Ok, so me and the OH are moving in together within the next couple of weeks. We've been talking about getting an animal for a while now, but he's never had pets before and wants a kitten or baby animal.

I'd prefer to go for a rescue / older animal, as I think they're the ones who really need the homes and need the love and affection, but he's having none of it. I've had cats all my life and the most loving and best behaved animals we've had have been our rescues (after a bit of work, sometimes, but that just makes it even better when you realise how truly happy you've made an animal).

I'm asking cos I know you guys know a lot about your animals, and he's a very facts and figures kind of guy, so I was hoping you'd be able to help.

(P.S I really wanted a Spider or Gecko, but he's arachnophobe and doesn't like lizards, so that went out of the wimdow!! If anyone has a cure for arachnophobia, let me know!! :P)

Happy compromise get a rescue kitten, there are lots about right now in the rescue centres :thumbsup:

Try sending a pm to magsie. In one of her last posts cat shelter had 22 kittens needing a home.

Having seen so many posts where people have split up and had to rehome their pets, my advise would be to live with each other first. If you still love each other and intend to spend the rest of your lives together after 3-6 months of living together then get a pet. Rather than getting a pet and having to worry about finding a new home for it and the other half!

(Otherwise definately would advise an older animal unless one of you is home most of the day to entertain a kitten, if you want to distract it from climbing the curtains and other kitten tricks!)

Having seen so many posts where people have split up and had to rehome their pets, my advise would be to live with each other first. If you still love each other and intend to spend the rest of your lives together after 3-6 months of living together then get a pet. Rather than getting a pet and having to worry about finding a new home for it and the other half!

(Otherwise definately would advise an older animal unless one of you is home most of the day to entertain a kitten, if you want to distract it from climbing the curtains and other kitten tricks!)

I think I'd get the animal. He's allergic to animals he doesn't know (he builds up a tolerance over time) and never really been into pets before we got together.

I'm generally better with animals anyway, I think he suggested it to be nice as he knows how much I miss having a pet.

Good point about the curtains. At the moment, his housemate who's moving with us is in all day as he was made redundant but I can't promise how long thats gonna last.

if it was a spider or gecko you wanted, how about hermit crabs? they are sooooo cool, and require very little looking after, and if you split up, they don't take up too much space to go with one or other of you, and shouldn't have the same emotional reaction a cat or dog would under the same circumstances

I really really would, I love hermit crabs (and I'm cancerian, so I love crabs in general) but I get the impression he's after something fluffy / furry (and he won't listen to me when I tell him the *technically* tarantulas are furry and "fluffy" is conjecture)

lol sat laughing at this, i have a suggestion, split up and get whatever and however many you want lol idid and im loving itlol