mainly because of better healthcare. Contraception already limits the population. The issue is people choosing to have larger families, not any children at all. If the only people having children are the ones who are having loads because they don't care or stop to think about the planet, or they have loads because it means more benefits etc then we're in trouble.

Honestly, I think it's a bit shit. I don't think you need to anthropomorphize the animals to think it's a problem. And they certainly have a far easier life than if they lived in the wild. But I do think it trivialises their life to performing a function for simply for your own benefit, and usually nothing beyond entertainment, and is entirely devoid of the life for which they had evolved.

I don't get too het up about it. I'm a meat eater after-all but then I'm not the one hypocritically pretending I'm a friend to the animals when I do that.

The reason people don't buy through registered breeders IMO is because they see animals as a commodity and want a kitten / puppy NOW and are not prepared to go on waiting lists and wait for their chosen breed to become available.

As for why own pets in the first place - I think as our human lives have become more comfortable animals have moved from owning for a purpose / job to owning for pleasure. All purebred dogs had an initial purpose. Westies are vermin hunters for example. Knowing the natural instinct of the breed helps you to meet their needs mentally and physically.

The domestication of animals is fascinating, and not 'hundreds' but tens of thousands of years ago.
Cat's only meow to humans - never each other, and the pitch and frequency of their cry is the same as a new born babies. Dogs have been found in the earliest human burial grounds. Livestock are different but cats and dogs almost certainly domesticated us as we did them, making themselves indispensible as hunting/pest control/companion animals.
the problem is really irresponsible owners like your friend and over breeding.

8 weeks is way early for a kitten to leave its mum, isn’t it? I thought it was more like 12 weeks.

I hate animals being kept in cages, I’m horrified that sows are still kept in farrowing cages in the U.K. I don”t understand people who keep birds in tiny cages. I don’t care how much time they get to fly around a room, it can’t be good for the bird’s physical or mental health. I think if you’re going to keep a pet, it should be treated like royalty.