Tell us your stories about choosing a pet for a chance to win a £100 voucher for a pet shop of your choice

[TinaMumsnet]

Should we get a pet? What pet should we get?! Is your family desperate for a pet? Or do you already have one?

Choosing a pet can be exciting, impossible, heart-warming and heart-breaking – sometimes all at once!

We'd love to hear your stories about choosing a pet so share them with us (with photos if you can) for a chance to win a copy of What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss plus a £100 voucher from a pet shop of your choice.

It's the literary equivalent of buried treasure: a brand new, never-before-seen rhyming romp of a picture book from the legendary Dr.Seuss! It's the story of a classic childhood moment: a brother and sister visiting a pet shop to pick a pet, but neither being able to decide which one to go for. Every pet looks like fun, so how in the world do you just pick one?!


'There are moments of genius on every page' - The Telegraph

This discussion is sponsored by Harper Collins Children's Books and will close on 14 March.

[jhm3jls]

My girls would love any kind of pet but we've resisted because we like to spend lots of time out and about and don't feel it would be fair. Eventually I would like to keep chickens, but for the time being I think they'd be more than happy with a guinea pig or rabbit.

[StopLaughingDrRoss]

I lost my first cat to the road a few years ago and I found it so painful that I wasn't sure if I could do it again. However, the house felt dreadfully empty and I adore cats so mentioned this to a friend. Her mum was looking for someone to rehome her rescue cat as her job has recently changed and she was travelling an awful lot.

After a few pics and a couple of chats, I agreed and it's the best decision I have ever made. He is the polar opposite to my first cat - so so affectionate and snuggly and a real family pet (my first cat was feisty to say the least ).

He is 7 now, recently diagnosed with a heart murmur and on specialist food for other issues - but he is absolutely awesome!!

[k8vincent]

After having had little furry visitors in our house DH persuaded me that it would be a good idea if we were to get a cat. (I never imagined myself as a pet person - in fact for years have insisted that we will never have a pet!) We toyed with the idea of getting a kitten but in the end we decided that with so many cats without a home we would adopt one.

One Saturday morning we announced to the boys (x3) that we were going to visit a cat adoption centre and we then spent some time looking for a cat who could join our family. The boys were super excited, particularly when we found Lorenzo (already named) and nobody else had adopted him! We collected him the following weekend and after a hair raising journey home where DS1 let him out of the cat basket by mistake and I had to rescue him from under the driver's seat, he settled in to his new home. 3 months on and he is definitely part of the family.

[kittylover]

We have quite a few pets we have got 4 cats . 2 guinea pigs and a dwarf rabbit. None of them were really chosen by us , when we were looking to get our oldest cat who sadly is no longer with us he was a rescue he came from a home that had 20 other cats so we offered him a home here , he was elderly when we got him he was around 8/9 and we had him just over 5 years. The next cat we got was from a home were they didnt want her as she didnt play so we took her in , our next cat we did kind of choose her she was from a family friend and we said we will have the darkest one. In November last year a few months after our elderly cat passed away we decided to get another one and i put an ad online and i was messaged by a lady who had two sisters she couldnt keep them so we took them on. Out guinea pigs we chose from a breeder , our rabbit came from a rescue centre . The thing about choosing pets for us is we will always choose one that really needs a loving home and a fresh start .

[VickyRsuperstar]

I said to my hubby one night, I had a pet, I would have a cat because they look after themselves and don't need lots of walks. Also if I had a cat, then it would have to be a friendly cat that wanted to be sociable and like being stroked rather than one that just hides away from everyone and suits itself! Two weeks after that random conversation I was preparing the kids food when I heard a crying noise that went on and on, so I opened the back door and a freezing, skinny black cat walked in and it seemed to be really hungry. Unusually I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that had been left a couple of days and I was going to throw them out because they had gone too dry so I gave them to the cat which was obviously starving. I thought the cat would leave once I fed it but no, it settled down and went to sleep. It was so cold that night that I think it would have died if it had stayed out and with no food.
I locked it in the kitchen over night on a soft blanket, not quite knowing what to do with it. I thought it would be off in the morning, but no it wanted to stay. I tried to find out where it had come from, but it appeared to be a local stray that had spent short periods of time trialling other people's houses and then moving on. I thought it would leave when it saw all the children as I had 8 at the time, but no it loved the kids and it was so friendly that it wanted to be with us and stay in the same room near us all the time.
As he decided he was here to stay, had no other home to go to and he was just the sort of cat I wanted, we rescued him, neutered him and quickly installed a cat flap. He has been absolutely lovely, has the patience of a saint, never scratches, hisses or bites even if the kids are accidentally slightly rough and he's a very welcome addition to the family and we all love him very much.

[meggysar]

Our cat used to be the neighbours cat but he used to visit everyday and eventually decided to move in permanently!!

[grannybiker]

We've been thinking of adopting a dog again as we miss our old lurcher, (And we need a bit of motivation to get walking the woods again!)
However, we do a lot of biking and go to a few rallies each year, which we can't take a dog to.
Our daughter has been living in Cyprus where she volunteers at an animal rescue centre when this poor chap came in with a broken leg having been thrown from a moving car :O :(
We saw him and his big brown eyes on a post she shared on Facebook, but it wasn't until she came back last month for a visit and said they were going to be fostering him so he could with her dogs. They were really struggling to find a forever home for him.... Also, they were being posted back to the UK at Easter so would be available for dog sitting....
Yep, he'll be flying over with her dogs to become our pet, tho' I guess he'll really enjoy holidays with his old pals!

