The Great Dog/Cat debate

[cori]

My DS is 17 months old. I would love to introdue him to the joys of having a pet. I havent had a pet since my teens and i would love to have a furry friend again. The problem is icant decide between a cat or dog. I personally prefer small dogs, but DH prefers cats. We live in a masionette ( with small but not attached garden) so cat might be preferable, and less work. However i have had bad expereince with cats as pets. They all turn out to be nuts. How do you choose a good cat?
Our DS has lots of energy ,and would love chasing a dog around the park and (taking it for walks when he is older).
What are other pet owners experience of animals and small children?
What is good age to introduce kids to pets.?

What about a rabbit? Much cheaper, easier and SOOO cute! Dutch rabbits are a great breed for young children. Cost £15 approx.... hutch + bowl + water bottle etc.... £50.

I got my ds a rabbit when he was 16mths old. That was 7 mths ago and they are inseparable!! The rabbit is kept indoors and every morning we go downstairs and he lets the bunny out of his hutch. The rabbit follows him around and pulls his PJ's until he sits down. Then it runs around him!

They give each other kisses too and ds giggles when his whiskers touch him. It's a joy to watch and coz we got him the pet when he was young he is very gentle with the rabbit.

The strange thing is, the rabbit has bitten me a few times, but even when ds sticks his fingers in the rabbits mouth he has never been bitten.

He also helps to feed the rabbit which makes him feel very important.

We had a house rabbit until last week when she was sadly killed in a freak accident. She was gorgeous and totally house trained, she used to hop up and give us kisses and if we were sitting down would nibble our feet until we stroked her with them.
Word of warning though if you get a cute little baby it is quite hard work as they must have lots of handling, wee in the same place for a while and chew every shoe in sight! Apparently if you get a grown up friendly hutch rabbit they house train really easily.

We got our mutt from Battersea and it was the best thing we did. They vet all the animals to check out their tempraments before you get to see them. You tell them what kind of family you are and what kind of pet you want (they do cats too) and then they 'match' your family to their database of animals. That way you don't have to painfully go round looking at all the poor, sad creatures all begging to be let out, and fall in love with one that eats small children.
We have been exceptionally lucky with our dog, he is such a gentle, sweet, soppy old fool. We got him aged 6 and I would also now never get a puppy again either, but go for an older dog. They are calmer and you don't spend all day mopping up s* and teaching them to behave (I figure I have enough of that already...)
Am not really a cat person, so wait for someone else to post on this. In my experience, cats and small children don't really mix. The child spends half the day trying to get hold of the cat and the cat spends its whole life avoiding all contact. Stupid, soppy dogs tend to like being mauled.

LOL Cha.

Totally agree about cats, although I'd love one!

Runragged - a freak accident???

I've heard that about cats before, but it's not a problem in our house. We have a rescue cat that we got as a kitten. He was about 2 years old when our son was born. He's quite affectionate with us so we thought he might resent the arrival of a baby. He didn't though - he seemed to realise that ds was part of the family now and when ds used to have his last bottle of milk with us on our bed, the cat used to come and lie down with us all too.

DS is now nearly 4 and he and the cat are great with each other. I have taught ds how to stroke the cat (and how to respect the cat's wishes when it is clear he does not want to be stroked!).

I don't think you should discount a cat. It's probably more important that you decide on what kind of animal suits your lifestyle. Will you have time to walk a dog, for example?

Another one for Rabbits, DS got one given to him for his first birthday, DS aged 3.5 and the rabbit are inseperable, Dh and I cant go near the thing as he runs off, but is quite happy to sit there while DS jumps all over him.

I have had both cats and dogs, although I used to find it a chore taking her out for a walk, but much better then my cat who used to hide in the morning and when I came out of bed all sleepy justed to enjoy jumping and then sliding down my leg.

Agree about cats being a bunch of freaks! We've got three (all from cat rescue) and dd and ds love them, but they really are a law unto themselves. Can't have a dog as we're not at home in the day to look after it, but I do think cats make great, relatively low maintenance pets. I don't think I would've had cats when my children were toddlers though, especially when going through the phase of putting everything in their mouths.

We've always had cat(s). Had one before ds1 was born, got 2 kittens whan he was 4 months old - now that was a bit of a challenge as they kept jumping on him if anything moved - the bouncy chair was a nightmare!

Now have one cat and 2 sons - the cat is brilliant with them and has put up with a lot from ds2 who is 20 months now. The cat sleeps on ds1's bed sometimes,(nothing like a few germs to build immunity) but is still shut out of ds2's room as he is in a cot.

However it is important to get a cat with the right temperament to live with children

We got an 8 week old puppy when DS2 was 5 months old and out of all of us she will tolerate anything from him ( and DS1 mostly), hands down throat, fingers in ears, being stepped or fallen on but with DH and me she gets out of the way. She's soooooooo excitable which the boys love but which is hard work at times for the grown ups.
Dogs totally get a vote from me BUT if I could choose again I might wait until the boys were older or get a less nutty dog!

Have to agree that a rabbit sounds like a brilliant idea, what about guinea pigs as well, very cute and small and make funny little squeaking sounds when happy. I'd get a guinea pig again now but the dog would chase the poor little thing all over the garden and give it a heart attack.

