Salutations and welcome to another session of WWBS or What Would Bangs Say? We have a very important topic to discuss today, starlights - Adopting for the holidays. This crucial topic was requested by follower Erik and his lovely cat, Fiona. (Thanks for the suggestion, you two)!
Let's say you want to adopt a pet this holiday season for whatever reason. We'll say as a gift. Having an adorable kitten (or puppy) under the Christmas tree is a dream come true for many children. So what could go wrong? Well, there are a few things to consider before making a final decision. 1) Cost: A pet can be very expensive. (Just ask my human). We need food, grooming, and veterinary care to name a few things and it adds up. (We are worth it though). 2) Time: Will this person have time for a pet? Even the most independent pets need love sometimes. A lot of people think cats don't need much attention, but I like to be around my human at all times. This doesn't mean you can't have time for yourself, of course. But make sure there are toys to keep your pet entertained when you are away.
3) Commitment: Following our last point, taking care of a pet takes commitment. Dogs live an average of 10-14 years while cats can live 15-20 years. Please keep this in mind. My current human adopted me from a shelter because my last human didn't have time for me. Give a pet their forever home, not a temporary one. 4) Recipient: This may go without saying, but be sure the person you are gifting a pet to really wants one to begin with. If the recipient is a child, consider whether or not they are responsible enough for a pet.
So what if a child really wants a pet but isn't ready for one? There are options. My human has always loved animals. Even as a young child, they were obsessed with things like virtual pets as well as robotic ones. Obviously, these can't replace a real cat or dog, but they can be good preparation.
Credit to Julia for Nintendogs pic from her Youtube video. Link will be listed below.
This is an example of a robotic dog called an Aibo (top) as well as a virtual pet game called Nintendogs (bottom). I guess they are cute in their own way...
With all this said if you've taken the above into consideration and still believe it's the right thing to do to get a pet - go for it! There are so many cats and dogs in need of forever homes. Please remember to adopt from a shelter and steer clear of places like puppy mills. We'll go further into this topic in a future blog post!
Well, that's it for today's topic. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a wonderful week. Shine bright, starlights!
Have a request for a future post? Let us know through comments or email to find out What Would Bangs Say?
Contact us here: https://krisnbangs.com/contact
Nintendogs + Cats video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHoY8dW503s