Fur babies!

Yes, I hate it when people dress their dogs up or treat them like some kind of fashion accessory -and those are the ones which are inevitably poorly trained too.

Yes, Dotty123, you ARE turning into a grumpy old woman.

I've had pets in the past, and ALL of them have been my fur babies, feather babies, etc. Each and every one of them.

All my beloved cats, dogs, budgies, canaries, cold water fish, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters have all passed over the RAINBOW BRIDGE over the years. I'll love and miss them all forever.

Why should the word ''babies'' only refer to humans and not animals? Why should the Rainbow Bridge not be considered for our dearly departed pets? It's our way of knowing our babes have passed over.

BlueBelle, what happened to leaving uncontrollable screaming obnoxious brats at home instead of having them pestering everyone in shops, restaurants, etc.?

I'll continue to use the words fur babies and Rainbow Bridge whether anyone agrees or not.

Babies refers to human infants. Why not say puppies, kittens, chicks etc for young animals and birds?

I love my dogs but dislike the term fur babies
Rainbow Bridge brings an element of comfort to people when they lose a pet so who am I to decry that.

BlueBelle you can rest assured you will not see my dogs in shops or restaurants or at any crowded event. They have their regular walks and are comfortable at home whilst we are out.

^TheWeirdoAgain60 Sat 19-Jul-25 12:05:55
Yes, Dotty123, you ARE turning into a grumpy old woman.^

It don't think the OP is a grumpy old woman, we all have words or phrases we do not like, I am sure you do too.

M0nica

Its the meaning that surrounds it, that a pet is a child to be treated like a child.

Personally having had my my much loved children and brought them up to be independent, the last thing I want is an animal to cramp my freedom the way a baby does.

I agree with Monica. It’s the equating of an animal with a child that I dislike. We do still have pets, two cats, and I adore them, but they’re not the same as my children or grandchildren. God forbid, if I was ever in a situation where I could only save one out of a GC or a pet, the GC would win every time.

I’ve noticed that dogs are now creeping into supermarkets and food shops, which I must say I dislike intensely. I might start taking one of my cats to the shops, see how that goes with the dogs.

🤮

Now, if I had to choose between my dog and almost any other human on the planet (with the exception of my very close family), then I'd be saving my dog every single time.
Our dogs have always been as much a member of the family as any other, but we don't treat them like children. We don't take him into shops, for instance, and the only time we take him into restaurants, cafes etc is when we are travelling with our motorhome and we make sure we scope out dog-friendly places first.

It does nothing for an animal to treat it as a human being.

Years ago we banned monkeys and apes from being used for financial gain by dressing them up and training them to drink tea etc.

Thank goodness this is now against the law- it demeans and degrades animals that are worthy of respect for being exactly what they are.

Domestic pets are no different- they cannot agree or disagree to the treatment metered out by ignorant owners.

Call them what you like- we don't interbreed (yet!) but don't expect anyone with respect for animals, to treat you with respect either.

I agree, the term fur babies - yuk
Dressing animals up is cruel. Animals rely on body language to communicate with others of their species and they cannot do this if they’re wearing a stupid dress.
I hate dogs in restaurants and other food shops, very unhygienic.
However, when my DD’s beloved old cat died my DGD was bereft so I made her a little story book about his life with photos which concluded with him going over the rainbow bridge and becoming a kitten again. She loved it and it really comforted her. She still mentions it several years later.

I've had a number of cats in my time. It's only in recent times I have come across the nauseating expression 'fur baby'. It's an insult to a fully grown, self-possessed, opinionated cat (which mine were) to refer to them in such derogatory terms. I don't know where the fabled 'rainbow bridge' is but it's not in a deeply dug hole in any back garden I ever had.

At 32 kilos my dog could never be described as a baby. I've not heard it used in my circle of dog owner. I think it's more for the tiny breeds?
I did do a double take this week when someone here in France referred to their dog as "Mon petit titi!"

annodomini

I've had a number of cats in my time. It's only in recent times I have come across the nauseating expression 'fur baby'. It's an insult to a fully grown, self-possessed, opinionated cat (which mine were) to refer to them in such derogatory terms. I don't know where the fabled 'rainbow bridge' is but it's not in a deeply dug hole in any back garden I ever had.

