My housemate talked about getting a cat for two months. I shrugged it off as all talk, until one day I could tell from the look in her eye she was serious. Though I consider myself a cat lover, I was wary of the idea. My biggest worry: could college students have enough time and money to provide a good home for a pet? I exhausted every imaginable worst-case scenario of keeping a tiny, defenseless creature in our drafty college house. But now that Sassy Cat has spent the past month living in our two-level house, it just wouldn’t feel like home without listening for a soft meow.
As a now-experienced collegiate pet owner, I thought it would be wise to pass on some words of wisdom on what you should consider before bringing a little critter—be it amphibian, bird, cat, fish, dog, or hamster—into your crazy college schedule. Check out HC’s Furry Friends, our new slideshow featuring pictures of some HC Team members with their pets!
What is university housing/apartment policy?
Most schools run a strict no-pet policy, with a few exceptions (for example, allowing fish in small tanks). Check this out first so to avoid heartbreak when you find out the dorm rules. There are some exceptions to the norm, like Eckerd College in Florida, that may only allow pets from home to move to college with you but not cats or dogs acquired after moving into college. MIT also allows restricted ownership of cats in four specific “cat-friendly” residence halls, provided consent of all floor-mates and roommates.
Off-campus housing tends to operate similarly. Landlords that allow pets are few and far between; and, if they do allow them, they’ll probably charge an extra buck to house your four-legged friends.
How will it affect my roommates and guests?
The number one rule: be considerate. Get input from your roommates and house-mates. And, as senior Jennifer Durham learned, you should be open to discussion even after the animal moves in. Durham brought a dog to her apartment complex in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the consent of her apartment-mates, but halfway through the semester one of them left because the living arrangement “wasn’t working.” Choosing to have a pet affects more than just the people with whom you share living space. Allergies can keep friends from visiting or force you to change the location of events that you would otherwise have hosted at your house. Additionally, hosting large gatherings or parties would be out of the question because the crowds and loud music could read as “sensory overload” for your animal.
What is the time commitment?
Some pets require more attention than others. Cats can be very independent creatures—they go to the litter box without waiting for you or lounge at a window-seat without needing any company. But some dogs (and even younger kittens) will need more supervision or time playing. Could you spend most of your time outside of class back in your room? Could you drop all of your work if your animal gets sick? Could you find time to take the dog for a walk or clean the bird cage? “Once you decide to take on the pet, it’s no longer all about you,” Durham says. But she insists that scheduling routine dog-walks has its perks—the extra responsibility helps her manage her time better, plus get in some exercise!
How much will this animal cost?
You’re paying for animal. And its collar. And the carrier bag. And the scratching post (which is at least cheaper than a new couch). Plus medical costs and veterinary visits. Oh, and let’s not forget the food. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) breaks down the cost of man’s (or girl’s) best friends on its website. According to the ASPCA’s predictions, owning a bunny costs less than owning a cat—even considering the fact that you’d have to pay three times as much for a bunny cage’s litter as you would for the pebbles in a cat’s litterbox. Least expensive college pet: a fish, estimated at $235 for a year. Most expensive: a large dog at $1,843.
Who is responsible for the pet?
Who will be the person to wake up in the early hours of the morning to let the dog outside? Or the roommate in charge of emptying the litter box? Who will feed the fish? Responsibilities such as these could be split up and incorporated into your house’s chore chart (or programmed into your Blackberries). Another idea would be to designate one person as the owner and bestowing all responsibilities on her. Erin Werstuik, a junior at Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania, was concerned about the responsibility of bringing her fish to school, but thankfully King Freddy Melvin V requires nothing more than daily feeding and a quick change of water once a week.
Vacation Time and Post-Graduation
Having a pet means one more major addition to your checklist as you pack your bags. Your options: bring the pet home or take it with you on your travels (which can be stressful for the pets especially if you’re traveling long-distances), have a care-taker check in on your animal during break (which is costly and leaves the pet alone for most of the day), or check it in to a kennel. And if you decide on taking your gerbil or bird home over break, who is the lucky roommate to take it back with her?
For larger scenery changes like post-graduation move-out, the situation gets stickier. The difficulty of dragging your furry friend along with you when you move is one of the top reasons people drop off their dogs, cats, and even guinea pigs at the pound. “Unfortunately, animals are left behind during the summers or when people graduate. That’s one of the reasons I would say the vast majority of schools have a no-pet policy,” says Nancy Peterson, cat programs manager of the Humane Society of the United States. For this reason, the Humane Society actually advises against taking a pet in college.
If living with an animal falls through but you still itch to have a pet, do the next best thing: find a local animal shelter and volunteer. Become the next dog-walker or cat-cuddler. “It’s like being a grandparent: you get to enjoy the kids and then go back home and have your time and space,” Peterson says.
Sources:
http://www.aspca.org/adoption/pet-care-costs.html
Nancy Peterson, Cats Program manager for the Humane Society of the United States
Jennifer Durham, senior at UNC Chapel Hill
Erin Werstuik, junior at Mercyhurst College