Growing up we were definitely dog-folk, but this was back in the day when dogs lived outside in the backyard. I don’t know why cats never fit into the picture except that maybe they were more indoor pets and my folks saw no need to add any other personalities (or mess) to our already busy household of five kids and two parents. Since leaving the family home, I’ve shared a pet or two briefly with roommates and girlfriends. We had a cat named Fido that turned out to be a girl and had kittens. Gave away the kittens and I think a roommate took Fido when I got married and moved in with my wife. She had a German Shepherd but when we moved to our first place together it wasn’t big enough and she gave the dog to a family. Upon reflection some time later, I couldn’t imagine how heartless it probably seemed to have her give up her pet. There was a raccoon that I had with roommates for a day or two. After my divorce I had a girlfriend whom I lived with who had ferrets. Odd creatures, they weren’t particularly great at doing their business where they were supposed to, they didn’t have very long lifespans, and had a strange habit of trying to hid under rugs which might have contributed to not having a great lifespan. Girlfriends in Florida had cats. When I was going through my CIDP illness one of the cats adopted me. We probably were sleeping the same hours. When I recovered and the girlfriend and I split, she offered the cat to me. I kind of decided that maybe I’m not quite responsible enough to be responsible for the complete care of another living creature and declined the offer. This is definitely a “personality quirk” that I should probably reflect upon. Ugh.

How are you as far as your relationship(s) with pets?