# Are you a pet owner or a pet parent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874 "2011-09-10T23:49:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/1 "2011-09-10T23:49:53Z")
There are a few pet food commercials that have replaced the words ‘pet owner’ with ‘pet parent’. I think this is because you’d pay 20 dollars for a 7 lb bag children kibble without batting an eye-- pet kibble, not so much. Me, I’m an owner and a mean one at that. We recently purchased a 16 lb bag of Cat Cafe cat food. It was all of 8 dollars. The problem? Both cats hate it and refused to eat it. At first. Surprising what your cat will concede if you are persistent. Their refusal to eat lasted 3 days. Don’t worry about my cats. They both weigh over 20 pounds and could stand to not eat for a few days. They still don’t like the food. And, after two weeks, I relented just a tiny bit. I have purchased 4 cans of the house brand wet food and will mix a spoonful of it with the hated dry. How 'bout you. Are you a pet owner or a pet parent? ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/2 "2011-09-10T23:59:39Z")
I am the pet companion of a very companionable pet. Certainly, I love her to death; but when people refer to me as her ‘parent’ my eyes roll and make the sound of ball bearings in a metal dish. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/3 "2011-09-11T00:02:22Z")
I’ve not seen such an ad. Are you in the US? Probably some horrible trend which will work it’s way over here. I’m a pet owner, albeit a very affectionate one. I don’t mistake my dog for my child. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/4 "2011-09-11T00:05:16Z")
We’re the pets. The cats rule around here. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/5 "2011-09-11T00:05:25Z")
I’m an owner but I buy expensive, high quality food. I love my critters, but they’re not my children. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/6 "2011-09-11T00:06:11Z")
Pet owner. Terms like “pet parent”, “guardian” and “fur kids” make me want to hurl. Or hurl things at anyone using those terms. On the other hand I won’t feed mine anything that contains gluten anything, Chinese ingredients, animal digest or other unsavory ingredients, so I’m a snob when it comes to food. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/7 "2011-09-11T00:13:55Z")
I shy away from referring to myself as a pet parent. I’m an owner, possibly a caretaker. Often I feel like a slave. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/8 "2011-09-11T00:18:01Z")
I am a pet owner. I love Mrs. Which & Who as much as their differnet psychologies allowed, but I’d never put their welfare ahead even Nancy Grace’s. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/9 "2011-09-11T00:21:24Z")
I’m a pet owner, but I’m a farm person, so I view a lot of animals in terms of food, so I’m probably in the minority. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/10 "2011-09-11T00:21:48Z")
Well, we do refer to ourselves as “mommy” and “daddy” when talking to the cats. And we talk to the cats a lot. But I definitely see the distinction between the cats and my son, and don’t think of the cats in the same way. I love them dearly, though. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/11 "2011-09-11T00:24:38Z")
I am a pet owner and a real parent. It’s not the same thing. I love my cats, I have loved the dogs I have owned but I was not their parent. I do however spring for high quality food (and spend a lot of time reading about pet food before making any kind of change.). I do this because I believe that high quality food leads to healthier pets and happier pets and that it saves me more in the long run to make sure they are fed a healthy diet. In short because I am selfish, its total coincidence that it works out for them too. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/12 "2011-09-11T00:26:45Z")
I’m an owner or caretaker, not a parent, but I do care very deeply for my rabbits. I think part of my extreme protectiveness is their obvious “prey animal” status/behavior; I’ve usually owned carnivorous animals (dogs, cats, ferrets), and rabbits can be so easily frightened, and can even injure themselves if they’re being restrained while trying to flee from a perceived threat. My husband jokingly calls me the “rabbit queen” because the buns obviously adore me. They lick my hands more often than they lick his, and one will lick my face. For rabbits, that’s not a “salt lick” sort of behavior; it’s a very affectionate bonding action, and they do not do it to just anyone. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/13 "2011-09-11T00:32:12Z")
Ahem. Dogs have “owners”; Cats have “Staff.” Seriously, we consider ourselves “caretakers” for our cats. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/14 "2011-09-11T00:37:42Z")
Can’t I be both? I love my dog like she’s a daughter, but at the end of the day, I am her master. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/15 "2011-09-11T00:40:39Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Pet owner. > > Terms like “pet parent”, “guardian” and “fur kids” make me want to hurl. Or hurl things at anyone using those terms. Ditto. I also am slightly resentful towards people who like to joke about how they don’t like to train their cats. I own the hell out of my cats and they do what I damn well tell them to! Staff, indeed. But anyway, I am a food snob and health nut and I don’t do things differently when it comes to my beloved dogs and cats. They eat 100% fresh animal products, no ‘pet food’ as most people think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/16 "2011-09-11T00:42:41Z")
Parent. D and I are known as “Daddy and Mommy”, since we three live alone. Sometimes he’s treated as an equal, as we sometimes ask his “permission” to lie down on the bed next to him. Definitely our baby. Q PS: Bert has become very picky about his olives (he gets one per day). He’ll only eat store brand, not the more expensive kind D buys for our salads. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/17 "2011-09-11T00:47:05Z")
Parents, though if anyone called us that I’d do the eyeroll thing as well. When the cats go to ‘daddy’ to get attention and he’s busy, he tells them to go to ‘mommy’…and they come right to me. So…guess I’m Mom! 😛 They also ‘gave’ me earrings for Mother’s Day…but that paled in comparison to the hand-made step-mom cards from my husband’s two boys, so… They’re pets, and we’re owners. But they’re family. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/18 "2011-09-11T01:07:50Z")
I don’t have kids and I expect that any rules I make for parenthood would be shed as soon as I would actually go through the experience. Nevertheless, I feel that if my kids refused to eat food constantly, I’d tell them tough shit. I pretty much do the same as the OP for the cats, mix it in but I’m not tossing it. I guess that makes me a pet owner and a potential child owner 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/19 "2011-09-11T01:12:36Z")
I am more parent than owner, but neither really fits. Guardian is a better term, I think. I have assumed responsibility for their care, education, and upbringing, and they are my best friends and dear members of my family. BTW Cats should NOT fast like that, it’s ok for dogs but in cats, especially overweight cats, it can set off a disease known as hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. It’s usually fatal, and the ones who can be saved will cost quite a bit in vet bills by the time you are done. I wouldn’t cheap out on the food, there’s a reason they don’t want to eat it. > **[Feline hepatic lipidosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_hepatic_lipidosis)** > > Feline hepatic lipidosis, also known as feline fatty liver syndrome, is one of the most common forms of liver disease of cats. The disease officially has no known cause, though obesity is known to increase the risk. The disease begins when the cat stops eating from a loss of appetite, forcing the liver to convert body fat into usable energy. If this process continues for too long, fat builds up in the cells of the liver, and the disease has officially onset. Prognosis varies depending One of t... ---
**Author:** ![JoThrive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@JoThrive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoThrive)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874/20 "2011-09-11T01:20:57Z")
We have two cats and we love them dearly, but they certainly are not our children. We talk to them, we treat them nicely, we feed them well, we care for them, they live with us and we provide for their well-being. I think the word ‘companions’ fits our relationship perfectly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-pet-owner-or-a-pet-parent/595874.md?page=2)