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Post by momof3boys on May 10, 2015 18:17:08 GMT -5
Does anyone else feel overwhelmed by the never ending task of taking care of the furr babies? The food, the water, cleaning the litter boxes or taking the dog out. The yucky hair ball messes and the potty accidents. I'm getting burned out being the only one who takes care of them. I don't get to spend much fun time with them. It's mostly feeding and watering them. The cats don't like the dog and the dog wants to chase the cats. It's never ending.
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Post by sue5000 on May 10, 2015 19:03:33 GMT -5
That's why I don't have any pets right now.
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Post by bobolink on May 10, 2015 20:39:38 GMT -5
I have certainly been there. The pet lovers here won't like this, but when I had to move from my pet-friendly apartment into an not-pets building, I missed the cats (they were lovely) but I did not miss having cats.
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Post by angela on May 11, 2015 0:44:11 GMT -5
I am not there, but I surely can relate. I enjoy my 4 cats enough that so far it off-sets the work involved. Changing from regular cat litter to the Breeze litter system was a total game changer for me with the whole litter box clean-up chore.
My parakeets are a bit challenging right now. They create a LOT of mess, seed chaff (even with a cage skirt) and general dust. They're cheerful and colorful but..aren't comforting like the cats are.
Then there is the livestock, goats, sheep, and chickens. That whole scene is very complicated for me.
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Post by angela on May 11, 2015 0:47:03 GMT -5
I have certainly been there. The pet lovers here won't like this, but when I had to move from my pet-friendly apartment into an not-pets building, I missed the cats (they were lovely) but I did not miss having cats. I really understand what you are saying. I was talking about pet birds with a lady I know, who used to breed zebra finches and asked her why she stopped, she said she stopped needing something to take care of. I can see for myself, there are individual sheep and goats that I would miss, but right now I'm not sure I would miss having sheep and goats. T'would be a VERY different life, that's for sure.
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Post by catcat on May 11, 2015 1:38:02 GMT -5
I know that animals can be a lot of work & I used to do most of it. When I was younger, we had as many as 4 cats & a Golden Retriever at once. My DH did help, but I did most of it. I would never be able to happily handle all of that now, many years later & living alone. I never thought I would say this, but my one cat is my limit now. The companionship & affection we share more than offsets any work she makes. I agree with Angela too---the Breeze system has made litter box clean-up a snap. Sometimes all housework, paper work, etc., as well as pet care can be overwhelming, & even more so when most of us still have extra stuff which makes it even harder. I often say ---when were the Golden Years?---I must have blinked & missed them. So I can understand your feelings about pet care. Having lost my 2 16+ yr. old cats last year, I did find myself miserable without pets & adopted one 7 yr. old cat from a shelter. It is so much better having her; we love each other; but at my age, I know that one is enough!! catcat
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Post by immaculata on May 11, 2015 5:18:05 GMT -5
I live in a house with four dogs in it. They are not mine but like everyone in the house, I do my fair share of walking and minding them. So I can understand you feel burned out, doing it all yourself!
What age are your kids? If they are old enough, can they not be given some of the pet care work to do? What about your husband? Does his work schedule allow him to help out with them too?
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Post by momof3boys on May 11, 2015 6:08:36 GMT -5
I'm also weary of all the destruction the dog has done. We're currently renting a couch and the dog has ripped it up on the top while being in her crate! She has also made huge holes in the carpet. She punishes us when we leave her which is not very often.
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Post by WhyNot on May 11, 2015 6:37:42 GMT -5
I am completely in touch with this. I love my 2 cats and dog very much, but loathe the amount of extra work that they cause. I'm not a fan of scooping poop, cleaning the litter boxes and the endless fur that covers everything. Just last week I opted to buy a new litter box from Dollarama and just toss the whole box, litter and all. I feel like a bad owner :/ My husband and I have agreed that these will be our last animals for a long time, possibly ever. We won't get rid of them, but we won't be getting any more.
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Post by immaculata on May 11, 2015 8:35:23 GMT -5
My husband and I have agreed that these will be our last animals for a long time, possibly ever. We won't get rid of them, but we won't be getting any more. FWIW I think you and your husband have a good policy.
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Post by larataylor on May 11, 2015 9:30:17 GMT -5
We had lots of pets for a while … guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, and a cat. I got really, really tired of cleaning cages for the rodents, and all the mess that was created in the house from the guinea pigs, and cleaning the aquarium. DD was small, and DH did not help at all. When the rodents died off, I made a one-species rule to simplify things . Gradually the fish died off, too. We got two more cats. Now we have four cats, and DD has an aquarium of her own in her room, which she is completely responsible for. The fourth cat was an accident, but I absolutely refuse to keep another one. Four is my limit because of housekeeping issues and vet expenses, and flea control expenses. Also, if I ever want to leave and be on my own, having four cats will limit my options a lot. I'm the only one who feeds them or cleans up after them. I work now, and when I come home, they swarm me, meowing for food.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2015 21:12:40 GMT -5
I get it, really. one of my cats is really labor intensive. But I can't imagine my life without my furrzzzzzz>
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Post by dayeanu on May 12, 2015 0:18:56 GMT -5
I'd really like the idea of you getting your kids involved and responsible for some of the chores in your home.
I learned the hard way - the earlier you start making them do stuff, the better.
Once they hit teens, making them do anything they are not accustomed to doing, gets increasingly difficult, if not impossible.
If I had a do-over, I'd start making them responsible from about age 2.
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Post by larataylor on May 12, 2015 0:26:57 GMT -5
Daye, it depends somewhat on the kid's personality, though … I never made my DD do chores. And she still doesn't do chores regularly around the house, but she's very neat and tidy in her own room, does her own laundry, etc. Sometimes she empties, loads, and runs the dishwasher.
She does have a bit of an attitude about the chores outside her room, like she thinks I should be doing all of that, and she's only doing it because I'm such a failure.
So, I'm not saying you're wrong … just that some kids will turn out to be tidy people no matter what.
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Post by dayeanu on May 12, 2015 0:27:02 GMT -5
momof3boys, I've been following along with some of your other threads, and you know how it's easier for someone who's not closely involved to see things. It's my observation that you are pretty much responsible for pretty much every single thing that gets done in and around your house. I would guess that you've got general burn-out/exhaustion. I know I would, and I don't see how you could not. I'd really think it would be good for everyone in your home if you could delegate, delegate, delegate. You need a break, and they need to learn. (This coming from me, who isn't at all good at doing that.)
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