Almost 62% of American families have at least one pet. That’s a lot of furry little animals! And for good reason. Even though pets can be a lot of work, they teach your kids responsibility, independence, and give them even more unconditional love. Some of my best childhood memories include my cats and dog. So, if you’ve decided to adopt a pet for your family, congratulations! I recommend ALWAYS going to a shelter, instead of funding pet stores or puppy mills. But what kind of animal should you get? The most popular, obviously, are cats and dogs. Check out this post by Sarah at Frugal Fun For Boys for the considerations you need to think of before buying cats and dogs, as well as some pets you may not have thought of:
-Dogs- need two vet visits a year, grooming, they chew things up, and need to be house trained
-Cats- allergies may be an issue, vet visits, they like to scratch things, and need to be litter box trained (though some cats already naturally know)
-Reptiles- You may need to feed it live food, so you need a place for the food to live, they need special habitat considerations like temperature and humidity, you must wash your hands after handling them.
-Small animals like gerbils- cage will need to be cleaned once a week, they eat constantly and need to be fed one or two times a day, they are social and will do better with two or more others.