Teen boy gift, he wants for nothing except

Raisin

Tue, Nov 10 2020, 4:43 am

Cats are very little work. Growing up we had a cat and our cleaning lady would come in and feed it when we went away. If you have a helpful neighbour you trust you could ask them to do it..

My son has a hamster. They don't last very long so he has had a few but he loves them. He is only 7 so he makes a bit of a mess when cleaning the cage but otherwise its fine. No mess. They are nocturnal so you need to make sure no one will be disturbed by its nightly exercise routine.

He has one of those pod cages that are meant to replicate a hamsters natural habitat.

Like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Habit.....r=1-2

amother

Royalblue

Tue, Nov 10 2020, 5:03 am

We have an indoor/outdoor cat and a dog.
The cat - we don't have a litter box because she does her stuff outside. However, I find cats a hassle because she will jump on the dining table or the couch or the counter even if NOTHING is left out. Cats like high places, and they like to be near you, so if you are working at the table, they will jump to sit next to you.
If you are a person who doesn't mind that a cleanish cat is snoozing on your couch or table/counter, then cats are the best. Most of my family members do mind and find it gross, so it's a constant babysitting to see where the cat is and put her somewhere she is allowed (she loves to sleep on top of the bookshelf, for example). Even with removing her every single time, she still hasn't learned that table/counter/couch are not allowed. Same thing with my previous cat.

We also have a dog, which is more work in that we have to walk him 3 times a day. The boy who begged for him when he was a preteen did in fact do 90% of the walking when he lived at home, but he's an adult now and has left home and we the parents now do the walking. Besides for the walks, I find dogs much easier than cats. Our dog doesn't go anywhere he is not allowed. Even if there is meat on the table, he won't jump up to take it.

heidi

Tue, Nov 10 2020, 5:50 am

My son begged for a pet for years.
I hatttteee animals (except steak)
A hamster didn't really fit his needs.
Got him a rabbit 6 months ago.
Best idea ever.
He's happy to jump around but content in his cage also. Even if he makes outside the cage it's a teeny black ball that can easily be cleaned up (by my son!!).
He likes being held and petted.
No smells no demands.

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Nov 11 2020, 3:32 am

heidi wrote:

We had a rabbit for a while. He was miserable in his cage. Rabbits are not meant to be kept in tiny cages most of the day. OTOH, if I let him out for hours, he left those teeny black balls EVERYWHERE.

Please don't adopt an animal just to keep him in a tiny cage. It's cruel. I learned my lesson.

amother

Orange

Wed, Nov 11 2020, 5:50 am

I just met someone who said he has rabbits that he keeps on his back porch. He said he never brings them in. They are in a special type of extra large cage to run around and they live outside even in below freezing weather. In nice weather the kids probably take the rabbits out of their cages to play on the porch. I was surprised they are fine in the cold winter, outdoors.

Elfrida

Wed, Nov 11 2020, 7:18 am

amother [ Royalblue ] wrote:

My cats have learnt where they are not allowed, but they don't always follow the rules. Every so often I'll turn round to see a cat on her hind legs, sniffing at the counter and turning a furtive eye on me to see if I've noticed that she's about to jump up. When she sees me watching, she develops a very innocent expression, and goes to sniff something else in a hurry.

When they were kittens I kept a spray bottle of water in constant reach, and sprayed them whenever they went anywhere they weren't allowed. Now I just have to pick up a spray bottle to clean the counter and they are immediately at the other end of the house. Or if I shake a water bottle the recognize the sound as a warning.

They go outside freely so I never have to worry about a litter box or smells. Its instinctive by them to go outside, so they don't even need training. Whenever we've been away, neighbours children have been delighted to come and feed them. Every two or three years they need a trip to the vet, which can be expensive but on average doesn't cost too much. Generally cats are very low maintenance, and convenient pets.