What small animal - other than a dog or a cat - might be a good companion for me?

Birds can be much fun. The only problem is that some breeds live for many, many years. My friend has them and they are great companions, but she had to put them in her will as they will most likely outlive her by 40 or 50 years. Pet rabbits are sweet. I had one growing up, and they are cuddly and will permit you to hold them.

What kind of commitment are you going to be able to make in order to call the whole thing companionship? If minimal commitment is ok then try sea monkeys.

Cats are wonderful.

When I was growing up we had friends that had a tame woodchuck as a house pet. He loved lollipops. He’d stand on his back legs and hold it with his front feet. I don’t know if it’s legal now. He was amazingly well behaved.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room I am allergic to some cats so I am leery of getting one.

Having and animal as a pet is all about commitment. If you are not ready yo give your time, care and money to a pet relationship then forget about a pet companion.

@gondwanalon Yes, but some animals require more frequent care than others. I am not speaking of an animal I can neglect. And that is the type of response that makes this site unsafe to ask questions on at times.

I’ve heard you like a cock-a-too…ahem, I know, how about a canary?

Boy Toy JK

Birds are fun, but depending on the type they can be high maintenance. The larger birds, at least, like to have a lot of interaction and attention. Also, cleaning the cages can be a hassle.

I’d go with a chinchilla. At the very least, when they pass away you can remember them as a slipper.

Other than a dog or cat? How about a snake or reptile of some kind? Rabbits are nice too.

What about a hamster? You can play with them, then put them back in their cage and feel confident that they are safe.

As far as the cat allergies go… have you considered a sphynx?

I would suggest a nice parakeet. My gran had one named Pepper, that was as much fun as a person. He would talk, dance, whistle, sit on your finger or shoulder, and provide a lot of entertainment. Granted, I have never seen another parakeet with the personality of Pepper, but he was a great little guy.

Gerbils are extremely low maintenance, and cute as heck. Because they’re desert animals, they urinate very little and their poop is very dry, so there’s next to no smell. We keep our pair in an aquarium that’s about ⅔ full of aspen shavings. They form amazing tunnel networks in the bedding that you can see through the aquarium sides, and they’re constantly reworking their underground landscape. The bedding can go quite awhile (several weeks) between changes.

When we travel, we just fill the water bottle, dump in a bunch of gerbil food, and they’re good for a few days. The food (mostly seeds) just gets shuffled into the bedding, where they find it as they tunnel.

We never actually take ours out for handling, but if you put their food in by hand they eventually get quite friendly with the hand and will climb on board.

We’ve had many pairs in succession, and they live between 3 and 5 years. I’d recommend getting same-sex pairs, unless you want lots of gerbils.

How about a digital pet? My daughter-in-law has several, including some beautiful unicorns. She spends a great deal of time caring for them on her digital farm, and loves them. She talks about them a lot.

What about a guinea pig?

Sticking with my original answer, a small bird, like a cockatiel, which are basically ‘beginner’ birds for kids. They’re pretty, they sing, don’t require a lot of maintenance except cage cleaning, and if you get a sweet one, you’ll have a new best friend who sings every morning and evening and talks to you. I love my birds.

Chinchillas are adorable and very social. They are clean, have interesting personalities and are quite playful.

Thanks all! Fodder for thought.

I am not rushing into anything lightly.

If your allergies aren’t too severe, you might be able to accustom yourself to a cat. The benefit is that cats are quite self sufficient.

Pets are a handful. I’d offer you my toddler occasionally for companionship, if you lived nearby. :)

My nieces love having guinea pigs. I’m skeptical because they are nocturnal animals mostly sleep during the day. They are quite active at night,

@Sunny2 and they’re little pooping machines.

I would suggest a puppy from the ASPCA. You would have to be prepared to take it lots of walks however.

I love rats. Most people give you a weird look when you tell them you have a pet rat cause they just think diseased sewer rat but domesticate rats are quite nice. Easy to care for and lovable little creatures.

