by Bridgett Kelly

Created on: April 28, 2009   Last Updated: April 29, 2009

Having a pet in the home can create some serious stress for some people. Myself, I do have a cat in my home only because she is about to have kittens. True, cats use a litter box and are very easy to house train but some cats just like to play in the litter. I find myself several times a day sweeping up litter due to my mama kitty wanting to play in the litter box before using it. It gets stressful and I boot her outside for a few minutes at a time to clean up her activities. However, because I have a great love for cats I can overlook the stress at times.

Dogs, a big no in my house. I have tried to have dogs, small dogs. I find that having a dog indoors is both stressful and annoying. Dogs are tough to house break and on top of that they chew up everything and bark at anything that moves. I am no dog person. Having a dog outdoors is stressful too but not as much as having one inside. Dogs pee and poop on anything and everything except that fancy puppy pad and it causes a lot of bad odors and hard to remove stains especially in the carpet. No dogs!

Birds are a great pet to have except they make excessive noise all day long and if you are trying to have a quiet day to relax then a bird may just get on your nerves. Constantly having to clean the cage and refill the water can be a pain especially if you have to do it several times a day.

I know I sound like an anti-pet person but I am not. I am easily stressed. Pets are great to have but having them inside can stress a person out. A cat constantly meowing for food when you just fed her, a dog barking at the air all night while you try to sleep, a bird that chirps all day and loudly flaps in the cage and the odors a pet brings to the home. It is certainly not for everyone to have a pet in the home.

One thing that also leads to stress by having a pet in the home is if you have children. Children like to be the caretakers especially small children and if you have more than one child and a pet in the home, here comes the stress train. Fighting over who gets to hold the pet or feed the pet or sleep with the pet. I know because this was my brother and I and I know it drove my parents nuts. Pets are a great thing for kids to have teaching them responsibility, but the stress of having to hear the fighting over the pet. In general a pet in the home creates stress as much as one can relieve. I am total cat person and love cats, but the stress of having one indoors is too much.

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