Sobekcroc
New Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2014
- Posts
- 1
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2014
- Messages
- 1
Hello, guinea pig fans. I'm not one of you. I'm here because I live in the same house as a guinea pig that is not loved, and only barely taken care of. I'm about to rant about it. I don't blame you if you dislike me after this post, but I do have a question for you at the end if you can read it without getting too mad.
The pig's cage is usually cleaned once a week, and he is fed at that point and whenever someone is in the basement and remembers to do it. He is given mostly a food mix from petco, with occasional carrots or romaine lettuce. I've lived at this house for a year and a half, and the only times I've seen him out of his 20"x38" cage was when the cage needed cleaning, and once when I wrapped him up in a towel to trim his nails. He drew blood once when I stuck my finger up to the cage to try to socialize him a little. (He's probably not neutered, but I don't know.) Though this bite may have colored my opinion of the pig, I mostly feel bad for him, because I feel he has a miserable life. He seems very afraid of people, is never given hay, and is fed once a day maximum. His claws are very long. Once I put a piece of brick in the cage, because some forum said he'd file them on it himself, but the owner always takes it out when she cleans the cage. Additionally, the wood shaving bedding that they use in the cage is constantly escaping and getting all over the room. This is obviously an annoyance for me, not the pig. But it is part of my rant motivation.
He is the third guinea pig to live in this small cage; the first two lived together for a while, one died, the third one was acquired, then the second one died. The first two pigs were the pets of a bratty teen who lives at my house (not related to me; weird living arrangement; please don't ask.) But this third one was picked up by her mom at Petco because it was housed near some cats in the store, and she felt sorry for it. The kid is a seriously lazy teenager, but beyond that, I think she resents having to deal with this animal. I don't really blame her if she does: after all, it wasn't her choice to get it, but she has to clean up after it. The mom seems to fancy herself an animal rescuer, so putting the animal up for adoption seems like a topic that could potentially end our relationship.
Slight tangent: She also has a very old, inbred, bedraggled, and FIV positive cat that she continues to pay the vet bills for, no matter what. I tend to like cats, but this one is just too old and sad for me to get attached to. In my opinion, there sometimes comes a time when you need to let go of animals if you really love them.
So, in secret, I have long wished that this guinea pig would be given up for adoption. It would obviously be very rude to say that to these people, and nearly unthinkable to do it without consulting them. But I'm tired of the guilt of an unloved animal in the house, and the constant vacuuming that the floor near it requires. What do you think I should do? And before someone says I should take care of it myself... as someone who doesn't like seeing animals suffer, I'd sort of like to. But I have a nearly-minimum wage job, and that is not in the cards.
The pig's cage is usually cleaned once a week, and he is fed at that point and whenever someone is in the basement and remembers to do it. He is given mostly a food mix from petco, with occasional carrots or romaine lettuce. I've lived at this house for a year and a half, and the only times I've seen him out of his 20"x38" cage was when the cage needed cleaning, and once when I wrapped him up in a towel to trim his nails. He drew blood once when I stuck my finger up to the cage to try to socialize him a little. (He's probably not neutered, but I don't know.) Though this bite may have colored my opinion of the pig, I mostly feel bad for him, because I feel he has a miserable life. He seems very afraid of people, is never given hay, and is fed once a day maximum. His claws are very long. Once I put a piece of brick in the cage, because some forum said he'd file them on it himself, but the owner always takes it out when she cleans the cage. Additionally, the wood shaving bedding that they use in the cage is constantly escaping and getting all over the room. This is obviously an annoyance for me, not the pig. But it is part of my rant motivation.
He is the third guinea pig to live in this small cage; the first two lived together for a while, one died, the third one was acquired, then the second one died. The first two pigs were the pets of a bratty teen who lives at my house (not related to me; weird living arrangement; please don't ask.) But this third one was picked up by her mom at Petco because it was housed near some cats in the store, and she felt sorry for it. The kid is a seriously lazy teenager, but beyond that, I think she resents having to deal with this animal. I don't really blame her if she does: after all, it wasn't her choice to get it, but she has to clean up after it. The mom seems to fancy herself an animal rescuer, so putting the animal up for adoption seems like a topic that could potentially end our relationship.
Slight tangent: She also has a very old, inbred, bedraggled, and FIV positive cat that she continues to pay the vet bills for, no matter what. I tend to like cats, but this one is just too old and sad for me to get attached to. In my opinion, there sometimes comes a time when you need to let go of animals if you really love them.
So, in secret, I have long wished that this guinea pig would be given up for adoption. It would obviously be very rude to say that to these people, and nearly unthinkable to do it without consulting them. But I'm tired of the guilt of an unloved animal in the house, and the constant vacuuming that the floor near it requires. What do you think I should do? And before someone says I should take care of it myself... as someone who doesn't like seeing animals suffer, I'd sort of like to. But I have a nearly-minimum wage job, and that is not in the cards.
