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monica
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which would you recommend as the best pet for young children (5yo and 2yo) we have an outdoor dog, but would like a pet that can come in at least a little and cuddle.
horror stories, recommendations, all responses welcome
monica
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Becky Parker
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I think with any animal there are possible horror stories. We had a cat that we loved, but because we live in the woods we didn't declaw her. She never scratched the furniture, but she would scratch the wood around the doors. She was a great pet besides that though. After she died a stray cat started hanging around. She had her kittens under our deck. She was so gentle with our children. We just fed her each day but didn't worry about shots or anything. We didn't let her in the house though.
My dd has a guinea pig now. She loves it but I wouldn't recommend it. She cleans it's cage every Saturday, but by Thursday it stinks again. There is low-odor litter but it's a lot more expensive. I might be desperate enough to try it though.
My dd's friend has two baby rabbits. Talk about CUTE!  The plan was to litter box train them and keep them as indoor pets, but apparently the bunnies prefer to do their business under the little girls bed  .
Sorry I don't have more pleasant stories to share. I'm sure others have better luck with their pets. We do have a golden retriever that we just love, but she's mostly an outdoor dog.
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Shari in NY
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I thought this was the beginning of a joke! You know, a rabbi, a guinea pig and a kitten went into a bar... 
We have guinea pigs and they are a lot of fun. Quite cuddly and stay in their cages when not wanted!
They don't climb and will consume a lot of your kitchen scraps from lettuce leaves to potato peelings.
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organiclilac
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We also have guinea pigs. Ds loves them to death. I was worried that he would get bored, but we've had them for two years. The more you handle them, the friendlier they are. And you can make a cheap cage from wire shelving and corrugated plastic! We've not had a problem with a stinky cage as long as we clean it twice a week.
One caveat - you should make sure that all of your family spends some time holding/petting one before you commit, because some people do have severe guinea pig allergies - like one of my best friends! 
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Kristie 4
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Our first pet was a hedgehog! As far as I am concerned it has been the best pet we have had- low maintainance (yes, I know- that is for me not kids!), sweet, basically hypoallergenic, little hands can hold them but will not squish them (which can be a problem with small pets) ,and NO stink in the pen even if you forget to clean it for a bit. Drawback would be that it was nocturnal (apparently this can be trained out of them. Also, hedghogs are insectivores and not rodents (for some reason I appreciated this  )
My dd has a guinea pig now and loves it. I will echo the stinky pen problem, and also that they require quite a bit of room.
Tracy, just wondered what you used for the floor for your cheap cage- we tried to make one but the urine seemed to soak through the plastic.
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Vanna
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LOL Shari! I thought the same thing.
I want a guinea pig. LOL My husband says no.  I think they are soooo cute...Especially the long haired ones.
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organiclilac
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Kristie 4 wrote:
Tracy, just wondered what you used for the floor for your cheap cage- we tried to make one but the urine seemed to soak through the plastic.
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Hmm, I'd not heard of that problem - we had already bought a pet store cage when I found out about the C&C cages, so they still spend most of their time in there. We have started on the C&C cage, but we just have the wire sides, no bottom yet. We let them run around in there with towels on the bottom but they don't stay in there all day. We've been planning to get the plastic soon and just move them to the C&C cage permanently, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Do you have Coroplast, or something else? I am really looking forward to the C&C cage because it will be easier for ds to pet them whenever he wants with the open top. I hope it works out!
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MacBeth
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Shari in NY wrote:
| I thought this was the beginning of a joke! You know, a rabbi, a guinea pig and a kitten went into a bar... |
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And I have met some pretty cuddly-looking rabbis, but you have to remember to take them to temple on Saturday.
I really like guinea pigs. Especially the very cute little "gweek-gweek" noise they make.
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Lisbet
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We currently have a rabbit and cat (not to mention the bird, turtle, 7 hamsters, and the dog.) Now that the cat is no longer a kitten, she's a loner. The rabbit belongs to my oldest dd and the cage stinks if she forgets to clean it (which she often does.) We had a guinea pig a few years ago, and it was a great pet. The hamsters (dwarf fancy hamsters) are the biggest hit right now because my 9 year old bought one himself, not knowing that the one hamster he bought was pregnant with 6 babies! So we currently have 7 dwarf fancy hamsters. Want one?
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5athome
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We had a rabbit and I would not recommend it. Ours was very messy. Litter box training went ok but she kicked up such a mess getting in and out. Claws were also very sharp so required frequent trimming.
I wish we could find a hedgehog but I have not been able to locate one.
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crusermom
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Most cats work for their food - pest control! Most are really clean too.
Some, just don't like little kids. I've been lucky but my mom has one that hisses at my kids!
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Booksnbabes
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We have a cat and a dog. The cat is lower maintenance in that we can leave for a weekend making certain there is plenty of water and food available. But the cat has claws. And it sheds (and sheds and sheds!). On the upside, he is very tolerant of the kids. And our neighbors' cat is an indoor/outdoor cat and very low maintenance.
Our dog was our first "child" and we love him dearly. He's a great nature hike partner and I always feel better with him outside with the kids. But he can't go with us everywhere so we're constantly having to make arrangements for him when we travel. If the weather isn't nice, we still have to take him out to "do his business" and for exercise. And there is the clean-up of paws after being outside.
