Keeping pets in a flat

Many people feel the need of a pet and flat-dwellers are no exception. There is no reason why a pet should not be kept in a flat. However, people have to take into consideration the effects that flat-dwelling may have on their choice of pet.

The most important of these issues is the comfort and happiness of the chosen pet. The flat must provide suitable surroundings for the pet. In particular, the size of the flat must be taken into consideration when you are deciding on the size of the pet. Obviously, you cannot have a huge dog in a tiny flat.

To some extent, you can still choose your favourite species. For example, there are a great many dogs that are small enough to live in a flat. However, having a dog will mean going out for frequent walks. Of course, you might be lucky enough to live in a ground-floor flat with a garden.

Cats are small enough to be housed in a flat and there are now cats which are happy to stay inside a flat all day. You do not need a cat flap because the cat will not go out. Apartment cats are becoming more and more popular.

The problem with cats that never go outside is that they have to do the toilet inside the flat. This means that the cat owner has to provide a litter tray and clean it out regularly. Otherwise, the flat will smell badly. It is also important to make sure that the cat is trained to use the litter tray.

Rabbits are other pets that are popular with flat-dwellers. Like some cats, they live a completely indoor life and there is a risk of their droppings causing an unpleasant smell. The solution is to make sure the rabbits are well-trained and have their straw changed on a regular basis.

The above considerations will make sure that the pet is comfortable and that the flat is odour-free and clean. However, there are other things to think about when thinking of keeping a pet in the flat. It is important that your pet does not have a bad effect on the lives of others. For example, dogs which bark and howl when you are out can disturb the neighbours with their incessant noise. Again, the solution is to make sure that your pets are well-trained.

In some ways, the perfect pets for flats are fish. You can either have one or two goldfish in a bowl or several fish swimming around in a small aquarium. The fish need to be fed and the container cleaned out occasionally. Apart from that, they do not need much looking after, do not take up much room, do not make any noise and do not cause any unpleasant smells. In addition to all this, watching fish swim round an aquarium is meant to be very relaxing.

There are people who prefer to have a caged bird as a pet. These vary from small budgerigars to larger, more exotic, birds such as parrots. They do not take up much space and are easy to feed, although cage-cleaning is an important chore. You must be careful to close all the windows if you let them out of their cage to fly around freely for a time.

There is a wide range of pets to choose from, such as hamsters, white mice and rats. The choice is yours but you