So where are your dead humans there? In some mythical 'heaven', or in a hole in the ground or ashes in an urn? If the concept of an animal heaven (ie, rainbow bridge) brings comfort to those who have lost a much-loved pet, where's the harm in it? How does it affect your life in any way?

TheWeirdoAgain60 While I would defend your right to refer to your pets as fur babies etc. and to refer to the 'Rainbow Bridge' if it brings you comfort when a much loved animal who has become part of your family dies, I take issue over your comment about uncontrollable, screaming, obnoxious brats by which, I assume you mean human children.

Over the years I have suffered far more at the paws of peoples uncontrollable, barking, obnoxious dogs than from out of control children. I have bitten twice, once quite seriously, I have had clothes muddied by dirty paws and I have been disturbed during the day and at night by the barking and whining of various neighbours' dogs. Not to mention the dog poo me and mine have accidentally trodden in over the years.

To be fair, I have been annoyed by out of control children but to a much lesser extent. I don't ever recollect being bitten by a child, smothered in mud form a child jumping up at me or inadvertently treading in child poo on the pavement.

BlueBelle, what happened to leaving uncontrollable screaming obnoxious brats at home instead of having them pestering everyone in shops, restaurants, etc

Well that says a lot about you Theweirdoagain best we stay away from each other we would not get on in real life that’s fir sure

TheWeirdoAgain60 totally agree. I'll call my pets whatever I want to - My baby girl, my gorgeous girl, etc. We have had so many to have gone over Rainbow Bridge, the majority of which I have sobbed more over than any human.

Our cats are our calico girls, we love them to bits. They are twin rescue cats but have completely different personalities- one will go up to anyone and the other one only likes and smooches round us. I love kids as well and we have a lot of them in the family but the cats are there day and night and I think our lives wouldn’t be the same without them. I haven’t seen any screaming kids lately, the only time they worry me is if they are sat behind me on a plane.

Personally I think dogs are far more hygienic in shops than kids, dogs don't pick their noses, scratch their arses, pick grubs up off the floor, then be allowed to pick up and put down food in shops!
And of course dogs (generally, I know there will be exceptions) do as they are told, unlike kids these days who seem to be allowed to do whatever they want, and make a right racket doing it.

Call us hearted in my family if you like but we tend to refer to the rainbow bridge in a jokey way similar to humans kicking the bucket or popping their clogs.

Anyone losing a beloved pet is treated with sympathy over their loss but we use putting to sleep for small(ish) animals and putting down for large ones. I can’t stand soppy euphemisms. It doesn’t make loss any easier.

merlotgran

Call us hearted in my family if you like but we tend to refer to the rainbow bridge in a jokey way similar to humans kicking the bucket or popping their clogs.

Anyone losing a beloved pet is treated with sympathy over their loss but we use putting to sleep for small(ish) animals and putting down for large ones. I can’t stand soppy euphemisms. It doesn’t make loss any easier.

Like I said above though, if someone else finds that a comfort, why does it bother anyone else?

I don't like the phase 'fur baby' but a young puppy/kitten is a 'baby' to me though of the animal variety.
I like to think that all my dogs and cats that have died are waiting for me in heaven.

I don't agree with dressing dogs up, it's demeaning to the dog .

There’s a cartoon that often appears on Facebook showing two dogs sitting beyond the rainbow bridge and one says to the other ‘ they still talk about us’ and the other one replies ‘ I know’. It makes me well up each time. Regarding dogs in prams, to be honest the only time I’ve ever known someone use a pram is when their dog has a mobility problem and the owners want to take it out first some fresh air and a look around, because dogs do like a trip out. I do know of a retriever now in foster care that has been mentally ruined by it’s owners putting clothes on it and spraying it with perfume ( I mean, a retriever ) so I’m in despair of people not treating their dogs as dogs and giving them respect.

I saw a woman the other day pushing a pram, well, thought it was, only realised it was a pram for pets.

(There’s a cartoon that often appears on Facebook showing two dogs sitting beyond the rainbow bridge and one says to the other ‘ they still talk about us’ and the other one replies ‘ I know’. It makes me well up each time. )

I haven't seen that but it's made me choke up .

For a thread purportedly about animals, this seems to have unleashed a fair amount of anti- human ( especially young human ) invective.