To think that people who don’t like pets shouldn’t be judged as “cold”?

[ByMellowScroller]

Not everyone loves animals, yet people think it’s a red flag. AIBU to think it’s just personal preference and nothing more?

It is a red flag, though. It's not like disliking pickled onions or motown! Having no feeling for the other living creatures we share the world with isn't normal, and it isn't a good sign. Sorry.

Ahhh there have been so many similar posts lately. I’m a huge animal lover, but I do appreciate not everyone feels the same. It’s what makes us human - we all like or dislike different things . Personally I think there’s a lot more worrying things going on in the world to be concerned about. Let the pet lovers enjoy their furry friends, and let the people who dislike animals do so, and let’s just not shove it down each others throats.

I love my dog, and my cat, but I don’t expect anyone else to love them.

YANBU.
I like some animals, I don't like others. I wouldn't want an animal that I don't like to be hurt, though. I've no idea why I don't like certain animals and I don't think it makes me cold.

YANBU. I don't hate animals but I don't love them in the way that everyone else seems to. I'm indifferent really. Don't get me started on advent calendars for cats/dogs etc...

@sprigatito not liking animals enough to have them as pets, doesn't mean that people don't care about animals at all. I personally wouldn't have any pets, but I still feel disgust at people who abuse animals. I don't like dogs enough to pet them, but I'd intervene or call the police if I knew one was being mistreated and I'd help a lost or injured animal too.

Most people who don't have pets don't hate animals, they simply don't like or enjoy them enough to have them living in their home.

Wanting to harm an animal would be a massive red flag, but simply disliking an animal? No.

I love cats. I don't have one, but I love them. Will always stroke one if it wants me to.

But I can't stand dogs. I don't wish them any harm, but I don't want them anywhere near me. A bit like tarantulas - I wouldn't hurt one, but don't expect me to enjoy having one jump on me or run at me.

Lots of pet lovers eat meat, so they're not actually "animal lovers" - if they were they wouldn't condone their slaughter on an industrial scale. So they are just as selective about the animals they like as I am. (Although I'm a veggie, so I don't eat the animals I'm not keen on.)

I love pets, and have my own. I don't see it as a red flag if someone doesn't like them. But I do see it as a red flag when someone spouts shite about people who do have pets.
Looks at any of the million threads about hating dogs on here, and you will see plenty of examples. Crap like dog owners only have dogs because they want something to control, or dog owners are socially lacking somewhat. No one in those threads can leave it as "I don't like dogs"... it always descends into vitriol towards people who actually have dogs. And that is a huge red flag.

Yanbu but you see it so often - people who don’t like animals can’t be trusted, are psychos, something wrong with them.

I don't hate all dog owners. But I do hate the ones who leave their dog's shit everywhere and let their dogs run/jump up at me. Which isn't as small a minority as you might hope.

I agree OP. It's ridiculous to think people are 'cold' because they don't like pets/don't want pets. Quite honestly, a lot of people who do have pets shouldn't bloody well have them!

I like animals very much, but I think that many people would think that I was a bit cold about them tbh. I find it weird that we domesticate animals just for companionship, it seems a bit selfish to me. We tend to breed out the natural instincts of animals so that they suit our lives better, instead of accepting them as they are. And I really really dislike seeing dogs in cafes and shops, not because they're bothersome, but because I think that those places are so full of stimulation and smells and sounds, and yet we've bred those dogs natural reactions out of them, so that it's easier for us to be able to sit in a cafe and eat cake.

I really really like dogs and would love to have one, but honestly, I think that the vast, vast majority of people don't have the space/time and just get one anyway.

Dog owners are not particularly fond of people who do that too.

I don't think containing an animal in your home for your own comfort or your own entertainment is indicative of being morally better than people who leave them the hell alone and are indifferent to them.

Spot on!

There are regulars on the posts that have an obsession with dander or dangly bits and slobber! And they seem so bitter and angry. If they just said they didn’t like dogs then that’s fine. Vitriol is a good word for it - or spewing poison.

Give them time and they’ll appear here too.

I wouldn’t have an animal in my home and do not understand the appeal. But that doesn’t mean I would choose to be actively cruel.

You don't have to have or want your own pets, but it does reflect better if a person at least has a healthy respect for animals and wouldn't wish them any harm.
Anyone who would abuse an animal is a red flag - and some of those can be pet owners.

There is a thread here at the moment about dogs in cafes.... and it has descended into playground stuff such as "your house smells" etc. It is beyond ridiculous.

Yes that's how I feel (apart from XL bullies which I'm afraid I think need to be culled).

Lots of pet lovers eat meat, so they're not actually "animal lovers" - if they were they wouldn't condone their slaughter on an industrial scale. So they are just as selective about the animals they like as I am.

Exactly. It's very weird to describe disliking animals as a red flag then tuck into a juicy beef burger for dinner.

I don't care if random people don't want a pet themselves, but someone who makes a point of saying they 'don't like pets' seems needlessly negative and unpleasant, which does seem like a red flag. Similar to someone who doesn't have/want kids of their own compared with someone who goes around telling people how much they dislike children for no apparent reason. The first is fine; the second would be weird and make me think there was something else going on.

What @GreenGrass28 and @SabreIsMyFave said is absolutely so...

Having an interest in, respect for and appreciation of animals (and, indeed, all living things), is vastly different to keeping pets - in fact, many choose not to have pets precisely because their respect for sentient, living things does not align with the idea of keeping them captive.

It’s not the same as ‘no feeling for other living beings,’ though. I’m a vegetarian who donates to and volunteers with animal habitat conservation groups. I just don’t like the idea of pet animals, have never had any in adulthood, and the way people anthropomorphise their ‘furbsbies’ drives me nuts.

But I’d estimate I do more good for animals in general than a meagre eater who’s fine with battery eggs and cheap chicken, but has an overweight Pekingese they spoil.

I'm allergic to a lot of animals so have never had dogs and cats. I don't dislike them but I don't want to pet them, don't want them to jump up at me or slobber on me 😬 some pet owners get really offended if you don't want their pets near you!

I love wildlife and watching nature programmes. I love watching the birds in my garden. My neighbours 2 cats hang out in our garden all the time and I don't mind that at all. I'm just not one of those people who adores dogs and cats, that's all.

I know someone who doesn't have, and wouldn't have pets. They're not keen on animals in that way. They're a perfectly nice person, just not someone who wants to keep animals. They wouldn't harm them, they put up with other people's animals, just wouldn't keep them themselves. Which is a sensible option, far too many animals are bought by people who shouldn't have them.

Crap like dog owners only have dogs because they want something to control, or dog owners are socially lacking somewhat.

I have never seen these type of posts on MN.