Pet

This page is about companion animals. For several meanings of the acronym PET, see PET. For the comedy TV series see Pets (tv programme).

Pets and humans often contribute toward the happiness of the other in a pet relationship. Having a pet or being a pet can promote a longer, happier life.

A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment. Pet animals are generally considered to be different than livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, or any animal that is kept for meat, work, or other economic reasons. However, there is probably some person somewhere who has kept one of those "practical" animals purely for companionship! There are many cultural differences in attitudes towards keeping animals as pets. On one extreme, there are cultures in which it is considered that animals should not have food and human resources "wasted" on them, and keeping an animal without using it for food or work is considered to be a wrongful practice. On the other extreme, there are animal rights activists who feel that imposing human dominance on an animal is disrespectful, and restricting the freedom of an animal by keeping it as a pet is a wrongful practice.

Domesticated or captive?

Dog and cat

Some animals can be tamed to live in a household as a companion. Those people who live in rural areas with land available to keep pets often make pets of livestock, and many individual animals of kinds that can be used for food or wool or milk, are, in some families, country pets.

Other animals, whether kept indoors or out, have little interaction with their human companions, but, from their owners' point of view, make a good pet because of the pleasure that the animal's presence brings them. Keeping such pets hinges on being able to provide a proper environment. Whether tame or captive, pet animals bring pleasure when they are healthy and thriving. Not all animals are suitable for being kept as pets.

Domesticated animals

While in theory any animal might be a pet, in practice, only a small number of species of mammals, especially dogs and cats, and other small animals, such as birds, are practical for several reasons. Fish have joined them more recently. Aside from the obvious (eg, elephants being unsuited for small apartments), which species are suited for being pets is less easy to understand.

Captive animals

One answer seems to be that a pet must either be so small or easily controlled that its own behavioural tendencies are irrelevant, or the animal must be actually domesticable. Examples of the former are such things as fish (eg, small ones, even including carnivorous ones such as piranha), or small reptiles.

Wild predators as pets

A few animals are capable of adapting to human requirements sufficiently closely as to be said to be domesticable. Dogs are the classic example of domesticated animals normally suited to being pets. The domestic dog is quite similar to the wolf (from which they are descended, as established by genetic analysis), but their physical form and behavior are characteristically different than wild wolves, more than because of mere differences in size and coat and coloring. Typically, this involves a changes in head and eye shape, likely because this is more appealing to humans (an extreme example of this is the appearance of nearly all stuffed animals (eg, Teddy bears, or the fictional Ewoks of the Star Wars movies). On the behavioral side, characteristic domestic changes in dogs include what is, in effect, a prolonged infancy, and oddly, barking. Wolves are far less playful and don't bark, but a very long term Russian project bred foxes for a few generations from captive wild animals, and got barking foxes rather unexpectedly. Domestic cats appear to be less changed by their association with humans (again, aside from coloration and fur issues), in comparison.

On the other hand, common chimpanzees -- especially males -- are not willing to allow humans to 'take the lead' when adult, and they are poor pets as a result. Gorillas, at least female ones, are rather better, though considerably larger. Bonobos, being more social than common chimps may be more suited to being pets when adult, but exhibit overt sexual behaviour which could not be accepted from pets in any human society.

Some horse-like animals are suitable for human companionship as pets or as work animals, while zebras, otherwise quite similar, are not. Zebras use biting as a conflict expression tool within the herd, and it seems quite unchangeable. It's incompatible with humans, as the biting is by human standards rather savage. No zebras have been known to have been domesticated. Horses and donkeys don't have so deep seated a biting behavior.

Among large marine animals, various species of dolphins and othes of the cetaceans (eg, beluga whales, orcas, ..) either don't have such behaviors or can restrain them. Since humans are just about the size of seals, a primary orca prey, this is somewhat extraordinary for the orcas. It has been established recently however, that Orca communities often have a preferred food type, either fish or aquatic mammals; and use different hunting techniques in the wild. Only orcas from fish-eating groups are suitable for training. Raptors, such as eagles and falcons, must be handled very carefully to avoid attacks on their handlers; the sport of falconry is to a large extent ways of avoiding such outcomes, and so they are not really pets in the sense meant here. Large cats, with the exception of the cheetah, cannot become pets, as they do not reliably restrain their impulses. Nor do the large bears, for similar reasons. Small monkeys can be human companions, but they are notoriously unable to defer their curiosity which leads to much destruction. Several of the ferret and otter varieties can be human companions, though, perhaps especially for otters, while others, the curiosity and destruction issue is significant as well.

