Thinking about getting a pet and ...

[Serina]

I was wondering whether cats tend to outlive dogs or vice versa.

If the difference is significant, I'd prefer to get a long lived pet. It would be so sad to invest so much emotional energy in a pet only to have it die.

Does anyone know if different breeds live significantly longer than others? I think I'd like to get a breed that lives a very long time.

I know parrots live a long time, but I'd reall prefer a dog or cat. I love them both. So it really makes little difference to me.

[mander]

One of the biggest factors when getting a pet would depend on a few things.
If your pet got sick, would you be able to afford the vet bills?
Pets, be it a cat or dog need attention and loving care. Would you be around enough to provide that?
They can be expensive to own if the wrong breed is chosen. Sure, some breeds live longer than others, but you also have to look at the history of that breed and know ahead of time if they are prone to specific health problems. Do some research online even if someone recommends one. And please, get one from a reputable person. Stay away from puppy mill owners as most of those end up with some sort of health problem due to unhealthy conditions.
The Key is research...research...research.

[Lee Anne]

Something you may want to do is talk to a vet about issues like that or even the humane society. Which ever you decide on I hope they live a long healthy life but also depends on how well you take care of your pet, regular exams and the proper foods & exercise of course plus lots of love and attention, dogs love attention and a cat will let you know when to give it attention lol

[Deathhawk78]

This is what I found through my years of knowing people whove owned pets in my life and still do.

I own 1 dog, 1 cat, and 2 ferrets (used to be 3). I've grew up with pets and my whole familly has pets also. I've seen in lots of case's that the bigger the dog the shorter the life spane. Small dogs can live up to 10-16 and bigger dos from 8-13. Cats I've found can live from 9-16 years of age. My mom's cat lived for 14 years while being a diabetic, 2 needles a day. What you do for love.:(

[Serina]

Wow! A diabetic cat? I never even imagined such a thing. I don't know if I could handle giving a cat two needles a day. At some point, don't you have to weigh the quality of life versus the enjoyment of life?

But thanks for the tip about big dogs and small dogs. That sure makes sense. It's a lot like people. People who are extremely obese suffer all kinds of health problems and live much shorter lives. Most doctors seems to always be advising patients to lose weight.

Anyway, there is a limit to the amount of research I want to do. I'm willing to do some. But isn't there a generic breed of dog that tends to be more healthy and live longer lives than others? I would have guessed that Labs were one of the healthiest breeds.

[Tess]

Yeah you had a parrot didnt you and gave it away? What was his name again? Or was that one of the other triplet sisters?

[rileydog]

LOL .....thought I recognized that name.