We've never left kitty alone overnight but we both work so she is alone all day during the week.

Whoever gets home finds her bleary eyes (obviously just woken up) sitting at the door - making out she has been "waiting" for us

She gets plenty of fuss during the evening and we tend to work it so one of us not if not both are home in the evening!! That said I have no qualms in leaving her for 12 hours + on occasion if we're both out.......

Our Otto (british short hair) is a very loving boy, and usually really well behaved. When eating wet food though the noise is truly stomach turning. Although I am not a cat lover, I don't really have regrets about getting him - OH was over the moon when I bought Otto for him. I do, however, have regrets when he has one of his turns and decides to take a poo in the house, or when I have to negotiate his "landmines" on the lawn.

my only regret about having any of our animals is the grief when they die, I've found it really hard over the years. But no regrets on having animals as they bring such joy in your lives whilst you have them.

Getting my dogs was the BEST thing I ever did. They've been my best friends for all these years. I remember when my Cookie was a puppy I heard this massive ripping sound. I turned around to see him tearing the wallpaper off the wall lol. But as the years go by you get to know their little quirks, the things they like, the things they don't. They become your best friends.

My Cookie has been up all night being sick and with a runny bum, I gladly look after him. He's epileptic. I happily clean him up after a fit.

I recently lost my dog Benny. I spent well over two thousand pounds trying to get him better. And that was over the course of two weeks. Sadly he died. I'm still paying it off each month now. But I don't regret it at all.

I briefly regretted getting Kali our bengal, she was very noisy while she was on heat, it was a nightmare, she kept us up at night with her yelling. But since we've had her done she has been a different cat, we've since got another bengal, Simba and now that he has settled in they are inseperable. It is great to come in from a days work and see them playing togther, it is really funny and it cheers us up.

So no regrets at all, I adore them both.

My gorgeous, crazy puppy, who's 5 months now, can be a bit of a nightmare. He has destroyed all the material off kitchen chair, claws at the wallpaper, scratches the paintwork on doors, has puked on the carpet, drags rubbish in from the garden, jumps at me when his paws are muddy. Thankfully he's toilet trained so no more standing in puddles of warm wee anymore! I'm constantly hoovering, cleaning, chasing him saying "drop it" or "leave". I have wondered if life would be easier without a dog and yes, it might be but it wouldn't be half as fun. I wouldn't and couldn't be without my little Oscar. He's the best thing to have ever have happened to me, if not a little bit of a challenge at times! Real regrets? No. Stressful times? Yes!

Haha, this all sounds very familiar. Barney was at his worst and most destructive between about 4-8 months, he was so stubborn too and just barked at me when I told him to leave something

He'll be a year old next week and is so much better behaved, it's like having a completely different dog.

I can never understand why people get rid of dogs once they're no longer puppylike and 'cute' any more. I prefer Barney now he's older and less destructive. He was a cute pup though.... when he was sleeping!

No, no regrets at all. As others have said, you only regret them when they die .... then you wish you hadnt got so attached.

I have 3 cats, 2 dogs and numerous chickens - and i dont regret any of them.

The only one slightly is our tortoise. He was a rescue tortoise, and he is a real character. He lives outside for most of the year, but as he is too young to be hibernated he comes indoors for winter and wanders around the place. But he poos and widdles everywhere ..... and i spend my life armed with kitchen towel and carpet cleaner. He is also a very fussy eater, so trying to feed him is hard work. I still love him though.

Oh I know! Puppies and their flippin' sharp teeth! Ouch!

I'm glad your dog calmed down a bit. It gives me hope! I'm remaining patient and hope mine will too although I do enjoy some of his puppy antics. He's getting neuteured soonish which the vet said may help too.

I agree with the above post I am rather concerned that you own a cat that you obviously are not able to look after properly. I would suggest looking into rehoming this cat asap so that someone can give it a good and loving home.

like with some humans,pets can sometimes have a few problems,hence me saying i regretted getting her due to my son.
at no point did i say i couldnt or wouldnt look after her as she is a part of this family.
i regret a few things in my life,doesnt mean i would change them.

If only everyone was as dedicated as you! We probably wouldnt have a DDA to deal with, I commend you! Obviously I have a Staff, lol, and Id never be without him, and i wil always put him first, regrets about having him NONE. I have been judged and regected because i love Staffs and pits, but I battle on, with my love intact, because I know there really are no better breeds out there.
For every knock Ive suffered as a bull and terrier owner, the dogs have more than made up for them!

my sister had a staff as someone she knew was moving abroad.he was as soft as butter.really lovely dog.

You know, even when I look back upon my past pets, I cant say I have regrets when they pass on, because I remember the good times, and the bad with a fond heart, and I know Id give every second of heartache when they are gone, to have had them part of my life.
I do regret their passing though, so maybe Im talking BS...
Losing a loved pet is a hard one to get your head around. I lost my beloved pit cross a year ago, nearly to the day, and I still miss him, but I cant ever regret sharing 15 years of my life with the mad old bugger!

The only pet I've regretted having was my rabbit. She was nasty and obviously unhappy.

I have no regrets with my dogs or my cat.
When they were pups, like Xassy said, I thought life would be easier without them, but I wouldn't change them for the world. They're my babies

I don't remember my cat being a pain as a kitten because I was only 5. It was my parents that probably regretted getting him

I adore my cat - and she's come on so much in the 3 weeks I've had her, from being a terrified stray to loving being stroked and petted - BUT I can't stand her dirt box! I am pregnant so strong smells are particularly awful, but the smell of cat poo/wee makes me retch really badly, and even after my hubby has got rid of the poo/wee, I can still smell it. We live in a flat, so it's not really possible to stick it in a room we don't use. I've moved it out of the living room into the hall - I just hope she notices the change, but she's a smart little thing, I am sure she will. Anyone got any good advice on how to deal with this? She didn't know what a dirt box WAS at first, so we put soil instead of cat litter in it and she worked it out pretty quick, but I think she might be confused if we change to something else now.