As far as cats go, I was pretty allergic to them myself. My eyes would get all red and itchy and my nose would run like crazy whenever I was around one. About 7 months ago I got a cat, at first the was pretty bad and I took benedryl most days but after about a month my reactions lessened greatly and within 2–3 month no reaction at all, which is nice since my cat likes to lay on my face while im sleeping :P

@uberbatman Same here, if I live with them a few months all symptoms go away.

I was going to suggest some tropical fish, but penguins make a meal of them so…

Like @gorillapaws, my first thought was a Chinchilla. You can also look into Hedgehogs (the more socialized the better).

The first time my daughter saw a chinchilla it was in a local pet store, she genuinely thought it was a gigantic Jerry mouse…she was horrified.

If you have room for a medium to large size aquarium, Oscars are fascinating fish which seem to be aware of their owners. They are great to watch and they grow impressively large. Aside from maintaining the tank so it is clean and the water in a healthy state, they require little maintenance. You don’t have to walk them or take them to the vet. They live a long time. Don’t add any other fish unless you are serving them as food!

Mynah birds are great if you get one that is already talking. They must start to talk when they are very young or they likely won’t do so. They are very expensive to buy but they live long enough to pass them down to your descendents when you can no longer care for them. They are very entertaining and sociable. Be sure to get a either a Greater Indian Hill Mynah or a Java Indian Hill Mynah. Those varieties are most prized for their “talking” skills.

I think I prefer some fur to fish.

@Plucky Hedgehogs are so cuddly ~

Get a wallaroo!

I was thinking a hedgehog too!

No one has mentioned mice. I have a couple friends that love them. I thought I would have an aversion but they really aren’t so bad.

Rabbits however are smelly, dirty, stupid creatures… IMO.

I had a lovebird at one time and I loved him very much. He had so much personality! He was a blue masked lovebird . People laugh sometimes when I tell them that I had A (single) lovebird. The reason I only got one was twofold. First, he was expensive for me at the time on my pitiful salary, but mostly because the pet store owner told me that if you want to play with them and bond with them it’s best to get them young and just to get one. If you get a pair they just hang with each other and could care less about you. He was so funny. I had his wings clipped which is the only safe thing you can do if you want to let them play outside the cage. Otherwise they can fly into windows and break their necks. So I would let him out of the cage and he would climb up the side of my couch. Then he would crawl up me until he was sitting on my head. He wanted the highest perch, lol. He then would dig his claws into my scalp! I couldn’t take much of that but if I took him down he would just crawl back up.

He was always lifting his cage door to get out. He would lift it with his beak and scoot his head under to lift it and make his break! I had to put a tie on the door to keep him in. I called him Papillon after the Dustin Hoffman prison break movie. Eventually I gave him to a friend who was lovely enough to get him a companion. He was probably so much happier with her than with me!

I would suggest a small lizard but I read you would prefer an animal with fur, so that’s not going to work.

Really though, any animal is a commitment and the more exotic you go, the harder it will be to find a competent carer if you want to travel at all.

Fish, while not furry, are fun pets. They come to the side of the tank when you approach but they aren’t going to be miffed if you don’t spend time with them and if you do have to go away you can ask a neighbour to feed them pretty easily. I’m sure you can buy automatic feeders too.

I hate the idea of birds in cages but if you did go down that track, your more exotic birds will need attention and some like cockatoos make a horrendous noise and mess at times.

@Bellatrix Yes, I forgot, my bird was small but he could be a little noisy! But overall he was a low maintenance pet.

I second (or third) the recommendation for a cockatiel. They are, imho, slightly more personable, trainable and sociable than a budgie or parakeet. They have amazing personalities. The females a bit a bossy and don’t talk as a rule, the males more docile and talkative (just the opposite of humans). Ours has moved all over the country with us. She has a small cat carrier with a branch in it and that is how she travels. I usually hang her up in the car so she can see out. I have seen people traveling with them loose in the car but I think the little cat cage is safer. They whistle when they want something but I don’t find the noise objectionable. And once you know them, you usually know what it is that they want. She whistles to greet us when we get home, often before the dogs realize we are home. We recently adopted a sulphur crested cockatoo and he is wayyyyyyyyy too much work. I like him and he has a great personality too, but it is a job taking care of him whereas a welll planned cage for a cockatiel makes them easy to care for. And they love to be out and sit on your shoulder. (and when they poop down your back, it is small and just falls off when it dries). Rats are nice too but I actually think I would rather have the bird!

