Why I Don't Like Pets

Why I don't like pets. I don't know if this is a 1000-word topic - the goal for my daily writing - but here I am! 

Now that my spouse and I are in our 40s, the mid life crisis is nicely settling in. It's a great time to look back and wonder how life could have been different if we had kids. We seem to have extra love going aww at other people's kids...and pets! More him than me, ironically. And people, for some reason seem to be experts on our lives, have been telling us that it might be a good idea to adopt one - kitten or pup! But it's a big no for me and here's why. 

Since I was a kid, dogs were the most common pets. None of the people I knew had cats. And I was/am (shit) scared of dogs. I don't care what the owners say, dogs bite. Period. The chances are never zero percent and I never want to get bit by one. The idea of having and raising one in my own house has been unthinkable.  

After spending 4 decades of not paying any attention to animals, something happened in 2019. A stray cat starting along with me to our first floor flat when I got home and meowed till she was given milk. She did that every single day. She not just had milk, she also stuck around wanted to be petted and could recognise us in the dark. And then she had kittens - 4 of them! I think it was the love for the cat and not wanting any kittens to die, we started ordering cat food. Thanks to her being fed well, all the kittens survived. We fostered them for a few months. 

That's when I learnt that while dogs have to be taken for walks, cats took care of themselves as long as you give them a litter box. So it became a daily trip the terrace - feeding them milk (and later cat food) and clearing out their litter box and adding more clumping sand to the pit. Since the mother trusted us, the kittens also freely played around us. It was such a joy to watch them and for the first time in my life I said - kittens are so cute! Just like furry toys! I don't think I was inclined to bring one of them home. (We might have if we did not live with my mother in law who did not like the cat or the kittens)

I don't like animals - that was my reason in my younger days. But now, I feel that pets are a poor compensation for people who don't have children. It's like - let's be "pets parents" to fulfil our need to nurture a being, to shower the extra we'd have for our kids on a non-human that can be easily adopted. Parents have children to indulge in. But the childless people resort to nurturing animals and consider themselves parents. I am not going to be one of them. 

If I had children, that would be a different thing. I had to take care of them, be up to send them to school, cook for them, attend to their studies and basically ensure they stay alive long enough to throw tantrums at me as teenagers. But since I don't, I want to enjoy the life of being a child-free woman in her 40s. I have no desire to raise animals and give them my love. I have enough love for myself, my spouse, my books, my work and that's enough for this lifetime. 

Plus, I held fort at home for 15 years and was tied down to my duties for my mother in law. Her meals, her moods, her doc's appointments and health issues. I spent a significant part of my life taking care of all that. I have been lucky enough to be free of all that very recently. I do not want to be stuck worrying about feeding a dog, taking it for walks and attend to the vet's appointments that come with having a pet. 

Of course, raising a pet is just like raising a child - without the payback of being parent. I don't want a pet at this age for the same reason that I don't want a kid at this age. I don't want to keep track of visits to the vet in my 60s when my pet also will be old and need additional medical interventions to stay alive. If I had kids, they may not visit me in my old age but at least they'd be independent and living their own lives leaving me in peace. 

My sister recently got a pet. After resisting for years, she gave in to her kids' and spouse's wish to have a dog. She, like me, is not fond of animals. But she gave in to the pressure. While having a pet is a great goal to have, nurturing it on a daily basis is quite a task. It's exactly like people tell you to have a kid soon after you get married as if it's a tick on a list - not realising that that is the beginning of a 20-year commitment (longer in a country like India where kids continue to live with their parents well into their 40s) 

Similarly, while everyone was happy to have a pet, the real work starts once you bring it home. And the novelty, at least with a pet, wears off pretty soon. Now, no one has time or the inclination to play with it or take it on walks. There's a dog walker to do the job and the maid takes care of the meals. Plus everyone has jobs and school/college to attend for long hours. The poor thing now roams around the house looking for affection. Obviously, he gets the time of day when everyone is home. But between kids and pets, kids get preference in attention. 

So if I am ever on the verge of getting a pet, I'd like to read this. Although I am sure that my pragmatic outlook towards life will ensure that I do not get involved in a 15-yr commitment in my middle/old age!