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Original poster

Want a pet, no idea what though, any ideas?

61 replies

eefs · 07/10/2005 15:02

DS1 has been asking for a pet for a while now and I'd love to get him one, I'd love something for myself too. Here's the situation:

The house is empty for most of the day every weekday so not an animal that needs supervision. I can get two pets for company if necessary.

Have a small enclosed back garden so nothing that needs a lot of space.

Have two DS's - 5 and almost 2 so it would have to be a tough little animal - DS1 is gentle but ds2 is a little terror("it's just a phase, it's just a phase").
I don't have a lot of spare time for exercising, maybe half an hour a day.

House still not finished decor wise so there are a lot of exposed wires and hiding places for something very small.

So is there any pet that would be suitable for us or should I give up on the idea?

OP posts:
tatt · 09/10/2005 04:46

Rabbits can both bite and scratch and aren't that good for small children. They are heavy to pick up (and don't enjoy it usually) so the child has to be contant to either watch them or stroke them alongside. We sit on a potty training step and our rabbit jumps on our lap. However we've just acquired a partner for her and he's even bigger - not sure he'll fit even on my lap. Even "dwarf" rabbits can get large quite fast - look at the mother.

They are sociable creatures so should be kept in pairs, need more space than most people give them and are quite a tie. The RSPCA have lots that people tire of quickly. Buy The Problem with Rabbits from the RSPCA (£3.99) and try to borrow one for a few weeks to see if they are for you.

I need to get a run.......

Rats have to be kept indoors and in pairs. Children love them but the noise they make does keep some awake at night. I hated the idea.

Personally I'd say a cat was most suitable, but not a kitten. Ours came from the Cat Protection League, was said to be a good family cat and everyone loves her. She does sometimes run from the kids friends but has never bitten even when her tail was pulled.

mummyhill · 09/10/2005 22:37

We have a chinchilla cage is quite large and she can't be let out to run in the house cause we would never catch her but dd aged 3.5 loves to help clean her cage/feed and brush her. Chinchillas are usually about £70 and the cage and equipment about the same again. Expensive but cute. Cleaner and quieter than the guineapigs we had when she was tiny.

Blu · 09/10/2005 22:39

No-o-o-o-o not a cat! This board is full of people with horrible problems involving cats! Fleas, poo, you can't move house...you name it!

mummyhill · 09/10/2005 22:47

My cat is great with the kids goes out the cat flap and as long as you remember to treat regularly fleas are not a problem! As for moving house you keep them in for a fortnight with a litter tray and thenwe put butter on his paws before letting him out and he soon came home.

tatt · 10/10/2005 08:43

we moved house not long ago and once she found some mice to catch the cat was OK, moped a bit at first. We got a cat harness and walked her round the garden before we let her out alone. Fleas can usually be avoided and any other problems are worth it. Happiness is a warm pussy

arfur · 10/10/2005 15:56

We have recently got a kitten, rabbit and a guinea pig. The GP is definately more friendly that the bunny but my vet says you can keep rabbits indoors as 'house bunnies' and they apparently are really good at using litter trays! The kitten is cool tho mainly because she is inside (all the time at the mo) with us so is more accessible and with winter approaching Im pretty sure the bunny and pig will get less interesting to my dd and ds.

auntymandy · 10/10/2005 15:59

you could have my dog!

ladymuck · 10/10/2005 22:53

Ds1 is after one of these but we're not sure yet.

handlemecarefully · 10/10/2005 23:10

Anyone mentioned chickens yet?

You could get one or two (you don't need a big garden) and get an eglu for them (these don't take up too much space). I have a broughton ark myself, and don't have direct experience of eglus but I hear that they are very good.

I find my chickens very easy to care for - just clean out their hen house once per week (not as bad as it sounds, as if you put loads of straw in then the droppings stick to the straw and don't adhere to the actual hen house, so no real cleaning - just changing the straw), and check food and water daily.

They are quite interactive - your boys might enjoy feeding them some kitchen scraps...and if as you say DS2 is a little terror - well, they are flight of foot so he would have to catch one first before he could batter it!

bunnymum · 11/10/2005 03:16

I always try to put people off having a bunny for young children. One of mine lived for 9 years and we must have spent over a thousand pounds on vets bills, as he was quite sickly. I also had to spend huge amounts of time getting up close and personal to clean his behind (he wasn't very good at eating the right things). I just hear lots of stories of children who get bored and then it's left to the parents to clean it (every week - even in the rain!!) and sling a bit of food at it. They are quire sociable animals and it's sad to see them left out alone. Ours were house rabbits (but coped with being outside in the summer when DD came along), but they do tend to chew everything (although, yes you can get them to use a litter tray). All in all our cat is a much better hit with our DD.

Chandra · 11/10/2005 03:25

I'm not sure about chickens or ducks, I have seen so many children hugging them to death that I would rather wait until the children are older.

The other day my neighbour was asking the same question but, didn't want to worry about leaving it behind when going on holidays, about bathing it, cleaning after it, or feeding it special food. If she had not insisted that the animal had to live in the garden with no access to the house I would have suggested a Furby...

handlemecarefully · 11/10/2005 10:18

Really - hugging them to death?!?

