2G18 - 6: Pets

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 4:12 pm

The idea of having this topic was floated before and then people acted like a General thread from a decade ago made this obsolete, but this is more general than posting pet pics, so blah.

Do you have pets? Would you like to have (more) pets? What types of pets do you have or would you like to have and how many? What circumstances affect your ability to have pets or the types of pets you can have? Do you have (or would you like to have) any rare/exotic pets? I'll leave it to you to decide what constitutes rare/exotic. I suppose for some that could count as anything other than cats and dogs, but if they generally sell them at a pet store, it's probably not what I really meant. Did you have pets growing up? What was your first pet? What challenges have pet ownership presented for you? Do you have generally well-behaved pets or troublemakers? Those questions are to get the ball rolling and add any more discussion you would like about pets.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 5:42 pm

I don't have pets and never have done

RDM · Post by **RDM** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:20 pm

The RDM doesn't have any pets*.

*: False.

Asaroth Larot · Post by **Asaroth Larot** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:36 pm

Animals love me but the repetition of their care scares me as it conflicts with my dont do anything twice OCD

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:53 pm

I grew up always having cats, and I went through a short period where I took poor care of lizards. I've never had any pets away from my parents, though.

Chelsea and I both really like cats a lot and have talked about getting one, but she's more allergic than she used to be and also we like the freedom of not having to find catsitters and also we like our furniture. So maybe someday but not likely too soon.

Our friends across the hall have cats, so I see those sometimes. And I follow cats around in streets and alleys a lot.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:05 pm

Asaroth Larot wrote:Animals love me but the repetition of their care scares me as it conflicts with my dont do anything twice OCD

I'm sure you also must eat more than once though.

Asaroth Larot · Post by **Asaroth Larot** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:16 pm

Only because Im forced to.

Been pretty good about making sure new cat is fed and has water regardless.

Mitsurugi CP · Post by **Mitsurugi CP** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:28 pm

I didn't get my first dog until I was in my mid-20's, and it was really my wife's dog. She got a second one (the one we currently have now, the first one died from complications of canine epilepsy) soon after we were married. I did not have any input on either dog, she just showed up with them, and I wasn't about to punish the dogs by sending them back to the shelter because of her impulse control issues.

Much as they are wonderful companions and I love them as much as you can love a non-human animal, they are a lot of work, and you do have to change your habits and lifestyle to properly care for them. Veterinary expenses can sneak up on you, especially when they develop a chronic health problem (and almost all of them will at some point - my first dog with the seizures added roughly $400 to our monthly expenses just for medical care). And a lot of places are not pet-friendly, so you have to work around that, too. I've wanted to visit friends and travel recreationally much more than I have, but having a pet makes that extremely difficult, especially when you move around too much to have friends who can help you out. So I've missed out on a lot of that since having my dogs.

Once it's time for our last dog to go to a farm out in the country, it's going to be a very long time before I take in another animal, and I've already given my wife an ultimatum that she cannot bring home any more animals. It isn't that I don't like having pets, it's that they prevent me from doing other things I enjoy doing much more.

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:33 pm

That's roughly how I feel about having kids, only the kids thing is more extreme in every way!

Though hopefully had I had kids, it wouldn't be because my wife wanted to and it was a surprise to me.

Mitsurugi CP · Post by **Mitsurugi CP** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:49 pm

Despite all that stuff I said about animals, I'm actually hoping to have kids one day. But after 5 years of no successes and a lot of health scares, I'm starting to get used to the idea that I'm just going to have to go through the rest of my life with a lot more disposable income.

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:04 pm

You could make a child doll, and stuff it with hundred dollar bills?

eightman · Post by **eightman** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 12:47 am

smeared ink wrote:I grew up always having cats, and I went through a short period where I took poor care of lizards. I've never had any pets away from my parents, though.

Chelsea and I both really like cats a lot and have talked about getting one, but she's more allergic than she used to be and also we like the freedom of not having to find catsitters and also we like our furniture. So maybe someday but not likely too soon.

