Animals and the Child Free

Hi everyone...
Do any of you have animals in your family and love them as your children? I know it sounds weird on a child-free forum. However, I have a cat who is my "son", and many people find that funny, or weird. Or stupid. Depends on who you talk to. Some think I'm being immature, some believe I'm retarded, and others think I'm joking, and that since I'm not having human children, I must be "making up for it" with Thomas.

Another question: if you do have animals in your family, how do other people see you and them? Do they think it's a joke? Do they not only treat your animals like crap, but you too?

I know one thing that pisses me off like none other. When people say stuff, as if they think I'm not serious. My grandma said one day, "Now Rosie, don't you think little kids are cute?" And I said, "I think my little kid Thomas is cute." And she ignored me and said, "No, seriously." I WAS SERIOUS! Also, my fiance and I were at a restaurant one day and knew the waitress. Another waitress walked by, and I said, "Do you want to see a picture of our son?" And she looked at me with wide eyes. Our usual waitress was like, "Their 'pet'." That pissed me off badly. Even when people don't consider their animals part of the family, which they should, I still don't believe in the word "pet". It's disrespectful in my eyes.

Sorry, I always find myself typing too much. Do you guys believe in animals as family members? If not, do you think other people should be able to say that about their animals? Do you think people like me are just "making up" for not having human kids? I sure don't. I sure as HELL don't want human kids. I want my animals, and to me, I can't just call Thomas a pet. He is my son.

Oh, yeah! I have 6 dogs, a cat and two turtles. A lot of us here have furbabies.

i have dog furbabies, my fiance has cat ones, i treat my pets better than kids, as a dog lover i get more affection more love from my dogs. they are my babies, and i am male..

i dislike about 90% of humans, i would rather take care of animals.

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

We have a persion cat and we love her to bits. This is her with her winter coat on.We are getting her a lion cut later in the month before summer hits because its to hot for her otherwise.

[ Sorry, I always find myself typing too much. Do you guys believe in animals as family members? If not, do you think other people should be able to say that about their animals? Do you think people like me are just "making up" for not having human kids? I sure don't. I sure as HELL don't want human kids. I want my animals, and to me, I can't just call Thomas a pet. He is my son.]

Hi Timsgirl Yes i understand what you say - Real is part of our family andof course people should be able to say that about their animals

If I had pets, I would consider them family, and have considered pets I've had in the past as family. I've never understood people who get pets, then ignore the pets completely when kids come along. It's cruel, in my opinion. I also think it's cruel when people adopt pets as practice for having kids. Totally different things (and also cruel).

The nice thing about pets is, they're actually grateful for being taken care of, and they stay with you and love you. I don't think that can be said for a lot of kids!

I consider my three cats my kids. I've probably spent more on them in healthcare (don't ask me how my one cat broke his leg. I tell people "skiing in Aspen") than I probably have on myself. Luckily nothing has been terribly serious other than:

Swallowed cork ($180 for x-rays, overnight observation and cat laxative)
Broken leg ($400 for x-rays, setting and casting, $75 for crate rental)
Urinary Tract Infection ($120 for exam and medication, no overnight stay necessary)
Urinary Tract blockage ($620 for catheterization, 3 days observation + $40 for antibiotic treatment)
Spay and neutering ($300 tops)

And that doesn't include regular shots, food, litter and laser pointer batteries.

I'd spend it all again. They're worth it to me. They keep me company, love me for who I am, and keep my feet warm in the winter.

My mom thought that each and every one of these expenses (besides neutering and shots) were unnecessary and I should have just had them put to sleep. You know, she's on a "fixed income", but still puts that check in the church envelope each week. I consider the money I've invested in keeping my kids happy and healthy is a contribution to doing something towards God's creatures. I seek no afterlife reward for this, as their companionship is a reward in and of itself.

My landlord occasionally gives me grief, as well. When he comes up to fix something, the "kids" are very curious, sniffing around his tool bucket, sticking their head into whatever he's doing. It's funny. He'll yell and say "Stupid cats. Worthless. Get rid of them." And then I remind him that in my 13 years of living under his roof, my three cats have done less damage than what 1 child, or college student could and has done. I say "Cats. Not kids, Jerry." But for all his blustering, he's a total smooshie heart and when my one beloved tabby died suddenly (on my bed,curled up in a ball, with a smile on his face no less), he let me cry on his shoulder and even buried him for me in the cold hard backyard (it was november, so the ground was frozen).