Dogs and cats are considered common pets, while animals such as reptiles are typically considered exotic pets. Some are quite exotic by any definition. The glofish, a genetically modified zebrafish with a bright red fluorescent color, is the first genetically modified (GM) animal to be engineered as a pet.

Dogs and cats are the most common types of pets, both having very different character traits. The dog is seen as a loyal companion, who is more amenable to be trained, whereas a cat is more independent, and as such are not generally trained in the way that dogs are. Both can be very intelligent and can form incredibly strong bonds with humans.

Koko is one of few examples of a non-human animal which has had an explicit pet. She requested a cat. Koko's first pet was a kitten named All Ball, to which she was reported to be quite attached and mourned for several days after the cat escaped and was killed by a car.

A pet can be acquired from a pet store, an animal shelter, a breeder, and sometimes from people who have extras due to births. See also pet adoption. Because of scarcity (ie, danger of extinction) or danger (eg, the large cats), some pets are illegal in many jurisdictions.

People sometimes treat their pets much like children, especially when they do not have children, or their own have left home. Usually when it's just one person living alone they will have a pet so they won't feel lonely.

Terminology

Some animal welfare organisations have proposed that the term "companion animal" be used instead of "pet".

The term "pet" may also be applied to humans, usually in an endearing way by a lover, significant other, or partner. Calling another person a pet, though, can just as easily be considered an insult (see "plaything").

In veterinary medicine, dogs and cats are often considered "common" pets, while all other animals are grouped into either "farm animals" (such as horses, cows, sheep) and "exotics" (including pocket pets, birds, reptiles). Template:Fact

Objection to pets

Some animal rights activists object to the idea of holding a pet. They believe that holding an animal against its will is violating it as an individual being.

Local Restrictions

Many cities and towns have local ordinances limiting the number of pets a person may have, and may also restrict or forbid certain pets (such as fowl or exotics).

Overpopulation

Animal protection advocates try to call attention to the "pet overpopulation crisis" in the United States. According to the Humane Society of the United States, 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the country and many more are confined to cages in shelters because there are many more animals being born than there are homes. This crisis is created by non-spayed/neutered animals reproducing and people intentionally breeding animals. In an average year a fertile cat can produce three litters of kittens, with up to 4 to 6 kittens in each litter. Based on these numbers, one female cat and her offspring could produce up to 420,000 cats over a seven year period if not spayed or neutered. There are also major overpopulation problems with other pet species, such as birds and rabbits. Local humane societies, SPCA's and other animal protection organizations urge people to spay or neuter their pets and to adopt animals from shelters instead of purchasing them from breeders or pet stores.

Common pet species

Mammals

• Horses
• Dogs
• Cats
• Rodents, including hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, chinchillas, degus, flying squirrels and rats
• Rabbits
• Ferrets
• Fennecs
• Hedgehogs
• Goats
• Alpacas
• Pigs
• Monkeys
• Donkeys

Birds

• Budgerigars (parakeets)
• Cockatoos
• Macaws
• other parrot species
• Canaries and other finch species
• Doves
• Cockatiels
• Ducks
• Peafowl

Reptiles

• Tortoises
• Lizards
• Iguanas
• Snakes
• Turtles
• Crocodilians, including alligators, crocodiles, caimans, gavials (can usually be kept as pets only when they are young)

Amphibians

• Frogs
• Toads
• Salamanders
• Newts

Fish

Further information: Fishkeeping

Arthropods

• Praying Mantises
• Ants
• Crickets
• Tarantulas
• Emperor scorpions
• Millipedes
• Roaches
• Sea Monkeys (a type of brine shrimp)
• Hermit Crabs

Mollusks

• Octupi

See also: Aquarium

• Cuttlefish

See also: Aquarium

• Snails

Rocks

• Pet rocks (a type of toy treated as an actual pet)
• Live rock (Rock with microorganisms and small mullosks within, used in salt water aquariums)

See also

• Animal hoarder
• Digital pet
• Human-animal bond
• Novelty pet
• Pet from Edgar & Ellen, the book series
• Pet passport
• List of U.S. Presidential pets
• Animal keeping
• Pet sitter
• The Pet Network

External links

• Wikibooks:How to choose your pet and take care of it
• Family Pets Really a good collection of articles showing how to take care of a variety of domestic pets. Note to whoever removed this link yesterday: This is NOT link spam. Its a great resource that any pet owner would like.
• Pet Detectives A free pet welfare resource, for the promotion of animal welfare