Now that my husband and I have a house, the question has come up: Should we get a dog?
We would both love to have a dog. Some of my friends have told me that having a dog was part of what got them through their PhD. I guess I'm not the only one to feel isolated at times, sitting in my house reading about statistics and working on my paper for HOURS at a time. With no human contact. Basic science probably isn't that much better.
However dogs are a lot of work. They have to be walked, fed, paid attention to. I'm pretty sure that I'd be able to do most of this for the next few years while I'm in relatively flexible PhD-land, but what will I do when I start residency? We'd have to hire a dog walker for sure, and then the dog would be at home alone for hours a day. I know a lot of people leave their dogs at home all day and don't think twice about it, but I think we'd feel guilty. Especially since our house does not have a yard.
It would have to be a small/medium sized dog at biggest.
And when we went to Italy to visit the relatives, we'd have to pay for a kennel or dog sitter too. Though we only go together every two years or so. Not sure that this should keep us from getting one.
And then there's the hair. My husband is a little bit of a neat freak, and he is worried that there would be hair all over the house. And there probably would be. There's no question it wouldn't be as clean as it is now, at any rate, which I don't think would bother me, but I'm sure would bother him.
Anyhow, we're not getting a dog for now.
So we started thinking about a cat instead. A lot of the same issues come up, but! Tthe cat wouldn't have to be walked, which I think is the biggest downside to the dog. We like cats less than we like dogs, but they are lower maintenance. Also, I think I would end up loving pretty much any kind of animal we got.
There is the smell issue.... (a lot of people we know who have cats have very smelly houses -- is this because they don't clean out the litter box?), and the hair issue. However I think I might have made progress wearing Luca down last weekend when I suggested that it might catch mice. He hates mice, and so far the one I saw the other day has eluded the traps we set for it.
We'll have to see.
Any recommendations on this?
13 Pearls of Wisdom:
If you get two dogs, they can keep one another company. Some dog breeds shed less than others. (d-CON for the mice)
The smelly cats generally have owners who don't clean their litterbox religiously. However, the downside to a cat is their spraying tendencies. It can happen anytime they feel neglected or territorial (depends on the cat) and let me tell you it stinks like nobodies business. I had to spend a few days with family members who were having this problem and I could not stomach going into the laundry room because it smelled so strongly.
I'm a dog person and have two dogs. They are a lot of work and vacations quickly get complicated when considering them. However, the other 95% of the year is made better by their company.
I have a dog and a cat. The dog doesn't shed any more than a human does, so the hair issue can be overcome (pick a breed that is appropriate for your lifestyle - including exercise requirements, intelligence, and hair loss. Generally the more intelligent the dog, the more time you will need ot spend with it ensuring that it doesn't create its own fun). (My dog required 3-4 hours of exercise per day for the first two years of his life. It was a LOT of work.)
Cats smell because they spray or their owners fail to clean their litterboxes. You can deal with some spraying by using a plug-in or spray called Feliway. Cats shed.
Mice: we had a problem last year and the cat was so useless that she was happily sharing her food bowl with them. The best answer we found: walk around your entire house, ceiling, floorboards, behind every appliance, with a pencil and a can of GreatStuff. Fill in every hole that you can fit a pencil into with GS. If your place is old, it will take a really long time (ours is 100 years old, and yes, this amounted to many, many, holes). No more mice.
PhD...getting a dog is fantastic when you need fresh air/break from studying, but just remember that dogs need to go out when it's pouring rain and 35* out, too! However, like BakerGirl said, 95% of the year is so much better because of their company.
Rachel, Your cat sounds like one of my parent's old dogs. The mouse would be *sitting in* her food bowl, and she'd get her nose very close, but was too afraid to eat the food with it nearby. And (obviously) too afraid to eat the mouse. :-P
My dog is currently getting me through my PhD. I'm getting very good at giving belly rubs with my left hand while typing with my right. If you get a dog, get an adult dog from a shelter - they are less work than a puppy, won't (necessarily) chew up your stuff, and you'll be able to find one with the temperament you need. We've also organized a rotating play date system between all the people in the department that have dogs, so at least they get very well exercised a few days a week.
We went through a similar debate when my husband was still living here, but seeing as how we both worked over 80 hours per week and had no opportunity to go home during the day, opted against it. Of course, now that he has moved to Philly for his residency, it is a moot point, as I certainly would not want the sole responsibility for a dog... plus, we spend any weekend possible traveling to see each other.