I meant no harm. I was only trying to help. How about a box turtle?

Chincilla’s are so cute and furry.
Please do cage a bird. The size of a home isn’t enough for them to fly and enjoy, and a cage is simply cruel.

Have you heard of a sugar glider?

Mina birds are great pets and among the most intelligent of birds. They develop large vocabularies and respond especially well to female and higher-pitched voices. They talk a lot and sing when they are happy. They bond with their owners, but get them young. A screened pool area or large screened porch or patio with plants and birdbath would make a nice play area. A glassed or screened-in terrarium with fountain and bath would be perfect for any large bird such as a macaw and it would be easy to build, and it would enhance your home.

Liz Taylor had two pet chipmunks when she was a kid. They are really cute. Late in life she said besides her horses, she missed her chipmunks the most.

If you have property, geese are nice and make excellent watch dogs. Very territorial. And they bond very much to their owners.

Other than fish, I think all pets require an emotional commitment whether you think so beforehand or not. A large saltwater tank with something exotic, large and interesting comes to mind. A friend of mine has an illuminated 6’x10’x6’ custom tank built into his living room wall – den wall with large, flamboyant tropical fish in it. And two big sucker-fish. Fascinating, and they keep the tank clean by sucking the scum off the glass. They only require feeding once a day—and no emotional commitment. A neighbor should be able to handle that if you need to travel. Oh, and you have to change the water out a couple times a year and clean the tank.

@janbb You may also want to consider, if you haven’t already, what you want in a caged pet. Do you want something you can cuddle, pet, let outside of its cage/house once in awhile? Do you want something that never comes out of its cage? A pet that isn’t really messy and/or have strong odours?

Note: Birds can be extremely messy (and some people are very sensitive to their dander feather dust/powder). Also, if you are a smoker (inside your home), birds are very sensitive to that. Birds also tend to be a “one person” type of animal – meaning, they will pick one person to cling to. Some will even become agitated and attack, or become very vocal if anyone goes near that special person. I’m not against birds. Just letting you know some of the down sides. My experience comes from caring for a Turtle Dove, Macaw, Cockatoo, Finches, Budgies, Pigeons, Robins and Sparrows (over many years, since teen-hood).

I’ll be considering all of these – except probably not birds or fish – but think what I really want is another dog. It may just have to wait until I settle where I am going to be living in a few years. Pooh!

How about an African Grey Parrot.

They are highly intelligent, even said to understand colors and numbers. And can solve puzzles loll. The nice thing about them is they are quite large, so are a bit cuddly too. I suppose they do vary in size, but I’ve seen huge ones that come up to your knee nearly.

@Pandora Not cage a bird, like ever? Even my rescue & teacher cages her birds for safety at times. Please explain if possible.

My bird cages are open as soon as I get home from work and they have their own large room to play it, but it doesn’t appear cruel to me to put them in a cage full of toys, bed, baths and food for eight hours.

I have a tortoise and he’s surprisingly great company. I can watch him for ages just plodding about, not doing much. I find him very theraputic. I have a friend who feels the same way about her Guinea Pig!

@Leanne1986 I remember on Blue Peter they’d paint the tortoises’s name on it’s shell, always thought that was a bit weird, like swear words on crabs…i’m thinking Derek here.

@ucme That episode of Derek had me in stitches! I wish there were more than 6 episodes in a series! My tortoise is called Agnes after Agnes Brown from Mrs Brown’s Boys!

Ha, another brilliant series sadly missed.

@Shippy While African Greys are amazing animals I don’t think its the right one for @janbb . Parrots require a huge amount of commitment and care. If you don’t give them enough attention they will get depressed and start plucking their own feathers. I’ve seen it in a few parrots, its pretty sad to see.

@uberbatman Since I am depressed and plucking my own feathers, I agree. We would probably not be a good pairing.

