"But its ONLY a guinea pig...."

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maceycleo

maceycleo

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Does anyone else get this said them by friends n family? I do, when I'm worrying about cleo's lungs...really makes me mad! Why is she ONLY a guinea pig?!?!?!?Sorry, just needed to vent some anger!
 
My reply 'It's not ONLY a guinea pig, it's MY guinea pig', my family don't say such silly lines. They all know better! :)).
 
HUGS!

My mum gets to me every time; I have stopped talking to her about a very big part of my life... it's just not worth it! She just doesn't get it.
malletheadmalletheadmallethead
 
unfortunately i get that a lot from my family I'm always buying things for my piggies and my dad thinks I'm mad and my friends are never interested when i mention them they kinda say who cares in a sort of wayrolleyes
 
This is so familiar. Nobody I know other then my boyfriend can understand my love for my guinea pigs and bunny. They are my children. It makes me so angry that people can think an animal has no feelings just because it is small.
 
Yes yes I get this, luckily most of my friends love animals so do get it. It's work people that don't! Although they don't get how much I love my son either so I guess they just don't love anything! X
 
Someone I know (can't mention names or relation) said to me:

"Why do you have so many pets! I think its ridiculous! You should have grown out of that by now! Silly pets like that are for children!"

At that moment I think it took every ounce of strength in my entire body to remain calm! I felt like I could spontaniously combust!
 
i feel your pain...
that attitude can drive you nuts at times...!
i think the problem is that so many people see piggies and rabbits and hammies and mice etc... as disposable pets.... oh if something goes wrong ill just pop down to p@h and pick another one up for £20...mallethead

i asked for the rolling ballance on my vet account today to see how much i had spent in the last 6 months (wish i had never asked...!) and I told a good friend of mine about how i was quite impressed i managed to rack up that amount of money and the expression on his face was priceless... :))
he did the whole there only guinea pigs... thing... rolleyes
x
 
It's so frustrating and actually quite insulting!
Funnily the same line didn't go down so well with someone at work when I retorted, 'it's only a child' when someone was whinging about their sickly child.
Hey, kids do bounce back better than piggies anyway! ;)
 
O yes, not for the pigs yet as only had them a month, but certainly for the rabbits. I remember when we first went away after moving in together, the rabbits went to somewhere recommended by the mother in law. Took their food etc, told them not to handle them (one of the rabbits we rescued and she didn't like being handled much by me, and certainly not by anyone she didn't know). When we collected them we were horrified, not even one bag of food had been used even though theyd been there over 2 weeks. I measured the food using the container I'd given them, and there was about a week worth in one bag so they should have used at least 2 bags not just half a bag! And poor Lucy (rip) was awful, she was as wild as she was when we first got her even with me who she trusted the most. It broke our hearts. Mother in law response was they're only rabbits! oH had to keep me away from his mum for a while as he knew how livid I was with her attitude. Thankfully she's realised what they mean to us (even though she doesn't understand why). Always confuses me as she adores her 2 dogs and they get loved more than she loves her own son. Luckily my family never think that they just think weve got our hands full with 2 cats, 2 buns, 2 pigs and a hamster!
 
Grrr I truly understand, when I lost my old boar Gilbert, I had spent close to £300. Trying to save him, a "friend" said "OMG I would have just got rid of IT and got another one its ONLY a guinea pig" I actually cried when she said it I was like "NO HE IS MY BABY I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR HIM!"
 
When I got my girls the comment that got me was "Pretty poor substitution for a dog". My girls have more than fulfilled me. They are part of the family, no more but no less than a dog, but I don't have to walk them outside in the cold just before bed and first thing in the morning which I think is a bonus.
 
For me it was, "Why do you bother, you don't need stress in your life" to which I replied, "Humans are the ones that stress me out, animals help me."
 
I think the main thing is that because cleo may have damaged lungs from a really bad infection, she is more likely to get more infections, so I rush her to the vets when her breathing gets worse. I know i might be a bit paranoid, but i would rather spend £30ish every couple of months just to know she isn't suffering. One person said "Is it really worth spending all that money on that little creature?" Really upset me, why would anyone think its ok to let any animal suffer, just because its small?
 
I get this a lot from my dad and I just dont listen...

Everyone else knows they aren't JUST Guinea Pigs! I'm actually quite lucky, being on a zoological course, most of the people I interact with have animals including small ones and/ or love them anyway x>>

I hope she will be ok
 
It's very maddening and saddening. I haven't had anyone say that to me yet but my friends husband often jokes about feeding my guinea pigs to his dog and cooking them.

IT REALLY angers me and it ****es me off even more that he does it every time I see him. I cannot stand animal cruelty and those comments just make me so angry.
 
Julesie said:
It's very maddening and saddening. I haven't had anyone say that to me yet but my friends husband often jokes about feeding my guinea pigs to his dog and cooking them.

IT REALLY angers me and it ****es me off even more that he does it every time I see him. I cannot stand animal cruelty and those comments just make me so angry.
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I know a couple of people who do the same, I tell them where to shove it and OH only did that once and got a smack upside his head - now he knows better!

Saying things like that is revolting!
 
