<p>Sometimes college kids renting their first apartment decide it's a good time to also get their first pet . . . Please remind your kids how much time, work, and money that adorable bundle of fur can be! </p>
<p>Puppies need to be housetrained and chew everything, kittens are adorable but will scratch and bite the heck out of your hands (with the most loving intentions). Also, some kittens don't have great aim in the litterbox . . . There's nothing quite like seeing a kitten casually jaunt through the living room, blissfully unaware that he's stepped in his own poo and is leaving a clear trail from the bathroom. Having a pet means you can't spontaneously spend a couple days away from your place--Fido needs to be walked everyday--and that semester abroad may not happen if you're responsible for a pet who can't come.</p>
<p>And then the bills--not only food, water, kitty litter, leashes, but the dreaded VET BILLS. I have spent so much on my two cats this year--around $1000. For their annual checkups, for teeth cleaning and bloodwork, for vaccinations, and for a BUNCH of consultations trying to determine why my one cat is chewing off his hair. (At this point we still don't know. Arrrgh.)</p>
<p>Yeah I left a “cat” with my mom when I graduated and one or two more along the way during my transient twenties. My mom, though, she loved the cats never let me forget my “stupid” habit of picking up pets during transient periods of my life. I couldn’t agree more with the OP…tell the kids NO… don’t do it. Not far to the pets as not every kid will have a parent as wiling as mine way to adopt the pet.</p>
<p>Lovely black Ragdoll cat is sitting by me as I write this. He was WildChild’s college cat (doesn’t every college kid need an expensive pedigreed cat…?) and now is in “transition” with us while WildChild gets settled in his new city/job and figures out if he can keep aforementioned cat under the radar and not have to pay the pet fee in his new apartment. It will involve either a 2 day drive or a flight to get the cat there, but we don’t mind having him here.</p>
<p>D2 always wanted a dog and we wouldn’t have one. She has said a few times that she would get one as soon as she is on her own. Never occurred to me that “on her own” maybe in college. I better have that conversation with her before she plans too far ahead.</p>
<p>I was never “able” to retrieve my drop-off pets as my mother and father would never give them back…although for the life of the cats they would refer to them as “my cats.”</p>
<p>D kept going over & looking at the robo-hamsters at PetSmart all summer & commenting on how it would be cute to have one in her dorm room. Then I reminded her that during breaks she’d have to bring it home & the cats would probably like to “play” with it. </p>
<p>(Waving at MOWC!..We pick up our ragdoll kitten in 2 weeks; thanks for your insight!)</p>
<p>Actually, my daughter really missed having a dog in college, so she googled “rent a dog in [city]”, and found that she could pick up a dog from a shelter and keep it over the weekend (or as long as she could/wanted). She started doing this last year. This gave her an opportunity to be with a dog as much as she wanted without having to pay any expenses (food, and all the equipment is provided by the shelter), and gave the dog an opportunity to get out and have some fun in home-like environment.</p>
<p>She is now on her fourth dog - the previous three got adapted (according to the shelter workers, in large part because they had spent some time at “home”, so the new owners could be told how the dog behaves in that environment).</p>
<p>Of course, every time “her” dog gets adapted it is a little heartbreaking, since she becomes very attached to them over time. But she knows, of course, that that is the ultimate goal, and so she goes on to the next one…</p>
<p>So if your kid really wants a dog, hosting a dog from a shelter can be a very good solution for all involved!</p>
<p>^It definitely is! When I was younger I always envisioned that I would be able to get a dog as soon as I leave home for college, but now it seems that I will have to wait so many more years.</p>
<p>I’m adding another “great idea” to hosting a shelter dog! Kudos to your daughter for finding such a wonderful solution to not being in position to adopt a dog as yet.</p>
<p>And now a word from the opposite corner:
I got my dog when I was a sophomore in college. Dog lived in dorms, apartments, houses. Dog did not go to my parents except to visit when I did. Dog was well behaved and when I had field trips and overnighters (frequently as my major was zoology and we were always out counting, observing, recording etc on weekends) I had a lineup of friends who wanted to keep him for the weekend. Even had friends ask if they could be put on a waiting list. Dog went with me to Europe when I got a job there. Dog helped cement the bond of knowing my spouse was “the one”. Dog finally died at the age of over 18 1/2 and was alive for both of my kids to get to know.<br>
My best friend had a similar experience with her cats. She lived on the west coast and went to school in the east. The cats traveled back and forth cross country for years. Her daughter is now in the same boat.
What I am saying is it doesn’t have to be that hard. I never found it so, and I don’t think I am that unique. For someone who really wants a dog or cat, it can be done.</p>
<p>In my salad days, I would sometimes go to the Chicago pound (the black hole of Calcutta back then) and take home a puppy with potential. I would take to vet, feed it good food, housebreak it (with crate) and love it. Place an free ad in the Reader, screen the responders and off it would go, headstarted for a good life. And sometimes hear back, this was the best dog we ever had.</p>
<pre><code>Some students could pull this off.
</code></pre>