# Favorite animal you have owned, besides your rats?



## BlackAce (Apr 18, 2013)

So I'm just curious, and I also enjoy reading these types of things (!), but what has been your favorite pet or animal that you have had besides your rats? Species wise, or connection wise. Whatever way you want to interpret it!

For me, I want to say "my" dogs or "my" bunny etc... but we've had quite a few family pets, so I'm just going to restrict myself to ones that have been under my sole care and responsibility. And, besides rats, that only leaves me with my Betta, Clifford, that I got after I graduated high school. Clifford was a great big old red Betta, just gorgeous. We were only allowed fish in the dorms, and I couldn't imagine being without an animal, so I had to do it! He just recently passed, after making it a little over four years! He really was my buddy though, anyone who has or has had a Betta will probably understand that there is just a sort of _companionability_ about them, even though they are "just a fish". 

Anyways, Clifford lived a real long life (4+ years for a Betta from Walmart!), and had a couple of chill snail friends. He always wooed me with the biggest, most impressive bubble nests ever  He even would eat from your fingers! Okay, done reminiscing now, so your turn!! (and seriously besides your rats, because isn't that what everyone would say? )


----------



## Mrs.Brisby (Jan 4, 2014)

I used to have a russian tortoise named Ivan who was really awesome. He had his own garden and his favorite foods were geraniums and pansies! My other favorite pets, besides rats, would have to be ferrets!


----------



## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

My dog, Izzy. She is actually my dog (Though considered a family pet...). She follows me constantly and will yowl (She's part cat) when I leave the house. Besides her, I once owned a baby Green Anole lizard named Pear that I absolutely adored and he was a wonderful pet. He passed away early though and I didn't get to spend much time with him. </3


----------



## LeStan82 (Dec 31, 2013)

I have multiple kinds of different animals but I must say, my ferrets are pretty cool little fuzzbutts...lol  its alot of fun to play with them and watch them!


----------



## Ilovemybabyrats (Feb 5, 2013)

I've loved every pet I've ever had of course, but besides my rats the pet i've had the strongest bond with was my kitten Coal. His story is a tradgedy, but the amount of love in it gives it beauty. Coal was one of a litter of kitten my sister's cat gave birth to. From the start he was my best friend. He followed me everywhere. If there was a door shut between us, he'd meow until i came out. he was on my lap as I did homework, would follow me around the yard- you get the idea. It would have taken a crow bar to get him pried away from me, and he was my world. But his mother was had a problem having kittens. everyone in that litter died. Coal was devistated by the loss of Kira, his favorite sister. He meowed, looking at me for help and all i could do was hold him. 

He was the last of his litter to die. I'd have taken him to the vet, but my mother wrote him off as doomed, and at the time I didn't have a job to pay for a vet myself. I really thought he'd make it though. For a while he was getting better. Then one day a friend invited me for a sleepover. i've never forgiven myself for leaving him. When my mother picked me up the next day, she told me Coal was comatose, clearly dying. I called his name when I got home, and he ran to me, literally climbing my leg. i held him close all night. He ate for me when i coaxed him, and I held onto hope, but we lost him the next day. he purred as he passed, my comforter to the end. I didn't cry. I was too broken to. It was a long time before i was able to accept he was gone.


----------



## erinsweeney (Nov 13, 2014)

I love animals and have 6 right now so it's hard to choose, but.... my Maine **** cat, Smoky. He acts like a dog, knows his name, has very communicative eyes... he's an animal I feel a true connection to. His sister Dusty is a close second, and I have always loved owning snakes as well


----------



## spysquid (Aug 23, 2014)

I had a cat I got when I was 13, named Dee. She was the first pet to be "mine" (I saved up money & all that). She was in a pet store, a gorgeous little Chartrux mix that was labeled as a Russian Blue. She was extremely sweet and loyal, I never had the connection with any animal like I had with her, it was like she was made for me  She just understood me very well and would always be wanting to hang out with me or just sit on my lap and purr :3 She helped me deal with my anxiety and depression for years until she passed away almost 2 years ago. She was almost 10.

That's actually why I decided to get rats! I didn't want another cat, because I didn't want to feel like I was replacing her. But I wanted a pet of my own (our other 2 pets were my bf's when we got together). I decided to adopt a pair of older male rats after my friend told me that they needed a new home since their owner got a new job. It was literally one of the best decisions of my life! I couldn't have chose a better pet to help me fill the space my kitty left & help when I get stressed. I can't say I love my rats more than her, she was very special. I have always connected with cats especially well growing up, but I think rats are now my favorite pets in general with cats as a close second, lol.


