What's the best pet?

[Bonn1997]

Poll question: What's the best pet?

What's the best pet?

[flvegan]

1. The one you have.

[charlie and algernon]

2. +1

[Bonn1997]

20. That's a good answer, actually. They can all be great pets.

I'm still a dog person though.

[NightWatcher]

3. a helper monkey

[mikeytherat]

47. Pray for Mojo

mikey_the_rat

[Deja Q]

4. Birds are intelligent, wonderful creatures.

I love parrotlets the most, but nobody sells them. The one I bought was badly treated at the pet store, and I went over backwards to try to ease her emotional pain. No wonder she became so attached. I bought her a friend and then she got defensive against me... and later developed a feather plucking habit. Possibly out of breeding frustration. And she was fighting Piers (her friend) too. It was a horrible situation. When I tried to give her more attention, my two conures both shrieked in abject jealousy.

So I had to give up the parrotlets for adoption. :cry:

I still miss Piri immensely. I could tell a dozen stories of how loving she was...

But my conures adore me too, and the whole situation just wasn't working out.

Birds are great, but have only one or two unless you're retired and able to take care of them all - and able to get them to tolerate each other and not get jealous when you're handling one of the others.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. All of them. Especially your own.

[realisticphish]

6. depends

I have a cat, a dog, fish, crustaceans, and reptiles. I like them all, in different ways :shrug:

[Arugula Latte]

7. I think the kitties have the best positive-to-negative ratio.

They offer so many benefits -- they're smart, entertaining, communicative, soft, cuddly, they purr, they're the cutest things on Earth, etc., and they're not that much trouble to take care of. Yes, litter boxes aren't the best but neither is putting your hand in a plastic bag to pick up poop. And they don't bark -- a huge plus.

[tabbycat31]

8. they may not bark but that does not make them quiet

I'm owned by Captian Loudmouth. He's got a long and loud meow (louder than most cats)

[Arugula Latte]

10. That's true -- some have the gift of blarney. Like Siamese and Abyssinians.

But I love it when kitties "talk." :loveya:

[tabbycat31]

13. this one's just a tabby

and he's very loud.

[TZ]

14. What is it with tabbies?

The loudest cat I ever met was a tabby..He would drown out my phone conversations he was so loud!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. My tabby Jeoffrey is the loudest cat in the world when he wants to be.

[tabbycat31]

18. they may be loud but they're great kitties

[Arugula Latte]

31. zOmG! He's adorable!

Love that face! :loveya:

I've got one tabby that is very loud, and, actually, come to think of it, the other one is pretty loud because he starts squawking in the middle of the night for some reason.

[tabbycat31]

54. thanks, I think so too >^..^

[Rob H.]

35. My Siamese/Tabby mix is the chattiest cat I've ever met

and I love that about her. If I ever get her a kitty sibling it'll probably be a Siamese or another Siamese mix. :)

Here she is takin' it easy on the lid of the clothes hamper.

[Arugula Latte]

36. Awww -- She's gorgeous!

Siamese kitties are smart little cookies!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

53. My Siamese/Tabby/Smoke Persian mix will talk your ear off

but it's all a lot of quiet little nonstop chirps and trills and hums.

[bigwillq]

9. My dog.

:)

[whistler162]

11. a Rock of course

[jmm]

12. Chinchilla!

I need to take some new pics of my baby boy

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Awww. What a cutie.

[Bonn1997]

19. That is really cute!

What it's temperament (affection, playfulness) like?

[jmm]

21. It can vary greatly but

generally from all the ones I've known the more time they spend around people the more friendly and playful they are and the males tend to be more laid back than the females. My brother's girl appears less approachable but she thinks she's a person so once you pick her up she'll jump all over you and be into pretty much any activity you are. Mine is easier to pick up but he needs more time to warm up to people. I think it's because she's lived around more people.

Also their personalities can be very different. My brother's only reacts if she doesn't like a song but mine will start nodding his head and dancing around if he does.

[jobycom]

17. Cats, but I voted turtle because I love turtles and they looked so lonely.

[Pierre.Suave]

22. Other...

I cant decide which I like more... ;)

[Deep13]

23. rabbit nt

[Bonn1997]

24. Do you have one? After I posted this poll...

I realized I should have included rabbits. Do you have a picture of yours if you have one? They can be very cute!

[Deep13]

25. We used to have a pair (fixed)

And we will get a couple more soon.

[crim son]

26. Cats make the best pet.

They depend on you, but not so much that you have to lose any sleep over it. They are warm and cuddly and affectionate if you treat them well, and they don't crap all over your yard. AND they smell great, and fresh. Lastly, there is nothing cuter than a cat. NOTHING.

[Bossy Monkey]

27. Apatosaurus

What? You didn't specify that it had to be possible!:P

(Cat just bit me for not saying, "Cat.")

[TZ]

28. I was about to comment that Bossy Monkey might want a word with you...

:rofl:

[Bossy Monkey]

29. Literary license; she's actually napping on her bed

and I voted "cat" anyway. But if she could read, she probably really would have bitten me, just on general principle. (The principle being that she's not getting scritched enough, but still.)

[Iggo]

30. A kid.

[Bonn1997]

32. OK, that's just a bizarre answer!

[Iggo]

37. LOL.

I'm just having one of those mornings.

