cuddly pet for 11 yr old

[HSMM]

i want to get a pet for my dd who starts secondary school next week. I know having a cat to talk to really helped me through those difficult teenage years. However, i am looking for an outdoor pet, maybe a rabbit or guinea pig? Any ideas? Thanks.

Surprisingly,a rat is a cuddlier pet than either of those,at least in my experience (of 7 rabbits,2 GPs,2 rats )Although it would need to live inside,they are friendly,sociable creatures who will come when called and are great to interact with.They are very under-rated pets due to the general loathing of their tails (!)

My children have 2 guinea pigs and they are brilliant pets. We keep ours indoors but they can live outdoors as well. They are great animals for cuddling once they get over their initial shyness.They have their own characters and can be quite cute at times. Guinea pigs do like to have company so 2 are better than 1 but because ours are brothers and have always been in a cage together they get along just fine.

Helly beat me to it.

Rats are fab, so sociable and intelligent. They really crave contact,which rabbits and the like merely tolerate.

i loved my bunnies and my GPs but they did look rather pained and desperate to get away when ever I picked them up.they were happy squeaking away in the garden getting treats from my Mum. My rat on the other hand would be peeping through the bars of her cage lookinh happy to see me when I came in,and liked to sit on my shoulder and fuss about with my hair.I had two rats,one at a time,and i would have one now but for my current terrier who would terrorise (terriorise?)it to death.The previous terrier would happily watch my rat potter about and not try to chase her at all.

Thanks for your help. I don't think I can bring myself to have a rat in the house when we spend all our time trying to keep them away from the hens in the garden .

I think I'm off to look for friendly guinea pigs.

Another vote for guinea pigs - I have one on my lap as I type! Dcs and I would have loved a rat, but pd said it was him or a rat - and we, after much deliberation, chose him!

Our guineas come camping with us, and on visits to Grandma and seem to enjoy their lives very much!

I did see the most gorgeous lavender coloured GP at the Royal Welsh show.He was smooth and satiny and very tempting.

Rats, rats, rats. Try to overcome your fear - pet ones are so different to wild ones and they are truly adorable. Very intelligent, as clever as dogs apparently (that's why scientists use them in mazes!) - they will learn their names, can be taught tricks and genuinely love people. I have kept rats, rabbits and GPs over the years and believe me rats are light years ahead of the other two. Plus they live indoors - cleaning out rabbits/gps in sub-zero winter temperatures is not fun, and in the winter inevitably means you run out there, clean/feed/water them and then run in as quickly as possible - not much interaction goes on. Whereas rats are there to be played with in the warm and dry every day. They do have certain requirements - they must live in twos or threes (same-sex obviously unless you want a rat factory!) and need as big a cage as you can afford/fit in your house as they need lots of toys for stimulation. But honestly, if you can overcome your fear you won't regret them - truly amazing pets.

Another guinea pig lover here.
We have 3 indoor guineas, they are fantastic company and love cuddles.

seeker - If we get our GPs, I don't think they would enjoy a visit to Grandma and her 2 ferocious cats :).

lurcherlover - not really scared of rats, just feel a bit odd to cuddle indoor rats and dispose of outdoor rats. Had gerbils when I was young and my Great Aunt used to scream "RATS!" every time she saw them.

I think we might go for outdoor GPs, with a cage not too far from the back door (in case of rain/snow/etc).

Thanks again everyone.