Pets for busy people!?!

[DallasKarma]

I currently have a ferret who is not doing well I am looking to get a new pet when he passes but wanted some time to do some research on a possible new pet. I am extremely busy and probably gone for about 12 hours a day most days (4 days a week). I am looking for a pet that will be able to tolerate those hours.

Does anyone know of the best type of pet for this? I obviously cannot have a large dog as that would be IMPOSSIBLE as I travel from time to time and need to be able to have my friends watch him/her.

If you could reccomend a pet for me I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

[mrandrei]

I personally think that cats are excellent pets for busy people. They are VERY independent. For as long as you give them sufficient amount of food and water, a litter pan and toys, they can keep themselves entertained without your supervision. :)

[krazy4birds]

Welcome to Petlovers.com! I tend to agree somewhat with mrandei....
I can not think of any other pet that would tolerate those hours as much as a cat would. Let us know what you end up with!

[special]

There is another thread on this subject by the same poster.

With all due respect to you both, cats are truly are not happy with "just food and water". This is a common misconception and why cats get a bad rap sometimes.

Cats are social, emotional animals and require interaction with other beings, just like the rest of us. Alone 12 hours a day, four days a week, plus the person travels, would be very hard on a solitary cat.

She would become unsocialized and lonely, likely to cause property damage, inappropriate eliminations and very possibly self mutilations such as licking off all her fur.

Some of us in the other thread gave OP some good ideas such as a fish tank with interesting fish, and several people suggested rats, I do not know how much human attention rats require.

I think hamsters also are animals that can do with little human interaction.

by the way, to OP, I meant to say this before, I'm sorry your ferret is ill.

[MandyPug]

Our shop cat Lawson is alone from 6:30pm-10:00am Monday-Thursday and alone from 5:00pm-11:30am Friday-Sunday. He's the only cat we have at the store and he's very well adjusted, the worst he'll do is tip over the garbage bin if someone left food scraps in it, or he'll steal a rabbit fur mouse to bat around the floor.
Am i saying this is ideal? No, but he's happy hanging out at the shop with all the good smells and often times he stays secluded during business hours too hanging out on the top shelves (unless he's playing with the dogs).
I think a pair of adult cats would be fine for someone who is gone 12 hours a day. They're more interactive than hamsters and honestly require less work and clean up than hamsters. A litter box is much quicker and easier to clean than a hamster cage, not to mention much less disgusting and stinky (well, Lawson's box doesn't stink which is more than i can say about my some 40 cats at the humane society).

[krazy4birds]

Yikes....sorry Special, I had that one coming. And I will admit you are 100% correct as far as I am concerned....I know there are exceptions to the rule such as MandyPug suggest but that is really not the norm. I stand corrected (and embarassed)

[pitbull_luv]

i have 2 bearded dragons. and i think as long as you can feed them 2 times a day and spend a little time with them they make good pets,!! not so much as dogs and cats.. but i love my beardies

[purpletail69]

yes..cats are people too 0.o the cat being in your shop is still around people, and you

[MandyPug]

yes..cats are people too 0.o the cat being in your shop is still around people, and you

He's alone more than 12 hours a day is what I'm saying... He interacts with people but on his own terms, he usually likes to hang out on the top shelves away from people even during open hours and just watch people like he would watch birds out the window. He gets fed, and watered, and his box gets cleaned and he's happy as a clam to just hang out alone unless he wants to hang out with the dogs (which isn't often). I'm not one to force a cat to cuddle and some just like to be on their own. In fact there are plenty of cats i know out of the 40 i have at the humane society that would rather hang out alone than cuddle with people.

[emroul]

Has anyone recommended a snake? Hehe.. It's definitely not some peoples' cup of tea... But if you are ok with them (and their eating habits) they are perfectly content to sleep all day and roam at night, as long as you hold them every so often, by that I mean 2-3 times a week, they are fine, and otherwise take good care of them - keeping their enclosure clean, fresh water, etc...plenty of stuff to hide in and climb on..

As far as the rat option, they are extremely intolerant to a lack of human interaction, in my personal experiences. I just mean, they hate being away from you..unless you had two then I suppose they'd keep each other company but they still very much appreciate human interaction. I would look elsewhere first. O.o

[Wiztherewoz]

As far as the rat option, they are extremely intolerant to a lack of human interaction, in my personal experiences. I just mean, they hate being away from you..unless you had two then I suppose they'd keep each other company but they still very much appreciate human interaction. I would look elsewhere first. O.o

I completely agree that you'd have to get at least two. Rats are very social animals.

[purpletail69]

He's alone more than 12 hours a day is what I'm saying... He interacts with people but on his own terms, he usually likes to hang out on the top shelves away from people even during open hours and just watch people like he would watch birds out the window. He gets fed, and watered, and his box gets cleaned and he's happy as a clam to just hang out alone unless he wants to hang out with the dogs (which isn't often). I'm not one to force a cat to cuddle and some just like to be on their own. In fact there are plenty of cats i know out of the 40 i have at the humane society that would rather hang out alone than cuddle with people.

yea my cat is the same way but if i dont sit down with her atleast once a day for about a half hr and pet her, she gets sooooooo mad haha. atleast your animal is around people though.. i couldnt see leaving them home alone for that long.. aspecially my lucky loo, she still has nails (which she's an indoor/outdoor cat) how old is ur kitty and how long have u worked with him like that? he's probably used to it and knows your still comming home soon!

[MandyPug]

yea my cat is the same way but if i dont sit down with her atleast once a day for about a half hr and pet her, she gets sooooooo mad haha. atleast your animal is around people though.. i couldnt see leaving them home alone for that long.. aspecially my lucky loo, she still has nails (which she's an indoor/outdoor cat) how old is ur kitty and how long have u worked with him like that? he's probably used to it and knows your still comming home soon!

He's been store cat since November '08 and he's around a year and a half or two years old (not sure he's a rescue), before that he was a humane society cat (he was a total mean cat at the humane society and was responsible for about half of my cat scratch/bite scars). Since day one at the store he's become calm and just chills and hangs out. Everything must be on his terms or he'll bite ya. He only ever gets really cranky if you don't feed him soon as you come in the door and he rarely interacts with people, he's more of a people watcher than a cuddler. He's here alone around 14-16 hours every night and during the day he just chills wherever he wants. His 2 favourite places are the very top shelf which is about 10 feet up, and when i leave him some empty boxes in the back room or about the floor and he hangs out in there.