How do you feel about pets?

My cat celebrates her 2nd birthday next month.

She went from a small wayward stray kitten at about a month to the cat she is now.

I've had four cats (some family cats) in my lifetime...but she's a bit more special right now.

My sister's son insisted that she take the cat and then we took her in...

My sister passed at age 40 this last January so our cat is a reminder of who she was in taking in animals.

Since she was old enough to understand a harness and leash, I have taken her outside almost every day.

She willingly lets me strap her up and she guides the walk.

She understands that in the morning, after i do my walk, she's the priority.

She has hunted birds, squirrels, moths (she loves the taste of moths), and she eats outside grass.

She gets Pro Plan cat food and temptations treats daily and sometimes shrimp as a special treat.

She's a sweet and wild cat but is no longer a feral cat.

She's a good cat.

For those who for whateve reason are housebound and your only friend(s) are 4 legged and furry, they are Friends, not pets.

When you realize that each of your Kitties has a distinct personality, and have their own w as you of communicating w you--irrespective of anthropomorphic characteristics--you can appreciate the comfort and challenge of their company.

You bristle at such phrases as "they're only animal."

You catch yourself wondering which in fact is t h e only misfitting and the only intrusive "animal?" (Hint:

It preys on all animals and living things. And It would make a lousy pet.

Pets are ok and provide many things for certain people.

I have owned many pets including cats, dogs, snakes, fish, turtles, hamsters, mice.

The problems with pets are not necessarily due to the pets themselves but from irresponsible pet owners. Pets are just animals and they do what animals do. They breed uncontrollably given the chance. Their populations explode without natual predators. They harbor and spread parasites and disease. They poop and pee everywhere, and never pick it up. They chase, harass and kill native wildlife. Feral pets can outcompete native species and reduce biodiversity. Pets bite other pets and people when threatened or instinctually. Dogs will bark loudly and continuously when upset.

Many pet owners are unwilling to take the time and to properly care for, train, socialize and harbor an animal living in a domestic setting. Many pet owners mistakenly believe their pets have more rights than another human or animal has, and irresponsibly allow their pets to behave accordingly. Many pet owners have this warped sense that pets need and have the right to freedom, and that freedom often involves eating out of trash cans, killing wildlife, pissing and pooping on public and private property, chasing and harassing runners, etc.

We have lived without animals for a long time. Yes, until the baby was born. I don't know where he got such a love for dogs and cats, but we decided on a pet. He was like a baby's favourite toy, always with us, and even at bedtime. We tried to fly him, but a lot of people never answered me how to do the paperwork properly. It wasn't until https://www.esaregistration.org/emotional-support-animal-guide/ that we found out that we needed vaccinations for it. And only then is it possible to get a passport for transporting a pet. And even then, not every flight will go for it.

I miss my pet, had a Pitbull kill my Cavapoo two years ago

These coyotes love these ugly dogs out here. It was quite a scene. This coyote hopped a fence and attacked this annoying barking dog . Man you guys should have heard the ugly mutant dog squeal as the coyote drug it around and tore it to shreds. You guys are right, coyotes are great!!

To each his or her own, but I personally would never own a dog. I.like dogs, don't get me wrong, as long as they belong to someone else. But owning one? Like having a kid with Downs syndrome who never grows up. Cats all the way.

I'm not afraid to admit my cat is part of my family.

Pets are truly wonderful companions! They bring immense happiness and comfort into our lives.

I did not want the second dog. When he came running out from the hillbilly crackhouse, I tried to make him go back. I wondered how much pit bull he was (zero percent, fortunately). He followed us, at a distance, for five miles. When we got home, he curled up on the welcome mat against the front door. He was there in the evening when we went out for the second walk, and he walked with us again. He slept in the flowerbed underneath my bedroom window. For two months. I fed him in the mornings, but hoped he would go find another home. Finally, on the coldest day of the year, I became concerned that he was dying. He was listless, almost motionless. I brought him in to the laundry room, fed him, and let him sleep on a soft mat. We went to the vet that afternoon. He had every parasite imaginable. We got medicine. Hundreds of dollars worth. He perked up.

Two years later, he does not leave my side. Probably the most affectionate dog I have ever had. He is a second skin in the daytime, and velcro pajamas at night. One of the best things I've ever done.

BAD

esp when yr living in a city

Pets are great, but unfortunately there's a perfect storm of uneducated and socioeconomically challenged sociopaths who spend all of their 3 brain cells on ruining it for everyone else by enabling a massive proliferation of pits. These people are known as pitophiles.

Common traits (observed whenever a mauling session takes place):

- Victim blaming. It's always the victim's fault (you know, for existing, breathing, walking or other things that may cause a pit to attack).

- If the victim is not at fault (you need video/audio evidence from 2 independent cameras to verify this), then it's the owner's fault for not raising/training it right. Doesn't matter if it's 10 weeks old. Genes are a social construct which is why other breeds never do aptitude tests at around 7 weeks old to measure role potential. The sweet velvet hippo wigglebutts just want to cuddle and nanny children which is what they're bred for (yes, they literally say/believe this).

- Unable to leave their apartments for 5 minutes before their pits start nannying the interior in a fit of anxiety. Couches, doors, drywalls, metal cages, doesn't matter. The common solution to this is drugging the dog with anxiety meds and taking it with you.

- Unable to realize what artificial selection entails, and that success spawns puppies. In the case of the pitbull, success means things like being good at killing (other dogs), high pain threshold, low self-perseverance. Pits are like the praying mantis in this sense. They keep eating (mauling) while a hornet (helpful bystander) is chewing (kicking) them in half. They are known to scalp themselves in the process of breaking out of cages or crawling under fences.

Take a look at whatever adoption website you can find in the US, and for dogs it will be at least 90% pits, pit mixes and mislabeled dogs (majority pit mixes). They are always listed with a first person anthropomorphized sob story regardless of how many times they've been adopted and returned (usually for biting kids or killing cats). And a flower crown of course.

Fortunately for me I live in a country where pits (and a few other fighting breeds) have been banned for a very long time.

I like lizards...specifically leopard geckos or bearded dragons. Easy to care for, cheap, cute, quiet, and live long. I've never been a fan of dogs. I find them to be spastic and the loud barking is annoying. Can't go anywhere without a dog taking over a trail or path, or stepping in crap.

That's interesting, they're quite rare over here. I can see how they would be a relaxing pet as they're so quiet and peaceful.