How much time do you spend taking care of your pets?

talon

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I am talking basic care here. For us I was figuring:

AM: everyone gets clean bowls/food/water, litter box gets scooped, 1 bird and 1 cat get medicine - total approx 1 hour

PM: Birds get cages wiped down and newspaper bottoms changed, bird food/water replenished, bowls replaced as needed. Cats get fresh water, fresh canned food and dry food topped off. Cats get litter box scooped. 1 bird gets medicine - floors get vacuumed and/or swept - total approx: 2 hours.

So total about 3 hours just for basic care a day - of course when two of us are doing it - it goes much quicker. Good thing hubby is retired and is a "stay at home Dad!"
 

arlyn

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About 4 hours.
AM: Wash and dry food/water bowls and refill, litterbox scooped, backyard mess (dog) cleaned and disinfected.
Med Cassi and Scrub Vash's chin.
Birds' dishes washed and dried, cages and perches wiped down, paper changed.
Prepare fresh foods for the day: chopped fruits, nuts and sprouts for morning meal, chopped veggies, sprouted birdseed and pasta for afternoon meal and change out dry food and water.

PM Wash cat/dog/bird water dishes and refill, place afternoon fresh foods out for birds, change paper if needed, and scoop litterbox.
Scrub Vash's chin.


That of course does not include playtime for all, or dog walking.
 

beckiboo

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I think it is only about 1-1/2 hours daily. I scoop 4 litterboxes in am, occasionally rescoop in pm. They have automatic food bowls, so usually just a check to be sure they still have food. The kittens need to be fed daily though. Waterbowls (3) cleaned and refilled. If I don't feel like washing them, I can just put out a new bowl and put the dirty one in the dishwasher!

The dog goes out twice a day, but dh usually takes her out on his way to the barn. Horses put out in the am, stalls mucked and horses brought in and fed grain in the pm.

I never really think about the amt of time spent, no wonder I can't keep my house clean!! I'm too busy scooping poop!
 

kittylover4ever

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No time for me really.........I have trained all 4 to go on the toilet, and to use the microwave.......so no scooping or food to prepare for them!
 

ugaimes

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About 61-90 minutes. I scoop 2 litterboxes twice daily, clean/change food/water twice daily...and, of course, for Cosette to eat, I have to actually sit there and pet her while she eats, so that takes up about half of that time!
 
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talon

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Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

No time for me really.........I have trained all 4 to go on the toilet, and to use the microwave.......so no scooping or food to prepare for them!
Umm... Can you come over and have a chat with my guys? Pretty please with catnip on top??
 

arlyn

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We actually have two litterboxes, one is like gigantic, most days I scoop the big one 4 times and change the regular one daily.
My fiance' gets the job of changing out and scrubbing the big one down, I can't even lift it empty.
He also gets the task of the once daily 'Wear the dog completely out' walks.
 

rockcat

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Well, the thing about cats is... they aren't much work!
Cleaning 2 litterboxes and feeding cats doesn't take much time. Funny though, the few times we've gone away (2 days tops), my "instructions" for the sitter were quite long.


My ex husband and I had birds. What a job! After 4 years of begging and nagging, he finally built an aviary (outdoors). There was still a lot of work, but not anywhere near the amount it took to keep 2 rooms of birds clean. There was still feeding pellets, fresh veggies, changing water, flying time, baths...

I LOVE CATS. Besides, the time I'm not taking care of them, I can spend cuddling
and playing with them!
 
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talon

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Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

We didn't have a choice for "my entire life revolves around caring for my kitties", so I checked 120+.
I was going to put that - but I was afraid that all of us would check it.
 

save_adopt

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you know... training them to use a toilet is apparently pretty easy... but im so lazy! lol
 

scamperfarms

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Oh boy if i tried to count the time i spend on basic care every day..lol i would give myself a headache..

Food, Water, and boxes....all of them. for all the cats, and the dogs.

Food, Water and Stalls for horses. Luckily right now everyone is pretty much on Pasture.. *whew*

I have to groom 5 persians every day
and depending on their mood this can be a task. Usually its easy but sometimes they dont want to be groomed. Especially Loki in his moods..and this will also include cleanign their eyes.

I also have to groom the dogs, Athenas ears take alot of up keep...and Isis is a Husky who doesnt know how to stop shedding...

all in all i probably spend darn near 8 hours or more..everyday..over the day making sure everyone is happy.
 

purr

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I scoop his litter box in the morning and feed him through-out the day. It only takes about 30 minutes total all day.

