Overprotective of pets

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Gah, I know that feeling.

Neighbor kid:"what would you do if I kicked your dog?
Me:I would kick you"
Neighbor kid:"You're mean"
Me: /Shrug

Neighbour kid ought to look up the definition of "mean". o.O

I'm careful and watchful with mine, but I wouldn't call it overprotective. I think I do worry a bit too much about them and I do need to rein myself in occasionally.

Then again, my pets depend on me for their survival - food, cleanliness, vet care, and they can't just tell me if something is wrong. So, a heightened level of awareness and some anticipation of things that could go wrong are no more than the basic responsibilities of a pet owner, in my opinion.

It's just when it gets out of hand and I feel like I absolutely need to check on them at 3 in the morning for no particular reason that I think I'm going a bit over the top. But - even that isn't so terrible, really. It's feasible that something could be wrong. Perhaps it depends on the kind of pet you keep, to a certain extent.

I have a pony and a dog. My dog is constantly with me and is very attentive and will defend me if he thinks I'm being threatened (he seems to "read" people far better than I do). I am not overly protective of him because he makes me feel safer rather than vice versa. I am protective of my pony. She came from a neglecting owner and I feel protective of her when other people show interest in her, especially if I do not know them and how they treat their animals.

My husband is protective of our pets. He sometimes gets on rants about our neighbor's cats bothering our cat.

I was also afraid of my pets getting ill or injured but it certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying their company. My pets were the best part of my life.

I would also hate leaving them alone all day, I’d worry about fire in particular, but luckily the schedules in my family are such that there is almost always someone home, and if there isn’t, someone will be coming home soon. That has been a huge help and relief.

When my dog had surgery I’d be very nervous, but I think that’s only natural. There is no such thing as a routine operation, something can go wrong. Our first dog had surgery when she was an older dog and she had a blood clot that didn’t dissolve, and was paralysed in her hind legs and had to be put to sleep. Naturally that experience was transferred to our next dog and made me afraid when he was having surgery, and when he needed one at almost the same age as she had been, I took a lot of pictures, gave him his favorite food and cried a lot and was very anxious. That seems a like natural reaction to me. I was afraid of losing him. Experience had taught me I ought to be.
All of us (in my family) would walk him, but I would hate to have anyone else do it (never happened, unless you count a little girl who asked to hold his leash for a little while). I’d let people pet him (but I kept a careful watch because you can’t trust anyone, and people are unpredictable and untrustworthy). I never let anyone near our first dog though, because she could be aggressive.

Never tie your dog outside a shop or anywhere else alone. It can be stolen, cornered by idiots trying to pet a tied strange dog (which can make it bite) or mistreated. Our first dog was mistreated when she was left outside for a few minutes only, 3 boys had thrown sticks at her but an employee in the day care just outside where I live had them stop.
It’s not paranoid to not trust people. It’s precaution. Pets are taken and sold or used in animal fights (especially dogs), dogs are provoked to attack in order for the perpetrator to leech money off of you for not having the dog put down, and animals are mistreated in so many horrific ways.

That's perfectly understandable. I would have too. They could have gotten out. My dog did once. We live in a block and luckily the front door was closed, so he didn't get out. He only got to the cellar door.


But do they really love them? I’m sure they like them and enjoy their company, but I don’t think most NTs are capable of loving pets, while to most aspies who have pets, the pets are loved as much as you human family. They tend to be sad for a short while after the death of their pets, while we really grieve and take a long time recovering. Sure there are exceptions in either group, but that tends to be rule. by the looks of it.

While I wouldn't go so far as to say NTs don't love their pets, I have noticed that most of them are more likely to say "well it's just a dog/cat/bird" etc, whereas we tend to recognise them as living beings practically equal to us.

Obviously I haven't carried out studies or anything like that, so don't quote me on that.

Niki disappeared 3 days ago and came back a couple hours ago. The only reason I didn't die was I had to be strong for my other 2 cats. I barely ate or functioned till half an hour ago. I'm slowly coming back to life now.

My cat died a few months back, at the age of 20. I feel lost without her, but wow, I sure was obsessive!
I would always check things before I left the house, and I'd kiss her otherwise I'd feel bad leaving. I'd also check all of the windows and worry that she could somehow climb out of the bathroom window, even though it was too high up and too small for her to get through (according to all of my family members) I would still close it in case, however.
We had to keep her in one room at night, because she had an accident where she fell and hurt her leg once (I was asleep) so we felt she needed to stay in a safe room, where she couldn't climb on things. I'd check over that room so many times before shutting the door. I'd check over all the plugs, and check nothing was on the floor - like small objects, stuff like that. But I'd still panic at night. I'd hear a noise and think she jumped on the TV or something, and knocked it over... then I'd have an argument with myself for several minutes. I'd eventually go down and check and shut the door again. I'd also go crazy over people walking in and out of the house, and worry about her getting out. I had so many nightmares about people hurting her or catching her.
I'd also get annoyed when people would say mean things about her, because she was honestly like a sister to me. Heck, she was my sister. I loved her (and still do) with all of my heart. I remember one kid from school decided to visit one day, and we didn't get along so well. She sat down and pulled my cat's tail, and I was so ready to just hit her in the face when my cat scratched her near her eye and she cried. Can't lie, I laughed. I'd still laugh now if that happened!
Another thing that would bother me would be when people jump around and stuff. I'd always tell my cousins to sit down and act calm around my cat, because their behaviour seemed to startle her. I would tell them that if you're going to spend time in my house and scare her, you may as well go home or go sit in another room away from us.

We have a new cat now, but I'm not really overprotective yet. I know my dad is very fond of her, and he is always keeping a close eye out, so I feel like I can relax a little. She's not really my sister, but a pet. I still like her a lot and would not want her to get hurt or anything, but I just don't feel a strong bond yet. Maybe things will change in time...

I am hugely protective of my pets. It got even worse after I lost a dog in tragic circumstances. Even now just thinking about it can make me melt down, so I won't go on. I had panic attacks for years. Now I am back to 'massively overprotective' instead of paranoid and obsessive. I try not to imagine every terrible thing that could happen.

But of course I am overprotective, they mean the world to me.

Nightflight your story sounds so familiar.
Moondust I am glad your cat came back safely.

You have a pony! Everybody wants a pony, I wanted a pony and I still want one. If I had a pony, I would get it printed on a tshirt and wear it every day and I would introduce myself as "Hi, I'm OliveOilMom. I have a pony." I would drop it randomly into conversation too. I would have a bumper sticker that says "My other car is a pony". I'm too big to ride one I guess but I'd take it with me everywhere I went.

I so want a pony!

I love mine very much. I used to dislike the fact that I am short, but that means I am small enough to ride her.

Definitely!! Not just my pets, all dogs and cats in general. If I see a dog off leash (I live in an area where we have a leash free dog park) and no owner nearby, I start to literally have a panic attack, for a dog that isn't even mine!
I guess its because I have two dogs, grew up around dogs and love dogs a lot, I want to make sure they are safe at all times.

Just writing this makes me nervous, even though as I am typing and can see them both sleeping on my couch, what can I say they are the only children I will ever have.....

I know that I can benefit greatly by getting a pet. I think a cat more appropriate for me at this time. I have not done so because I want my apartment to be completely cat-friendly before bringing one home. And I need to prepare myself for the fact that, once I do get one, I will be pre-occupied with its well-being. That is just the way I am

I'm so overprotective of my cat, that I cried when she was getting spayed; it was the first time I parted from her for so long. I would also be traumatized by nightmares of my cat being harmed or killed. My cat also has skin allergies, so I couldn't help but make a big deal out of it sometimes.