Our friends across the hall have cats, so I see those sometimes. And I follow cats around in streets and alleys a lot.

you forgot about our short lived pet mouse

Mitsurugi CP · Post by **Mitsurugi CP** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 2:47 am

Did one of the cats get to it?

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 3:20 am

My first pet was a guinea pig. It didn't last very long and was probably actually sick when we got it. Next we had a hamster which also only lasted like a couple months. Then we got another hamster who live a decent hamster age of a couple years even to the when we moved, which is when the cats started (no it was not killed by cats). There were a few different cats that came with the house we moved to. Most of them were outdoor cats at first, but one became indoor later on. Then my mom got kittens she found outside where she worked and brought them back. They were supposed to get adopted but only one ever did. This story repeated itself multiple times later. So those were my cats for the last few years of high school (they lived pretty long though - the last of them died just a couple years ago). Then when my parents moved again after I graduated college, there were a host of strays that got brought in. Some got adopted, some went back outside, but were fed and such until they died, some stayed inside. I think at the worst there were like 7 cats in the house. Now it's down to just two. One completely indoor and one indoor/outdoor, but they feed it inside so hopefully no more strays.

Anyway, I'm definitely a cat person, but for various reasons I don't have any pets right now. Lack of a car and wondering what I'll do when I go away for holidays or whatever makes me reluctant to just go ahead and get a pet. I've also thought a pet rabbit or even rat might be nice too.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 3:39 am

I love dogs, especially corgis. I freak out a little whenever I see one on the street. Sadly, I do not have a corgi.

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 6:43 pm

eightman wrote:
smeared ink wrote:I grew up always having cats, and I went through a short period where I took poor care of lizards. I've never had any pets away from my parents, though.

Chelsea and I both really like cats a lot and have talked about getting one, but she's more allergic than she used to be and also we like the freedom of not having to find catsitters and also we like our furniture. So maybe someday but not likely too soon.

Our friends across the hall have cats, so I see those sometimes. And I follow cats around in streets and alleys a lot.
you forgot about our short lived pet mouse

Oh yeah!

Does our crow count?

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 6:44 pm

Anime fans all love corgis, don't they?

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 7:50 pm

smeared ink wrote:
eightman wrote:
smeared ink wrote:I grew up always having cats, and I went through a short period where I took poor care of lizards. I've never had any pets away from my parents, though.

Chelsea and I both really like cats a lot and have talked about getting one, but she's more allergic than she used to be and also we like the freedom of not having to find catsitters and also we like our furniture. So maybe someday but not likely too soon.

Our friends across the hall have cats, so I see those sometimes. And I follow cats around in streets and alleys a lot.
you forgot about our short lived pet mouse
Oh yeah!

Does our crow count?

That's illegal in the US.

Mitsurugi CP · Post by **Mitsurugi CP** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 8:29 pm

Well, you can't have more than one crow at a time.

Because that would be murder.

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 8:40 pm

Your story :checks out.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 8:54 pm

Nice.

But it also violates some migratory birds act. You can't own native North American crows.

eightman · Post by **eightman** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:48 pm

Lord Golbez wrote:Nice. But it also violates some migratory birds act. You can't own native North American crows.

Can you own a dead one that lost a fight with a car? Also, does it being on fire affect ownership rights?

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:35 pm

Probably.

RDM · Post by **RDM** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:35 am

You can own anything as long as it's on fire.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:40 am

Everyone is different. No two people are not on fire.

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 3:09 pm

Sounds like... Homestar Runner?

Calbrena · Post by **Calbrena** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 3:09 pm

Waiting for a green card before getting a pet, because it seems like the most responsible thing to do. I'd like to get a cat from one of our local animal shelters, and possibly a dog at some point, but first want to make sure we have the space needed for them to have a happy life.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:27 pm

Are you going to call it Smokey or Kaffir?