Why are pets so important to us?

Pets have a wonderful affect on our lives

Hardly anything can beat the joy of coming home to a furry little buddy who loves you unconditionally for those of us who live alone and work long days for a company that doesn’t seem to appreciate them.   Being smothered in affection by a loving pet appears to initiate an automatic scan disc and defrag of our brain, allowing us to forget about the woes of the previous 10 hours.   If you are fortunate enough to have a pet that adores and loves you, your pet is bound to be much than just some animal who keeps you company and reduces feelings of loneliness during the holiday seasons.

Having a pet can be like having your own miniature mobile clinic that loves to lick your face; they can help us reduce stress, improve our heart health, and balance our emotional and social skills. Depending on where you live on the planet, 2/3 to 3/4 of the homes around you will most likely have at least one pet.

So, what is the allure of pets, and why can’t most of us bear the thought of not having one?  Of course, the benefits of having a pet are not limited to cats or dogs; we tend to bring home a pet that you most identify with and enjoy the idea of sharing your home with.

It might be that the pet you love is a miniature pig, snake, goat, bird, duck, fish, guinea pigs or a rabbit.   Whatever type of creature, large or small that you share your home with, no doubt has a special place in your heart and there will be certain aspects of the way you interact with that pet that is the catalyst for any benefits you enjoy for having them in your life.

I don’t think anyone completely understands how having pets is good for our overall health, but there are simply too many stories about it working for a rational person to dismiss it.

For example, I’ve read that people who began allowing their small dog to crawl into bed with them under the covers on a cold night began sleeping better than they had in years.   From there, those people have never stopped sleeping with their dog.

Apparently, having a dog in your bed can help those who suffer from both sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia.   Having them in your bed with you is supposed to eliminate or significantly suppress any stress or stress-related disorders you may be experiencing.   They help you quickly change your mood and get you mentally prepared for sleep.   You end up falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer.

I’ve always thought it was better to get your dog a good quality bed and just let them sleep in the room with you, but I’m starting to reconsider letting them sleep in my bed.

It definitely makes sense to me that a specific type of pet will affect you physically and mentally based on what you love about them and how you enjoy them.

Another topic that fascinates me about pet health benefits is how having a fish tank full of beautiful fish that you enjoy watching has a wonderfully calming effect on us.   This process can lower anxiety and stress, and thus assist in lowering our blood pressure and serving as a form of relaxation therapy.

What’s now hugely interesting to me is that, without going any further into this, if I have high blood pressure or find it difficult to deal with stress or a stress-related illness, then there’s the possibility that by getting a small dog and fish tank, I could help myself get better.

It appears that I could supplement whatever the doctors or specialists are doing to help by allowing that little dog to sleep with me at night and turning the chair around to watch the fish tank instead of watching TV.

I don’t think there’s any denying that stress and anxiety pervade far too many of our modern lives. It’s difficult to imagine that our forefathers faced even 10% of the stresses and strains that we do today. I believe that the further back in history you go, the less they had to worry about the future; they probably couldn’t care less about what the world might be like next year or in 20 years; they would have been content just to survive today.

Another thing that would have worked for our forefathers is that they would have been fitter because of how they lived their lives, and we have all learned that physical health improvements can help with mental health. Then there’s the fact that they weren’t constantly reminded of how messed up our world is via the radio, TV, or internet. Our forefathers would have gotten up, ate something, went to work, ate some more, and then gone back to sleep. It’s bliss to imagine how relaxing that life would be.

Given how frequently we are forced to do crappy jobs for crappy employers and for crappy wages, the last thing we need is anything or anyone piling more crap on top of that. However, it appears that this is exactly what we must contend with. Every day, we have to put up with hearing about how the cost of simply ‘existing’ is going to go up by 10% or 20% without any increase in our take-home pay. Governments appear to be either powerless to intervene or simply unconcerned.

