Do you treat your animals...

[vaca peluda]

Hello there.

I'm interested to find out a question which has been fizzling and spewing and frothing in my mind for quite some time, and it's this:-

Do you see your animals as your children?

Now, I know the whole Morrissey vision is, 'Animals are like children, rah rah rah...', but they actually are like children.

I have three animals named: Alfie (shih-tzu), River (tabby cat), and Hector (hamster). Each one of my pets depends on me, they throw wobblers and have the characteristics of a child.

It may seem like a really irrelevant question, but I'm...well, just being nosey I 'ppose.

 

[lottie]

I understand what you are saying.
But, I would never have children by choice, so I could never look upon my pets as 'children'.

 

[sistasheila]

I understand what you are saying.
But, I would never have children by choice, so I could never look upon my pets as 'children'.

me too. did you ever got negative comments about that..i hear". oh that will change when you become older"...im in my late twenties and i dont think it ever will..
and im not someone who is the business woman type i.e. choses career over kids i just dont want to have one...

 

[lottie]

me too. did you ever got negative comments about that..i hear". oh that will change when you become older"...im in my late twenties and i dont think it ever will..
and im not someone who is the business woman type i.e. choses career over kids i just dont want to have one...

Yeah all the frigging time, I find it VERY insulting.
esp as i KNOW it won't and if it did that would be my problem to deal with.
grrr

 

[sistasheila]

Yeah all the frigging time, I find it VERY insulting.
esp as i KNOW it won't and if it did that would be my problem to deal with.
grrr

sometimes also
"but its in a woman`s nature to nurture/reproduce"
"i did know then whats my meaning in life when my child was born/ i was born for doing this"

why one let all his own self worth projecting on the existance and well doing of your offspring and not on what your own?
kids are great, dont get me wrong
but i just dont want to reproduce,i for one not even as a small child imagine to be a mother

 

[lottie]

sometimes also
"but its in a woman`s nature to nurture/reproduce"
"i did know then whats my meaning in life when my child was born/ i was born for doing this"

why one let all his own self worth projecting on the existance and well doing of your offspring and not on what your own?
kids are great, dont get me wrong
but i just dont want to reproduce,i for one not even as a small child imagine to be a mother

arghhh, those people have very little going on between the ears.

i fear we thread hijacking, so im gonna shutup now.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

Yes, I treat my animals like children. But I let them do things I wouldn't let my child do so maybe not. I wouldn't let a child run around a pool unsupervised. I don't demand my dog be in sight at all times, I give him his space to do his dog thing. I know some people who don't let their dog's out of their sight lest they lose control of them. I don't babytalk all the time either, though sometimes. Tough question. Yes and no, I guess. I have a caged bird who is absolutely reliant on my to vary his diet with seed and different vegetables and fruits and maintain cleanliness and fresh water for drinking and bathing. I treat him more like a child than my dog because he's stuck in a cage.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

A very very spoilt and mischeivous teenager.

 

[DAVIE]

I understand what you are saying.
But, I would never have children by choice, so I could never look upon my pets as 'children'.

Ahh well, you still have nephews and nieces to spend the money on then!

Yeah, my guinea pig Speedy is my baby and I can't live without him...he always runs if he see's me outside! Aww I love Spee!

 

[lottie]

Ahh well, you still have nephews and nieces to spend the money on then!

Yeah, my guinea pig Speedy is my baby and I can't live without him...he always runs if he see's me outside! Aww I love Spee!

arggghh! I have one nephew who ive seen once,and hes 6 (i think) thats how bothered i am about children.. *shudders*

 

[[email protected]]

....I just find it incredible that Children are allowed into Bars/Restaurants, and have MASSIVE screaming fits and tantrums, , food-fights make a terrible mess, and really, really annoy other customers...( ...but NEVER at their own "Parents" table...)...but my Dog has to be tethered outside, and makes NO noise, and always behaves its-f***ing self in public....
I KNOW I would have been a great Father, but I made a choice to never have any children many many years ago....and i still stand by it.
I DO Like/Love Kids, and usually enjoy their company,....I just don't have a "Parental" bone in my body.
( P.S., I am quite regularly called on to help with "Child minding", as my friends parents enjoy a night/evening out in peace, and I enjoy Drawing, or otherwise entertaining the youngster/s....but....give me a kitten anyday....much less faffing about....)

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Ahh well, you still have nephews and nieces to spend the money on then!

Yeah, my guinea pig Speedy is my baby and I can't live without him...he always runs if he see's me outside! Aww I love Spee!

Ahh Speedy! Sounds so cute! I had a guinea-pig whom I adored...now I have a very cheeky budgie.

 

[Barking]

sometimes also
"but its in a woman`s nature to nurture/reproduce"

Oh God. I first had that said to me by a total stranger at lunchtime a couple of years ago. Dickhead of the first order as well. I almost chocked on my salad. I honestly didn't know then human males could be so retarded. You learn every day.