DH and I refer to our pets as our kids. We just found a bumpersticker last week that says: "Cats are children you don't have to send to college."

Yes, I have pets that I refer to as "my children." I have 2 iguanas, a male and a female. In fact, yesterday, Nov. 1, was my son's 12th birthday! I sent out emails with pictures to my friends and family. My mother refers to herself as grandma and no one that I care about thinks I am strange or lacking in any way.

Then of course there is my breeder step sister in law and her slack jawed husband - my step brother. She refers to them as things and asks "are those things still alive?" She still refers to my husband as Chinese when in fact he is from Japan so she just continues to prove herself to be an idiot. She is also the kind of person who, when tires of a pet or it poses too much work, take it to the vet and has it put down. May her chyldren turn out to be dissapointments.

So yes, my iguanas are my kids and the moment I get home from work I am yelling "Mommy is hoooooomeeeee!!!!!" and I run up to their room and give them hugs and kisses. I tuck them in at night with hand knitted blankets that grandma made and I greet them each morning with more hugs and kisses. And they love it!

As some of you may already know, we recently adopted a kitty from a moo who was getting rid of him due to the fact that she is preggo and *can't handle* more than one cat once the Almighty Loaf arrives. She had three cats, and is keeping only one. I would have taken both of the kitties she was getting rid of, but one of them had already been adopted out. But we were happy to take the one, Sabby. He's been here for almost two months now, and is happy. He loves to play with his new siblings and is doing very well here with us.

As much as this whole thing bothers me, I was glad that for once, I was in a position to do something and take in this kitty. I feel sad for the many animals who do get dumped out into shelters or even onto the street, due to their owners sprogging.

So now, we have nine cats, and they're the *kids*. You can see their Catster pages by clicking the link in my sig.

I hope your step sister in law realizes that you can't put kids down when you get tired of them!

Iguanas are really cool! They have bunches of them all over the hotel we stayed at in St. Thomas. I always wondered if they would make good pets. Sounds like yours have a great life, especially with hand-knitted blankets!

We have three cats that we love to pieces, and we plan to never, ever have kids. These cats have an awesome life...we talk/interact with them so much that they're very in tune with DH and myself, and are getting really good at meeting new people (well, mostly...we have one who's just painfully shy, but even she is making progress). We take very good care of them. So I guess they are like family. However, we never refer to them as kids, furkids, daughters, etc. It smacks too much of parenting, and I don't want to be anyone's parent. But I do love meeting/hearing about people's pets!

Oh, and I love the "skiing at Aspen" explanation. I plan to use it...one of ours broke a front leg once...totally freakish accident, she simply landed badly when leaping. But the skiing explanation is great, thanks!

DH and I have a 4 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Her name is Phoebe. We love her to death and she is like a daughter to us. We plan on getting another one next summer when Phoebe is a year old. Cavalier's are amazing dogs. She is a joy. She has many aunts (all the lady's I work with) and her grandpa and grandma are crazy about her. She loves people and everyone who meet her falls in love with her. She is spoiled rotten and grateful for everything she gets. She is full of love..love..love...

Karen,

I think my SSIL lives for those twat droppings. She is in for a rude awakening when they hit those moody teen years and no longer need her hovering around them. I think every waking moment is spent fussing over their existence. I doubt she get's too "tired" and when she does, that conveniently translates to "I'm am moo-maryter - look at how special I am!"

I **DO** wish we could spay and neuter children who show the most unpleasant disposition. Shame we can't get a van and round up local children who have proven themselves to be useless, destructive or just plain stupid. We all know there's a shit load of them out there!

CFADinNYC,

Yes, it would make life a lot simpler if you could spay/neuter kids as we do pets. Sounds like your SSIL is in for years of therapy....

Karen

Oh--she'll need therapy for that self-esteem issue of hers. Not to mention that my step-brother is probably porking someone beind her back. Heh...

CFADinNYC, your SSIL sounds like she sits on the spectrum somewhere between "boring as a rock" and "annoying," much like children themselves.

I'm a pug mommy. I have a sweet little puppy mill rescue named Holly, who warms my heart all the way through. I don't know much about her first four years in the puppy mill, but she loves being a pet and I'll bet she is glad to be done having babies. I say we are just a couple of spayed girls livin' large! My ex-boyfriend and I have remained friends, and he travels out of town rather frequently, so when he's gone he leaves Higgins, his (formerly our) male pug with me. The two pugs love each other dearly, which means there is a lot of chasing, chewing, and snot-blowing when they are together.