Certainly. He thinks its a funny joke. Sadly I 'have' to hang around with him as he won't let me and my friend hang out alone.
 
new visitor

Hello Everyone,

I just got my first guinea pig yesterday and am checking out different websites. Seems I have landed in England. I live in Montana, USA, about an hours drive from Yellowstone National Park.

I got a young boar from a fella who had two and this one was getting chewed on, so I adopted him. Today I made a better cage for him and found a plastic tube so he can hide out.

I have not told my friends and family yet and imagine i will get similar responses as what you all have shared in this post. I come from a ranch background where animals are for consumption or utility. Since this little guy is too small to pull a plow, they might ask how it tastes. Somehow this little creature has made it 5000 years and finally finds a home where it doesn't get eaten. I suppose that nervousness will take a couple thousand more years to ware off!

I held him a couple times now and he seems to be pretty happy. He likes apple slices. I pruned an apple tree and chokecherry bush for some twigs to chew on. He's got me thinking of him, how do they do that? My dogs are jealous and nervous I might trade them in...ha ha.
 
my neighbours were having their garden done, we had 3 low fence's between us at the time so we could talk. Well i walked in through the gate to 4 workmen leaning over the fence laughing at my gorgeous rabbits and piggies. They were telling me how stupid and childish i was too have them and they were going to cook them all and eat them.:)>>>:)>>>:)>>>:)>>>
 
sue 1974 said:
my neighbours were having their garden done, we had 3 low fence's between us at the time so we could talk. Well i walked in through the gate to 4 workmen leaning over the fence laughing at my gorgeous rabbits and piggies. They were telling me how stupid and childish i was too have them and they were going to cook them all and eat them.:)>>>:)>>>:)>>>:)>>>
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Vile excuses for human beings
 
It really annoys me when people say that. My friends couldn't care less about my piggies and say they're little childrens pets too.

Luckily as long as I explain my reasons for wanting the piggies to see the vets my mum always agrees and always pays for it. I'm very lucky in that respect.

Amy
x
 
I get it all the time at work and ignore them - my man mad friend was horrified when I said if my OH or the piggies had to go, it would be him and I really meant it :Ayociexp120:
He knows it too after seeing this :)
 
Sadly there are a lot of people around like this and that is why I just don't bother talking about my Guinea pigs. Obviously I will talk about them to my partner but he likes them as much as me so it's all good. Another reason I don't talk about them to many others, is because if I got a childish/negative/pathetic response then I probably wouldn't take it very well and most likely fly off the handle!
 
My boys are our children as we certainly don't intend having any non-furry ones so it really hurts when people say 'it's only a gguinea pig'.

They have their own characters and personalities and my life is so much brighter for having them.

As plenty of people here also know those of us with mental health issues having a furry friend who depends on you and neither judges nor rejects you is a hugely important thing. I couldn't have survived many nasty bits of life if it wasn't for my pigs.
 
I was discussing the treatment Yoshi needed when my b.i.l was over at xmas and got pretty much the usual response - " do you really need to spend that much? He's only little ..." don't know how I didn't slap him! I'm 4'11" so in human terms I guess I'm only little, does that automatically make me less important?!
Why do people think it's okay to lavish that much attention on some pets and not others? They're members of our family, size, age and whether they have fur or not is irrelevant. Grrrrrr, makes me so angry. pow-pow
Thankfully my husband and son adore our piglets and my Mom and sister understand how important they are too ( as does my b.i.l's partner btw who's lovely).
 
sue 1974 said:
my neighbours were having their garden done, we had 3 low fence's between us at the time so we could talk. Well i walked in through the gate to 4 workmen leaning over the fence laughing at my gorgeous rabbits and piggies. They were telling me how stupid and childish i was too have them and they were going to cook them all and eat them.:)>>>:)>>>:)>>>:)>>>
Click to expand...

I'd have strangled them...!
mallethead
x
 
Yeah I get that too :/ They aren't like childrens 'toys' or whatever and once you get past the age of 13 you can't have them. It's stupid. People always seem to make fun of them too. Saying they are dumb and as my boyfriend says "Like a tube"
It annoys me when people say how rabbits just sit there and do nothing. Well they do! My rabbit will chase after the dog if she feels like it and can be the cheekiest thing ever mallethead That's not what I call sitting around
 
MerryPip, very true with regards to piggies (or any pet) helping you through the tough times. Who can put a value on something as special as that?

I can't help but think that all these people who make nasty comments must lead such miserable lives, knowing that they are missing out on the sheer joy and happiness that these little critters can provide must secretly eat away at them :<>


So I have something to announce: I LOVE MY GUINEA PIGS! (and for those people out there who don't like it, tough!) -c
 
I have to say, I feel i am very lucky, My dad isnt really an animal lover, he can handle the dog but thats about it, however he does put up with me chatting about them and my mom really likes them. My brother an sister are still young, but they both love animals.

I have some friends who dont get it, but to be honest they all know me well enough to know just change the subject, and none would ever say anything like whats on here!

My grandad often says such things. I think thats partly the generation, hes like that with all pets really, however i do know he is joking, he quite likes watching them. I does annoy me, but my grandad generall annoys me, so it goes over my head.

I do worry though, I am still young and eventually, i hope to meet someone, and i do worry my crazy piggy antics will put them off.
 
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