Do you regret your pets?

[LittleLottieChaos]

I know there are regular threads on people regretting their children… but I’m interested to know, are people similarly regretful of their pets? I currently am looking after my old childhood cat - he’s an old gent now, poos/wees inside and randomly vomits after eating. He also has to be securely locked downstairs at night or he’ll come up and wake us all for food/drool on our heads.

After spending years thinking ‘yay I want a dog and a cat, in fact a whole menagerie’ now I’m thinking ‘no, I’ll just have my kids…’

YABU - I never tire of my animals

YANBU - I sort of regret them at times

There are moments I regret one of my cats - he's just so destructive and it's like having a 4th child (one that will never grow up and doesn't give a shit about naughty steps 🤣). But he's also the most loving and fiercely loyal and will protect us from any and all threats (even if that includes the postman or the chap who came round to quote our windows 🤣) . Life would be a loss less complicated without him (and I didn't threaten him drilling him off at Battersea cats home the other day!) but a lot more boring 🤣

I forgot to mention the cat that's sick almost every day. Numerous costly vet trips suggest he's a greedy bugger.

I regretted the tropical fish after a couple of years. Having decided that the tropical fish trade was something I shouldn't support any more, I decided to let our remaining fish live out their natural lifespan and the bloody things lasted years and years before dying of old age.

I also have a couple of tortoises. They are the joy of my life (well one of them) and I dont regret them at all. Looking forward to growing old together.

I don’t regret getting my dog because we all love her so much and she brings so much joy to our lives, but my life has changed a lot in the last few years which has made it more complicated to meet her needs and we have sacrificed some areas of our lives so that we can keep her. If I had the time again I might not get a dog at that stage but I couldn’t be without her now I do have her I’m my life, she my most affectionate and best behaved dc 😃

I love my cat and don't regret getting him however in hindsight I would have gotten a short haired cat if I had my time over, there's hair on our clothes all the time plus he needs to be groomed twice a year which is expensive because he needs to be sedated and also i worry about the effect the sedation's have on him, he's always very out of sorts for a few days after

I regret getting such a fluffy dog who malts everywhere, her fur has got longer with age.

Maults

I don't regret any of my pets, I've adored them all.

The last two were hard work, not because they were difficult or not loving but because of their health. One was poorly throughout her life with various issues. She was a true character and very much a sassy little madam who did her own thing but also loved a cuddle and wanted nothing more than to be held and loved when she felt like it. She had a very unique air about her and was the bravest dog I've ever known - nothing phased her.

The other we only lost at the end of last month and for the last three years of his life he got poorly almost out of nowhere. I was terrified every vet visit that it was the end or that something new would be found and mean it was the end. As it happened we all knew when the end was and that continuing his life would be cruel.

The last 18m were not as enjoyable as they should be as I worried constantly that something was wrong and I didn't know what was wrong or that he'd need help and I wouldn't realise. He had huge seperatation anxiety and couldn't even cope being with my mum who he knew 100% and was happy with without me whilst I went to the supermarket or similar. He was very much my boy and we had a bond I don't think I'd ever have again with another pet.

Sadly it's just not possible to have anymore due to our current family circumstances. It's gutting but we do have to be realistic and know that we just couldn't go through it all again (not just the pain of saying goodbye but the training, getting them toilet trained etc etc) when I have my caring responsibilities.

@3ormoredogs

I don’t regret mine as such but I regret having 3 dogs at times. I love them all individually and walking them separately is a joy but walking 3 together is hard and I can’t just take all of them out for the day etc as it’s too much. I wish I had stuck at 2 despite loving the youngest probably the most of them all I slightly regret the breed choice of dogs 1-2 but dog 3 is the perfect fit for our family, if only I could make the original two into the same breed as the third!

It’s hard work having 3 dogs in the house, endless cleaning and walks.

We also have cats. Don’t regret them but I don’t feel as strongly about them as I do with the dogs. They are very outdoor type cats and we live rurally so they go off for days though so that’s probably why.

The first paragraph is how I feel about my kids 🤣

We do not regret rescuing our border collie we have had him for twelfty million years, but this is the last dog.

I have retired due to redundancy coming eighteen months earlier than I had planned and DH is due to retire August 2022.

After that we intend doing lots of city breaks, and extended time on balconies in Spain, not fair to shackle our DS with him, so he will meet a natural end, but that will be the end.

I have never regretted our cat. He is 100% a member of the family. He has cost a fortune in vet's bills, But he was my autistic DS2's best friend for years when he had no friends at primary school. He used to pick DC up from school, coming as far as the main road and waiting for them. He used to escort them to cubs. He even used to escort me around to friends' houses for coffee and wait on their doorsteps to make sure I found my way home. He is a big tigerish heap of affection. Now he's 16 he drools a bit, sheds fur everywhere and has very few teeth left but I adore him.

No - I think my parents regretted every pet they had.

We waited years and years- first because we rented, then kids ages etc years of watching My Cat fromhell by all the family - we finnaly got two kittens - mother had been taken in pg afer being neglected and friends of friend wanted good homes for kittens.

They're only 3 - so we haven't done old age - would like it if they were more lap cats and one if she liked men/boys.

