I have to say I am not a big fan of family pets and don’t believe that you should ever get your kids a pet. Sod the whining and the pleading and the puppy dog eyes and crocodile tears they shed when they are begging you for a hamster, a fish or a kitten.
I wish I had the heart to tell my own kids to sod off at these times and we have sadly and much to my dismay become the owner of a few family pets along the way.
Having Pets Is A Bad Idea
First it was fish; I spent a small fortune on a tank and the pretty little ornaments for them. We choose tropical and I have to say they did look rather beautiful. I read up about how to care for them and was rather proud of our little family pets. One night the water felt a bit cold so despite sticking to what the book advised I turned up the temperature that would make them snuggly warm and feel more tropical. Of course the kids woke to found all their pet swimmers floating at the top of the tank, all dead. I had fried them.
Then there were the 2 hamsters, horrid little furry things that have big teeth and always sink their teeth into me. We had one that always escaped and I was far too scared to pick it up so the husband and I would chase it with the dustpan and brush and sweep it up and then tip it back into its cage. That one lasted just over a year before it snuffed it. I sent the husband to get a replacement for it so we didn’t have to tell the kids. The only problem was there had been no golden colours so he came back with a brown one. Of course the kids caught on straight away.
We had to go through the process of grieving for a hamster that I had never bloody liked anyway. I wished we had just told them the truth; at least we would not have ended up with this evil second hamster. It’s not as if they are even pretty, talented or do anything. They are not entertaining to watch and I have never felt the need to hold it. It died not long after we got it, what a waste of money that was.
The kids wanted a cat so like an idiot I gave in eventually and we got a kitten, it was rather cute and the thing showed me how much fun it was going to bring to our family on the day I went to collect it. On the way home it shit all over its cat box that I was carrying it in and thought it would be fun to lie in it. I had to put on 2 pairs of rubber gloves and pin it down to wash it. Boy cats do not like baths do they?
The kitten grew and so did the kittens it went on to have, we did rehome them all and I admit the cat was loved by the kids. Sadly we lost her a few months ago after she was hit by a car.
Stupidly we agreed to take on two eight week old kittens; the kids promised and crossed their hearts that they would take care of them. They are now 5 months old and driving me up the wall. I cannot let them outside until they are 6 months old and have had a trip to the vets as we don’t want more kittens. The little sods escape at any given moment. You can’t leave a window or door open without them running around the garden while you try to catch them.
I have always been the one left to feed and clean up after all the pets we have had. As much as I love animals I don’t think anyone should feel the need to get their kids a pet, honestly they are more bother than anything else.
“Mum can we get a dog” they asked the other day
“No you bloody can’t” I told them
So off they go to Matt and ask him. I saw him reading the notice of dogs for sale in the pet shop the other day and I have warned him, we don’t need a dog. If he gets one he will be the one sleeping in the dog house.
