Originally posted by: Gibsons
Originally posted by: Funyuns101
Hey all,
So I'm thinking of getting a dog or a cat in the somewhat near future... probably after I move. I work the normal 8-5 type of job. I don't really want a rabbit or hamster type of animal that's always in a cage.
So what do you do for your pets while you're not home? Do they just entertain themselves? This is aside from leaving out water and food. I've always assume that cats are more independent and don't need as much attention + they sleep a lot. Whereas dogs are much more active (depending on the breed and such).
The last thing that I'd want to do is put 'em in a cage or lock 'em in a room...
thoughts & suggestions?
I have a cat for those reasons. It's even more important when you travel, just get someone to feed water and maybe change the poop box. No need for walks or kennels.
Some cats are. One of the guys in the apartment here got a kitten, and it would howl pitifully nonstop if it was left alone for more than 20 minutes. It was a petstore kitten, so it was probably used to there always being activity, or someone around for company.
My cats were from a farm, and they do just fine when left alone. They'll check around the house for anyone, and if they don't find anyone, then they just sleep somewhere that we usually spend time. The one cat always liked being in my computer room. If I'd open the door to let him in, he'd make a beeline toward my chair. He'd turn his ears around to listen to where I was, and if I was close, he'd hurry up to get there before me.
🙂
If I wasn't home, that's usually where he'd sleep.
Originally posted by: reitz
Definitely don't get a dog. Dogs require a lot of care, and more than that, they require attention. They do just fine with an 8 to 5 job, but they can't easily be left alone for a weekend.
Cats are self-entertaining*. They need and enjoy human contact, but it's no big deal to leave cats overnight or for a weekend if you put down extra bowls of food and water.
My vote is for cats. Get a pair...a single cat has requirements similar to a dog with regards to human contact, but if you have more than one they'll entertain themselves. They'll still be a little wiggy if you leave them by themselves overnight, but they have each other to hang out with so it's not really traumatic. Two cats aren't really any more work than one, aside from cleaning the litter box twice as often.
*As long as there are more than one
This also depends on the cats. My cats tolerated each other, and that's as far as it went. Things got worse as they got older - Scotty had a stroke, and then he'd get seizures, which apparently changed something about him that Beverly didn't like. She freaked out like there was a new cat in the house. She avoided him, and hissed at him if he'd so much as look at her.
Before them, we had Harry. He was quite a smart cat*, and he was also just fine on his own. He was also very tolerant. He was around when I was little, and I'd pick him up by slinging him over my shoulder. He'd just hang there, and deal with it. The other funny thing was when my parents adopted a small kitten that must have been abandoned. They named her Rosy.
Each day around 5pm, we give our cats a portion of wet canned cat food. They have dry food available 24/7, but they love the canned stuff. Anyway, at supper, Harry would wait until Rosy was done eating, and then he'd take care of the leftovers. And, we don't let the cats on the dinner table. One time, Rosy decided to explore the table. Harry lept up, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, jumped down, and let her go. That was her lesson on not going onto the table.
Moral of the story: Cats have different personalities, and will react differently to being left alone. Some will follow you around like a puppy, some will just accept that you happen to inhabit the same room that they're in. Some will get nervous and anxious if you're away because they miss you, some will get anxious because they're hoping you won't come back.
🙂