We have a totally barmy mutt who, after a few months of ignoring dd (now 6 months), is totally besotted with her as she is with him - many a happy hour is spent with dd sitting in the pushchair in the middle of a field watching me and the dog play ball, only thing that makes her giggle at the mo!

we've just got a tiny kitty and she's dead cute but a bit of a pain in the bum when ds aged 8 months is around. He loves her to bits though. After a few 'incidents' they seem to have developed a healthy respect for each other. Every now and then ds drags her round by her tail or she swipes at his legs but apart from that no real mishaps.
I think cats are less hard work (no walks, need less attention, can leave them in house for longer time alone, can go on holiday and ask someone to feed them so no kennels bills)
but a dog is definitely more fun for kids - I think ds is going to take a very long time before he can stroke kitty without pulling her ears off.

When I grew up we had a great dog - labs are really friendly with little kids.

Where do house rabbits sleep at night.? DO you put them in a hutch, or do you just let bounce around and sleep where they like?
Also what do you with a rabbit when you go on holiday? Are there bunny kennels?

EmmaTMG, I thought the sqeaking noise meant they were going to wee?

Cori - our rabbit is in a hutch most of the time. He gets out for an hour in the morning before we go to work and then is allowed to run around in the evening. But definitely goes back into the hutch at night! He would wreck the place.

My Guinea pig used to squeak when I approached the hutch with food??

I've got a huge lolloping puppy dog and I wouldn't swap her for anything! Great hoover too when dd chucks her dinner on the floor.

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Don't know about Guinea pigs squeaking when they need a wee but I certainly make a funny noise when I don't get near a toilet in time!!!

We've done the lot at one time or another. All pets are lovely and I think its great to get your kids involved as early as possible. We got a rabbit and guinea pig when DS was 3 and DD 18months. They were both a big hit but I found it hard to make the time to handle them enough so they were not that friendly - we never used to see the pig. DH has now built a great run and the children climb in to play with the rabbit who is much friendlier now. Pig met a sticky end recently. Wouldn't get another as not nearly so clean as the rabbit, or as friendly.

I grew up with a dog and can't imagine being without one. You do need the right temperenment though. We had two when our kids came along but had to part with one as she had been maltreated by kids in the past and couldn't stand ours. The other was also a rescue dog but hadn't been maltreated. He is a springer spanial and has always been totally mad and boisterous. He's settling down now at 7! But he is fantastic with the kids and tolerates anything and they love him to bits. There are certain breeds which cope best with kids. Cross-breeds are most intelligent and tend to have less health problems. Terriers are great and small but can occassionaly be a bit snappy.

Our cat actually disappeared before the kids arrived and we haven't got another yet as DH is into wild birds. However our neighbours have them and the kids love them too. I would have said a kitten would be best as they can learn to grow with the child but have never done it although am planning to get them a kitten at Christmas (mice problems!). Characters do vary a lot. If you get a kitten at least you can see what the mother is like. I would never have another male cat though - all the males I've had have pee'd in the house. Females much better. V. Independent. If you go away for a couple of days you can just leave a cat flap or window and they will be fine if you leave food. Dogs need kennels but then you can also take them with you - camping holidays are great with a dog.

I'd certainly go for it and get a pet but what you get should be determined by your lifestyle and what you can cope with. That said though you tend to adapt anyway. Good Luck

Robinw - I've always had Siamese cats and currently have a pair (you should really buy them as pairs, as becasue they're "people cats", needing company, they get lonely otherwise). We've always found them the friendliest of cats with anyone (in fact too friendly sometimes!). As long as Siamese are brought up as family cats (rather than show/stud cats) they are more like dogs than cats - demanding attention, needing company and brilliant with kids - they will tolerate things from a child that they would never tolerate from an adult. And if the child starts to get too much, they just bugger off.

we have 6 cats and two dogs and 5 barn owls. I,m allergic to my cats - they make me sneeze - but the cats came before the allergy.I must say my 3 kids love my animals - my youngest wants to be a vet. We wouldn't be without them. Cats are more independent than dogs if you are busy.
Dogs and cats never grumble and always love you back.......better than men any day lol

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M2T Rabbits freak accident was that she was playing in the garden on her lead, dh was supposed to get a collar but it was raining and he's bone idle. Left rabbit unsupervised to put ds to bed came back and knot on lead had turned into slip knot and when she jump off something accidentally hanged herself. Very very sad.
I put in the vote for rabbits but they must be neutered otherwise they don't house train and can be viscous so add the cost to the price of the bunny.

We have a dog and 2 cats. Cats are definitely easier. Just feed them and they do the rest themselves! (Apart from worming, flea powder, etc!). Also, it's easy to get somebody to pop in and feed a cat if you're away whereas a dog needs company and exercise so you can't leave them so easily. Dogs are messy too but no more so than dh and kids!! All of our animals are very friendly and submit to the children's attentions. I think the fact that the kids came first and the animals grew up with them around helps. We got the cats when dd was a year old then the dog when dd was 3 and ds was a baby. I think if animals are not terrorised by kids they usually get on well.

A definite vote for cats when the children are young. They don't need any looking after except a bowl of food twice a day. Also not so intimidating for other young visitors. They're more independent too and can go outside if the kids start running round too much.

Our cats were 4 years old when first baby arrived. We have taught our children to never hurt them - pulling tails would be a punishable offence - and to respect when they want attention and how best to please them. Unfortunately the really child-friendly cat died a couple of years back but the neurotic, scared of everyone and everything cat is now 11 years old and gets on really well with all the children.

Will see about dogs when all the children are at school so more time for walkies etc. Definite no to rabbits etc in this household - couldn't bear all that hutch cleaning - and hamsters for example only live 2 years.

am starting o think more about getting a cat. What about pure breeds? any recommendations? i like fluffy dogs. So maybe i should go for a fluffy cat. Want a lap cat really.