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Guinea pigs as adults pets?

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cavykind

Does anyone else find that people think you are a bit odd for keeping gunea pigs when you are an adult? People seem more accepting of cats and dogs, but consider the guineapig as nothing more than a childs pet >:(

I also find that when I tell people how many I have, especially when I had 40ish rescues, their immediate response was "Do you breed them?"
Some people find it impossible to believe that an adult can keep guinea pigs as nothing more than much loved pets ::)

Barbara
 
My kid's friends think i'm cool!
But partner says ' you think more of the guinea pigs then me'! For once he may be right!
 
Personally I would say they're more of an adult pet than a kids pet as kids just don't have the patience for them. I admit, when Freddy squeals at me repeatedly and I've had a bad day I tend to turn around to him and say 'what do you want this time?!' - as if he's going to answer ;D

Oh, and all those parents buying gp's for their kids........they're really buying them for themselves but using the kid as an excuse to get one !! :)
 
Jenni75 said:
Personally I would say they're more of an adult pet than a kids pet as kids just don't have the patience for them.

Ain't that the the truth, it's the most common reason guineas get handed over..."The kids have lost interest blah, blah, blah..."

Barbara
 
Oh yes, I was always a "freak" for having cavies and rabbits (not in the same cage don't worry!) and was actually bullied when they found out (from a friend who was supposed to not say ::)), but never mind I love piggies and that is all the counts! :)
 
cashmincal said:
Oh yes, I was always a "freak" for having cavies and rabbits (not in the same cage don't worry!) and was actually bullied when they found out (from a friend who was supposed to not say ::)), but never mind I love piggies and that is all the counts! :)

That's awful :(
I know some people think it really odd that I spend so much of our time and money helping unwanted guineas. They think we should be spending it on the materialistic stuff they love ::)
But who cares. It's easy to say this when we are older and mean it, but bullying is another thing all together when you are young.

Barbara
 
Bullied - for keeping guineas?
That's terrible.

Guineas are so much nicer than people.

And they are great for grown ups. :)
 
I agree with Lucinda! piggies are definitely nicer than some people though my god they hold a grudge sometimes! I accidentally caught some of Freddys hair the other week and he still hasn't forgiven me!

Also agree with you Cavykind - my brother had a gp when he was a kid and completely lost interest in it after a week or so so my mum and I started looking after it instead, though of course when the gp died it was our fault and he loved that pig so much (not!). But my youngest brother had gp's and the other reason I think that they're not really suitable for kids is that they wriggle a lot if picked up wrong, which we all know. But of course a 7 year old doesn't know and one horrible day he was playing with his gp and my mums terriers managed to open his bedroom door and attacked the pig. John picked up the pig trying to save him but pig wriggled so much that he couldn't keep hold of him and dog got him. Luckily it was a very quick death, they broke his neck, but John was devastated as he'd tried so hard to save him but couldn't :'(

He hasn't wanted a gp himself since though mum has two and a baby herself :(
 
Jenni75 said:
I admit, when Freddy squeals at me repeatedly and I've had a bad day I tend to turn around to him and say 'what do you want this time?!' - as if he's going to answer ;D

Yep it has been known when hubby brings in grass for me to say " now what do you say to Daddy" :o

Jenni75 said:
Oh, and all those parents buying gp's for their kids........they're really buying them for themselves but using the kid as an excuse to get one !! :)

Damn I've been rumbled ;D
 
Mary said:
My kid's friends think i'm cool!
But partner says ' you think more of the guinea pigs then me'! For once he may be right!
exactly what my hubby says he even suggested dressing up in a furry outfit maybe then I would pay him some attention like i do my pigs, people find it unexpected when they know how many I have got but then genuinily look interested, I dont care if some find me eccentric sounds good to me, I can get away with a few things if they think that :D :D :D
 
I'm so glad I'm reading this! hurrah! I'm not the only one who's thought of as a freak because its not the accepted adult pet!

I caught my boyfriend talking to the rescue pigs the other night - "oooh look at your cute little pink toes & big lips..." I did have to check he wasn't using the web cam again!

The rescue girls have got him wrapped around their little toes - they hear his voice & they erupt wheeking until he feeds them something nice. This happened at 4am 2 nights ago when he got in from work. It woke me up! was quite funny because I heard him saying "shush you'll wake everyone up...oh ok....here's some kale..mmm tasty isn't it?..don't tell anyone!"

But when i'm in ear shot its"when are these bloody things going?!"
 
It's strange, when i mentioned at my slimming group that i was hoping to get a couple of guinea pigs in the very near future one of the woman asked me if they were for my children. I told her i didn't have any children and that i didn't really believe in buying pets for children anyway, as they generally lose interest so fast (mind you so do some adults!). The woman told me her children owned many pets. So i said she was lucky to have children who enjoy the responisibilty of cleaning, feeding, etc and then she told me oh i have to practically force them to do that. But there is no way i'm doing it, they are not my pets! When i told her this was exactly my point for pets not being a young childs responsibilty, she didn't seem to understand.

Don't get me wrong i don't think children shouldn't have pets, i just think the pets should always be Mum and Dad's responsbility and that children should be encouraged to help with feeding and cleaning and playing so that they know how to care for things when they are older.

The woman then asked me why i didn't get a more grown up pet? Is there any such thing i replied. She didn't seem to be able to tell me :) I won't even go into what she said when i told her i kept pet rats. But the words yuk and plague came up frequently :o
 
I appreciate them a lot more as an adult and know how to look after them better!
And although some people laughed when I first got my two pigs, they now always ask how 'the boys' are ;D

I live on my own so they are great company when I get home from work. And a lot less hassle than a man.
They don't leave the toilet seat up or leave wet towels on the bed amongst other things :D :D :D
 
I had a pet rat! and also had the same reaction, especially from my mum at first but then she got to love him as much as I did and when he passed on she was just as upset and buried him in her garden. They're actually really clean animals and don't smell at all unless you leave their cages to get dirty which is the same with all animals.

I think people seem to think that anything in a cage/hutch is a kids pet but the more independent animals such as dogs/cats are adult pets. Personally I feel a cat is more of a kids pet as they don't need half as much work.

Oh, and hils78 - my other half is exactly the same with Freddy and Flo! He's always spiking up Freddys mohican and playing with his blubber lips while making funny noises, but doesn't want to hold him! Flo hasn't got blubber lips, she looks like a large hamster with loads of hair! so she doesn't get the same attention.
 
Yeah I've always been laughed at for having pigs, I've also always had cats and dogs but for some reason even as a teenager the pigs were considered somehow less than 'adult' >:(
 
I have come across this attitude many times, Barbara. I also keep rabbits as pets, and have had gerbils and mice too. People think I am some kind of nutter ;D
 
sarahp said:
I appreciate them a lot more as an adult and know how to look after them better!
And although some people laughed when I first got my two pigs, they now always ask how 'the boys' are ;D

I live on my own so they are great company when I get home from work. And a lot less hassle than a man.
They don't leave the toilet seat up or leave wet towels on the bed amongst other things :D :D :D

Isn't that the truth! :) :) :)
 
I wouldn't be without my piggies and rabbit. Much less trouble than a man and they are always really happy to see me when I come home.

People do presume you have small children though when you mention you have guinea pigs and no-one seems to understand why I have so many. I talk to them all the time and they chatter back to me. As far as I am concerned they are part of my family and I love them all very much. :)
 
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