Oh good, I feel better now as I work f/t so my mog is on her own all day. Can't let her out until she's been spayed either. But she seems happy enough, and she gets loads of attention in the evenings too.

get a Goodsphere!! I have 4 of them, and they purify the air and give out good pongs, as opposed to the glade type airfreshioners, that mask smells. You can find them easiest on ebay. Everyone should have a Goodsphere!

Excellent plan. Thanks.

I've never regretted having any of my dogs. All of my dogs have been rescues - some are old and some with surprise terminal illnesses - but all have been a joy to live with, regardless of how short. I've had to pts 5 dogs in the last 5 years because of illnesses - it's awful but I don't regret for one moment that I looked after them and spent emotion on them - you get it back in spades.

Lots of 'regrets' at times, when he has been misbehaving very badly and once realised the true extent of just how tied you are once having an animal.

But I would never ever be without him, he is so very special to me and I would have him again 100 times over.

That's the only regret I have! If they're in old age and are very ill then that is so heartbreaking and so is when you have an animal that is killed, like our Poppy cat was run over.
The thing is, you can give a dog rules and take them for walks.
With a cat you try to set rules (which my 2 are marvellous in the house) but when they go outside, how can you tell them not to walk a mile and be run over like our Poppy was?

We're taking them out on harnesses soon, when they're a bit older and get them used to the 'safer' area of outdoors, but who knows what will happen? when they're let off in the garden and decide to go further?

I'm a firm believer in cats are such sweet and loving animals, but they're also animals that should be allowed to explore the outdoors, which is in their nature!

I had four house rabbits until yesterday when one died suddenly. It was so heartbreaking and I and the other 3 buns will be grieving for a while. As someone said above, the death of a pet can be a big regret and we only have them for such a short while.

I bought my first bunny the day after my beloved dog, Sam, passed away. My mum used to look after Sam while I was at work and when he died she said she wouldn't be willing to do the same with a new dog.

Alas full-time job meant no dog, so I adopted a homeless rabbit as a substitute. My initial regret was that she was not a dog. I found her rather characterless and actually pretty agressive and couldn't see any hope of us ever bonding. I couldn't understand why she didn't enjoy being picked up and cuddled and she couldn't understand why I wouldn't leave her the hell alone. In time though we gained an understanding of each other and I soon found myself falling for her. Hopefully the feeling was mutual. She certainly likes me better than she did.

Believing her to be lonely I got her a friend from the pet shop and my two girls instantly bonded (another regret initally, mind you, because they were so enamoured with each other that I was left out).

Later I adopted two more homeless rabbits and my menagerie of buns - all neutered - was complete. No. 2 bunny, Honey, died yesterday after a short illness and we're all quite lost without her.

Biggest regrets about having rabbits - they're nothing like dogs (or cats for that matter). It takes a while to get to know them, they don't like being picked up and cuddled (though petting while their feet are firmly on the floor is fine) and you'll look pretty silly if you take them walkies. They're also messy little critters. I have to follow them around with a dustbuster and damp disinfectant cloth. They've chewed their way through about half a dozen mobile phone chargers and my carpets have little bare patches here and there.

Accept them for what they are though and rabbits make great pets. So despite the teething troubles I would never part with them. Losing my first one yesterday made me realise just how much I loved them, maybe not in the same way as my dog, but they're still very much a part of my family.

I absolutely love my two kittens, but it took my husband ages to convince me to get a pet, and I do sometimes think I was technically right (though I wouldn't change things for the world).

We live hundreds of miles away from our families and best friends, so used to be away at weekends all the time, and also like to go on holiday a lot (camping etc). I warned him that we wouldn't be able to keep this up if we got cats. He kept saying that they are cats, not dogs (I'd never had cats) and it would be fine....

But I've not visited my mum and dad since we got them 9 months ago, or our friends. Luckily people have came up to visit us, but it doesn't feel fair to expect that all the time. We put them in a cattery once, and I burst into tears in the middle of the cattery office and worried all weekend. I'm going to have to do it again for two days over xmas, and am dreading it, but I really need to visit my family. (They were actually purring when I walked away and left them, and purring when I went to pick them up, so have no reason to think they didn't like it. But still...)

Luckily, we have recently found a good pet sitter that they seem to really like. We went away for a weekend this month, and they didn't seem to notice, which should open things up a bit for us next year.

So I don't regret getting them, but I do worry a lot about the amount of time we spend out of the house (at least a couple of evenings per week, as well as working full time), and the holidays that we are planning. They are happy cats and have each other, so it is irrational, but it still hangs over me a bit. I certainly wouldn't judge someone for finding the responsibility more than they expected.

When I decided I was going to start keeping snakes about 20 years ago .....

Did no research and just went out and bought the first and cheapest snake I could find. It was a "Water Snake". Turned out to be an evil tempered b@stard ..... and was never likely to get any better, only bigger (approx 6 foot fully grown ... it was only a foot long baby when I bought it). When I looked up the species after putting up with it's evil temperament for a few weeks, the entry I found for it read something along the lines of "Bad tempered snakes. Do not like being handled and prone to striking and musking. Do NOT make good pets".

Fortunately, I also didn't research how to set up it's tank properly and it only lasted about 6 months before it had an accident in the badly set up tank and died. (It got squashed under a precariously balanced rock)

Did my reserch for the second attempt and my first, lovely tempered, corn snake is still going strong 17 years later.