Honestly, is pet ownership actually worth it?
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)02:26:16 | 13 comments | 1 images | 🔒 Locked
I understand that it is nice to recieve affection, especially the much closer to unconditional affection that animals can give. Yes, they can be fluffy and nice to cuddle, play with. Cats are silly. Dogs are loyal and you can train them do cool stuff. But... is that enough? Is it worth it? It's more of a burden than you think, owning a pet. This is a creature that is going to be dependant on you for the next ten, fifteen, even twenty years to feed it, attend to it's every need, take it to the vet, make sure it is mentally stimulated. You're gonna have to clean it's shit unless it's a cat that goes outside (which is a whole kettle of fish) and shits in flower beds. Every day, cleaning shit. Either picking it up and binning it, cleaning pissy litter tray, cleaning a cage if it's a small animal/whatever. Whenever you want to travel you have to take your pet being looked after into consideration, either kenneling it which is very stressful and can be expensive, or hiring a petsitter snoops around your house, or relying on the goodwill of a neighboor, who snoops around your house. Never can you just up sticks and head off into the wild, because you have a furry eternal child chaining your to your house. You'll also be much more restricted in where you can live, landlords hate pets, and if you have a place that is too small and not the time to give your pet ample roaming outdoors, that will be cruel anyway
>woah my cat has the zoomies
Yeah because it wants to roam, not be trapped in a 20 square meter apartment.
And the decline is very sad. Ultimately you are going to outlive most pets, and dealing with them in their latter years when they become demented, incontinent and ill is just very depressing. Is it really all worth it? I don't know. My family has cats and I love them but I think when I live by myself I am never going to get into the trap of pet ownership.
>woah my cat has the zoomies
Yeah because it wants to roam, not be trapped in a 20 square meter apartment.
And the decline is very sad. Ultimately you are going to outlive most pets, and dealing with them in their latter years when they become demented, incontinent and ill is just very depressing. Is it really all worth it? I don't know. My family has cats and I love them but I think when I live by myself I am never going to get into the trap of pet ownership.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)02:54:52 No.4936158
For a lot of people it's not the receiving of affection that's the main draw, it's the giving of affection and care
In reality most people with pets ought to never have pets
In reality most people with pets ought to never have pets
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)03:09:51 No.4936161
>>4936158
>For a lot of people it's not the receiving of affection that's the main draw, it's the giving of affection and care
I think it's both but yeah
>In reality most people with pets ought to never have pets
Absolutely. I think too many people just like the idea of a cute furry thing running about their house. They don't consider the burden that it will bring and are not prepared for it and end up neglecting the animal. Not even out of malice half the time, just out of sheer incompetance or laziness.
>For a lot of people it's not the receiving of affection that's the main draw, it's the giving of affection and care
I think it's both but yeah
>In reality most people with pets ought to never have pets
Absolutely. I think too many people just like the idea of a cute furry thing running about their house. They don't consider the burden that it will bring and are not prepared for it and end up neglecting the animal. Not even out of malice half the time, just out of sheer incompetance or laziness.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)03:28:44 No.4936164
>>4936148
Responsibility is a good thing. My lifestyle as a rancher/farmer/homesteader revolves almost completely around taking care of animals so having some dogs and cats is not that much more work. They have their own logistical challenges, but so does 600 chickens lol.
Owning a dog should be one of your favorite hobbies also.
Responsibility is a good thing. My lifestyle as a rancher/farmer/homesteader revolves almost completely around taking care of animals so having some dogs and cats is not that much more work. They have their own logistical challenges, but so does 600 chickens lol.
Owning a dog should be one of your favorite hobbies also.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)03:43:33 No.4936167
>>4936164
You have a hollistic and integrated lifestyle though. The animals you look after, the responsibility you take for them, is paid back in kind as it enables your life as a homesteader. Even if the dogs and cats have no specific role it's as you say, it's not much more skin off your back because you look after animals anyway.
The same cannot be said for some office worker with a cat or dog, maybe living in an apartment. The animal is completely divorced from the rest of their lifestyle. It is pure responsibility and it doesn't fit into a holistic picture. I am not saying it can never be worth it, but I am saying that for many people living these urbanite lifestyles it simply isn't.
You have a hollistic and integrated lifestyle though. The animals you look after, the responsibility you take for them, is paid back in kind as it enables your life as a homesteader. Even if the dogs and cats have no specific role it's as you say, it's not much more skin off your back because you look after animals anyway.
The same cannot be said for some office worker with a cat or dog, maybe living in an apartment. The animal is completely divorced from the rest of their lifestyle. It is pure responsibility and it doesn't fit into a holistic picture. I am not saying it can never be worth it, but I am saying that for many people living these urbanite lifestyles it simply isn't.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)04:19:00 No.4936169
>>4936167
Yeah, fair enough, I think it takes a lot of extra effort to make sure your dog has enough enrichment when you're a city dweller. There are some dog breeds that don't need tons of exercise like greyhounds or bulldogs and they may be more okay with a couple walks per day and just lazing about the house.
