Today's meander through FB.......

My neighbour has just adopted a rescue cat and refers to herself as "mummy" if that wasn't enough last week she referred to me as Auntie Ann when I called in to see her.

Not just pets. Some people humanise ALL animals and think they all sing that song from the Jungle Book - "I wanna be like you-ou"

No they don't. Those tea-party chimps were cute but they were not real chimps, they had been turned into puppets for the producers of the ads. And if you see a chimp grinning at you, watch out, they are not being friendly, they are showing you their teeth, because they are terrified and aggressive.

I agree - it is a bit finger-down-the-throat when pet owners talk to their animals like this. Yuk!

I so agree ladies. My cats are the most loving, good natured felines who make a total nuisance of themselves trying to get on visitors' laps, but I still wouldn't leave them alone in the room with my 6 week old grandson. At the end of the day they respond as animals and, as such, can be unpredictable. I sometimes watch My Cat from Hell, if you haven't seen it it's about an Anerican cat behaviourist (!) who goes into homes to straighten out cats with problems. The cats don't gave problems...it's the owners! They keep multi cat households indoors and then wonder why the cats are peeing everywhere or attacking people! Let them out-they're stir crazy!!

Oh Ann...I hope you disabused your neighbour and reintroduced yourself as 'Ann'!

Mishap...fingers are often down my throat when these things happen!

I love anthropomorphism (but in an ironic way ). I love films with talking animals too. A hangover from all the multitude of children's books and stories. I know my youngest GS seems to look on my big cat as some sort of mobile teddy and I can see his point. Generally speaking, I tend to introduce my cats as friends of mine who happen to live with us but I have heard myself referred to as "the cat's mother".

In the U.S. They tend not to let their cats outside, so very few live a normal life there. I have heard people there refer to their fur-kids(pets).

What I do hate are dog owners that feed their dogs on their food [ice cream etc] because 'he/she loves it' then lets them get obese and ill. Give them dog food and only just the amount they need to keep them alive please.

I couldn't agree more. I love wildlife -but the clue is in the word "wild!"
I am vegetarian because I care about animal welfare but I really don't need or want animals as pets. I hate animal cruelty and would never hurt an animal but I don't like the feel, or smell of most animals and certainly don't want them licking me! They are not people - (not that I would want many people licking me either!)

@rosesarered : In many cases the 'fur-kids' appellation is all too accurate - we've all known women who have elected to love a dog or cat, having no children of their own. I suppose it's mostly harmless...

We are certainly like the other animals in many ways -- some of them are real PITAs too!

I love Paddington, The Jungle Book and lots of animal cartoons etc, but they are fictional. It's when people start applying this thinking to real animals that I start getting annoyed. Animals are amusing in their own right as well who can forget the dog - presumably with worms - sliding down the hillside on its bum behind the tenor in Songs of Praise?!

Roses....not just in the States, I personally know people who have furbabies and furkids! One of them is a chihuahua with at least 10 outfits. (Finger down throat moment)

Tegan....totally agree. People aren't being kind feeding pets people food, they're not designed to cope with it.

I also hate it when nature programmes (Lion Watch (?) comes to mind) give human names to the wild animals. Like others on here I also dislike being called Purdy Puss's mummy. I'm her servant for heavens sake !!

You know the saying Tiggy.....dogs have owners, cats have staff!

I hate the baby talk that people give as the voice of their pet. I mean, really really hate it. I have to hide their posts. I suppose I am lucky in that it's only the friends of a couple of friends that do it, but they give their dog's name, or cat's, as their own and then proceed to use baby talk and spelling that a four year old would be ashamed of.

I had an elderly neighbour in the late eighties who had a King Charles. She belonged to a club that dressed them all up every month and held tea parties. I would have to stand there, face fixed in rictus grin, going through dozens of photos and would be in trouble if I couldn't pick hers out, in his pierrot costume or whatever it was that month.

When I was about 5, we had a neighbour whose little lapdog celebrated his fifth birthday. Neighbour (a lovely lady) always addressed him (and referred to him) in baby language. She made much of him being the same age as me, and was pressing me to say how wonderful that was. Instead I told her that I thought he'd have learnt to speak properly by now.

The chihuahua I knew had little sweaters like an American college letter sweater and a cricket jumper amongst other more er....exciting outfits! I can almost, just almost, go with the sweater as they don't have much body fat to stay warm in the winter, but a Pierrot outfit!!!!

DD's chihuahuas wear jumpers in the winter. They look really snug and cute.

I couldn't bear to have an animal on the bed! Yuk, all the hairs and the smell, how can people stand it? As for letting an animal lick me, and on the lips as some allow them to do, the thought of it makes me cringe! Sorry if I offend anyone.

Lots of pet 'children' around my area-in warm winter outfits. They are loved and needed by their owners for a variety of emotional reasons. I have had a variety of furry pets but now i accept i am allergic to fur. My grandson is dangerously allergic , but desperately wants a doggie. So he is making do with a stuffed Easter bunny which just had a Bday - carrot cake etc-great way to get more cake!

I saw a video on face book of a dog licking a baby's face, especially around it's mouth! I was worried that the dog might hurt the baby if it made a noise or wrong movement and also disgusted by the licking. Have these parents really seen what a dog licks in the course of a day!

This was posted by the parents of the baby who clearly thought it was adorable.

EMMASNAN.... My point exactly!

Caz and Emma, I totally agree! Animals on beds is a revolting thought.
What's on their paws ? Licking faces....... Yuk!!

Many years ago when we were owned by a cat we had occasion to take him to the vet, at one point the vet spoke to the cat and said "we'll get mummy to hold you" I told him very clearly that I was NOT the cats mother!!!!

Gosh, Sunseeker, I'll bet he was impressed...