At the same time, the top 1% of earners cannot seem to restrain themselves from flaunting their wealth in our faces. So it’s no surprise that we’re all stressed out and dealing with various forms of anxiety.

We need to do whatever we can to relieve stress and anxiety, which is why pets can be so beneficial to our lives. They can help us relax after a bad day of dealing with bad situations. When we get home, we just turn off any device that wants to make your day worse by reminding you about all the crap going on in our lives and spend some quality &  fun time with our pets. We can take our pets for a long walk while listening to our favourite music; these daily walks will benefit both us and our pet(s).

Following our daily ‘pet-based exercise,’ we can relax in our comfortable chair with our small dog or cat on our lap and watch the fish swim around in their tank while listening to some nice relaxing music. Then, by sleeping with our pet, we can get a good night’s sleep.

Are birds a good type of pet for us?

Birds make excellent pets, and one of my favourites is the budgie, which is also suitable for children. Budgies come in a variety of beautiful colours and are reasonably priced; you should not have to pay more than $70. Raising a young budgie, training it, and integrating it into their family can be a thrilling experience for children. Budgies are extremely social birds, and the more time you spend with them, the more content they will be.

You will, however, need to supervise your children if you have a baby budgie. This is because younger children are not always gentle with a baby budgie’s delicate body and may inadvertently harm them.

Children of certain ages simply do not have the same level of control over their bodily actions/functions as older children or adults.

If there is enough room for a budgie cage in their room, kids can often benefit from having a feathered friend in there.   In some cases, a budgie can be a wonderful best friend for a lonely child who has very busy parents.

The budgie and your child can potentially develop a wonderful companionship if the child takes the time to interact and communicate with it.

When it comes to your budget, the good news with budgies is that you won’t need to buy much else to care for and house budgies once you’ve bought their cage and accessories.   Make sure you get a sufficiently sized cage, furnish it with some sturdy perches, toys and accessories, and the right kind of food to make sure they can live a happy and comfortable life.

Budgies love to be handled, as long as you do it properly; they enjoy being gently stroked, and petted, so please take the time to learn how to handle them correctly.

As long as they have access to a bath they will keep themselves clean.

The fun part about budgies and a fact that not everyone knows about is that they can talk.    Budgies are a species of parrot and can actually talk just as good (in some cases) as their much bigger members of the parrot community.

They are capable of hundreds of words and even full phrases.   They will also spend plenty of time entertaining you whilst they whistle and sing.

If you do strike up a great relationship with your budgie, then there’s more good news as they can live up to 15 years, so you can enjoy that companionship for many years.

Are Cats a good pet for everyone?

Assuming you are not allergic to cats, I think anyone on this planet can benefit from having a cat in their lives.   Sure, cats are certainly sophisticated animals, but they also possess a tremendous amount of love to give to their pet parents.

Cats adore attention and will let you know how much they appreciate your gentle petting and stroking them.   Some cats may appear to demand more attention from you than you feel you can provide, but don’t let that deter you; you’ll both learn the ins and outs of your unique relationship.

Get your cat a ‘Cat Tree,’ and they will be overjoyed. Cats prefer to be in high places because they can see everything that is going on inside the house. Most cat trees have elevated ledges where your cat can curl up, feel safe, and hide from everyone. Place the Cat Tree near a window and they will spend hours watching everything that happens outside. It will appear as though they are watching a nature channel on television.

Give your cat lots of fun toys, too; cats need to feed their predatory urges, and they love to jump on and chase around soft toys. This encourages them to exercise more and keeps them from getting bored or feeling anxious when you are busy at home, away working or perhaps not feeling well and not up to playing with them.

Let your cat spend some time outside occasionally as well, they love going exploring, climbing trees, running around and generally being a nuisance and they are fun to watch.

In conclusion

Now that we know why pets are so important in our lives, make sure to show them how much you love them in return. Enjoy a happy life with your pet(s) and take advantage of any and all health benefits that may arise as a result of that experience.