I live in an aparment and my landlord has cleared me for caged animals (although i will be letting it out very reguarly to play with so don't worry about that). I preferably wanted two rats because they appear to be very friendly and very intelligent. However, my girlfriend is totally frightened by the idea of rats (unjust I know but i've struggled to convince her otherwise). What is a good alternative (preferablly mammal rather than lizard or snake etc,)
2009-03-05T04:01:20Z
When the landlord said caged pet I don't think he meant a dog that can be caged. I think he means small animals like rats and ferrets. Although ferrets sound good i think it'd have to be flat inspection safe and the smell might cause a change of heart by the landlord
Sarah K2009-03-05T03:12:35Z
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If you want to be able to let the pet roam around, I'd suggest a ferret (or better yet, two).
The only real downside to a ferret is that they kind of stink, and are curious enough to get themselves in to trouble. The same goes for rats, though. Also, if you decide to get a cat down the line, they get along great together! Most are very good-natured and playful. They're definitely as amusing and intelligent as rats. They're litter box-trainable, and most likely already trained if you get them from a breeder or a pet store.
You could consider a rabbit or guinea pig, too. From my experience they're not as friendly as ferrets, though. Not that they're bad pets, but ferrets seem to naturally like people.
I would suggest a small breed of dog like a yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua. You can get them in a variety of sizes and caging them isn't bad, we put a fresh blanket in ours with a pillow and water/food dishes can fit on the sides of the cages so they are not spilled and we still have room for a pee-pee pad. You can do so much more with a dog and I'm sure your girlfriend would be all over this idea! Good luck!