Once a week I give his room a really good, thorough clean, clean his litter box, give him a bath, clip his nails, clean his ears, and brush his teeth. That takes about 3-4 hours total. Oh, I forgot to add cleaning his fountain and washing his clothes, blankets and pillows. Add an hour, I guess. Doing laundry only takes about 15 minutes not counting the time it's washing or drying.

About once or twice a week, I make his food, which takes about 45 minutes.

Play time, snuggle time, and loving time isn't part of "taking care of," is it? I thought you meant chores for them. If all that counts, then I spend about 8 hours a day on him: sleep 8, eat 1, run errands ~2, work out 1--the rest of the time he's with me and I'm holding him, playing with him, or loving on him. Minus another 2 for when he's sleeping of sitting in the window and isn't on me.
 

abbeycat

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erm..
lets see about 20 minutes in the morning feeding the dogs and quick playtime..
Then rabbits get let out and fed and litterbox cleaned.. about 20 mins again..
Morning check on rodents about 15 minutes..
Fish feed and quick health check about 5 minutes


Dormice get their heatpad done.. 7 minutes,

then evening, about 2 hours in my rodent shed, doing spot cleaning, playing, feeding, fresh water etc..

and 30 mins to get the dogs in for bed
they love being chased to be ushered in.

The rodent tank cleaning day, once a week, takes 5 hours for 26 tanks and a rabbit cage


none of that includes playtimes/walking etc
 

darkeyedgirl

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I scoop the poo every morning & night. I clean up whatever hairballs or buttrubs they left for me... just about every day... I feed them twice a day & have to seperate 2 of the 6 from each other & sit & wait that out...

Also have to brush my longhaired kits (2 of 'em!) just about nightly cuz of the shaggy fur turning into monster hairballs which make 'em sick... but I loves to brush them, 'specially Snickers...

And general playtime, you know. Throwing Hammie a straw and watching him careen into things... it's fun!

And loving time. Holding them, petting them... telling them they're beautiful...

I'd say an hour each day goes into all of that, if not more!
 

fatkitties

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In the mornings, especially if I have to work, 10 minutes tops to fill 3 water bowls, feed everyone, let the dogs out to potty. Also do a quick check to make sure none of the hamsters got out, and that nobody has decided to chew a hole in a water bottle! I also do a quick visual check on everyone to make sure nobody appears sick or injured. If it's a fish feeding day (they get fed every other day or so, to keep them from getting fat and fouling the water) I feed the fish. But literally, 10 minutes and I can be out the door. I have it down to a science! In the evening I'll clean the litter box, takes 5 mins or so, wash all the food/water bowls, 20 mins or so, and dish out food for everyone, including the hamsters, which I only feed at night because they are nocturnal. And fill the hamster bottles. I can get it done pretty quickly. I'm not one for wasting time on chores. Hamster cage day is a bit more complex, hamsters get put in their exercise balls, all thier toys get soaked in hot water and soap, dirty shavings dumped, cages washed out, dried, fresh shavings put in, wash and dry toys and put them back in, fill water bottles and feed them, and catch the hamster balls and put everyone back in thier cages. That whole thing can take an hour with 3 cages, but I only have to do that once a week. The fish are pretty easy to care for, as long as I remember to add water that evaporates and do a partial change once a month.

Amber
 

miss mew

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I'm lucky that I only have Reilly to take care of and he doesn't need much

AM: Feed him his breakie wet chow, check his dry chow level, fresh water
PM: Feed him his supper wet chow, check his dry chow, fresh water
Bedtime: Hairball/vitamen medication

Litterbox cleaning is done whenever I notice he's used it throughout the day

of course if you count the time I spend cuddling and playing with him then it equals up to 3 or 4 hours
 

jessy

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We should have another post - how long do you spend fussing and playing with your pets per day as this can take up a serious amount of time!


I only have 1 cat and 1 hamster, so usually
am: Wash Villy's bowl, freshen her water, feed her and scoop the litter tray if needed.

pm: Feed Villy, play with her and fuss her a lot! All evening probably!

The hammy, Squeaky just needs fresh water and some food and treats. He likes a little gentle!
cuddle and loves to run around in his ball, which can last quite a while.

It's amazing how little of our time our pets need compared to how much happiness they give us
 
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