Do any of you have a pet that you actually just can't fucking stand?

[mycatisannoying]

My cat. Approx 11 years old and counting! I've had him for a decade. A part of me does love him, but he's a knob and lessens my quality of life rather than add anything to it. He's so whiney and food obsessed and I am seldom able to sleep the whole night through because of him.
When he departs I shall be sad, but I won't miss him, and there will be relief in a way.
He has a wonderful life here with us, and I won't give him away, because he's old and is our responsibility.
Have you ever had a love/hate relationship with a family pet?

Our guinea pigs.
So much more demanding than I could ever have imagined. They wheek for breakfast as soon as they hear you coming downstairs. Every time you open the fridge door or rustle packaging they’ll start wheeking away. One of them is massively fussy - she will literally turn her nose up and walk away if you’ve got her vegetables she doesn’t want (but her tastes will change on a weekly basis). We once changed their hay. Neither of them would eat it and squeaked non-stop until we got some they would eat.
And the cleaning out of the cage? Ugh! My weekend hell!
Oh, and one of them got a lump last year that cost £400 to have removed.

….but the reason I paid that is because they can actually be quite cute and it will break mine and my daughter’s hearts when they die.

My cat is a bastard. He's needy as hell and demands attention and petting - but once you give it, he turns on you with no warning (and I mean no warning - I've had lots of cats over the years, and I'm well-versed in cat body language) and start biting and scratching. These are not playful either - he means it. I've got scratch marks all over my hands and wrists for giving into his demands.

The kids are terrified of him and won't go near him, and he does sometimes randomly attack them. He's been checked over by the vet more than once, and is (quite literally!) fighting fit. He's just vicious.

He was a rescue, but we were told he'd come from a loving family and had only been given up because one of the DC had developed an allergy (to being bitten? ) I assume he must have been poorly socialised as a kitten.

He's a beautiful looking cat, and in his own way I think he does love me - I'm very much "his" human, and he seems to miss me if I'm not around - apparently when I'm out he roams around yowling for me, and then runs to the door to greet me as soon as I'm back. I'm sort of grudgingly fond of him, and hoping with time the aggressive behaviour will lessen (though we've had him 4 years and there's no sign of it happening soon!), but yes, if I'm honest I wish we hadn't adopted him. We haven't really got room for another pet, and I'd rather we had one that the DC can love and snuggle up with.

I have 2 cats and one is a terror for chewing wires. I’ve gone through so many phone chargers because she’s chewed through them. The other will pee on the sofa given any opportunity so I have to cover the seats in plastic when I’m not sitting on it. It’s a pain and I wish they would just behave!

But they bring me so much joy. The sofa destroyer loves nothing more than a good belly rub and she’s super fluffy so it’s like stroking a live Teddy bear. She loves being near me and will come and sit on the side while I have a bath and we have a chat! The wire chewer is really clever. She can play fetch like a dog and likes hide and seek. She also loves a good cuddle. I put up with the negatives because the positives massively outweigh them.

These threads always make me sad. Solving pet problems by giving the pet to a sanctuary.

That pet will never fond a new home, will be frightened and alone. Sanctuary will be right on funds and will struggle to care for the poor abandoned animal.

I know a cat peeing in the house is a big issue - but making the problem some else’s doesn’t solve it, it just moved it on. And the poor animal is the one who suffers.

I do think people should consider all these issues when they get a pet. They are hard work. Few are perfect.

KittenSpawnOfSatan are you serious? If you are take him to a rescue, they will find him a home.

We allowed our indoor cat to go outdoors in the hope she'd find a new home, burn off energy etc all she found was a virus/infection and had to go to the vets daily for a week for antibiotics and an IV which took 3 hours each time. That plan bit me on the arse.

@ClaudineClare serious yes, hence responding to a thread like this. Would like to chuck him outdoors and never see it again.

Our cat lived to be 18, and survived getting run over twice.

He was as annoying as hell - he shredded the stair carpet with his claws. Had to fed on the worktops and dropped food everywhere. Got all over the other worktops with muddy paws, and his favourite place to have a wash was my ironing pile which nearly always ended up having to be re-washed. He would sit in the sinks waiting for water to drip or drink out of the toilet rather than use his clean water bowl that was changed twice a day. He loved a good fight even when elderly and I can't tell you how much money he cost me at the vets sorting out yet another abcess. Woke us regularly at 3am coughing up a hairball on the bed. He got a bit of dementia towards the end and forget you'd fed him, so he miaowed incessantly. And liked to shit over the edge of his "shitty litty" tray as it was called.

I can't tell you how much he annoyed me. And how much I still miss him.

@LadyPropane

No, but I've had pets that can't stand me.

My chickens are so well looked after. We built them a beautiful little wooden house, we feed them very expensive layers mash, and supplement this with insects and some fresh fruit and veg. I even made them an enrichment obstacle course and everything!