:P

[Dappleganger]

33. Other

The easiest pet to keep from what we've experienced is a bearded dragon. They are fairly neat and clean, very tame and easy to hold, QUIET, non-allergenic (nothing but a little skin to shed, maybe twice a year if that). Fairly easy to please. Cool as hell. Not for little kids but for responsible 10 yr. olds and up they are IDEAL. You do have to obtain live food but if you grow your own it's not so bad. The light bulbs need to be changed out once a year, but otherwise the maintenance is low. Our 17 yr old daughter gives hers a bath once every week to 10 days to ensure he gets enough fluids.

The most interesting pets to watch (for entertainment) are hamsters (cheap--$5 usually) and chinchillas (expensive, but live more than 10 years). We have both and they're quite entertaining, although I love my chinnies a bit more. We have a male and female in their own cages (so no babies) but each are trained to jump into our hands with a treat so we can take them to my bathroom for playtime. They are shy and take a long time to get used to you, but once they do they expect your company on a daily basis.

Hedgehogs are interesting as well but not as easy to keep. Definitely NOT for small kids but totally doable for older ones. Once your realize that most are born grumpy and you learn to accept them the way they are, they are really quite adorable. We've had our Harley a female albino since she was just a little urchin. She sleeps all day and runs on her bucket wheel ALL night long! She prefers only high quality cat food and bananas so feeding her is fairly easy. We've all learned how to handle her without gloves, too.

We also have cats and doxies--cats are easiest but love you on their terms. Doxies are quite possibly the most obnoxious dogs you'll ever meet and will wrap you around their stubby paws. Mine are spoiled rotten and are convinced that the chinnies, the beardie, the hamsters, the hedgie and the kitties are play toys for THEM. Ugh.

[SacredCow]

34. Other- NO pet....

I'll just use other peoples' pets when need be.

[Soylent Brice]

38. i think you might want to edit to add NARWHAL.

[Bonn1997]

39. Maybe I should add "A Republican Locked Up In A Cage"!

[Soylent Brice]

40. that would suck.

i hear all they do is make noise all day, throw their own shit, tend too be fat from overfeeding due to an insatiable apetite, and are stubborn and resistant to any kind of house training.

[Bonn1997]

41. Maybe handcuffed and with the mouth stapled shut!

And I'd make him or her watch gay marriages all day

[Soylent Brice]

42. i dunno. seems more trouble than it's worth. and there's absolutely ZERO cute factor involved.

[mvd]

43. Dog's really are man's best friend IMO

:hi:

[Bucky]

44. heavy

[Bonn1997]

45. light

[Bucky]

46. Then you're a weirdo. Hardly anything is better than a heavy pet

"hardly".             that makes me laugh

[Bonn1997]

55. Oh, I didn't get why you typed the word "heavy"

So I decided to just play the "opposites" game. Now I see you were talking about the weight of the pet. HA! My dog weighs 22 lbs. You'd probably consider that light.

[Bucky]

56. Youre not a weirdo. You're an innocent.

"Heavy petting" is a euphemism. I don't think your mother wants you talking to the likes of me.

[Mike 03]

48. I am surprised "rat" received no votes. Were it not for dogs, I would have voted for rats.

I have a cat and with all due respect, I really am surprised so many folks are voting for cats, especially if you--like I have--have been indoctrinated (or have no choice but) to accept the notion that your cat has to live its entire life indoors. I loved the idea at first, ten years ago, when I adopted my cat, but I know think it's almost cruel.

When I grew up our cat could go outside and run and live their lives. My cat only knows indoors, and he is jealous of my dogs that get to enjoy the outdoors.

[nomorenomore08]

50. I know there's a degree of risk involved, but my cat has always been part-outdoor.

I call him a "hybrid" cat, since he's outdoors most of the day but stays in at night. I agree that it seems kind of cruel to keep your cat inside all the time, but as I said, there's always the risk of the thing getting run over or eaten, so... :shrug:

[Mike 03]

57. Yes, I agree. It's so hard for me to decide how much to let him how or not. Lately, I am

allowing him outdoors, but I have to be very alert.

I LOVE my cat, but I just can tell he wants to have cat friends and go outdoors, and I can't (right now) provide that kind of attention for him.

I LOVE my sweet cat, and I know it's my fault, not his.

[Inchworm]

49. Concubine

:evilgrin:

[nomorenomore08]

51. I've only owned guinea pigs and a cat (my current pet), so I had to vote "cat."

On the one hand, they're easier to deal with than dogs in that they don't bark, don't make a mess, and don't require constant attention. But on the other hand, the fact that a cat invariably considers itself the master of the house (which is why people speak of being owned rather than owning) can be rather annoying. Someone said once that every cat thinks it's the reincarnation of an Egyptian god, and I think they were dead on. :P

[InvisibleTouch]

52. I love them all, but...

...I never miss a chance to advocate for the snake. No noise, doesn't need to be walked or groomed, doesn't need much space, eats only once a week or so, asks for only a nice warm enclosure, a nice dark hidebox, and clean water, and is etherially beautiful. With gentle handling they will get to know you and enjoy an occasional calm interaction. Pick a good, hardy, friendly pet species (corn snake is the classic, but lots of other species are just as wonderful), and how can you go wrong?

[Jade Fox]

58. Rocks

They are so independent.