A Porcupine would probably be a fun, cuddly pet. Or…

How about a Rat? I didn’t know a lot about them until I lived with one myself, and I was quite surprised at what great pets they can be. They really become attached to their humans, much like dogs and cats. They just want to be with you and like to play. I would let them climb on me, and they just wanted to curl up inside my hoodie or chill on my shoulder. They don’t require a lot of space, don’t eat a lot, they can some human foods, you can take them with you most places if you need to, and I never noticed them smelling bad. The only downside is that they chew a lot to make their nests, which can make a bit of a mess around the cage.

@KNOWITALL I can’t help but feel if I was a bird, I would love to stretch my wings in a huge sky and fly where ever I want to fly. Is it dangerous? Will I be frighten sometimes? Will I get hungry? Yes to all above. But nature has an abundance of different food for me, and danger exist for everyone. Even in a home. And if left to be raised by my parents, I will learn what to do in certain situations and even fly in a flock, maybe. I will be with others of my kind and what I am not taught, I will just know through instinct.

I know for myself I love nothing more than to go out on a sunny day for a long walk every so often or even a run. I can’t imagine having wings and being made to stay indoors all day. And listen to others fly about freely outside. Even a man with no legs is able to go outside and enjoy nature.

I am not saying to toss the bird out now. It only knows how to live in captivity. But I think it would be kinder if people stop catching them and keeping them in a cage the rest of their lives.
A guilded cage is still a cage. Know that I did not say it to offend anyone who already has a pet bird. But as pretty as they are, I think them prettiest when free.

@Pandora I’m the same way, but when I saw this bird in the store and we connected (headbobbing and eyes, all of it from across the room, true love) I had to take her home. I even have the Don’t Shop, Adopt bumper sticker on my car, but I could not see her go with someone else. She was only six months old, and hadn’t known any love. Did you know they smuggle them in in paper towel cardboard rolls? It’s horrible. And overpriced, I must say, over $300 not including cage, toys, food or anything.

I don’t clip their wings so they can fly in their room and around the house when my little terrier is outside, and trust me, they are spoiled eating fresh fruits, baby food, etc… I took a class and everything to be a good mom, I promise. My other one, a 13 yr old male cockatiel was a rescue, and is not clipped either. He actually has a hand phobia from all the fingers poking him, so I can hardly bathe or clip him without a lot of effort and patience. :)

Both of the birds I have were bred domestically for the bird market. I suppose I contributed to the trade by purchasing the cockatiel but I feel she has a good home with me and I don’t regret buying her. I feel much sorrier for the animals that are tortured and inhumanely raised and slaughtered to feed meat eaters. Muslims in particular usually slit the animals throat and then chase it around laughing hilariously so it bleeds out before it dies. American stockyards where livestock is fattened before only slightly more humane slaughter procedures, are not really a good place either. I am sure you know how veal is raised so I won’t go into that, and of course then there is factory farming.

Nope my little bird may not be able to fly over the rooftops but her life isn’t that bad. The cockatoo is a rescue. I hope that someday I might train him for free flight but at the moment he is content in his cage.

@rooeytoo Most people in my area would disagree with you on the slaughtering of animals for eating. Since I grew up on a farm, I can honestly tell you that our cattle were treated very well, from pasture to me loving on them, to vet appts, etc…they got out of the fence sometimes and we’d have to corrall them again. I never saw my gpa or anyone treat them poorly, ever. Granted they were butchered, but that’s part of farm life, and they never saw it coming.

Same with the chickens- they lived on the farm, running to and fro, mating at will. We fed them and protected them, and kept up the coops, collected eggs, etc… When it was their ‘time’, they may have known for less than a minute by the time they were picked up and killed.

It’s humanely done here on home farms, or at least on ours.

@KNOWITALL – I specifically referenced 2 areas where animals are inhumanely treated did not mention family farms. Although, today it is the rare farmer who butchers at home, here at least, most animals are trucked to an abbatoir and then killed. Too bad for the critter I think.

I refuse to eat veal because of the process, not me, I love baby cows, so cute!!

I have to agree with @forestGeek‘s recomendation of a rat- rats make terrific pets! They are very intelligent creatures who have no problem (most don’t, anyway) being held, are not messy. They make great pets for people with little room for pets. They do need a caregiver when you are away, but many other animals do also.