I don't think my 3 yr old and 1 yr old would be able to overpower the chickens sufficiently to do this - also they only stroke the chickens under my supervision, and after a bit of tutelage even the 1 yr old now knows to stroke gently. If they could catch the chickens themselves (they generally need me to catch one of them so they can then pet it), I would be confident in letting them do so

They are excellent pets (no fuss, minimum hassle) even with families with very young children like mine

Chandra · 11/10/2005 11:06

Yes, they were very popular (and unexpensive) when I was a child and you could buy them everywhere (sometimes outside supermarkets). Most young chickens were dead within a week either because someone tripped on them, or the child placed it in the washing machine, a child given the thing a tight hug to prevent his/her parents to remove it from his hands, or a girl who pulled the legs of small ducks back (holding them from the neck) so they lay still (and looking up) in a doll's bed.

I know the parents are to blame for not teaching their children to respect the animals or pay attention to what the young children were doing but the point of all this, is that yes... a toddler has the strenght to kill a small animal, I know at least 4-5 persons who did it at an early age, and... the reason I never recommend small breds of dogs to toddler's parents it's that my yorkie was once "compressed" to the point that she fainted and brought out all she had in her stomach by an over enthusiastic and under supervised 2 yr old.

handlemecarefully · 11/10/2005 11:07

eeek!

Chandra · 11/10/2005 11:08

as you may imagine for my long post, the way some animals are treated it's my pet hate

majorstress · 11/10/2005 11:22

I had everything myself as a kid, but now faced with critters to clean up after as an adult I am a lot less enthusiastic! I managed to put off my dd1 age four with some tropical fish for about 6 months and now she is 5 (and dd2 is 2) have got 2 gerbils (only one gender-very important!). They are better than mice, rats or hamsters in that they are active and don't smell, I only clean ours out every 3 weeks, and they bite less often in my experience. I'm surprised how much I like them! DD2 soon lost interest as she can't catch them, dd1 worships them. They are in a large glass house with shelves, set in clear view on the kiddy table, and DD1 enjoys sitting and watching "Gerbil TV". I never tried rabbits or Guinea pigs at home, but am currently sporting a long scratch on my hand after my attempts to cuddle a rabbit (I HAD planned to put it on child's lap, but decided against that! though I know many are more tame if frequently handled) at the local kid's farm-the guinea pigs were more succesful as objects of adoration by dd1. I was thinking of trying an eglu next, but we don't actually like eggs much, and have foxes.

handlemecarefully · 11/10/2005 11:27

agree majorstress - gerbils are fantastic. I've got 2...

majorstress · 11/10/2005 11:30

also I would answer eefs to say that lizards and other reptiles are for adults, or at least teens, IMHO. If YOU are very interested in them, great but I don't think they are right as pets for this age of kid.

Original poster
eefs · 11/10/2005 11:31

well, I went to the sanctury and the local pet shop and have decided on mice and cats - what a combination!

Mice because they are busy, constantly rearranging their home so lovely to watch. DS1 is old enough to be able to handle them, ds2 would be exactly as Chandra described - loving it to death so he'll have to watch from a distance. I'll get a large cage and house a 2-3 mice. DS1 loved the rats but I found them strangly rat-like (for some reason I thought pet rats would be cuter), so I'll have to overcome that aversion first. I have heard great things about them as pets though so will keep an open mind.

I'm also going to rescue a mature cat from the animal sanctury - she's a lovely thing who's last owner died and was considered to old to rehome (she's only 7-8 yrs). She came from a house where she was regularly handled by small children so solid and tolerant enough for ds2.

I feel this is the beginning of my own menagarie - I wanted to adopt evey animal there.

OP posts:
Original poster
eefs · 11/10/2005 11:34

Majorstress, ds1 loved the lizards too but my goodness they are expensive. The terrapins were so tiny and sweet, but again I can't imagaine they'd hold any childs interest for long.

I couldn't get fish unless I had a huge tank - I was surprised at how cheap the little glass bowls and goldfish were, they were tiny too though

OP posts:
majorstress · 11/10/2005 11:38

That's going to be lovely I think! Nice choice. Just remember how carefully you must exclude the cat when handling the mice-some of my rodents ended up in the jaws of the cats over the years. Maybe she will be a cat who isn't interested in chasing mice, there are some I have met.

Take care that they mice are all the same gender-don't ask why I am belabouring that point. I'll only say that it is VERY hard to find homes for 27 gerbils. Males fight more than females.

majorstress · 11/10/2005 11:42

DH somehow promised dd1 a dog when she is 12. I wonder if I can bear to talk abut it every day for the next 7 years, never mind her!

tarantula · 11/10/2005 11:43

How about a pet spider each?

(a garden/house I mean not an exotic beauty like myself )

Tortington · 11/10/2005 12:17

i swear this is true.

in the lloyds pharmacy xmas booklet there is this thing that you can buy and you add water to it and hatch the eggs and you get slightly bigger than plancton things that swim about - its about 8.99 with tank and food.

all comes in a box

tarantula · 11/10/2005 12:40

Are they the sea monkey things? Cos we had them for dss and I wasnt impressed at all.

Had much better time wiht the pinkins we caught in the local river and kept for a few weeks. They were great.