Help! My kids want a pet!!

flyingsaucer · March 2014

What kind of pet would be good for littles, and the least amount of work/smell/mess? I am thinking maybe a Guinea Pig? Any other ideas?

Drea926 · March 2014

Hermit crabs? Aren't they basically no care and they have colorful shells!

LinnyAnne10 · March 2014

gold fish.. clean the tank once every 2 weeks, and you feed it twice a day

RondackHiker · March 2014

Remember that any caged animal will require at least light cleaning of the cage daily. That cuts the smell big time. Scoop out the poop and pee spots and spend a bit more for good quality litter.

I find guinea pigs to be slightly messier in their cage, but don't have an odor themselves (some animals themselves have a mild odor... If it's strong you're not cleaning enough). They need regular handling so they're not shy and tend to be very social. They benefit from having a buddy (same sex) or they'll need daily playtime to feel happy.

Look at cage space too. 90% of the cages you see at pet smart with photos of GP on them are too small. One level is best since GP aren't agile, and they shouldn't have wire floors or a wheel or ball.

Other options: geckos, rats (really-smart and clean and friendly), cats, and rabbits are all fairly easy. Rabbits benefit from out of the cage playtime daily and are very active and fun and can be litter trained. My rabbits would be free 75% of the time while I was home and I never had a mess to clean up.

LinnyAnne10 · March 2014

If they want furry, Go with a gerbil! They love to shred things! and so much cleaner than GP, or hamster.

Also save like your toilet paper rolls, and throw in there, they shredded them like crazy!

growing up I loved mine.

jorkz821 · March 2014

Cars are pretty low maintenance I think. Especially a young adult one that is out of the destructive kitten phase. Rescues are good places to look - some are in foster situations so they know personalities and could suggest some that love kids.

wino2006 · March 2014

Cats are easy. You just have to scoop the litter box every other day. I only change out the whole litter box every few months. I don't like cleaning cages or aquariums. You get more out of cat too than say a guinea pig or fish. They are always around to play and cuddle.

Rach7170 · March 2014

If you are thinking of hamsters or gerbils, I will encourage you to go with rats instead. They are way cleaner, smarter and friendlier. Hamsters and gerbils bite and hate being handled. Rats love getting pets and I've never been bitten.

fancynewbeesly · March 2014

We have cats--and it seriously seems like EVERY one we know is seriously allergic. It sucks. We have to deep clean before every visitor, and stock up on allergy medicine. And it is just not a comfortable situation.

I seriously can't wait for us to be pet free again.

theseaword · March 2014

I'd get them a cactus.

LaurelBee · March 2014

Small rodents as pets?? Nope nope nope.

Unknown · March 2014

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jesuisfatiguee · March 2014

bearsbearsbears said:

Cats are easy. You just have to scoop the litter box every other day. I only change out the whole litter box every few months. I don't like cleaning cages or aquariums. You get more out of cat too than say a guinea pig or fish. They are always around to play and cuddle.
This is not enough cleaning for most cats. Most cats let you know that it's not clean enough by peeing outside of the box.

Yeah, lots of cats require daily poop scooping, and biweekly to monthly litter change. I use a pine/cedar/corn litter that cuts the smell, but requires a full litter change about ever week/week and a half.

RondackHiker · March 2014

SunnyDays26 said:
My sister got her DD's two guinea pigs and swears she will never own guinea pigs again. I think the cage cleaning was a pain for her to constantly do. But that would depend on how much you would mind it. Like someone else said, guinea pigs do better with a friend so getting two is normally a good idea. My nieces now have a kitten and it seems like a better fit for their family. Guiana pigs also need to be out of their cage for exercise, so my sister always felt like she had to watch over them. I guess they were less low maintenance than she thought small, in a cage pets, would be.

Most caged pets are more work than people think. Cages really need to be done daily, with messes cleaned from the bedding, and then dumped and given fresh bedding at least weekly. Doing a cage well means it's not smelly... But can take 10-20 minutes a day and it's not a "fun" job.

wiggyslilsis · March 2014

My mom just got DD a beta fish and she loves it. I feed him once a day and clean his tank every other week.

We also have a dog. He is a whole lot of work and I think it will be a long time before we get another puppy once he passes.

I think we will always have a cat. I love kitties and the maintenance isn't too much for me. Have to clean the litter box and feed and water. But there are other things like vet visits and flea treatments. We also got a scratching post because he was scratching a lot. Basically I think a cat is easy compared to a dog but I wouldn't say they are super easy.

LoveActually4 · March 2014

Guinea pigs are the absolute worst. They shit everywhere all the time. They are just constantly shitting.

From my experience, kids are 100% not going to take care of an animal. We have fallen for that line many, many times and gotten multiple fish, a dog, a cat and hamster from falling for that shit. If you want to get them an animal, pick the one that you're going to be comfortable caring for because more likely than not, you're going to be looking after it.

Our cat is awesome. She doesn't have a litter box. She meows to go outside and we let her out. Win!

wino2006 · March 2014

I"ve never had that problem. My 1st cat only did that when she had a UTI. A lot of peeing/pooping outside the litter box are related to declawing. If a cat's declawed, it physically hurts to use the litter box so they are more likely to go outside the litter box.

kat8805 · March 2014

I vote cat. We got this girl when DD was 1, Ms. Kitty was about 8 weeks old. She tolerates so much, but she's also taught DD boundaries and respect for space.