My parents have two cats, and their house does not smell AT ALL (and I am extremely sensitive to odors... one of the causes of my migraines). They have had the cats spayed/neutered so they do not spray, and clean the litter box out twice a day and change the litter once a week. They will put out extra food, extra water, and a second litter box and leave the cats for 4 to 5 days at a time on their own, and they are perfectly fine... something you could never do with a dog.
As far as the shedding problem, just get a cat that best matches the color of your furniture. When we are living in the same city again, my husband and I have decided that we will have a black cat, a black dog, and dark colored furniture... minimizes the visible pet hair!
I understand why many people prefer dogs to cats but I have two super-friendly cats that curls up with me every chance they get and I think it's because of how much time we spent with them when they were younger. I am nearly finished with my PhD and can't imagine what it would have been like without them.
We clean out litter box every other day and even with my sensitive nose, I never smell it. We use extra litter so we can get away with this.
Also, we've left our cats with extra food, water (i.e. toilet lids up...lol) and 3 extra disposable litter boxes to go on vacation for 10 days and they were fine. We had a friend stop by the check on them but they didn't have to do anything else for them. And, no, they didn't hate us when we got back or destroy anything.
Good luck on your decision!
EB - Your solution for dealing with the cat hair is freaking hilarious! I will have to show my mother-in-law. Just the thought might give her a heart attack!
:-)
I heartily endorse having a pet, either cat or dog, and I definitely agree that they are a joy to have around, wonderful company, and a comfort during PhD life.
I haven't much input on dogs. I love my kitties dearly. I don't *think* my place smells... The cats themselves don't smell strongly but I like their smell. And a litter box scooped regularly isn't too stinky. I like the Feline Pine litter which smells nice and usually covers odors well (except right after a fresh dump- one of my cats isn't so keen on burying it).
My cats leave lots of hair everywhere. I'm certain a dog would not produce so much. It comes off on the bed, the futon, the chair, my clothes and makes big fluffy tumbleweeds that lurk under the bed. It's worth it to me. I try to vacuum every week, and a stick roller gets my clothes pretty clean (it's much worse when I don't hang stuff up right away). A combination of a fabric brush and the vacuum remove most of the hair (but not all) from upholstery. It may very well bother Luca.
Cats can be very loving and affectionate- mine are. I picked shelter cats that wanted to come out of their cage (weren't scared or upset), but didn't want to explore the room- they just wanted to be petted. Mine sleep with me, and follow me around from room to room. But they aren't too demanding and are low maintenance pets.
One final note: cats can get lonely if left alone too long. My first cat licked sores into her front legs until I got my second cat. I think she was lonely being alone all day, so that's why I have two. Also, when I go on vacation I think they miss me. They don't groom well while I'm gone, and gain weight. I think they get depressed. So that might be as issue just as it is for a dog. One good thing about a dog is that if you're driving somewhere for vacation dogs can come with, while cats don't do well for traveling.
Good luck figuring it out!
Oh yeah, while I think cats will generally keep bugs and mice out of a small apartment, it might be different for a house which has a larger area. Also- strays and farm cats make good mousers, but probably a lot of domestic cats aren't very good at killing mice.
A vote for cats- two to be exact. We have two male cats, one from a shelter and the other from off the street. Both were neutered ASAP and have never sprayed. We had one for about a year before the other made us his home and we feel nearly guilt-free leaving them alone for the weekend. They keep each other entertained but also curl up on both sides of you when they stop chasing each other. We're in the desert southwest- scorpions/roaches/spiders - I've never seen one. Scoop the litter in the morning and night (there won't be a lot if you do it twice per day) and change it once per week and you'll be odor free.
I joke about being a cat lady but I like both so I say Get a pet, whichever one costs less or the universe brings to you first..
Well, I prefer dogs to cats, though I've met some lovely, dog-ish cats; I guess it's just that I grew up with dogs, and if I get a pet I am determined to get one that will bark at burglars. Also, it will protect me when I go jogging, because it will come jogging, too, and it will have bitey teeth.
Regarding cat odor, I am less than experienced, but this apartment's former residents kept their litter box in the laundry room here, and it still smells vaguely of cat pee in there. (Of course, it's a room without any ventilation *at all*, basically a closet with a window that doesn't open, so that doesn't help.) SaraInIsrael apparently trained her cat to use the toilet, though.
And I think the cat-shedding situation is worse than the dog-shedding situation, because dogs can't climb, and seriously, when I moved in here there was cat hair *all the way up* the curtains. But I've heard that you can at least keep cats from spraying by spaying/neutering while they're young.
Anyway. I surf petfinder recreationally, so I'm totally rooting for a pet, even if it's a terrible idea.
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