Do you ever feel like you need to take a pet break?

I did. Two cats for a total of 30 years. They both lived long lives and were sick the last couple of years of their lives. When I put the second one down due to sickness, I took a break for about four months. I didn’t regret nursing them but I needed the time. One day I just knew I was ready again and a wonderful cat chose me.

DH and I did. We had dogs while our kids were growing up and loved them (kids and dogs!) dearly. When it was time to say goodbye to our lab, we decided our time with dogs was done. The kids are all grown and, as much as we love dogs, they are a lot of work. Three months later, we adopted sibling kittens and we've been cat people ever since! I can't imagine life without them. So much for "We're done with pets"!

I am ready for a pet break. We got a puppy two years ago and she is challenging enough. Then we took in my brother's dog, for a total of three dogs and a cat. One is a 125lb St. Bernard. The two-year-old is an incredibly high-energy cattle dog, and my brother's dog is a pit bull. Even though she is the best behaved, it causes issues when trying to find pet care so we can travel. I work from home and am the primary caretaker. And I am freaking exhausted.

DH took a picture at Christmas where all four of them were surrounding me, each demanding their own thing. I would never get rid of any of them, we made the commitment and will stick it out. But I am done.

I began renovations on my house in November of 2021 and my mum took my two senior cats to her condo because I had workers coming in and out ...

She has a cat of her own ... he's a Ragdoll and young ...

Anyway, one of my cats has sadly passed and the other LOVES Grandma and will live with her permanently because she can give her the attention she deserves.   

This is the first time in more than 30 years that I have no cats or dogs ... it is freeing (yes, but sometimes lonely as I live alone) ... no more cat hair on everything and no more dealing with cat litter ... 

I will never get another pet ... I just visit Ella at my mum's place ... she ignores me!    

Every person is different, but I can't live without a Siamese cat. I am on my third, and my house is too horribly quiet without one. I come from generations of animal lovers.

After I lost two old dogs in three months, I was afraid to love a dog again! But I especially needed a Corgi face to greet me. I felt naked without a Corgi! So we bought a Corgi puppy (I swore I’d never get a puppy but so glad I did!) and then we still have our old yellow lab. Now we have “fewer” pets than when we had kids at home but we still have four horses, two dogs, one cat, one turtle, and a twenty year old frog 😜

With an almost 16 yo dog I can completely understand what you’re feeling. I know I’ll take a break after him. (I’ll be devastated too ) but I’ll need a break from being responsible, from being unable to just go where ever I want whenever I want.




My niece thinks I’ll foster old abandoned dogs. For some reason people keep surrendering older dogs to shelters, sometimes for valid reasons like the owner died or went into nursing care but a lot of times just because. I can’t say that the thought is unappealing, though I do wonder if I’d find a rescue that’s ok that I don’t have a fence. Cross that bridge if I get the urge after my guy crosses the rainbow bridge.

((((Hugs)))) We've lost 4 cats in the last 2 years - all seniors. We still have 4 more (2 are almost 13, 2 are almost 2) but I think we're done after this batch. Partly because the last two years were SO hard - one had dementia, one died suddenly from seizures, one had thyroid disease and incontinence and faded slowly, and one spent the last year incontinent. And partly because we're in our 50s and if the current little ones live as long as our previous seniors did - we'll be around 70 when they pass

I was on a pet break until my son, daughter in law and their two old english bulldogs moved in earlier this month.

Once they leave, I am going on another pet break .

I do have chickens and 1 hamster tho.

When my horse suddenly fell sick, and we had to put her down, I took a break and didn't get another one for years. I just couldn't.
I've never been without a dog in my house. It's just to quiet without one.
You do what is best for you! Take a break, short or long. Whatever works for you.

I took a 10 year pet break! I've always had a dog, sometimes several. But when my last dog died right before we moved out of our house in the country to a neighborhood, we decided to go pet free. And I enjoyed that time. No dog hair, not vet bills, no worrying about them when we traveled.

But then Covid came along and 16 year old DD was begging for a dog, a companion during lock down. I was adamantly opposed, she would be going off to college in a few years, we planned to travel more, dog hair... suprisingly DH who was not a dog person sided with her and they wore me down. My sister in law is a groomer and she found us a rescue dog (a Schnoodle mix) and said if it didn't work out she would take him back and find him another home. We all loved him instantly. He's the best dog I've ever had. He was 2 years old when we got him so no puppy problems. He doesn't bark, he doesn't shed, he loves chasing a ball and has the quirkiest personality. He is a much loved member of the family and I can't imagine life without him. DD had more problems saying goodbye to him when she went off to college than to us lol.

We use to have two cats that lived long life ,we didn’t get new ones because we started Rv’ing , we usually have two dogs that are usually a couple of years apart and I always wait that both passed before I get another one , old dogs rarely enjoy energetic puppies.
To answer your question I never rushed getting a new pet because I don’t want to make a emotional decision but keep in mind that a new (young) or just new to you pet make the pain go away…they are magic like that .

When my husband and I moved in together a little over a decade ago he had three cats and I had two dogs. Since 2019 we have lost the two dogs and two of the cats. We're down to one cat and he is 19. DH is begging me to get at least another cat when the last one passes. But I'm ready for a break. Plus our special needs son adds a lot of worry and responsibility to our days and I'm just not sure how he'd react to a new animal. I just don't want to test the waters in that way. It's not fair to the animal if it's not a good situation. We debate about it nearly every day.

the longest pet break we've taken is a year.  we thought it would be longer but he just came along.  

when our current dog goes, this will be our last for at least a few years.  we will be retiring and moving and we want to be able to focus on that.  downsizing, listing a home, going out of town for long periods to look for the new home.  that chaotic activity isn't fair to a pet so we will hold off until we are settled again.