Costs so far absorbed into household costs - and don't hugely stand out and we've got a decent franchise We Love Pets so aren't tired down for holidays yet.

But we love them one of teh best things we ever did - I think it's helped DD1 come with last few years stresses better they all talk more to us becuase they can talk about the cats.

Yes. I bitterly regret getting our dog. He’s terribly anxious (fearful of other dogs) so walks with him are extremely stressful. We can’t just take him for a nice walk in the local park, we have to take him to the most remote places we can think of at the quietest times, and we’re on high alert during the entire walk. He also costs an absolute fortune, stinks, and sheds hair everywhere. To be fair, I expected those things before getting him, but it’s harder to make your peace with them when you don’t get much else back. And I expected to have to pay a lot for food, insurance, medicine, toys and equipment, etc, but I didn’t expect to have to shell out thousands on behaviourists and training.

Anyway, it is what it is - he’s here now and I’m worried I’d go to hell if I re-homed him. But I do spend a lot of time dreaming about a dog free life.

Right now I get very little from our two cats and they do feel like just extra work (though not much of it). But, thankfully, this time round - having felt so guilty for feeling like this when DS1 was a baby - I don't regret them because I know it'll pass once DS2 isn't a tiny baby any more (possibly it's when I stop breastfeeding?). I just don't feel a need for any of the positives of the cats - the cuddles, the cuteness, the extra place to 'put' the need to love and nurture - when I have the physicality and neediness of a little baby. I started enjoying them again when DS1 was about one and I'm confident that'll happen again, until then I'll keep meeting all their needs but not actively liking having them. I'm not sure I'll ever be obsessed with them like I was before I had children again, but I don't think that's in any way to their detriment!

@Tatum1234 that’s interesting! We sometimes wonder if we should get another to give our one a friend. But it having two does look like hard work.

Is there any specific reason why you wish you’d stayed at one?

No but originally only wanted one cat but it's an indoor cat so I got two for company, twice as much fur, can't wear black with being covered in white fur, they have a thing for always wanting the door open when I want it closed, I can't have windows open in the summer incase they escape, hair ball vomit but dont regret them, annoying sometimes but I do enjoy their company.

I sometimes thinks 6 cats is too many - but only 'regret them' when one wakes me up at 4am then 5am - like this morning - or one pees on my handbag

I do regret the small fury things the kids begged for - only one left now and I've taken over her (she's a 7 year old guinea pig) - I've said no more hamsters/guinea pigs/gerbils now!

I don't regret any of my pets because I made sure I was aware of the care and all the pros and cons before I got them.

The only regrets are at the end of their lives.

I actually believe a large number of people who have animals really shouldn't.

I have mixed feelings. I adore my dog, but I do miss the freedom I had finally found after my kids were grown up. It's back to being ruled by walks whatever the weather, not being out more than a couple of hours and not often, arranging holidays in the UK.

I'm ok with it most of the time, she is very much like a child and I wouldn't be without her, but sometimes I do get annoyed with my OH who was the one pushing for a dog, I was very happy without one, yet it's of course me who has to do 80% of the care.

I wonder if I'd have had children if I'd had a dog first. I really really love him even though he's a twat. Husband just thinks he's a twat, doesn't get it all.

Our labrador can be a pain in the arse, has undesirable behaviour, can restrict us doing things we want to do, costs way more than we expected, is a lot more work than expected , but overall wouldn't not have him.

My two Senior Gentlecats are brothers, they were born on a farm and me and the late DH were visiting the friend whose farm they were on and we loved them from the first, even though they were two neurotic balls of fluff in the bottom of a golf bag. They're both almost 20, one is frailer than the other, and DH has been dead for almost 12 years.
I don't think one will outlive the other by long when one of them goes.

That said, current DH has a fancy for a wildcat kitten, so who knows?

Not sure if you can regret someone else's pet, but I wish my father hadn't got a dog after he and my mother's final separation (she got cats then too, it was weird). I think he did too, as after he remarried 5 years later, the dog was re-homed which was the best for everyone.

My father wasn't really in the head space for it and his work was unsuitable for caring. When I came to live with them, I tried, but I wasn't either, had no idea what I was doing. I felt really bad for the dog, Pepper was a lovely dog, but my father's home wasn't a good place her. Between that and between than and helping to care for step-FIL's dog, I'm put off most pets -- I think I once heard I think it was dogs and cars particularly called like caring for a toddler for 10-20 years which felt accurate for me.

My spouse has kept fish and small animals, though we've not any for several years once the previous ones passed as it felt unfair to get another with young children then. We've been discussing a wildlife space in the garden - there is a pond that used to have goldfish that I'm partially drawn towards making a wildlife space, but I still don't think I'll ever be in for full care for pets.

Yes but this is why I started with pets with such short life spans ( hamster)

Not as high maintenance as a dog but still time consuming though I can go out all day.

I won’t be getting another pet. No chance.

Ive spent a decade caring for a sen child and I’m done with any kind of selfless caring.

So no more pets for me though I would happily pet sit for friends for a weekend or such. Great to give them back.

A few weeks after getting my dog I regretted it for a while. The reason was I love her so much and couldn’t bear the thought that she would most likely die before the rest of my family and I was overwhelmed with how sad we would all be.