----------



## Jessiferatu (Apr 30, 2014)

Rescue dogs, in general. Both of mine came from the same shelter and they are both amazing. I'm partial to pit bulls too, which both of mine are. Well, Rusty is a mix, but still.  I couldn't pick a favorite pet, I love them all.


----------



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

I had a wonderful little female cockatiel who only lived to be about 7 and died from an unknown illness/injury. Cockatiels supposedly live to be about 25, so it was heartbreaking. I still miss that bird! I moved away for only about 6 months and left her in the care of my grandparents temporarily until I got back. One day they told me she had odd colored, dark poops (I believe it must have been internal bleeding). I told them to please take her to the vet and get her checked and the poop tested, but they didn't want to and insisted that she was acting fine and seemed healthy. The next day her poops were back to normal so they thought taking her to the vet would be of no point. A few days later, they found her dead in the morning after they woke up... I still blame them for not taking her to the vet like I know she needed. I would hope the vet would have been able to help her. But they are the type of people who usually don't take an animal to the vet unless something is REALLY wrong and the animals is at death's door or seriously injured, or acting very strange. 

Her name was Tooli, and she was great. I got her as a baby and learned to clip her wings myself (I now know it's much healthier for a cockatiel to have full flight because of their tendency to certain health issues), but after I clipper her wings once, she seemed to hate me and it was hard interacting with her. Turns out, this was just her pissy teenage years, and once she was around 3 year old, she mellowed out and was the best little buddy ever. Since her wings were clipped, I'd take her outside and she would whistle at the other birds. The neighborhood mockingbird even picked up Tooli's whistle and would mimic her! After she died, it was comforting to hear that mockinbird sing and throw a few Tooli whistles into the song. 

Tooli loved to cuddle and would perch on my chest with her head tucked under my chin or nose and I would stroke her back or skritch her head. I could tap my hand and say "head down" and she'd put her beak on the ground so I could scratch her neck. She was adorable and sassy and would fuss at me with that little cockatiel growl and empty threats of hissing and an open mouth, especially at other people who put their hand near her. But she never ever bit. She would just kind of in an angry flurry of mock bites tap her beak all over your finger, but never with any pressure behind it at all. It was super cute. Sweet, grumpy little thing.

She also recognized the sound of my car engine and could hear me coming from a block away and would excitedly start peeping and whistling until I came in and took her out to pet her. When I'd walk through the door she'd keeping peeping loudly and do her little "dance" where she was half bent down, with her wings slightly out, and shuffle back and forth excitedly until I opened her cage.

Aww remembering all this and feeling nostalgic, I really miss her! I would love to have a cockatiel again soon, they're great little friends. ;D


----------



## SugarShockGB (Dec 19, 2014)

I have 10 Rats, 30 Sugar Gliders, 2 Marmoset Monkeys and 11 Snakes. I love them all, but I think my monks take the cake for this one.


----------



## MissSix (Jul 8, 2014)

Clifford sounds like such a precious baby.

Hmmm.... I was very attached to my centipede Bernadette. She was so goofy, in her own way. I would hear her tugging at the lid of her tank in the middle of the night (I don't know how she never broke her fangs, it always sounded like she was putting a lot of strength into this) and I would turn on the light and check to see what she was doing, and she would just slowly slide down the side of her tank and twiddle her antennae between her fangs like nothing was going on. She would also get distracted when hunting. If she turned around and came across her tail she would get confused and try to move it out of the way, or start grooming herself. And grooming was a fun thing to watch! I miss her dearly, and will be mourning the 1st anniversary of her passing on Christmas day. 

Ama, my rosehair tarantula, is also very dear to me. She's a sweetheart! I've gotten her used to a pampered, domestic life. It's fun to help her groom because she just extends her leg out for me to get all the nooks and crannies she can't reach. 

Most missed is my cat Lucifer. He was feisty and mean, but he loved me and I loved him. One time he went missing and came back with pellet from a pellet gun lodged above his brow ridge. 
I remember I always had to sleep with my legs in particular position so that he could make a nest and sleep with me. To do otherwise meant he would sleep on my face.