RondackHiker · March 2014

I think a cat could work, but the litter box really should be done daily. And fully changed at least once a week. It doesn't take long, at least. You can adopt a friendly adult that's good with kids and it should be fine (though all cats have asshole tendencies).

If you do a fish, don't do a bowl. Have a tank with filter and bubbler and heater and read up on tank cycling.

flyingsaucer · March 2014

Thanks all. I am very allergic to cats, so that's a no. Maybe I should just get them a nice plant :P

taggiecb · March 2014

What the hell, get them a pony.

In all seriousness though. You will not bring a living creature into your house that doesn't require work, so it all comes down to what you feel is worth cleaning up poop for.

edited, because I am not sure why I capitalized hell.

wino2006 · March 2014

WhoCanItBeNow said:

wino2006 said:

Cats are easy. You just have to scoop the litter box every other day. I only change out the whole litter box every few months. I don't like cleaning cages or aquariums. You get more out of cat too than say a guinea pig or fish. They are always around to play and cuddle.

Yeah, my college roommate thought and still thinks that every other day is ok and doesn't change out the litter weekly. Her house always stinks like cat piss. She doesn't smell it at all because she grew up with it and lives in it. Everyone else gags as they walk in the door to her house.

That's just nasty. And most cats want to play and cuddle when they want, not when you want. I guess you happened to get the single non-pissing and non-asshole cat on the planet?

My cat is awesome. She is very dog like-likes to play and cuddle. We keep our litter box in the basement. We use scoopable cat litter. I add fresh cat litter every few days so it's essentially switched out when I scoop it which is why I only need to empty the entire thing every few months. This was a tip given to us by the breeder where we got our cat. She has a ton of cats and her house doesn't smell.

TiffanyBerry · March 2014

I love having a dog. And I find it to be less work that properly caring for a bird. Mostly, though, because cleaning cages is a PITA. Dogs are trained to go outside, and *boom* you pick it up throw it away and you're good. We had small poodle growing up (then two when the first died), and they don't shed. You do have to bathe/groom them, but it's every two months or so. They make you take them for walks (which is a good thing!), and they can be awesome around the house pets too. (Obviously, finding the right temperament is important!)

Rodents? No. Just, no. I lived with folks who had rodents (rats, mice, rabbits - not all the same person, of course!) and they DID keep the cages quite clean but there was still a smell. Just... no for me.

Birds can be fun too, but they need attention like any other pet, or companionship from another bird, and the appropriate habitat. They aren't super low maintenance, but they aren't bad either.

aintnoyuppiemom · March 2014

kgopel I haven't seen anyone mention a turtle. They seem to be somewhat clean a little more interactive then a fish or hermit crab but doesn't run all over your house like a bigger pet. Plus they aren't super creepy like a lizard (that you have to have bugs to feed) or snake or tarantula. (not that those animals are creepy per-say more like their food is haha.) So my vote is Turtle.

My vote for turtle names is a ninja turtle name. and I think the kids could even paint the shell without hurting it but I would check into that first. (if you or anyone ends up with this option of a pet.)

wino2006 · March 2014

WhoCanItBeNow said:

wino2006 said:

WhoCanItBeNow said:

wino2006 said:

Cats are easy. You just have to scoop the litter box every other day. I only change out the whole litter box every few months. I don't like cleaning cages or aquariums. You get more out of cat too than say a guinea pig or fish. They are always around to play and cuddle.

Yeah, my college roommate thought and still thinks that every other day is ok and doesn't change out the litter weekly. Her house always stinks like cat piss. She doesn't smell it at all because she grew up with it and lives in it. Everyone else gags as they walk in the door to her house.

That's just nasty. And most cats want to play and cuddle when they want, not when you want. I guess you happened to get the single non-pissing and non-asshole cat on the planet?

My cat is awesome. She is very dog like-likes to play and cuddle. We keep our litter box in the basement. We use scoopable cat litter. I add fresh cat litter every few days so it's essentially switched out when I scoop it which is why I only need to empty the entire thing every few months. This was a tip given to us by the breeder where we got our cat. She has a ton of cats and her house doesn't smell.

No, it's not. And the box doesn't get properly cleaned either. Oh. You do disinfect that, don't you? You have small children that are on the floor where your cats walk. You realize what they are dragging out on their feet, right? Ew.

I lived with "you" for two years and heard all the excuses for being too lazy to follow basic hygiene when it comes to litter boxes. Adding more to the top does not change it out, just like adding oil to your car does not constitute an oil change.

You clearly feel very strongly about this. How nice of you to show such concern for my litter hygiene.

RondackHiker · March 2014

I agree with @whocanitbenow.

I have never seen a litter box that wasn't scooped at least daily and dumped and cleaned at least weekly that didn't smell.

And I also think it's kind of gross to not dump and clean them more often than that. I mean... Poop and pee goes into the box. The box itself needs to be cleaned often.

It grosses me out to think about cages or litter boxes not being cleaned often.

wino2006 · March 2014

WhoCanItBeNow said:

wino2006 said:
You clearly feel very strongly about this. How nice of you to show such concern for my litter hygiene.

Someone needs to since you don't.

What backyard did you go to to meet such a reputable "breeder"?

We received our cat from a woman who raises Siberians in her own home and is an expert on them. Our cat's father is a TICA Grand Champion and has national awards.

Monkeybabe · March 2014

Pedigree has nothing to do with hygiene.

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