Getting a Pet.

Keira's 4th birthday is coming up and I have been considering getting her a pet - maybe a guinea pig or bunny??
We don't have any pets at home (except for a few cats at my parents across the backyard) and shes really unconfident around all animals. I was hoping a pet of her own would help her with this.
She has recently shown an interest in bunny rabbits and is slowing getting better at holding them with out freaking out, which is why I am heading towards this direction.

Do you think its a good idea? How much work is involved, what would I need etc?
I have no idea what I am doing, any help would be great appreciated...

We tossed up the same idea but honestly, the amount of time it does take to keep their cages clean etc put me off even though I adore guinea pigs. Plus I really didn't think Charlotte was old enough at 3 to actually accept the responsibility of looking after it. I was thinking when she turns about 7 it might be a good time. I guess it really depends on how much time and energy you want to put into caring for the pet yourself?

And as much as I hate to say it, a cat is waaaay less work.

We used to have rabbits, and they were hardwork, not sure about guinea pigs, but the rabbits used to pooh each time they moved and a few would headbutt the concrete slab off the cage to get out and roam around the street haha. But they were still so cute!!

I wouldn't recommend a rabbit or guinea pig because of the reasons the others have said - way too much work! You will be constantly cleaning up after them which means the novelty factor wears off fairly quickly. Even fish aren't so great because they also require a lot of upkeep and die easily. I would recommend a cat!

We never had rabbits or guinea pigs but I remember clearly having friends who did when I was little, the rabbits always bit me, probably because I was young and not gentle.

When I was little I got a wee tabby cat, tabby cats especially are so placid, my husbands aunt just got one for her little girl (6) and he just lets her carry him round all day and sleeps on her bed etc... and from the spca they are normally very very well house trained, we got ours from there and she has been no trouble at all and a very loving pet.

DS is far too young to appreciate her, but i'm hoping they will grow to like each other in the years to come

One house we rented came with a free range pet rabbit. Our first encounter with the neighbour (rabbit's owner) was to see him running full tilt across our lawn with a giant net on a pole! We didn't know the rabbit lived under our house at that point and wondered what on earth he was doing lol . It was a cute bunny, but rather shy, and fought madly whenever captured.

I'm not a cat fan personally (no offence anyone), so thought I'd throw another couple of ideas in the mix.

We bought four hens a couple of months ago - they free range in our garden and get locked up in their coop overnight so cats/stoats don't eat them. They do poo everywhere, but our garden is over an acre in size and it rains heaps here . Oh and they will attack the vege garden too, so that needs to be fenced off. But Jimmy adores them and spends hours each day chasing and trying to pat them, or watching them out the window if he's inside. Today I let him bring an egg from the nest, all the way inside (long way for a toddler) and he was so excited. They're pretty easy care pets, but it helps if you have a biggish back yard.

I had pet lambs as a kid, from a young age, and we want Jimmy to have them too. They are very gentle animals and hugely rewarding. Often farmers are happy to "loan" a motherless lamb out to people until weaning time (a few months later) when they'll take them back. They can live in an average sized backyard that is well fenced, with no poisonous plants, and really only need a dog kennel type-thing for shelter. I used to mix up the milk for the lambs bottles and do all the feeds myself from about Keira's age - under supervision of course. Kids (as in baby goats) are heaps of fun too, but probably more suited to older children, and are much better escape artists than lambs!

You'd have to check Council rules though as to whether you can have pet lambs or chooks in town.

I have a friend who my granddaughter C knows and they have two inside guinea pigs who have a cage inside and a run they can use inside or outside and the guinea pigs get cuddled by their nine and seven year olds and they have two cats and have just got a labradolly puppy ten weeks old

I've had both rabbits and guinea pigs and they're both a lot of work.
Rabbits can be quite vicious and also the thing to consider with a small child is an adult rabbit, if it kicks out in defence, can actually break bones. Rabbits can also break their own backs if they aren't picked up correctly.

Guinea pigs I have found skittish and quite needy. You have to be very particular about where you keep them and it has to be outside in sunlight and they have to get the right foods otherwise they can quite easily get vitamin deficiancies and ricketts.

A couple or goldfish or a budgie maybe.

OR...I have had Chinchillas before. They can become quite affectionate animals, they don't take too much to care for other than the usual cleaning, feeding and watering but they do have to be kept inside. They do have some special requirements due to their mink coat like they can't get wet and they need 'dust baths". But I found them relatively easy to look after in comparison to my rabbits or guinea pigs.

Edited by AmStaff