With every move, we have promised the kids a pet. "Can we have a dog, Daddy?" "Maybe once we have moved and get settled . . . ." is the standard line. The hope is that the kids will forget and move on. Well, this time they have not, and we are scratching our heads as to what to do.
A dog is really out of the question right now. We are renting and there are no dogs allowed. We will be moving often, and we don't know if our next home will be dog friendly, ie. big yard, fence, etc. I also know what is involved in keeping a dog, and I'm not up for it right now. I've been watching the Dog Whisperer who is adamant that dogs needs at least 45 mins of exercise a day. I just can't do that right now. If anyting I need to be walking my kids for 45 minutes!
A cat is a possibility. They seem pretty self sufficient. Clean their box, feed them, and they come to you when they want to play. Am I right?
We have tried fish, and it did not go well. I know what I did wrong, adding too many fish in the beginning, and I am thinking a Betta would be a good addition right now. Any happy Betta keepers out there?
What are your thoughts about pets and kids? Do you have one and wish you had waited? Have an opinion about one type of pet or another? I'd love to know!
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We finally broke down and got our kids each there very own pet! Can you believe it? After the goldfish tank regulating fiasco, and the dog bite we swore off pets until the kids were all of school age. But...we have found the perfect pets! I highly recommend hermit crabs! They take very little time if you don't have time to give, they don't need to be exercised 45 minutes a day...not even one minute! I change their food occasionally and give them a "bath" occasionally and even Zachary can take care of them...We take them out and play with them when we have time and we've only had one pinch incident in over 6 weeks! I'll post a picture on my blog of our new friends as soon as I download it from my camera! Good luck!
Hey girl! Pictures of Emma and Barnabas await you on my blog!
I hate our dog. He digs in any loose dirt he can find. :o( But the kids love him...soooo...
Turtles are great. We have Fred. Feed him once/twice a day, and of course freshly-swatted flies are always welcome for snacks. He was the size of a silver dollar when we got him (found him where Doug works somewhere) six years ago, and he's mostly grown thicker, rather than larger around. He's a painted turtle, if you want to look for one. Very low-maintenance, and can even be carried in a Rubbermaid cont. (shoebox size) if you need to travel. In the winter they shut down somewhat...only need fed once/week or so.
BTW, wouldn't a dog or cat feel right at home with your carpet???
:o) :o) :o)
We have cats and recommend them, as long as you are not allergic and you have a good out-of-the-way place for the litter box so the house doesn't smell. We go out of town all the time, and someone only has to come in once every three days or so to put a ton of food in their bowls. If we leave for a weekend, we just leave out extra food. They're really self-sufficient. If you want to have the least amount of work (just like me), don't get a young kitten. Go to a shelter and ask if any of their adult cats are good with kids. :) Our cats are declawed in the front too, so our daughter can't get scratched, and hissing doesn't hurt her.
We've had fish...they kept dying. We had turtles...they kept dying. We had lizards...they died too, as did all the plants in our house. Fortunately, the cats come and meow at us if we forget to feed them, so we can't accidentally kill them. We have had much better luck with cats.
Good luck with the pet decision.
No joke Val! Even Dave thought it was a good idea due to the condition of the carpets here! I wonder though if it will make it more likely to pee. Don't they like to cover up the old with the new? Territory thing?
My husband and I got a cat when he was in the reserves. That worked perfectly until he went active duty. The first station we were able to sneek the cat in, it was out in the country and the landlord didn't know he was there, even though he wasn't supposed to be. Once we moved though, we had to get an apartment and the place didn't accept pets. I ended up having to ask my parents to keep him. They've had him for 2 yrs now. We've looked and looked and nowhere around where we are accepts pets for a reasonable price. I love my cat, but I feel bad having to pawn him off on my parents because the place we're at is not pet friendly.
Get a cat. Or two. They are easy. Just never let them outdoors.
Betas are pretty easy
Walmart has $10 tanks with lights (keep water warm) and filters
we just have our on glass bowls, we have 3, and they have lasted months, feed them 2X a week, clean teh water every month or so -- the kids love them
the blue one is Beataseb, the red one is Konjo and my Crowntail Betta is Ras.
We have 2 cats and a dog. That cats were with us for at least 5 years before we got the dog, and they have been a great joy to us all along. They are very social and love to play (still, at 8 & 11). One of the cats sleeps in bed with us at night. We don't let them go outside though, as they are both declawed in the front. It has helped to save the furniture, as well as some nasty scratches that we could have incurred playing with them. Good luck with your decision!
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