To feel upset/angry about unintentional animal cruelty?

[Crowley]

Last year my friend bought her daughter a single guinea pig. It lives on its own in a cage which is bad enough but now apparantly, none of the family bother with it.

My friend said the daughter got fed up of it and now only interacts with it when she's changing its food and water. They have shoved it in the greenhouse.

I just feel so sad thinking about the poor thing sat on its own day after day. Its such selfish behaviour but they don't seem to realise or care.

newpup - if she doesn't clean her rabbits out then she wont have them for very long, chances are that they will end up with mucky bottoms and in the summer will be prone to fly strike, and be eaten by maggots!

Apols to DaphneM (and other outdoor bun keepers) not all folk take the same insulation/care as you do.

I used to be a rehomer for a large national animal charity.

I used to have to see all the animals on the property when assessing to rehome a cat/dog/whatever.

Often it was the small caged animals I checked on that gave folk away - green/algae in drinkers, serious staining/smells in freshly cleaned cages, buns with long nails or completely unhandlable small furries etc

Families had lost interest and wanted the new new thing, as it were.

Disgusting. Can you offer to take the guinea pig? It sounds like they'd be only too keen to get shot of it. Even if you don't want it, if you could take it then you could either rehome it yourself or take it to the RSPCA.

BTW deliberately not feeding/watering/caring for a caged animal is intentional cruelty, not unintentional. It can hardly nip down to Pets At Home to stock up on guinea pig munch by itself.

YANBU

i feel the same

and even my hamsters are always rescued from people who are bored of them

but then they get a happy home, attention from me every day and 2 - 3 hours a day out of their cage for the rest of their lives

it makes me so cross that people neglect their animals and of i could i would give them all a caring home myself... but i cant

agree please rescue that poor lonely guinea pig... you can take it to pets at home and they will take it off your hands and give it to someone who wants it, in return for a donation towards the running costs of the rescue nit

YANBU - please call the RSPCA, or local vets who may have details of people who will rehome small animals.

I grew up with guinea pigs and would love to have some - except I don't have the time/commitment to look after them. One reason why I have fish instead - they don't need daily attention.

Lucyellens mum - I agree I have told her about flystrike etc. but think she is so caught up in her own problems re. separation and divorce that the pets are way down her list of priorities. Although, kitten getting lots of attention at present, am sure this will stop when her DD's get bored. Partly I think that she never had pets growing up so has no idea of the commitment you make to any pet and for some reason thought rabbits were low maintenance and hassle free pets!!!

She is not intentionally cruel, the animals are given food and water and are cleaned out, just not often enough. They are shortchanged in the attention stakes though and can see the kitten going the same way!

We had lots of pets growing up and my parents always impressed upon us that we were responsible for the animals as we chose to have them. I had to clean out the rabbit in several feet of snow once (as well I should have) and we walked the dogs every day come rain, shine, hell or highwater. We were taught that pets were hard work but all 3 of us have grown up and have our own pets so it must have been a worthwhile lesson.

Just worry about the lesson her DDs are learning regarding responsible pet ownership.

I would be tempted to steal the guinea.
Is there someone else more forthright locally who would say something about their crappy pet-keeping skills? One of mum and dad's neighbours is like this and she doesn't care who she offends. No-one gets away with anything. However, you can always trust her to mind your cat when you're away or take your dog out if you're not well.

Google Ella Jane Anderson and read how she treated her pets. She bred her dogs and cats illegally for profit and killed one dog by feeding it chunks of cheese. The same woman had the cheek to run a so called 'parenting advice' column but comes across as if she shouldnt havs children let alone animals.

YANBU.

I would steal the guinea pig.

I would also report moon's neighbours.

I don't care much for niceties (or even legalities) when it comes to animal cruelty.

People like this make me livid.

For some reason small animals are considered "lesser" pets.

I have a cousin who invested quite a bit into her hamsters and guinea pigs growing up and cried when each of them died. Then her father scolded her for cry because "they were just hamsters".

Zombie thread.

Grrrrrrrrrr.
Just that really.
When you take on any pet you are agreeing to provide for all future needs. Be that a short life like my rats or nearly 20 like my cat.
People like this are just horrid. Feeding and watering a pet is not everything they need.