Easy to Care for Pet

I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are
now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first
thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is
also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze.
So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but
not yet teens?

Carol

Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

wrote in message
...
I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are
now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first
thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is
also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze.
So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but
not yet teens?

Carol

"Sue" wrote in message
news:6pmdnYluc8_Jhc3anZ2dnUVZ_jmdnZ2d@wideopenwest .com...
Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one
another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Hamsters are very cute, but they bite and don't particularly like to be
handled. If a cat is out of the question, I recommend a rat (smart, cute,
fun, personable, clean) or a guinea pig (not-so-smart, cute, also loves
attention, but messy).


wrote in message
...
I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are
now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first
thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is
also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze.
So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but
not yet teens?

Carol

wrote in message
...
I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are
now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first
thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is
also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze.
So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but
not yet teens?

Carol

A hedgehog. They are cute, fun, trainable, and easy care. Low allergy as
well.
Care for a hedgehog is easy, however you do have to know what your doing
before you get one.

In article , Sue says...

Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and
are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies.

I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just
something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of
fun.

Banty

On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote:
In article , Sue says...



Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and
are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies.

I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just
something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of
fun.

Banty


Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you
never leave them out unsupervised.

(I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked,
but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one
into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.)

In article ,
cjra says...

On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote:
In article , Sue says...



Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and
are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies.

I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just
something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of
fun.

Banty


Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you
never leave them out unsupervised.

Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of
rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them
in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this
little issue of our two cats ;-)


(I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked,
but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one
into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.)

There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet
rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a
little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets.

As to cats, like I said, we had the rats out only under close supervision -
actually they were mostly in our pockets and on our shoulders. But they gained
a lot of respect from our cats on their own - they would jump onto their cage
wires right at the cats when they passed, so the cats kept themselves away.

They only live a couple-three years, though. One of our gerbils lasted nearly
five. Our vet was a rat fan and had a lot of specialized skills. One of our
rats actually had surgery to remove a tumor.

Banty

On Nov 30, 10:24 am, Banty wrote:
In article ,
cjra says...







On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote:
In article , Sue says...

Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and
are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies.

I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just
something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of
fun.

Banty

Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you
never leave them out unsupervised.

Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of
rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them
in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this
little issue of our two cats ;-)



(I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked,
but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one
into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.)

There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet
rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a
little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets.

Oh but there's a mental connection! When we bought this house and
started cleaning it out, our neighbors were innundated with rats.
Apparently our cleaning forced them all out. We've done a lot to
prevent them from returning, and despite just having seen Ratatouille
a few days ago and having a soft spot for them, I can't bring myself
to welcome them into my home again.

Our cat was angry enough when we saved the baby squirrel she brought
into the house and was trying to kill (or at least torture to death),
and she's still adapting to the baby usurping her place as Queen of
the Castle. I couldn't torture her with pet rats. Wouldn't be fair.

In article ,
Banty wrote:
In article ,
cjra says...

On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote:
In article , Sue says...



Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes
are), and
are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies.

I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just
something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats
are a lot of
fun.

Banty


Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you
never leave them out unsupervised.

Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of
rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them
in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this
little issue of our two cats ;-)


(I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked,
but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one
into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.)

There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet
rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a
little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets.

As to cats, like I said, we had the rats out only under close supervision -
actually they were mostly in our pockets and on our shoulders. But they gained
a lot of respect from our cats on their own - they would jump onto their cage
wires right at the cats when they passed, so the cats kept themselves away.

They only live a couple-three years, though. One of our gerbils lasted nearly
five. Our vet was a rat fan and had a lot of specialized skills. One of our
rats actually had surgery to remove a tumor.


I'll admit that I hadn't thought of rats as a pet. But compared to the
"we could get a snake or some sort of lizard" discussion, rats would seem
to be a better choice. And compared to the life-span of my childhood
goldfish three years sounds like a while. (My neighbours though, had a
goldfish that lived for years and years.) It would also be longer than
the lifespan of the fly that my youngest adopted as a "pet" at school.
It's when I found myself having a funeral for a fly (who was carefully
brought home by my tearful child) that I've come to accept the depth
of yearning for a pet. Although I'll have to keep guinea pigs in
mind too - they may be more common locally. I hadn't known that hamsters
tended to bite, so I'm certainly appreciating everyone's advice!

Carol

We had very good luck with hamsters in that none of the 6 or so we have had
were bitters. One thing is to try and get a baby so to teach them to be
held. Older hamsters can be taught to not bite by giving them a treat every
time you pick them up and letting them smell you first before picking them
up. A book about the pet you are about to buy would be a smart thing to do
or research on the internet.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

wrote in message
...
In article ,
Banty wrote:
In article
,
cjra says...

On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote:
In article , Sue
says...



Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid,
just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one
another.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes
are), and
are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual
puppies.

I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish -
just
something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats
are a lot of
fun.

Banty


Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you
never leave them out unsupervised.

Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue
of
rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train
them
in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this
little issue of our two cats ;-)


(I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked,
but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one
into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.)

There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet
rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots
were a
little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets.

As to cats, like I said, we had the rats out only under close
upervision -
actually they were mostly in our pockets and on our shoulders. But they
gained
a lot of respect from our cats on their own - they would jump onto their
cage
wires right at the cats when they passed, so the cats kept themselves
away.

They only live a couple-three years, though. One of our gerbils lasted
nearly
five. Our vet was a rat fan and had a lot of specialized skills. One of
our
rats actually had surgery to remove a tumor.


I'll admit that I hadn't thought of rats as a pet. But compared to the
"we could get a snake or some sort of lizard" discussion, rats would seem
to be a better choice. And compared to the life-span of my childhood
goldfish three years sounds like a while. (My neighbours though, had a
goldfish that lived for years and years.) It would also be longer than
the lifespan of the fly that my youngest adopted as a "pet" at school.
It's when I found myself having a funeral for a fly (who was carefully
brought home by my tearful child) that I've come to accept the depth
of yearning for a pet. Although I'll have to keep guinea pigs in
mind too - they may be more common locally. I hadn't known that hamsters
tended to bite, so I'm certainly appreciating everyone's advice!

Carol