What is the Easiest Pet to Own?

In this article we will explore our experiences of the different pets that we own and determine what the easiest pet to take care of is. Having pets is a great addition for many families, but with having a pet comes responsibility. We strive to give each pet the best possible care and that is not always easy in our busy lifestyle.

So here goes our list:

#1 Gerbils

#2 Cats

#3 Goldfish

#4 Parakeet

#5 Rabbit

#6 Dogs

Some people might be surprised by this list, but these are our experiences. Gerbils are really easy to take care of because gerbils are social animals. They like to live in pairs or trios and thus have company and companionship with each other.

Give them a nice, large cage where they can dig and run, a wheel and some cardboard to chew and all they really need if food and water every couple of days.

Of course, I prefer to give all my gerbils daily attention (multiple times a day 😉 ) and I play with them, but when we go on vacation I only have someone come in every couple of days to give them fresh food and water. I find them very easy to take care of and they are considered very low maintenance.

We own gerbils now for more than 6 years and of all the animals that we have owned, I consider our gerbils to be the easiest pets to own.

Our #2 on the list is Cats. Especially when you have two cats (who are friends together), then they can take care of themselves. You could give them a cat door so they can go outside when they want. Or when you leave for vacation or a weekend get-away, you just provide a big bowl of food and water and a clean litter box and they will be alright. Of course, as with most animals they really love human attention, but overall they are very easy to take care of.

#3 is the goldfish….personally I do not find fish very easy to take care of. The water quality is very important and you will have to be careful to not overfeed the fish, because the water can get dirty, but they do need food daily. Meaning that, when leaving for an extended time, it is quite complicated to move an aquarium. I have fond memories of us tugging an aquarium on a wagon to the neighbor’s house. The road was not very flat and the fish had to endure quite a storm 🙂

Then comes the parakeet. Oh how I love birds. I owned parakeets, lovebirds and small parrots. It takes a lot of time to train these cute little animals. Lots of patience, but once done correctly they are very funny. I even had a parakeet who could say: “Koko Kiss”. (Koko was his name). But birds can become very noisy, they can bite and if not careful, they can fly away through an unattended open window or door 🙁 When going on vacation it is fairly easy to pick up the cage and put it at a friends house so it has some human interaction. So I still rank them in the category of a low maintenance pet.

#5 Rabbit. I have had rabbits living outside in a “natural” cage where they could dig and had room to run. I love this kind of setup, but yes, of course we had to catch the rabbits several times when they did escape. Currently we have an indoor (rescue) rabbit in a fairly small cage.

So obviously I feel sorry for our Oreo and we let him out of his cage to run around the house on a daily basis. And that goes surprisingly well. We needed to safeguard a few areas of our house so our cute Oreo would not destroy my router cable, but after that he is good, and somehow even potty trained 🙂

Leaving on vacation means for us to put the cage at a friends house and I ask them to get him out when they can.

But I do not consider rabbits as an easy pet to own in an indoor setting, because rabbits drink a lot and pee a lot. They need clean water about daily, food about daily and a clean cage at least once a day. That’s quite a commitment. But they are cute.

The last one on my list is the dog. Dogs are also my favorite. I grew up with dogs and I practically have owned dogs my whole live so far. But as most people will agree with, dogs are not considered low maintenance or easy pets to own. Dogs need lots of attention, don’t do well when left home alone every day, need a lot of training and exercise. When leaving on vacation it is also very important to think about what to do with your furry friend. Are you taking him with you, or is he going to a dog sitter or doggy daycare. Those are good options for dogs, but they do imply a cost. So my favorite animal ended at the bottom of my list as least low maintenance pet and not the easiest pet to own. But if you can take good care of them and have enough time to exercise and train them, they are truly men’s best friend.