In general, a pet must either be small enough for his or her undesirable behavioral tendencies to be negligible, or the animal must be actually domesticable. Examples of the former are such animals as fish , chickens, invertebrates or small mammals
Many cities and towns have local ordinances limiting the number of pets a person may have, and may also restrict or forbid certain pets
In veterinary medicine, dogs and cats are often considered “small animals”, while all other animals are grouped into either “large animals” or “exotics”
This crisis is created by nonneutered animals reproducing and people intentionally breeding animals. A particularly problematic combination of economic hardship combined with a love of animals contributes to this problem in parts of the rural United States. Animal protection advocates call attention to the pet overpopulation “crisis” in the United States. There are also major overpopulation problems with other pet species, such as birds and rabbits. 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 castrated. Local humane societies, SPCAs, and other animal protection organizations urge people to neuter their pets and to adopt animals from animal shelters instead of purchasing them from breeders or pet stores. 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
Condominium associations and rental properties often ban animals because of the smells and noise the animals create
Over the course of fifty years, Russian scientists also domesticated silver foxes, resulting in the Tame Silver Fox. While the number produced was extremely small, they have been sold as pets, and they prove that domestication of canids other than wolves is possible
In the United States, a 2007-2008 survey shows that dog-owning households outnumber those owning cats, but that the number of pet cats is higher than dogs. households are pet owners, and more than half of these households have more than one animal . Combined reptiles are the next popular followed by birds followed by horses, and finally, monkeys. The two most popular pets in most Western countries have been cats and dogs. S. Around 63 percent of all U
The cities of Berkeley, California and Boulder, Colorado have passed laws stating that people who have pets do not “own” them; rather, they are the pet’s “guardian. “
A pet can be acquired from a pet store, animal shelter, a breeder, and from private transactions, typically due to the giving away of extra newborns after the birth of a litter. Because of environmental and public safety concerns, some pets are illegal in many areas. See also pet adoption
Behaviorally speaking, characteristic changes in dogs due to domestication include a prolonged infancy, increased playfulness, and increased barking. Wolves are far less playful and vocal. Domestic dogs are quite similar to wolves, but their physical form and behavior are characteristically different, more than mere differences in size, coat, or coloring. A few animals are sufficiently capable of adapting to human interaction to be considered domesticable. Dogs are considered to be a classic example of domesticated animals normally suited to being pets
Many rodents—such as fancy rats, fancy mice, and Syrian hamsters—are commonly kept as household pets
While in theory any animal might be a pet, in practice only a small number of species of mammals and other small animals, such as birds, fish, or lizards, are practical. One reason for this is that large animals are not able to fit inside small dwellings
A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons. There is now a medically-approved class of “therapy animals,” mostly dogs, who are brought to visit confined humans. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song
For example, the domesticated hedgehog has been selectively bred to the point where its physical characteristics no longer directly match its wild European and African counterparts. Individuals have occasionally run into legal trouble for keeping large exotic pets, both in rural estates and urban apartments. They adapt easily to almost any environment, but resist domestication. Large cats cannot become pets, as they do not reliably restrain their impulses . Nor do the large bears, for similar reasons. A few years ago, New York Police Department officers arrested a man who had kept large cats and an alligator in a small Manhattan apartment Many animal species are difficult to handle and cannot be pets for the general populace. Raccoons also fit this example. Small monkeys can be human companions, but they are notoriously unable to defer their curiosity which leads to much destruction. Some of these animals, such as green iguanas, large monitor lizards, and large birds, do not make suitable pets for the average person, as they require extensive housing and diet. They can also become quite aggressive if not regularly handled. Such animals as reptiles are typically considered exotic pets. Raptors, 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. This may change in the future, as ‘exotic’ pet ownership is increasing rapidly. Exotic mammals are also becoming increasingly more popular as pets. On the other hand, several of the ferret and otter varieties can be human companions