The "Animal" Attraction - Why Do We Love Pets?

Beautiful post Kim. I would love to have a menagerie of pets and probably will once my kids are a little older.

Till then Zoey will reign supreme in our household:)

Yes, living with animals around is great for all, specially kids. Brings out a side in us that may not come to life, otherwise. I wonder sometimes if some of the hate-filled people one sees around on blogs lacked pets!!

Awww...first Deepti and now Kim, why do I feel that my cats want an introduction too? one post on my cats coming up later today... :)

Zainub, we'd love to read about your cats:)

Can we imagine a world without the birds and
their sounds, animals and their love. God has
created them for us to have a life of joy and
relaxation.

Behind my yard, there is a small forest, and I
see different kinds of birds and when I watch them, I feel the creativity of the Creator.

One day, I heard a voice of somebody knocking the back door. It was very rare to have somebody
coming to the back early in the morning to knock,
anyway, when I slowly opened the door, it was a
big squirrel hitting the door. I didn't know the
squirrel's psychology, but when I closed the door and waiting, the same knocking took place.

These birds and squirrels got food from us on a
daily basis and the food supply was completely
out, so the squirrel was telling the need.

Indeed, our pets and everything else which the
Creator has created for our fun makes us very
happy. Without them, we will be missing much joy of life.

Dee, Keeping them apart and away from each others throats will require an animal behaviorist :) But it is amazingly great fun as long as you have help with the cleaning chores.

Annama, I completely agree with you. Having a pet touches you in a way nothing else can. I have had friends and family who were more affected by adopting a pet than by fatherhood. (it may sound blasphemous, but from personal experience I have found it to be true)

Zainub, we would love to hear about your cats. Maybe we can have an online play date for all of them :)

Kim, I think thats a fantastic idea - no unwanted litters from online kitty romps;)

What a lovely post and about a topic so close to my heart. I've always been a dog lover. I miss my labrador and every time I go back to India I try and spend time with him for I know how fast dog-years fly by. There's nothing as pure, unselfish and trusting as your dog's love for you, really. Everytime I got back home, even after running the quickest of errands he would greet me with the same gushing enthusiasm like he'd missed me so much while I was gone.

My apartment complex in the US does not allow pets and last week I finally found a way to quench my need to have a one. I bought a fish. And he's no ordinary fish, this one. Mine's a Siamese Fighter fish with loads of personality and spunk :D

I can't explain it well enough but watching this life grow is just a wonderful experience. Even the tiniest of beings seem to inspire me with their zest for life. I watch my fish discover his tank and move frantically about trying to locate the source of a certain sound. I used to watch our dog look at himself in the mirror and tilt his head at his reflection, contemplating his own eyes and movements. It is not just entertaining. Its like watching a child's undisguised sense of awe, except in case of this little being, the awe will be permanent and will not disappear with adulthood like it does with humans. Its like what you describe there about your cat who watches cricket :)

My mother always told me not to trust people who truly dislike animals. Now this may sound like a generalization but thus far she's been right. People who turn up their noses at a happy, frolicking puppy gimme bad vibes somehow :D

Nice article Kim! ....now I'll have to write about my dog too!!!

A.S.Matthew 10.29 a.m. Appreciating animals and nature is one thing but owing it to the God/Creator? Dude please!

Aditi, we had a Siamese Fighter in the US which later led to my love for fish. Now in India we have Parrot and Dollar fish.

I've been a dog lover since I was a tot. I am looking forward to your post on your pets and your response to mine that will be coming up by the end of the day:)

A.S.M. : Many people think animals are dumb creatures. They are not ! They may not have highly evolved thinking processes but they definitely understand sources of food supply. LOL ! I've seen squirrels in many parks in the US who "perform" little tricks so visitors will toss them nuts :)

Dee : The brat is in heat & driving me nuts. Post on that forthcoming. Online play dates are the only way to go until I get her fixed (soon after this cycle is over)

Aditi : Waiting for a post on your dog & one on the Siamese fighter too. He deserves his own post.

For some reason - fish as pets never seemed like an option to me. I think its because I can't cuddle them. No auditory or kinesthetic feedback from them :)

I was always a bigger dog lover than a cat lover, but the move to apartments has restricted me to cats :)

Response to A.S Mathew's comment:

Being on top of the food chain makes us arrogant till some of us find ourselves in shark infested waters;)

Die Hard # 9. It takes faith to believe that there is a creator, on the other hand, it takes
faith to believe that everything came from nothing. My faith is not that strong to believe
"everything came from nothing and nowhere".
Please be patient with my weak faith.

Kim #, I do agree with that. Even the bumble
bee knows its nest and the route to find its food. But my experience of having a knocking
squirrel at the back door was new.

Deepti Lamba # 12, I do agree with you 101%.
I greatly appreciate that fact because while I was a student in the U.S., having no job and money, I have suffered the pain of hunger. So, I know that fact of life. From my own experience, very easily, I can feel the pain of
somebody's hunger.