Over the course of my life, we've had every one of those pets and here's the results:
Birds are messy (feathers and seeds everywhere and poops that somehow get flung on to the wall where they dry like cement!) , plus if you get a parrot type bird, they require interaction and can be noisy, particularly the larger ones and they have long lives. At our ages (all of us here), if you were to get a bird, you'd have to recognize that it may well outlive you and if you do 'love' it, you're going to have to make arrangements for it's life to continue in a happy environment after you're gone. They also shouldn't be left to sit in a cage that is too small, they require flight. So if you don't like mess or you aren't committed to keeping them entertained and aren't willing to give them the biggest cage you can find.............
Aquariums' need constant attention to keep the fish's environment healthy and balanced and clean. In my opinion, aquariums are like a bucket of water to throw your money into.
Hamsters need to have their cages cleaned often and they are nocturnal so while you are sleeping, they are running in their wheel (which invariably squeaks loud enough to keep you up at night) or they chew on the bars of their cages (which invariably is loud enough to keep you up at night). Our girls also had those adorable tiny mice (just 2) as pets when they were kids and those things smell worse than pet rats or guinea pigs even when you are scrupulous with cage cleaning.
Cats, well so far we're doing okay with Ziggy, but from past experience, you can run into issues with the whole litter box situation (suddenly refusing to use it for example and for no obvious reason) and they should not be left out to wander the streets where there are numerous predators, including people who hate cats.
Dogs, some are great, but again, don't let them wander the streets on their own so if you aren't into walking them every few hours......and don't get a chihuahua because they seem to be impossible to really housetrain so you'll be cleaning up puddles and piles for their entire lives. I've had three, my one daughter has had three and the youngest has one (who's been litter box trained). And they all are guilty of said crime on a regular basis and believe me, we are scrupulous about walking and/or letting them out to the fenced back yard hourly. I think part of the problem is that when they are puppies, they are so small and close to the ground that they can stand behind a cushion on the floor and you have no idea they are peeing there until an hour later when you go to pick up the pillow so you never get to catch them in the act and turn it into an educational experience. That's my theory anyhow because other than that, the only thing I can think of is that they enjoy listening to me curse them out
when I do discover their 'gift'.
My two dogs are 5 and 12 and the cat is about three and I know short of catastrophic illness or injury, that I will outlive them and when they die, they won't be replaced. I wasn't counting on a stray black cat showing up under my porch by seeing as how my projected date of leaving will be 25 years from now, I think it's safe to say that I'll outlive them.
Is there really a perfect pet? Not sure if that is answerable.
