We have a pair of hermit crabs which are practically no maintenance and surprisingly entertaining. They tend to either die immediately or live forever though. Our current pair are over 8 years old and about 3 times their original size.

When I was kid I desperately wanted a cat. My mom is allergic. She told me no. You're the parent. It's ok to tell your kids no. The weekend I moved out I adopted a kitten and have have had cats ever since.

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.

Yeah and hypoallergenic is a myth. Don’t get a cat if you’re allergic unless you’re willing to take allergy meds.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:Would you and DH be open to a rabbit in an outdoor hutch? They can easily be left for a couple of days, but can be a little more interactive for the kids than fish.

A rabbit in an outdoor hutch is not interactive for small kids and a terrible idea.

They will be isolated and have not human interaction so they will be unsocialized so will run away scared from the kids.
Rabbits can be difficult to pick up and they can really kick there way out of a hold, scratch and bite when scared.
It would learn to bite fingers coming near them in the hutch because they will have predators and other animals coming towards them all the time. The hutch is tiny and they have barely room to move. The kids will quickly forget about them. They are susceptible to heat and cold so anything past room temperature will be too harsh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have long experience with fish, rabbits, and dogs. I don't think any are right for you. I think a cat could be okay if you could get past the allergies - maybe adopt an older one who will pass in the next 10 years.

I am not saying this in a snotty way but your lifestyle does not seem set up well for pets. I think you should just say "no" to your kids. Take them to a petting zoo periodically, or let your older one walk the neighbors' dogs.

+1 You’re not the right household for pets.

Op here. Agreed, I have no desire for pets. But my kids really want one so just trying to come up with a compromise. I think we’ll do fish again. I would honestly get a cat but the allergies are a problem.

Just tell your kids that they can have pets when they grow up. Maybe they can pet sit for cats/dogs when they are older.

This. It's okay to say "no" to your children.

adding to this ^^ we love our bunny. we adopted him from a local bunny rescue and lucked out. he uses his litter box perfectly, doesn't chew on stuff (only the large supply of sticks/hard toys we give him), isn't cuddly but loves to be pet. he has an enclosure (exercise pen) he goes into at night and when we are not home but otherwise he free roams around the house. we change out his litter box every day. he eats mostly hay (cheap), lettuce, and a small amount of pellets. rabbits themselves don't smell at all - they are very clean animals. but the litter box can get pretty gnarly if you don't change it regularly. the poop is odorless but the pee...r

Anonymous wrote:Would you and DH be open to a rabbit in an outdoor hutch? They can easily be left for a couple of days, but can be a little more interactive for the kids than fish.

Noooo. Please don't do this. It is abusive and very scary for the rabbit to be kept outside as they are prey animals (esp. defenseless in a hutch). Pet rabbits aren't meant to live their lives in cages OR outdoors.

We also (surprisingly) liked our pair of rats. When we traveled we just had a neighbor kid stop in to feed and water them. Not smelly at all and very cute personalities (the tail takes some getting used to).

We also have chickens (outdoors, obviously) that are super low maintenance. We feed and water them and scrape off their roosting board once a week. Deep clean the coop twice a year. We can go away for a week and they’re totally fine. They are full of personality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have long experience with fish, rabbits, and dogs. I don't think any are right for you. I think a cat could be okay if you could get past the allergies - maybe adopt an older one who will pass in the next 10 years.

I am not saying this in a snotty way but your lifestyle does not seem set up well for pets. I think you should just say "no" to your kids. Take them to a petting zoo periodically, or let your older one walk the neighbors' dogs.

+1 You’re not the right household for pets.

Op here. Agreed, I have no desire for pets. But my kids really want one so just trying to come up with a compromise. I think we’ll do fish again. I would honestly get a cat but the allergies are a problem.

Just tell your kids that they can have pets when they grow up. Maybe they can pet sit for cats/dogs when they are older.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have long experience with fish, rabbits, and dogs. I don't think any are right for you. I think a cat could be okay if you could get past the allergies - maybe adopt an older one who will pass in the next 10 years.

I am not saying this in a snotty way but your lifestyle does not seem set up well for pets. I think you should just say "no" to your kids. Take them to a petting zoo periodically, or let your older one walk the neighbors' dogs.

+1 You’re not the right household for pets.

Op here. Agreed, I have no desire for pets. But my kids really want one so just trying to come up with a compromise. I think we’ll do fish again. I would honestly get a cat but the allergies are a problem.

Anonymous wrote:I have long experience with fish, rabbits, and dogs. I don't think any are right for you. I think a cat could be okay if you could get past the allergies - maybe adopt an older one who will pass in the next 10 years.

I am not saying this in a snotty way but your lifestyle does not seem set up well for pets. I think you should just say "no" to your kids. Take them to a petting zoo periodically, or let your older one walk the neighbors' dogs.

+1 You’re not the right household for pets.

I see that fish have been suggested. To me, they're not so much pets, they're more like "live ornaments". I can imagine that some people find them to be therapeutic, but I cannot see what they offer in terms of companionship.

I have 3 rats that I got from the Humane Society and they're great pets. It takes about 15 minutes to clean their cage twice a week and once you get the cage, the upkeep is not expensive. They're also great pets as far as being quiet and fun to play with. Mine love running on a wheel and hanging out in my pockets and hood.