Yeah, fair enough, I think it takes a lot of extra effort to make sure your dog has enough enrichment when you're a city dweller. There are some dog breeds that don't need tons of exercise like greyhounds or bulldogs and they may be more okay with a couple walks per day and just lazing about the house.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)04:35:55 No.4936171
>>4936148
I lost my dog middle last year. There wasn't any decline or warning at all he just dropped dead one day at 11 and took weeks for it to sink in, can't tell if it's better or worse this way. I used to think about more freedoms without dogs but now he's gone nothing has changed except that I'm more lonely, depressed and become fat. I miss having something excited to see me everyday. I miss venturing out with my dog all the time, it was him exercising me if anything. Night walks, going to the beach, parks and hikes on my own are less interesting and make me feel like a weirdo so I've stopped, I can now tell my dog put people at ease when encountering in isolated areas. I miss feeling protected and relaxed all the time with him. I've become easily spooked by the dark or just the empty house in general. Having a dog gave my life normalcy, structure, fitness and more confidence. I can't really think of many downsides, he was sometimes dog reactive on lead due to his breed makeup but that was easily managed. Picking up his crap and binning it was nothing. Quality dog food wasn't expensive for me. My parents would look after him when I went away and my sister is a vet so I didn't have to pay for the bs most people do. For me in retrospect it was totally worth it.
I lost my dog middle last year. There wasn't any decline or warning at all he just dropped dead one day at 11 and took weeks for it to sink in, can't tell if it's better or worse this way. I used to think about more freedoms without dogs but now he's gone nothing has changed except that I'm more lonely, depressed and become fat. I miss having something excited to see me everyday. I miss venturing out with my dog all the time, it was him exercising me if anything. Night walks, going to the beach, parks and hikes on my own are less interesting and make me feel like a weirdo so I've stopped, I can now tell my dog put people at ease when encountering in isolated areas. I miss feeling protected and relaxed all the time with him. I've become easily spooked by the dark or just the empty house in general. Having a dog gave my life normalcy, structure, fitness and more confidence. I can't really think of many downsides, he was sometimes dog reactive on lead due to his breed makeup but that was easily managed. Picking up his crap and binning it was nothing. Quality dog food wasn't expensive for me. My parents would look after him when I went away and my sister is a vet so I didn't have to pay for the bs most people do. For me in retrospect it was totally worth it.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)14:55:19 No.4936304
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)15:12:17 No.4936312
>>4936167
if you really want to throw around terms like "holistic" so you can score points in the culture war, then you shouldn't be describing farmers, a profession that's only 10k years old, as that. on the timescale of our species, there's nothing natural about settling down in one place.
if you really want to throw around terms like "holistic" so you can score points in the culture war, then you shouldn't be describing farmers, a profession that's only 10k years old, as that. on the timescale of our species, there's nothing natural about settling down in one place.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)15:46:35 No.4936333
>>4936148
For the normalfag, it is worth it since they don't actually care about anything.
For me, it's not worth it. The pain of loss is greater than the joy of the time spent. I can't take it anymore, I'm done.
For the normalfag, it is worth it since they don't actually care about anything.
For me, it's not worth it. The pain of loss is greater than the joy of the time spent. I can't take it anymore, I'm done.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)16:01:17 No.4936338
>>4936148
Cats dont want to roam. They want to expend energy. That’s it. Skill issue.
>oh no poopy
Grow up, child.
>oh no i cant fuck off whenever i want
Try developing executive skills ie: planning, delayed gratification. Also dont be a degenerate with something to hide.
>oh no i cant rent
Grow. Up. Child.
>oh no, loss!
again, grow up child.
Cats dont want to roam. They want to expend energy. That’s it. Skill issue.
>oh no poopy
Grow up, child.
>oh no i cant fuck off whenever i want
Try developing executive skills ie: planning, delayed gratification. Also dont be a degenerate with something to hide.
>oh no i cant rent
Grow. Up. Child.
>oh no, loss!
again, grow up child.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)23:22:40 No.4936553
>>4936161
>Not even out of malice half the time, just out of sheer incompetance or laziness
Pretty much. I have a suspicion most people would be perfectly happy with visiting a petting zoo once or twice a week. It'd spare them and any potential pet a whole lot of trouble and anguish.
>Not even out of malice half the time, just out of sheer incompetance or laziness
Pretty much. I have a suspicion most people would be perfectly happy with visiting a petting zoo once or twice a week. It'd spare them and any potential pet a whole lot of trouble and anguish.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)23:34:49 No.4936554
>>4936553
Should I start an Uber for pets where I bring a dog or cat to someone's house for them to hang out with and go on a walk to the park or something? I would be there to supervise the entire time, of course.
Should I start an Uber for pets where I bring a dog or cat to someone's house for them to hang out with and go on a walk to the park or something? I would be there to supervise the entire time, of course.
Anonymous 01/19/25(Sun)23:40:46 No.4936556
>>4936554
Honestly not a bad idea. If your cat or dog are comfortable meeting strangers I'd say to go for it. Maybe post an ad on the internet or near the dog park?
Honestly not a bad idea. If your cat or dog are comfortable meeting strangers I'd say to go for it. Maybe post an ad on the internet or near the dog park?