Hi all, looking for some sensible advice please!
I grew up with lots of pets, including guinea pigs, although I haven't had any for a long time now.
We have a cat - he was a rescue we got over ten years ago, he's been our only pet as he was quite the hunter when he was young but nowadays he's 14 and definitely slowed down a bit.
My son is 5 and loves animals and recently has been properly asking for a pet. We go to a local garden centre quite frequently (ideal young kid jaunt out!) and he'll sit for ages talking to the piggies, rabbits, even rats. He's been to events there where he can hold the animals and help clean out the pens and stuff. Obviously I'm fully aware ANY pet we end up getting for the foreseeable future will be a family pet where us adults will be responsible for them and he'd just help. He's a sensitive kid with some struggles, he's kind of an "animals are better than people" kind of soul already.
I'd love to get a pair of piggies because I know where I am with them and could show him how to take good care of them etc. We have space inside for a good sized cage and some outdoor space for them to go in a secure run in the nicer weather. But I just don't know realistically if it would work with the cat.
Practically our house is set up so we could keep them separate fairly easily. There's almost always someone in the house. When we're away the cat goes to a cattery, but my parents would happily pop in and sit with the piggies and make sure they're ok. They'd probably even have them at their house for a bit if we asked.
My heart is saying go for it, but my head isn't so sure! At the moment when he asks we say No and explain it's not the right time but to be honest our resolve is slowly eroding, especially as me and my husband (his dad) are big animal people and would probably have a Noah's Ark if we had the space and money...
Perfectly happy to be told to screw on my sensible head and just hold firm saying no, but if anyone has experience of similar where it's worked out then please share too!