Perfect pet........rabbit, gerbil, kitten or bird???

[PitterPaws]

I would suggest cleaning one room (Your room maybe where your male cat slept with you) of all new kitten smells. and Use different clothing not what you were wearing when holding the kittens. Round up your male cat at night (put him in a carrier if you are afraid he might scratch you.) Bring him into your room and shut the door. he will then feel he is the king of the castle again and will relax.
The reason he is hissing and swating at you is because of the kitten smells, don't take it personally, he is beside himself thinking he is being replaced, get rid of that smell and he should be fine.
Give him his home back, confine the kittens to one room for awhile (not Your Room) with the door shut, your male cat will be able to sniff under the door and they can interact with their paws. put one of the kitten blankets or something they are laying on and put it in a neutral area of your home so you male cat can sniff it rub on it to get used to the kitten smells. you will eventually be able to let the kittens out and he won't be bothered by them.
We need pictures of them Please!

 

[hollyclyff]

Please, please do not get a turtle for an 8 year old child! They are not easy to care for properly - not by a long shot.

 

[redhen]

i had 2 when i was little.( 2 little painters)..but..then again..i dont remember them living long....

..so...hollyclyff is probably right..

...maybe call your local pet store..and ask them about it?..what they need..etc.?..good luck, Wendy

 

[fowltemptress]

Turtles need expensive lighting to keep them from getting sick. Turtles make up a large portion of rescues because people aren't willing to spend the money it would take to keep them healthy, or they are just ignorant as to what all goes into keeping a turtle. Also, the food would cost more than a rat's or guinea pig's, no matter what kind of turtle you got. Reptiles in general tend to be fragile, expensive pets, and not suitable for most young children.

 

[hollyclyff]

Yes, my brother and I had two baby sliders when we were kids. Not only did they not live long, but my brother ended up hospitalized with salmonella.

Turtles can be very long-lived animals given proper care. The little aquatic turtles they used to sell everywhere actually can get pretty big if they live and need a very large aquarium or outdoor pond. Land turtles like the box turtles I have, need large pens too, preferably outdoors if the climate is right. It is very cruel to try and keep them in small aquariums without proper lighting and a well balanced diet.

 

[redhen]

yeah...they stopped selling sliders 'cause of the salmonella thing.....

...i remember that...shows how old i am...

.., Wendy

 

[nerfy]

PitterPaws is right, if your cats is that upset, and won't even come in the house, that would be the thing to do.

 

[Farm Chic]

i think that my cat may be just scared to come in because of me (from that one night when he got kicked out). because when i go outside, I can love on him, pick him up even with the clothes on that i held the kittens with. plus, my cat is an outdoorsy cat, if it is nice and warm, he will stay out there all day and all night even if we acll him in. the last couple nights it has been really nice I hav e kept the kittens out of my bedroom and today I am going to wash everything and do exactly what pitter paws said. it is kind of hard for me to section off a room because my house is pretty small and open. the kitchen, living room, utility room are all open to each other. the only rooms that i would be able to lock the kittens up in is my sons room and that just wouldn't be a good idea at this point. but i will make sure to keep my room off limits to the kittens! i miss sleeping with desmo

on another note, can anyone come up with a really cool kitten name to go with desmo and rufus??

 

[seriousbill]

I completely agree with Fowltemptress and SimplcitiyAltered--No birds except perhaps a budgie. I have three parrots myself, and they are VERY high maintenance, much more like having a kid than a pet. Many people compare it to having an ADHD three year old child with a sharp pair of pliers. I'd say that's about right for many types of parrots.

 

[Cetawin]

I would say a Rat or a rabbit.


My son's rabbit lived to be almost 17 years old. They can be litter box trained and are not always a problem for cats. He got the bunny in 2nd grade (age 7) and went all through school with him and passed away just before son's 24th birthday. I never had one issue with bunny being sick or anything.

Rats are pocket pets, sweet, non-biters for the most part but have short life expectancy. My daughter loves rats and they are very sweet pets and smart.