----------



## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Oh... my cat Charlie, for sure. She belonged to my oldest sister, who is now deceased. We adopted her when my sister passed away (2 and a half years ago) and now she is the light of my life and what keeps me going some days. She's still young and (HOPEFULLY!) has a lot of years left in her, but I know now that she will leave a mark on my heart forever. She is the quirkiest, most affectionate cat I've met - she loves to snuggle under the blankets, lie on peoples' chests, and play chase up and down the hallway. She is very spoiled and she knows it.... but I can't say no to her or be mad at her, even if she wakes me up at night by climbing up onto my chest and drooling in my mouth.  I love her dearly.


----------



## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

My guinea pigs Carson and Rodney were my first pets technically. I was on my own when I wasn't living with family and these two gave me lots of love and companionship. Rodney passed at a normal age of 5 and Carson passed at the old age of 9 which is pretty unusual for a cavy. Loved those two like the dickens.

Rodney was a scared-y-pig and would always hide when you tried to take a pic of him. So I don't have many.

View attachment 191674


Carson, however was my lap pig. He watched TV with me a lot.

View attachment 191682


He also loved his hammocks.

View attachment 191690


----------



## BlackAce (Apr 18, 2013)

Sorry for the late reply, went for a couple weeks without internet, but thanks to everyone who shared their stories!! I really enjoy reading these types of things


----------



## ratsrdog35 (Dec 28, 2014)

Ferret vs rat vs parrot vs dog vs cat.
Considering all factors, which is the best pet?


----------



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

"Best" is relative, ratsrdog35. What might be the best pet for me might be a terrible pet for someone else. For my mom, dogs are the best pet. Her two poodles sit in her lap most of the day, play with her, cuddle with her, and are easy for her to take care of. For me, rats are the best pet because they're small, their mess is contained to a cage (whereas dogs make a mess everywhere) and they make little to no sound (our dogs make the most annoying sounds but they don't bother my mom).

I get really angry when people say rats are the "best" pet because they're honestly not. They're the best pet for me and many other people, but not everyone. There are too many individual factors to say which pet is "best" because there is no one size fits all pet.


----------



## ratsrdog35 (Dec 28, 2014)

True, falldeere.
But which is the best pet for most people in the world?
Most people dont have the time for a dog (walking everyday).
Ferrets are too crazy for most people.
Rats are smarter and more personalitied than cats, plus (even if you dont agree about smarter and more personality) they are much cheaper.
Rats are smarter than parrots (for instance they learn words quicker, they just cant say them)

So my conclusion is that RATS are the best pets for the majority of people. !


----------



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I don't agree. I feel there isn't a "best pet for a most people." Some people love collecting reptiles. Some people love having an energetic dog. Some people love tarantulas. Some people appreciate the companionship of a cat. Some like the simplicity of a hamster. Some love the beauty of a fish. The list goes on and on.

Not to mention the individual personalities and needs of each animal...

All that to say, I strongly believe there is not a pet you can look at and say "this pet would be good for almost anyone!" Because there is too great a variety of what people want in a pet and what type of care they want to give it.

Sorry, I just feel strongly about this subject.


----------



## MomToRats (Dec 25, 2014)

the only other animal I have right now is Smokey my male African Grey he is 3 years old and he has come a long ways , he is a rescue the lady that owned him before me did nothing for him just kept him in his cage and fed him , he received no attention at all that's why he started plucking his feathers , he looks great now but it has taken time and work


----------



## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

My cat, who is a domestic short hair tuxedo that I've had since he was 4 weeks old. Other than him, I'd have to say my snakes although I've also owned and enjoyed freshwater aquaria fish and geckos as well.


----------



## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

My yellow Lab, Clover. She's my baby.


----------



## JessYep (Apr 27, 2014)

I currently own a kinkajou. I'm not sure if she's my favorite since I love all my critters but she's definitely the most interesting. They are hard to care for and require lots of attention. Here's a pic!


----------



## SaraLovesRats (Jan 11, 2015)

Is that a monkey


----------



## SaraLovesRats (Jan 11, 2015)

My leopard gecko Diego I got him as a fifth birthday present and he sadly 
passed away last year because of an incident with a pet sitter who I thought was okay and worked at a pet store and everything (she got fried from the pet store) but he was the love of my life he was just so sweet he lived 8 years and I still feel the gap in my heart


----------

