Everyone out there in TCS-land, care to assist?

I need to poll a group of pet owners, where else better to find some?!

OK, so not really poll, but more "fill in the blank".

I need to know, what do you consider a drawback or drawbacks to pet ownership?

I'm writing up my speech & I am having issues with finding drawbacks to pet ownership in my research. My professor advised I poll or ask a group of pet owners.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I need to poll a group of pet owners, where else better to find some?!

OK, so not really poll, but more "fill in the blank".

I need to know, what do you consider a drawback or drawbacks to pet ownership?

I'm writing up my speech & I am having issues with finding drawbacks to pet ownership in my research. My professor advised I poll or ask a group of pet owners.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

The only drawback I have with Beauty is the fact that a) she is a very fussy eater and b) she has made it a habit to hide and sulk every time she sees the hoover

Seriously though, vets bills are the only drawback I can think of.

Good point on the vacuum!! I want to use humor in my speech, you just gave me a great idea of how to!

The only drawback I can think of is that it's hard to travel. We like to travel, but Stumpy in particular is very needy of human interaction and play time. If we go away for more than a few days we need to get a housesitter to stay at our house.

We're lucky in that we have 3 lots of neughbours in our building who'll happily look after the kitties if we go away for short trips, but if we didn't have that it would be a lot harder.

I'd say vet bills too

Lets see... how about having your lovely little kitty projectile vomit right in front of you while your eating supper?

But honestly, vet bills/medical expenses, picky eaters, food allergies, and the daily expense of food/litter, ect. Needing a house sitter to leave on vacation, or a short weekend, too. But like others, I don't think of them as a drawback - they are my loves & I don't mind!

One drawback I've noticed is that you have to plan around them. I can't just sell off my stuff and take off for a different country on a whim, you have to look for a place to live that accepts the pets and often have to pay a lot extra for them.

Another is you have to accept that your stuff might get ruined when they decide to eat your new pair of shoes, accidentally jump on something, etc.

And another is that they will wake you up whenever they feel like it.

All well worth it, but there are cons.

Originally Posted by SkyeCat0117

I would have to say first the extra cost to have them if you live in an apartment. I've seen some places that want to charge like $300 or more just to get half or less pf that back plus the additional "pet rent" on top of it

. The other is the spontaneous vomiting, not a pleasant thing to hear in the middle of the night.

Click to expand...

My deposit was a couple hundred dollars (I get it back less damage to the blinds) and 25$ extra per month. So by the time my lease is up, that'll be 600 extra dollars.

pets in general I assume you are asking, not just cats.
Cleaning up poo, pee, and vomit
Harder to take vacations
Harder to move
Take a lot of money if taken care of properly (the only way to do it!)
Break your heart when their time is up, it is the worst part of it all

Originally Posted by sarahp

The only drawback I can think of is that it's hard to travel.

Click to expand...

I second that. We have a very good professional pet sitter that comes to stay with our babies while we are away so it gets costly.

For us, it would be two things: finding rental accommodation that accepts cats, and travel. We don't do a lot of travelling, but all the same, they have to be cared for when we do. Fortunately we've found a good pet sitter. As for accommodation, I've found that it is worth asking the advertiser that says "No pets" whether there's room to negotiate -- out of four places I have lived in the last 30 years, two of them advertised "no pets", but both were willing to talk.

Anything else is ultimately about how you want to spend your money, and we're happy to spend it on our sweeties.

For me:

1) Travel is more difficult. Especially if any are "special needs", i.e., need meds or whatever.

2) Having to decorate around them. I Recently bought need furniture and new flooring and what I choose depended *a lot* on what would be easiest to maintain given the 4 cats. Also, cat trees are great for them but don't do much for the decor.

3) Disrupted sleep. Frequently one will raise a ruckus loud enough to wake me in the middle of the night. Also, one sleeps right up against me, making it hard for me to reposition myself without disturbing her which of course I would never do!

4) They need constant care. Children grow up and learn to take care of themselves. Cats never do.

I wouldn't trade them for the world though!

A "drawback" is having to by an external hard drive to store those million cat pictures that you have taken over the years!! What about buying cat themed stuff for your home???

Really though I think the drawback for me is having to replace some carpeting that has been stained from cat accidents.

Trying to find somewhere that will rent to you for a decent price. Cleaning up puke, pee and stinky litterboxes.

To be honest, I don't see any drawbacks - if you're a dedicated pet owner, then obviously all the "cons" of having animals would already have been something you understood and chose to take on as part and parcel of the whole package deal. Yes, it's a bit tricky to travel sometimes, or a vet's bill at the wrong time of the year can be inconvenient, but there are so many options these days to overcome these little problems. There are downsides to everything in life, but the upsides are worth those ten times over

For me its more the medical costs, travel costs, and UTIs. (i say UTIs because i hate watching them in pain)

also when they pee on my shoes clothes and even after washing them sometimes the smell is permanent and its on the way to the bin. And the fact Kaylee has ripped up a few things, and yet she will never hurt you with a claw!

My kitties are costing me 3,000 EUR to bring to Australia which is roughly US $ 5,000 they are worth every cent.

The only drawback for me is the fact that chances are very good that I'll out live them....but just in case we don't they are in our will.
Another drawback along the same line is, having to make the decision to let them go when they can no longer be helped.
Your head tells you it's time, but your heart is telling you to hang on a little longer.

As for Vet bills, food, litter, cleaning up poop, pee and vomit well I look at it this way...when we decided to have human children we knew they'd have to go the the Dr., eat and be cleaned up after...it's no different with fur kids...when you take one (or more ) into your home you take all the good, bad and expense that comes with them.
The love they give far out weighs any amount of money we've ever spent on them.

Plus, you don't have to put them through College like your human kids!

Poop.
Even with the wonderful Litter-Robot, you still have to deal with poop to some extent.

Claws.
Can't clip 'em, can't afford to have a groomer clip 'em, just gotta live with 'em.

Fur.
I like to wear black, but it's not quite so slimming when it's covered in kittyfuzz.

Vomit.
Next carpet we get, we're taking a vomit sample to the store to make sure it matches perfectly.

Allergies.
Despite a HEPA air cleaning device, fresh sheets draped over the furniture, and Benadryl & charcoal-filter masks offered at the door, my brother will not visit.

Abusive Landlords.
There's no excuse for the way landlords take advantage of the love we have for our pets.
_________________________________________

But having said all that: feeling such a deep bond with these beautiful, loving creatures... priceless.

Drawbacks - expenses, inconviences of planning around them, stress when they are ill/upset, decrease in sleep (from kitties who like to share your pillow )

Benefits: companionship, entertainment, unconditional affection and love

The only thing for me is that I can`t be impulsive anymore. If I feel like going away it just doesn`t happen very often because I worry too much about leaving the cats.