They peck at my toes when I refill their feed, and run away from me when I try to feed them a handful of seeds. They basically act like I'm this horrible, scary bitch when I literally could not be nicer to them.

As you can tell, I'm rather over invested in the whole thing and have really embarassed myself in my obvious desperate attempts at trying to get in their good books.

Weeping with laughter here. I have 5 chickens and only one of them will allow cuddles and love.

I lavish them all with so much love and affection and the finest food and home in all the land!

Yet everyday one of mine wakes up and chooses violence. This violence usually involves TAKING A RUN UP to peck me on the toes and ankles!!

Love them to death and cry a river every time one of them dies.

[quote KittenSpawnOfSatan]@ClaudineClare serious yes, hence responding to a thread like this. Would like to chuck him outdoors and never see it again.[/quote]
Why do you dislike him so much?

@Mellowyellow222, I think I’m reading these posts differently to you. In pretty much all of them, there’s a real undercurrent of affection for the pets. I don’t get the sense people are actually wanting to rehome them, just having a moan about their more infuriating habits.

The hamster. I loathed the hamster. Fucking awful thing.

MIL bought it for the kids when they were 3 and 6. (Terrible thing to do!) Kids were scared of it because it was bitey, it was noisy at night, it would run at you when putting food in and sink its teeth into whatever it could reach. Huge enclosure with loads of tubes and rooms for enrichment and all it wanted was make you bleed.

So relieved when the damn thing died.

My cat loved to 23 so prepare yourself for that!
Do you think he's intuitive and knows on some level you're not keen so is a bit needy?

(I do love the cats, hens, Guinea pigs, rats and fish we have had. It’s just the hamster that was a nightmare)

I thought is was standard for 2 cat households to have one loveable, daft as brush, pudding of a cat and one evil house goblin trying to work out how to murder everyone in their sleep.

One of my first pets was a vicious hamster - I'll be honest, no-one missed it when it died, I'm sorry to say.

It attacked anyone who came near, as in lunged at you then sunk its teeth in and wouldn't let go (if you weren't quick enough in getting away). This would include when putting food in her habitat. I say habitat because we bought an absolutely huge contraption with different levels, areas, tubes and toys, and it didn't help. Consulted a vet - couldn't find a reason for her behaviour, concluded it must just be the way she was. Couldn't lift her out because she was so vicious. We had to have special gloves to handle her when moving her to clean her habitat out (no joke!) after a family member needed medical attention due to a particularly bad bite.

I was devastated as a kid as I had had a few small furries before that and loved getting them out to play and run around, but this hamster was a nightmare!

@AFS1 you are absolutely right. Sorry!

I knew jerk responded to..

‘
Only solved the problem by giving him to a cat sanctuary in the end. Did it with an extremely heavy heart because he genuinely was a lovely natured cat, just had this horrendous pissing habit.’

@Teacupsandtoast no, a ragdoll. Dcat1 (the good but crazy cat) is a Burmese though, which are closely related to Siamese

@autienotnaughty of course it’s not always the owners’ fault. Some animals, just like some people, are more complex or difficult. But as the owner, it is always our responsibility to keep investing in the relationship and trying to improve things. Just like a parent with a more difficult child - you don’t blame them or give up on them, because ultimately you are the one who has to take responsibility.
It does exasperate me when owners are surprised that their pets do very normal behaviour just because it is a small inconvenience to the owner. We have domesticated these species and they have compromised far more to live with us than the other way round. Therefore I find it selfish when people complain about a cat doing a poo in the litter box without covering it so they can’t feed the cat at night or the house stinks. Hello?! The cat is already doing us a favour by toileting in a small box with absorbing stones that is very far away from how they would go in nature. The fact they do this at all is a miracle! And yet people complain that the poor cat doesn’t cover its poo and don’t feed it in the evening. This to me is selfish.

One of my cats is a bit of a dick. Comes over all sweet and cuddly then you stroke her the wrong way and she goes for you. She doesn't like men, except DH and I always have to tell my kids friends not to stroke her as she can't be trusted not to attack.

I feel about this thread as child-free by choice people must feel when they read complaining parent threads. Just so, so justified and gleeful in my pet-free existence

@autienotnaughty a second example - people complaining that hamsters are noisy at night. This to me is just basic ignorance of the biological needs of an animal.

I have two cats and a dog. One cat and the dog annoy me. I dont hate them, but fuck me they are annoying. The cat is 14 this year though and I think shes going slightly senial. The dog is a Collie so just high energy all the time. Its fine overall but wears me down sometimes.

[quote KittenSpawnOfSatan]@ClaudineClare serious yes, hence responding to a thread like this. Would like to chuck him outdoors and never see it again.[/quote]
Please do him a favour and rehome him.

My cat can be a bit of a bugger. Bitey, tendency to not cover her poo (I know it makes me selfish to complain), claws the carpet. But I love her to absolute bits and would not be without her.