We're currently involved in the pocket pet debate. The older two (6 and 4) want something they can handle and that is "theirs" (we also watched the rabbit show at the county fair and that set them asking for a rabbit). I don't want to have to clean up after it. So we might wait another year so the eldest can more easily take over some of that responsibility.
Hamsters are too smelly (from experience in my youth--no matter how often I cleaned the cage it never seemed fresh). If they get out they can be difficult to find again. And my friend got two for her daughter--they ended up not both being males (one of each--very common I think) and the male ATE the pregnant female!!! I knew males were aggressive toward babies, but that's just horrible!
Gerbils are not at all cuddly or fun (bad experience with them growing up).
Rabbits are messy, though we're thinking about an outdoor rabbit (I know, I know, with a dog and a cat indoors, what's one more animal? LOL!). If we got a rabbit we would look for one that had been a 4-H project so that it would be used to being handled, or find an older one through a breeder that is proven to be docile. Rabbits can go through a pretty extreme hormonal change at around 6 months, so buying a baby is no guarantee of future attitude!
Guinea pig is high on the list--cute, fairly easy to care for, easy to find if they roam, not too long a life-span, and the adorable squeaking (which sounds just like my sister's laugh). Not a fan of the stink though.
Hedgehog wasn't on the list, but just might have to be added. Our kids love "Hedgie's Surprise."
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SallyT
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I vote either a kitty (I grew up with cats and always loved them) or a guinea pig, if you go the pocket pet route. We had guinea pigs when our older children were younger (got them when the kids were 5 and 2), and they were quite gratifying -- able to be held with adult supervision, very vocal and sociable, reasonably gentle. We kept them in the hallway of our flat in England, and they were good low-impact indoor pets. For the most part odor was not a problem -- in fact, we once mouse-sat a friend's mouse, and she smelled far stronger than the guinea pigs.
We have had rabbits for the past few years, and I don't think they're great pets for younger children: hate to be held, will really scratch if upset (as in, while being picked up), don't like to be pursued, need lots of space and cleaning-up-after, and also socialization on a regular basis. Our current rabbit now free-ranges most of the time on our back porch, and he will hide when he hears my younger children coming. They LOOOOOOVE him, but he makes it clear that he does not LOOOOOOVE them.
Of course, the real question when considering a pet for young children is what do YOU want, because you'll be doing the bulk of the caretaking . . . so if you don't want to clean cages, for instance, avoid those pets which have to live in them. A lesson I sort of wish I had learned earlier, but now at least my oldest does the cage-cleaning for the rabbit . . .
Sally
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ladybugs
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MacBeth wrote:
Shari in NY wrote:
| I thought this was the beginning of a joke! You know, a rabbi, a guinea pig and a kitten went into a bar... |
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And I have met some pretty cuddly-looking rabbis, but you have to remember to take them to temple on Saturday. |
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I thought the same thing!!!!
We do have a rabbit - Mr. Nibbles is his name and he is the cutest, cuddliest, most lovable bundle of fluff - but we're not biased .
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pipandpuddy
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We have 3 dogs, 4 cats, 6 rabbits, 3 guinea pigs, homing pigeons, turtles, and fish. For young children I would advise getting a guinea pig. They are the easiest for young ones to handle and take care of. My youngest, when she was 3 and 4, would wrap one of our guinea pigs in a blanket like a baby and push him in a stroller or carry him around. He never complained. They really are a lot of fun. Karen
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folklaur
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I wish I could get a guinea pig. My dd6 wants a hamster, and I keep seeing guinea pigs suggested.
but, I am allergic. At least I was when I was growing up, and it is the only type of animal I have ever been allergic to.
hedgehog, huh? Oh, my dh would love that. he likes when things are different....
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nissag
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MacBeth wrote:
| And I have met some pretty cuddly-looking rabbis, but you have to remember to take them to temple on Saturday. |
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LOL!
I'll put in a vote for the guinea pigs, too. They are very sweet, quiet, easy to handle. A friend reminded me once to take care they don't get the seeds of apples, though they like the fruit. Apple seeds contain cyanide in amounts that wouldn't do a thing to us, but could kill a cavy.
Blessings,
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Kristie 4
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If you are in the market for a hedgehog I would go with a breeder- a little more expensive but so much more healthy if the breeder is good....
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Becky Parker
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Okay, so what are we doing wrong? Why does our guinea pig create such an odor? My dd cleans the cage once a week. Should she be cleaning it more? We use cedar bedding. Is there something better. He really is cute. She loves him and carries him around a lot. His cage just really smells bad.
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~Rachel~
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Shari in NY wrote:
| I thought this was the beginning of a joke! You know, a rabbi, a guinea pig and a kitten went into a bar... |
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Me too
We have a rabbit... they as really nice but need regular handling to be tame. They are easily trained, by taking some of their toilet corner and putting it in a litter tray, then you take them to the tray... kind of like potty training
Kittens can be finicky. Some love to be handled, some dont!
Guinea pigs are great, and can be housed with another pig or a rabbit. They make cute squeaking sounds. I had a friend who bread Guinea pigs, and hers were very tame. Like rabbits they need handling.
I'd opt either for the guinea pig or rabbit, they are equally delightful 
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: rabbi, guinea pig, kitten