[chrismse]

We have a tortoise called Puddles who is a few years old now. He is well loved by the children and seems to have grown a fair in the few years.

[cathyov]

I do believe that a pet chooses you!
The semi wild cat on the farm had had three kittens and we decided to have one to join our young family. The girls wanted the black and white one but it was the all black one that let us catch him and joined us and became a well pampered cat!

[embabes7]

We got a dog before our son was born, but knowing we were going to start a family, we researched the most suitable and had a bichon frise and we love him :)

[nonnyno]

Had just taken over our farm, and went to look at pigs at a neighbouring farm. The couple there had a litter of new Labrador pups. We bought one of the pups,she grew into a lovely dog and the couple became lifelong friends.

[jamielmdjs]

our neighbour's cat had kittens so that made it easier to get access to a kitten when the little one's decided they wanted a pet. we went round and they got to see them all. as much as they'd have loved to take them all home - the little black and white one that also had ginger on it stood out for them and Leo came home with us.

[clarabella12]

our first family dog passed away at the beginning of last year and all our kids where heartbroken, we where going a big family holiday in June so decided not to look for another until then. I had contacted all of the rehoming centres but as a we had children under 5 they wouldn't recommend anything other than a puppy and never had any needing rehomed so I looked on gumtree and fell in love with a beautiful little guy who needed a new home as his owner had started working and he was only 4 months old! I showed the picture to my mum who automatically said I know that dog! turned out the owner stayed right around the corner from me and my youngest went to nursery and was really close with her son! It seemed like fate and I'm so glad he came into our lives.

[windowmouse]

My cats chose me. They were the most friendly at the rescue centre and I just had to take them home.

[daisyduke66]

We have two Jack Russell's and my children were very much involved in the decision to have both. It's an exciting and incredibly rewarding experience - getting your pet! I think as result the children are so much more involved with them as part of our family. Our two Jacks also totally love each other! -as you can see!!

[roseannascott89]

my mum and sister decided to get a cat and we went to pick up this one they had chosen. when we got there there were two kittens left. The one they had already picked and another little one. the owner said he was the runt and the last one. well we couldnt leave him. best decision in the world, both were the cutest when playing and they still sleep curled up together

[lottiegirl]

We told our two boys that we were about to go and get a cat. They both burst into tears. 'I wanted a puppy' said one. 'I wanted a Lily Quench book' said the other! Its 11 years later now and they both love the cat - so happy ending!

[Tjsmum123]

My son has allergies to cats and dogs so we decided we would get a rabbit, as I could be housed outside and wouldn't set us off sneezing. We saw and advert for bluebell our Netherlands dwarf rabbit in the paper and fell in love with her. She's blue in colour and has blue eyes to match. She's fit in nicely with our family and is cheeky and mischievous! We could do with a new hutch for her this year so the win would come in very handy. Meet our Netherland dwarf Bluebell...

[slbhill42]

We recently rehomed a cat from Cats Protection. While we already had a cat, she wasn't willing to be friends with our little boy so we decided to get another cat in the hope it would get on with both the existing cat and the existing child (a bit of a gamble I must admit). I phoned the shelter and they said that's fine, come any time, we always have plenty of cats. So we turned up on the Sunday afternoon - to find that for the first time in MORE THAN TEN YEARS they had no cats left! You've got to laugh. (And we did go back a little later and found this playful little soul)

[mrshumphreyjr]

We chose our current cat from a re homing centre. Never regretted it, as he is now such a happy cat, after previously been ill treated. Teaches our family to realise the benefits too of not getting a kitten when there are so many cats desperate for a loving forever home.

[keshimonster]

I went to Pets at Home and chose a gorgeous bunny. I wanted a girl and I called her Princess. She had a pink bowl and pink accessories. She went for her vaccines a few weeks later. A nurse said she wanted a second opinion and took her into the back room. I was really worried. Eventually she brought Princess back out to me and said "I'm so sorry...Princess has a penis".
So we changed his name to Gabriel! He is lush!

[chicgeekdiary]

We took in our cat off the streets, turned out she was pregnant and had 5 kittens shortly after. My Mum decided to keep all the kittens and the Mummy cat ended up leaving!! So we were left with 5 kittens. 7 years later and I have one of those kittens, Ted and he's my 2 year old's best friend.

[starsailing888]

We went to the pet shop and observed the budgies for almost an hour before choosing our one. We opted for the quietest one there, and of course he's now the noisiest, most curious and nosy budgie ever - and we wouldn't have it any other way!

[lindseystuart85]

We have two cats in our home Molly age 8 and Ivy age 1
Molly is a grumpy cat but she's awesome company when the little ones are not around!
Ivy is so much fun! she is terribly hyper and likes to run riot through the night! I have never ever known of a cat to be so high!
She is fascinated with plastic bags! she likes to sleep in them
A voucher would definitely go towards a bed :)

[laurapotz]

We have just adopted a new cat from the RSPCA. She is a lovely black and white 3 year old girl. We are hoping that she will get along well with our other cat but the first meeting didn't go well as he chased her (even though he actually likes other cats). Fortunately he seems to have got used to her now, so now we just need to get her used to him - ho hum!