I wouldn't say that I think of them as children - more like my "little buddies."

My DW Fujiko and I have a small farm in rural NW Washington State, about 60 miles outside of Seattle. We have multiple dogs and cats, horses, chickens (they are livestock--not pets), a rescued Alpaca (recently acquired) and all of the miscellaneous wild critters that we probably support.

Our two Akitas, Anjin and Mariko are the outdoors bosses. Our two Japanese Bobtails, Kenji and Noriko, rule the roost indoors.

Juanita, the new Alpaca, is slowly settling in to life with the other critters. Juanita is a bit pushy with the horses (Arabians), and for some reason the Akitas, who are normally very assertive dogs, are scared to death of her.

The horses, Scheri (Scheherezade) and Khalil are very mild-mannered around us, but they do not like brats or adult strangers.

Fujiko keeps asking when we are going to see a Sasquatch on our property. I told her we will probably see it the day the UFO lands on our farmyard!

DrDanCorelli,
I also had chickens at one time, 10 of them. I LOVED THEM to death! They were also my babies, and I called them my "Little Miracles". They had names, birthday parties, and were also the reason I went vegan. But anyways...

I don't remember who said something along these lines, but I also believe that when people have animals and then get pregnant, that it's just cruel to the animals. No wonder animals get jealous! They are used to the attention and love that is now being given to the kids. And I personally believe an animal can give more love than is received, and that is different than kids. Babies take love, they cannot give it, until they turn an age that they can even comprehend the word "love". And at that point they can also comprehend "hate" and also at that point, they are still stupid and worthless, in my opinion.

So, seriously, who here would give up their animal for a kid? I'd hope nobody. I'd have my baby cat (well, he's actually 4), Thomas, over anything or anybody any day. I love him so very much and thank God for him every chance I get. I am truly blessed.

I love my dog and all former pets as virtually equal family members, but not necessarily as "kyds". They are there for me, I'm there for them.

YUP..

Feel just like you!! I had three Japanese Akitas, two boys (brothers) and one female, not related to the boys.

Yes, they were my children. As a matter of fact I would call my female, her name was Nikki Bear, "my little girl".

She was the best little girl any parent would have. So were the boys. I raised all three of them and they were well disciplined!

I'll tell you, my three dogs were better behaved then some "nasty, spoiled little brats" which I knew.

Child Free and Loving It!!!!

Greetings from New York!

Animals ROCK. SO and I have 2 dogs and 6 kitties. One of my cats is diabetic and gets insulin twice a day. I've had stupid people with a big ol'set of BALLS tell me I should get him put down and adopt a healthy cat from a shelter. Nice. If people are going to get pets and not make them a REAL part of the family, then they shouldn't get them. Pets are not disposable pieces of property that you can get rid of when you get divorced, when they become inconvenient, get sick, or whatever. When I got divorced, my ex and I actually fought over who DID get the animals!

Our pets are lifelong, important members of our family. Our big dog is coming up on 14, still in great health, but I'm already panicking about the day he's "not around" anymore. I panic daily about the health of my diabetic baby. How can people just toss pets aside so heartlessly? or abuse them?? I just don't get it. I guess when you have been "placenta-brained," though, it isn't hard.

KidFreeLuvnLife Wrote:
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> One of my cats is diabetic and gets insulin twice
> a day. I've had stupid people with a big ol'set
> of BALLS tell me I should get him put down and
> adopt a healthy cat from a shelter.

That's when you say: "Your kid has [name a medical ailment], but I don't tell you to put him/her down and make a new one!"

I have a dog with epilepsy, and I've had people tell me to put him down, that I could be using the money I "waste" on his medicine for something a lot more useful. Like what? Brats?

CFScorpio, I've said that to people, and I've been told "he's just a dog." My reply to that has always been "Well, yours is just a kid." OOOH! They don't like that one bit!

Pirate Jo Wrote:
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> I wouldn't say that I think of them as children -
> more like my "little buddies."

Indeed!
I live with a grouchy old lady cat of 17, and a spaz love ball of a cat who is 10, plus a couple tanks of fish. Every "buddy" I've ever had, or lived with, has been more awesome and made me happier than any child ever could.

"It truly is the one commonality that every designation of humans you can think of has, there's at least one asshole."
--Me