Low Maintenance Pet Suggestions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are hypoallergenic cat breeds. Look into the Devon or Cornish Rex. But get two — they can keep each other company when you’re gone.

Her husband is allergic to the saliva. Please try to keep up.

Please educate yourself before showing your ignorance. OP too is ignorant. Cat allergies are ALWAYS due to the FELD family of proteins in the saliva (usually FELD 1), which migrates on fur as the cat licks itself. Levels of FELD 1 can be reduced significantly in certain breeds of cats, but it's not guaranteed, since different families of cats within these breeds can still produce varying levels of FELD 1, which means that some highly sensitive people can still have a reaction to hypoallergenic breeds. Before you spout nonsense again, hypoallergenic means LESS allergenic. Not non-allergenic.

So it depends on whether OP's husband is highly allergic or not, and he likely doesn't know since he's avoiding all triggers. I looked into getting a Siberian cat for our allergic family, and found a breeder who tested his cats for FELD 1 and sold the kittens on a fee scale dependent on how low the FELD 1 level was. The most expensive, lowest-FELD 1 kitten was $8K! And that was years ago.

We got a hypoallergenic dog instead (Samoyed breed) and have had no reaction to him. I don't recommend one to OP, since dogs require walking and boarding, and this particular breed is high-maintenance and not heat-tolerant.

Rodents are stinky, I agree. Our gerbils' very well-maintained, state of the art, habitat gets stinky rapidly.

Birds are beautiful and clean, but are social creatures who need companionship, except if OP goes for finches. However she would still need to figure out who can provide care when she travels. Parrots are highly intelligent animals who can outlive their owners and have beaks that can do a lot of damage - NOT for hesitant pet-owners or children left to their own devices!

So I suppose her best bet is still fish... but fish are NOT easy. They are vulnerable to low quality water, and it takes a dedicated and committed person to monitor water quality. It breaks my heart that people consider fish disposable pets. OP shouldn't be a pet owner at all if she doesn't want to commit to excellent care.

[Anonymous]

No birds, please. People think they can keep them in a cage and ignore them. It’s cruel, because birds are social flock creatures.

[Anonymous]

I find all the caring for supposedly "low-maintenance" pets to be unpleasant. The ratio of negative to positive is completely off. Yeah, gerbils may take up less of your time than dogs but almost all the interaction is smelly and not fun. Fish aren't smelly but they give you no love or warmth.

I agree with the poster who said that the only worthwhile pets are cats and dogs. For what it's worth , I am pretty allergic to dogs but my poodle mixes don't bother me at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are hypoallergenic cat breeds. Look into the Devon or Cornish Rex. But get two — they can keep each other company when you’re gone.

Her husband is allergic to the saliva. Please try to keep up.

Everybody is allergic to the saliva. That's how it works.

[Anonymous]

Backyard chickens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Backyard chickens?

They are not low maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Rats are amazing pets and not smelly

[Anonymous]

OP, I strongly recommend you don't get a pet. Just say no. You are not the right family for an animal. You and your husband will be the ones taking care of it when the kids are bored in <two weeks. It's setting the animal up to be returned, ignored, neglected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rats are amazing pets and not smelly

No. Anyone who says that has no sense of smell! Rodent urine stinks. So if you don't clean the habitat diligently, it's all going to smell.