Toe in the Water

Pets

Pets

Different pets suit different ages.This has taken me a lifetime to realise but I also seem to have fitted into the most natural order of ownership of pets during my life.

Small animals are the best for the very young, I think. They are more attractive to little people and easier to care for than larger creatures. I experimented with a few in my childhood and quickly came to the conclusion that guinea pigs are the best. They’re very little trouble and have the enormous advantage of communicating through various distinctive and easily identifiable noises.

In later childhood, nothing beats a dog, preferably of the tough, boisterous and energetic type. I cannot imagine how empty a process growing up must be without a dog to accompany and inspire one’s desperate adventures.

And finally there is the cat. This is an animal designed to fit with the slowing down of age and the cessation of strenuous adventure. Cats like nothing better than to sleep in the sun and ponder the quality of the food they’re presented with. No drama here then, apart from some rubbing of owner’s legs whenever they enter the kitchen.

Add to that the fact that cats appreciate an aged human that will stay still long enough to be slept upon and there’s no contest. Cats are for the later years of life.

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