I think being a dog or cat owner necessitates a certain “laissez les bon temp rouler” approach to life. There will be shedding. There will be hairballs. There will be accidents. There will be the everyday cleaning of cat boxes and going for walks. It’s part of the package.
I don’t think non-pet owners are bad people - but I do think people like that would be a lousy match for me. And I would be a lousy match for them.
So why not just be upfront about that to begin with?
How can I check both the 'if you’re around me you’ll be around my pets" and the 'I don’t need pets to be happy"?
I have pets, enjoys pets, and if you are around me you’ll be around my pets. But if I had no pets I wouldn’t be miserable or anything. They enhance an already happy life.
Uh, I dunno. You check off both boxes, maybe?
To be blunt, I wouldn’t get rid of my cat (or cats – up until the end of last year I had two) for a guy.
Because I note that the cat is still here, whereas the guys are not. I’d be making a sacrifice for someone who in all likelihood will be out of my life and no longer in a position to care about my cat in a year.
If you can’t accept the package deal, find someone else. That’s true with anything – don’t ask someone to change for you. Even if they try, it’s unlikely to succeed (and doesn’t say much about their self-esteem in any case).
Or, what DianaG said.
Those are the two options I checked too. My husband and I had decided that we were not going to get another dog after our two are gone. We have been doing more traveling now that the kids are out on their own so we thought that being petless for a few years would be a good idea.
In the last couple of weeks he’s started making “aww what a cute puppy” noises to petfinder listings. I’m trying to be strong and keep him on track but the sad eyes get me every time 
Despite choosing those options I would never get rid of a pet for a man. Ever.
I want to answer this poll, but I have a question for the OP first. If the issue with my potential mate is one of allergies, then a compromise is possible. If the issue is a life-long fear of said pet/pets, a compromise is possible. If the issue with the OP is the attention spent taking care of or enjoying time with the pet: get lost.
Yeah, that’s harsh, but how is pet-keeping different from any other hobby? Painting? Gardening? Running? Knitting? I’ve read a few of your threads about pets, and it seems to me that you have the most truck with those who pay attention or indulge in their pets. But if the cat/dog/horse is a solitary sort, you are cool with that?
You need to be very clear in your ad that you do not like or want pets and you highly prefer women who feel the same. If people who treat their pets like members of the family are a deal breaker you are not going to be okay with 95% of pet owners and if you find a woman who is willing to get rid of a cat or dog early enough in your relationship for it not to be a problem for you that should be a HUGE red flag about the kind of person you are dating.
Wow.
I could kind of understand that if the person said they hated pets and thought all pets should be slaughtered or something like that. But someone who just “doesn’t like pets”? Sheesh.
PRR: There are petless women out there. Trust me. 
I kind of think you’re making this topic into a bigger deal than it needs to be. It sounds like you’re trying to find an easy answer for why you’re single and have fixated on this idea that the pet people are the problem.
So you had a few bad experiences with crazy cat ladies. OK, so don’t date the kind of women who would live with 8 cats anymore. MOST people wouldn’t want to date someone with 8 cats even if they do like animals. By most people’s standards, having that many animals in a normal house is somewhat nutty. Still, it seems silly to use those extreme situations to rule out people who have one cat or one dog and aren’t obsessed with their pet. Especially since you’ve dated people like that before without it becoming an issue.
I have never really understood why so many of us are focused on trying to find a clone of ourselves to date. Why not try having an open mind and perhaps be pleasantly surprised by someone who doesn’t fit your preconceived image of the perfect person?
On the surface most people would not expect my boyfriend and me to be a good match. Our political and religious views, especially back when we first met, are VERY different. However that stuff doesn’t matter because we respect each other and know that the other person has a good heart. We’re also very good at communicating with each other so we can disagree about stuff without it turning into a huge meltdown.
I’ve had relationships with guys who had a lot more surface stuff in common with me that ended up being far more unhealthy because of poor communication and such.
I think qualities like being mentally stable, open-minded, compassionate, and able to communicate feelings are better predictors of a good relationship than finding someone who is just like you and sees things the same way.
Making up a long list of dating dealbreakers is a good idea if you don’t mind the idea of ending up dying alone and having your corpse discovered several months later after the neighbors finally notice the newspapers piling up on the porch. 
I should let you people who advocate “Be more open-minded! Start dating pet-owners!! Man up!” fight it out with those who say “Go live on the Tiny Island of the Pet-haters and leave us nice pet-lovers alone.” I’m just trying to gather a little data here.
Same here (except I’m a guy)
I don’t mind feeding him his mealworms. He’s always so happy to get them. I weaned him off crickets though; I can’t stand crickets. One ALWAYS escapes; the little fucker.
I only dated one pet-hater, a finicky nelly man who expressed a strong ‘ick’ reaction to being nudged by a cat (picture his frantically brushing a few cat hairs off his pants leg) or licked by a dog. This man was good for driving about in his vintage convertible, having martinis at the in saloon, wandering about in museums, and reading through fashion magazines and the NY Times together. That’s fine, different strokes, and I hope he found some tight ass finicky woman to do this with. To me, it showed selfishness (‘you aren’t paying enough attention to MEEEE’), super-fastidiousness (mustn’t ever get wet, dirty, dishevelled, badly dressed, ungroomed), and if things had gone far enough, I imagine he would have been a total drip in bed, armed with tough white condoms, Lysol, mouthwash, towels, and a strict 2 minute missionary position. The. End. All this from not liking animals. Welcome to him, lucky lady.
I dislike cats enough that it would probably be a deal breaker for me (if I was on the market) if she insisted we have one or more together. I don’t think that limited my dating options that much before I was married. Any women who couldn’t stand pets at all would probably be too fastidious to put with me anyway.
Heh, I can’t stand cats either. I actually love my best friend’s cat, but I love my best friend. I am severely allergic to their dander though.
I don’t like being licked by dogs, either. I’ll let them lick my hands but never, ever my face. Oh, that’s so nasty to me.
I guess that means I am selfish and fastidious. Even though I happily pick up a worm out of a squirming pile for my gecko who is oh-so-cute when he’s hungry.
Seriously, I just can’t stand slobber, and dogs slobber everywhere.