New family pets

Although this isn't something I am considering myself, I wondered what other people thought about getting a new pet just after losing another. Knowing that our old cat was in the autumn of her life , we got a kitten last year so that when we did eventually lose the old dear, the kids would still have a pet, without thinking we had replaced the old one. She was too special for that.

Having said that, it is likely we will get a kitten at the end of the year, early part of next year, coz in the past we always had two cats. I just don't want my kids thinking it is easy to replace something that was so part of the family.

So - WYO?

We hope to get another dog before my Storm goes to the big dogs bowl in the sky, as I don't want to feel like I'm replacing him (we would get the same breed) but as they can cost around £1100 we still have a bit of saving up to do, if we don't get another soon then it won't be for a long time or a diffrent breed.

I don't think it shows your children that pets are replaceable if you get a new pet before another dies but mabye it would if you got another as soon as they died it could do?!

Yes, that's exactly it, and that was the reasoning behind our lovely little Chester!

Hi Liz,
As you know we lost our cat last week too, so this has been preying on my mind this week.

We've been looking for a kitten on and off for maybe six months, but without much effort. I couldn't decide whether it was kinder to buy a kitten when older cat was with us, or if that would annoy her. Now that that decision has been made for me, and I'm still kind of, -ish, sort of, maybe looking for a pregnant queen, looking to adopt a pair of kittens in a couple of months. Not straight away, to "replace" our cat, because we can't replace her. But I won't turn down any kittens that came our way, either.

My children are old enough, and sadly experienced enough with death, to know we aren't trying to fill a gap - except for the youngest who is young enough for it all to pass over her head anyway.