I have 2 cats, one dog, a guinea pig and 4 children.
They are treated kindly, but not spoiled. I HATE it when people use the word ‘spoil’ to mean ‘treat well’… if your kids or pets are spoiled, you aren’t treating them well, you are over-indulging them. That’s what ‘spoil’ means!
My pets are not my children, I own them and treat them like the animals they are. It is no more kindness to treat a dog like a child than it would be to treat a child like a dog. They are different and have different needs. I treat my dog like a dog, I treat my cats like cats. And I am a mother to my children.
We own our hamsters. Food-wise, they get the only mix available for their size at our local pet store, occasionally supplemented with sunflower seeds or bits of greenery we don’t want.
We are pet parents. They sleep in the bed with us, we turn on the faucet for them when they ask (and by ask I mean stand on the counter and cry at the sink), we sing them songs and kiss their bellies, etc. As far as we are concerned they are just as much a part of our family as we are.
i’m a closet pet parent but to the outside world i’m a pet owner.
my dogs know i’m the boss but that doesn’t stop me from spoiling them rotten and referring to myself as Roxy’s momma (in secrecy of course…)since im hidden here my secret is still safe.
THURSDAY: Went to the Galaxy Drive In restaurant which has a doggy menu and brings out little ice cream cones for the dogs: Spoon (the black pug) and Maggie (the olde English Bulldogge). FRIDAY: Went to the dog park drive-in movies SATURDAY: Breakfast on the patio at the Swede Hollow Cafewith the dogs and ordered them a side of bacon, then coffee at the Mayday Cafe with the dogs, then we went to Woofstock in Minneapolis…with the dogs. SUNDAY: We pulled out the plastic pool in the yard and gave them a bath and had dinner on the patio at Psycho Suzi’s with the dogs.
They’re both still puppies and we’re both recent adopters, so yeah. I’m sure there are some names to be used. Not sure what applies though.
We’re pet owners. I don’t even have kids and I think equating having pets to being parents is both offensive and retarded. I treat my dogs and cat well; they get good-quality food along with nutritional supplements, mat, home made dog treats, and we’ve spent more on vet care than most people are willing to (by a lot, based on that poll. heh). They’re well-trained, well-socialized, and we spend a lot of time with them. That being said, the idea that they’d be in the same universe as a human family member, especially a child is utterly laughable.
However, my husband and I are expecting a baby. If the baby goes after the dog, I correct the baby. If the dog goes after the baby, I put it down. I’m pretty sure that means the dog does not count as a “fur child.”
I refer to the cats as my kids when talking to other people.because I feel it’s only fair they be warned that my reaction to mistreatment of the twins will be much more extreme than if they left trash in my yard or damaged my car.
Normally, I’d say that my cat is sort of my friendly-slacker flatmate. She’s just started on thyroid meds, though, so of late I feel a bit more like a parent. She needs two methimizol tablets a day, and I try to get her to take them in pill pockets. Better than pilling her by force, right?
The problem is that my cat has figured out how pill pockets work. Instead of just scarfing them down whole, as I very much wish she would, she tries to lick and nibble away the “good” bits while avoiding the pill itself. This means I need to stand over her and watch while she slowly eats her chewie. After the pill is first exposed, she’ll start looking up and trying to walk away.
“No!” I say. “We’re both staying here until you finish your chewie. I’ve got all day, cat.” (That’s a lie - I have work - but her brain is far too tiny to figure this out.) Then I tap the floor next to the chewie until she starts (disdainfully) sniffing and licking it again. Eventually, she’ll eat the thing. Most of the time.
(I esp liked Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge)