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The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with USA and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

A cat and dog, the two most popular animals kept as pets.

A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a household animal, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits;^[1] keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around. There is now a medically-approved class of "therapy animals," mostly dogs, that are brought to visit confined humans. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction.

[edit] Local restrictions

Many cities and towns have local ordinances limiting the number of pets a person may have, and may also restrict or forbid certain pets (such as fowl or exotics). Certain breeds of dog, such as pit bulls and rottweilers, are banned in some places. Dog/other canid/wolf mixes are also banned in some places.

The cities of Berkeley, California and Boulder, Colorado have passed laws stating that people who have pets do not "own" them; rather, they are the pet's "guardian."^{[citation needed]}

Condominium associations and rental properties often ban animals^{[citation needed]} because of the smells and noise the animals create.

[edit] Pet popularity

Around 63 percent of all U.S. households (71.1 million) are pet owners, and more than half of these households have more than one animal.^[2] The two most popular pets in most Western countries have been cats and dogs. In the United States, a 2007-2008 survey showed that dog-owning households outnumbered those owning cats, but that the total number of pet cats was higher than that of dogs.^[3] Combined reptiles are the next popular followed by birds then horses.

[edit] Choice of a pet

The average cost of a dog over its lifetime is estimated at about £20,000.^[4] The most common reasons for not owning a pet are lack of time, lack of suitable housing, and lack of ability to care for the pet when traveling.^[5] On the positive side, people most commonly get pets for companionship, to protect a home or property, or because of the beauty of the animals.^[5]

According to a 2007-2008 Pet Owners Survey^[6]

In Canada the latest survey done by Colin Siren of Ipsos Reid it is estimated that there are 7.9 million cats and 5.9 million dogs in Canada. The survey also shows that 35% of Canadian households have a dog, while 38% have a cat, which is consistent with other surveys conducted around the world.^[7]

[edit] Overpopulation

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

Animal protection advocates call attention to pet overpopulation in the United States. According to the Humane Society of the United States, 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the country and many more are confined to cages in shelters. This situation is created by nonneutered animals (spayed/castrated) reproducing and people intentionally breeding animals. A particularly problematic combination of economic hardship combined with a love of animals contributes to this problem in parts of the rural United States.^[8] In an average year, a fertile cat can produce three litters of kittens, with up to 4 to 6 kittens in each litter. Based on these numbers, one female cat and her offspring could produce up to 420,000 cats over a seven year period if not spayed or neutered. There are also major overpopulation problems with other pet species, such as birds and rabbits. Local humane societies, SPCAs, and other animal protection organizations urge people to neuter their pets and to adopt animals from animal shelters instead of purchasing them from breeders or pet stores.

[edit] Effects on pets' health

Keeping animals as pets may become detrimental to their health if certain requirements are not kept. An important issue is the inappropriate feeding, which may produce clinical effects (like the consumption of chocolate by dogs).^[9] Passive smoking is another recurring problem, aggravated by the fact that fur animals groom themselves, which means taking in extra harmful substances that have landed on their fur, not just those inhaled.

[edit] Effects of pets on their caregiver's health

[edit] Health benefits

Pets have the ability to stimulate their caregivers, in particular the elderly, giving people someone to take care of, someone to exercise with, and someone to help them heal from a physically or psychologically troubled past.^[10] Having a pet may help people achieve health goals, such as lowered blood pressure, or mental goals, such as decreased stress.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]} There appears to be strong evidence that having a pet can help a person lead a longer, healthier life. In a study of 92 people hospitalized for coronary ailments, within a year 11 of the 29 without pets had died, compared to only 3 of the 52 who had pets.^[10] A recent study concluded that owning a pet can reduce the risk of a heart attack by 2% and that pets are better than medication in reducing blood pressure.^{[citation needed]} Owning a pet can also prolong survival of a heart attack.^[17] Dogs which are trained to be guide dogs can help people with disabilities.

A recent study conducted by Bob Martin, a British pet healthcare company, suggests that dog owners could get considerably more exercise than gym goers who don't own a furry companion. According to the study, dog-owners walk twice a day for about 24 minutes at a time and will take longer walks each week for about 51 minutes. Adding up to about eight hours and nine minutes of exercise per week, this workout is considerably longer than the one hour and 20 minute stint at the gym for the average person. And with 86 percent of people enjoying the time they spend walking their pooch compared to only 16 percent enjoying sweating it out on the treadmill, there can be a number of health benefits for pet owners. ^[18]

[edit] Pets in long-term care institutions

Even pet owners residing in a long-term care facility, such as a hospice or nursing home, experience health benefits from pets. Pets for nursing homes are chosen based on the size of the pet, the amount of care that the breed needs, and the population and size of the care institution.^[10] Appropriate pets go through a screening process and, if it is a dog, additional training programs to become a therapy dog.^[19]

Different pets require varying amounts of attention and care; for example, cats have lower maintenance requirements than dogs.^[20]

[edit] Health risks

Health risks that are associated with pets include:

• Aggravation of allergies and asthma caused by dander and fur or feathers
• Injuries, maulings and sometimes deaths caused by pet bites and attacks
• Disease and/or parasites due to animal hygiene problems or lack of appropriate treatment (faeces and urine)
• Stress caused by behaviour of animals
• Fear or distress from animal presence or behaviour
• Spread of diseases like the fatal rabies when not properly taken care of.

[edit] Common types

While many people have kept many different species of animals in captivity over the course of human history, only a relative few have been kept long enough to be considered domesticated. Other types of animals, notably monkeys, have never been domesticated but are still commonly sold and kept as pets. There are also inanimate objects that have been kept as "pets", either as a form of game, or humorously.

[edit] Domesticated

Domesticated pets are the most common types of pet. They have consistently been kept in captivity over a long enough period of time that they exhibit marked differences in behavior and appearance from their wild relatives.

[edit] Mammals

A pet rabbit.

• Asses including mules, miniature donkeys, donkeys, burros
• Horses
• Dogs
• Cats
• Rodents, including hamsters, guinea pigs, fancy mice, gerbils, chinchillas, plains viscachas, and fancy rats
• Rabbits
• Ferrets
• Skunks
• Tame Silver Foxes
• Domesticated Hedgehogs
• Pot-Bellied Pigs
• Goats
• Pygmy Goats
• Llamas
• Alpacas
• Sheep

[edit] Birds

• Domestic Canaries and other finch species
• Chickens
• Ducks
• Pigeons and Doves like Domestic Pigeons and Victoria Crowned Pigeons
• Peafowls
• Domestic turkeys
• Parrots like budgerigars (parakeets), cockatiels, cockatoos, lovebirds, and macaws

[edit] Wild

Wild animals are often kept as pets. The term wild in this context specifically applies to any species of animal which has not undergone a fundamental change in behavior to facilitate a close co-existence with humans. Some species listed here may have been bred in captivity for a considerable length of time, but are still not recognized as domesticated. Many of these pets, like insects and fish, are kept as a hobby, rather than for companionship.

[edit] Exotic Mammals

• Duikers
• Mongoose
• Anteaters like giant anteaters and southern tamanduas
• Canidae like arctic foxes, coydogs, dingos, fennec foxes, gray foxes, and wolfdogs
• Civets like binturongs and genets
• Deer like reindeer and leaf muntjacs
• Felidae like bobcats, jaguars, leopards, lions, ocelots, servals, and tigers
• Marsupials like possums, red kangaroos, short-tailed opossums, sugar gliders, wallabys, wallaroos, and wombats
• Mustelids like badgers, minks, and otters
• Pet Skunks like hooded skunks, spotted skunks, and striped skunks
• Primates like capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees, guenons, lemurs, macaques, marmosets, tamarins, tarsiers, sykes' monkeys, slow lorises, spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and vervet monkeys
• Procyonidae like cacomistles, coatimundi, kinkajous, raccoons, and ringtail cats
• Rodents like chipmunks, degus, dormouse, flying squirrels, groundhogs, patagonian cavys, pouched rats, and prairie dogs.
• Tapirs
• Spotted Hyena

[edit] Birds

• Emus
• Ostriches

[edit] Reptiles

• Tortoises
• Lizards
• Iguanas
• Snakes (many of the commonly kept ones like corn, king, milk and other snakes have morphs, which are color or pattern mutations)
• Turtles
• Crocodilians, including alligators, crocodiles, caimans, gharials

[edit] Amphibians

• Frogs
• Toads
• Salamanders
• Newts

[edit] Fish

• Some of the common freshwater aquarium fishes are Angelfish (freshwater), Barb, Cichlid, Corydoras, Danio, Discus, Goldfish, Gourami, Koi, Live-bearer, Loach, Mbuna, Rainbowfish, Rasbora, Siamese fighting fish, Suckermouth catfish, and Tetra.

For more species of freshwater fishes, please see the list of freshwater aquarium fish species.

• Some of the common marine aquarium fishes are Angelfish (marine), Blenny, Boxfish, Butterflyfish, Chromis, Clownfish, Damsel, Goby, Lionfish, Pufferfish, Seahorse, Tang, Triggerfish, and Wrasse.

For more species of saltwater fishes, please see the list of marine aquarium fish species.

[edit] Arthropods

The Caribbean hermit crab is one example of a pet arthropod.

• Shrimp
• Praying Mantises
• Ants
• Crickets
• Tarantulas and other spiders can be kept as well
• Scorpions
• Millipedes
• Cockroaches
• Vinegaroons (whip scorpions)
• Sea Monkeys (a type of brine shrimp)
• Hermit Crabs
• Centipedes
• Pill Bugs (giant)
• Stick Insects

[edit] Mollusks

• Octopuses
  See also: Aquarium
• Cuttlefish
  See also: Aquarium
• Snails

[edit] Non-living

• Digital pets such as Gigapets, Neopets, Tamagotchi, or Nintendogs
• Pet rocks - a type of toy; a rock treated as a pet
• Live rock - Rock with microorganisms and small mollusks within, used in salt water aquariums
• Robotics-robotic animals
• Robotic Pets-artificially intelligent robots treated as pets

[edit] See also

• Animal Chaplains
• American Animal Hospital Association
• Animal hoarder
• Animal keeping
• Brood parasite
• Dog attack
• Human-animal bond
• List of U.S. Presidential pets
• Pet adoption
• Pet cloning
• Pet First Aid
• Pet food
• Pet insurance
• Pet passport
• Pet sitting
• The Pet Network
• Category:Veterinary medicine
• Zoonosis

• Pet loss:
  • Animal loss
  • Pet cemetery
  • Rainbow Bridge (pets)
• Alternative pets:
  • Digital pet
  • Exotic pet
• Nuclear Medicine:
  • Positron Emission Tomography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Companion Animal Demographics in the United States: A Historical Perspective from The State of the Animals II: 2003
• [1] Info on primates kept as pets (see section wild, the sub-section mammals, then under primates).
• [2] Pet Care advice sheets available for domestic animals

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of How to choose your pet and take care of it

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pets

Look up pet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.