You love quality time with your fur-kid – coming home to their cuddles are often the highlight of your day. But while you also have work, hobbies, friends, and partners, your pet only has you. And even if you’d love to spend all your time with them, it simply isn’t always possible.
Depending on personality and breed, most pets get lonely by themselves. So, is it smart to adopt with a playmate? Let’s investigate!
Are pets happier in pairs?
There are multiple benefits to owning multiple pets – for both you and your little fluff buddies. Firstly, there’s the companionship your pet will receive when you’re away at work or busy. Bored pets often resort to destructive or hostile behaviour, which can cause long-term damage. When you have more than one, they can play together and keep each other stimulated and entertained – and your furniture intact!
Socialisation is also an important perk, especially if you get your pets together at a young age. Exposing your pet to other pets early on will help them become more confident and adaptable in new situations. Socialisation is possible with just one pet – but when you have multiple, you don’t need to look for opportunities: they’re right there in your home!
Then, of course, there are the perks YOU get to experience from having a pack. You can head off to where you need to go knowing that your pet won’t be sad and lonely. Plus, you get to come home to multiple adorable little faces!
The cons of multiple pets
There are some drawbacks to expanding your household, the biggest being cost. You’ll have to budget whatever you’re spending now on vet visits, shots, food, toys, and kennels, for each pet in your pack. Same goes for the work: you can expect to spend a lot more time cleaning, grooming, and training. However, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, all of this might be well worth it for double cuddles!
It’s also worth noting that not all pets are guaranteed to be the best of friends. Just like humans, sometimes their personalities just don’t mesh. And just like humans, this can lead to a lot of fighting and tension. Best bet is usually to adopt your kitties or puppies together, so that they can get to know each other from an early age.
Get the whole pack covered and save!
Want to hear one more perk of having a bigger fur family? If you’re part of the dotsure.co.za fam, you can cover multiple pets and get a 15% DISCOUNT on your monthly premium!**
Protect your whole fur family with pet insurance that covers illnesses, accidents, vaccination, worm treatment, dental check-ups and more!* Get a FREE online quote in under 5 minutes from dotsure.co.za.
*T&Cs apply and can be obtained by emailing [email protected]. Subject to plan selection. **Premiums for the Excess Buster, Sub-limit Buster and Funeral Support optional benefits are not included in the total premium when calculating this discount.