With hindsight I could have said something like "Why, is it in Men's nature to be 'tards?" but he was my driver and could have left me stranded in the middle of nowhere... (Phew.)

 

[mauve21]

I do have a son and a cat, however I don't believe that "it's in a woman's
nature to reproduce". I believe we should have a choice in the matter.
I planned to have my son and there was no accident in it.
But as far as treating animals like children, yes our little cat, Tiger
is very much loved and I guess I do treat him like a child in
some ways. We talk to him a lot and we sing to him and we also
play games with him.
He gets lots of cuddles too, even though he is quite naughty with biting
and scratching sometimes..

 

[Dave]

Let's be fair. I'm imagining that I'm having a casual conversation with a woman I don't know too well when she announces that she can't ever see herself wanting to have children. Since I don't know her too well and this is a deeply personal subject, I'm going to be at a loss how to respond, and before I know it I say, "well, maybe you'll change your mind someday." There are a few things I could say but the point has been made that this is an acquaintance, and I don't think that I'd probably feel inclined to pursue the conversation.
I can already imagine a few reasons "why not," and I'm not that interested in discussing them, because, again, it's deeply personal. So "maybe you'll change your mind" is the first thing that comes to mind.

Now, if it's family, that's another story, and you're on your own there. Tell them to mind their own business?

If it's a random person asking "why don't you have any children?" you handle that as you see fit. It's really not a question anyone should ask anyone that they are not extremely close to, and even then, it's a touchy subject.

A friend of mine was married into this family. It was her second marriage. She had already had four children in her first marriage, but her husband's family thought that she should have a child with him. His brother, the biggest asshole in the world, offered to pay for all the costs of her pregnancy and give her money if she would have a child. She handled this remarkably well I thought, in that she did not murder him on the spot.

I'm sympathetic, but if you're going to discuss such things with people you don't know that well you are going to get comments you don't like.

 

[Amy]

I do have a son and a cat, however I don't believe that "it's in a woman's
nature to reproduce". I believe we should have a choice in the matter.
I planned to have my son and there was no accident in it.
But as far as treating animals like children, yes our little cat, Tiger
is very much loved and I guess I do treat him like a child in
some ways. We talk to him a lot and we sing to him and we also
play games with him.
He gets lots of cuddles too, even though he is quite naughty with biting
and scratching sometimes..

He's probably just playing - my cat does the same . We got into the habit of 'play-fighting' with her when she was very young, letting her nip and claw a bit, and she still does it now as a massive cat with considerably sharper claws

 

[lottie]

....I just find it incredible that Children are allowed into Bars/Restaurants, and have MASSIVE screaming fits and tantrums, , food-fights make a terrible mess, and really, really annoy other customers...( ...but NEVER at their own "Parents" table...)...but my Dog has to be tethered outside, and makes NO noise, and always behaves its-f***ing self in public....
I KNOW I would have been a great Father, but I made a choice to never have any children many many years ago....and i still stand by it.
I DO Like/Love Kids, and usually enjoy their company,....I just don't have a "Parental" bone in my body.
( P.S., I am quite regularly called on to help with "Child minding", as my friends parents enjoy a night/evening out in peace, and I enjoy Drawing, or otherwise entertaining the youngster/s....but....give me a kitten anyday....much less faffing about....)

 

[Barking]

She handled this remarkably well I thought, in that she did not murder him on the spot.

... When faced with male insensitivity, you can either resort to violence, or curl up in a corner and listen to gay singers. Did you get her any Morrissey?

...It's a different thing to ask a woman why she doesn't have children (choice? absence of partner to reproduce with? can't have any?) because you're curious. Fair enough.

But men who come up with the "isn't it in your nature though" argument, noone has any patience with them.

Why should it be in woman's nature more than in men's? If it's just in women's nature then it seems to imply it's their only purpose in life. But then the equivalent of that for men is "Well men, isn't it in your nature to go out of the cavern and bring a large furry animal for dinner?" Like, instead of playing video games and tuning your car or keeping an eye on the stock exchange?

Actually come to think of it, I got that remark twice. The first time it came from a bloke who was in spite of this intelligent and progressive. He was probably sort of testing the ground even if it was in an incredibly clumsy way. rolleyes: Dear me.) ...Anyway, I let him live.

...And to keep this thread on topic, Dave.Jay's dog sounds like a real gentleman and a great example for possible puppies! GIVE THAT DOG A TABLE!

 

[DAVIE]

Ahh Speedy! Sounds so cute! I had a guinea-pig whom I adored...now I have a very cheeky budgie.

Yeahh, he's a very cute Guinea Pig....I love him soooo much! I class him just below my girlfriend and my mother!

 

[TrueToYou]

Freddie Starr ate my hamster.