Do You Treat Your Pets Like Children?
Or in some cases, better than children
It was rare to see indoor pets while growing up in the rural Midwest. “Animals belong outdoors” was the overwhelming consensus. Sometimes there was a doghouse, and other times they slept on the covered porch.
We never even had small animals like guinea pigs, hamsters, or gerbils. I remember bringing home a goldfish or two from a local fair, but they didn’t last long.
When my youngest sibling was around 10, she was given a bunny. Mostly because my sister was the baby and Daddy’s little girl. The bunny was allowed inside occasionally, and it was a lot of fun.
A friend of the family gifted my younger brother a kitten, and my dad actually allowed him to stay in the house. This was likely because my brother’s room was in the basement, which was where the cat spent most of his time—out of sight, out of mind.
I had an attachment to our outdoor pets, but I still grew up with the forced idea that animals belonged outside. I sometimes scoffed or rolled my eyes at pet owners who dressed their pets in costumes, spoke “baby-talk” to them, and kissed their faces.
Well, guess what…
That’s right, I got an indoor cat named Zoe, dressed her up for Christmas, and even sent out Christmas cards with her picture on the front. But that wasn’t enough.
A year later, I got another cat (as a companion for Zoe, of course) named Zak. I enjoyed coming home from work each day as they ran to the door to greet me.
Zak continues to sleep with me, while Zoe prefers to roam outside at night. Zoe loves to be held, though, and they both like to hang out in whatever room I’m in.
I will likely never have children. That’s not a statement to evoke sympathy, because I really don’t want them. If I met a guy with kids, I would be fine with being a stepparent, but it’s not a dealbreaker either way.
I talk to Zak and Zoe, and in some ways, I treat them like children. I teach them things and care for them. They recognize many words and phrases, and they’ve learned to communicate with me in various ways.
They don’t enjoy costumes, so I’ve dressed them up only a couple of times for photo opportunities. I still cringe a little when I hear someone using baby talk with their pooch.
Because I never do that.
How about you? Do you treat your pets like children?
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I wonder if it's a writer thing. I have a box of costumes for my two Shih Tzus - they also have hats, tee-shirts, vests and jackets. And life vests for camping and going out on the lake. I have thousands of their pics, and (writer brain, gotta make stories up) I have invented their backstories, tried to preserve their core selves, we wrote a theme song, and they're in Gang that they started, called "The Adorables." (They like to stay under the radar when in superhero mode). They're fully combat trained but for now they enjoy fighting major cat crime at night, like burglary, robbery, caticide, etc. Hank Jefferson Parker and Gunner Alexander Parker are their full names. Hank's working on his memoirs. Gunner can't, though. He never learned how to read.
My cats were my children before I had a child. When I was pregnant, we had already set up the nursery. All the blankets we received at the baby shower...wow...our kitties loved them! I even caught Mischa in the bassinet! I was like, "awwww no, that's not for you sweet boy!" And my Thumbs tried to sleep on my big preggo belly but I had to move her to my chest! Then after my child was born, it was like I had 3 babies lol. My kitties have passed, though. But my daughter still remembers them :) Mischa disappeared, just never came back home, and Thumbs is in an urn on my dresser. I still remember the pink bow I got for my kitty....she hated it, so when my daughter was born, I put it on her :)