Unfortunately the same issues that we have with children can be found with pets and their owners. I was a dog groomer for 17 years and the people who had out of control kids had out of control dogs. One person who had two adult sons in prison would bring 5 dogs to my shop without leashes, let them out in the parking lot then spend 20 minutes chasing them down a busy street to get them in my shop. When I suggested that he try using leashes (which I highly recommend for children too) he just couldn’t bring him self to curtail their enjoyment of life, two of the dogs ended up getting hit (while they were at home) and one son was shot ‘collecting’ money from someone. Bottom line some people shouldn’t be allowed to have pets or kids.

<<I just read the subject line and thought, "Well, duh!" :-) >>

Me too. In fact, I said (aloud), "F**k yeah!"

12 & 13 may not apply to the average cat.

I love my pets. they are so spoiled.. I remind my husband pets are way cheaper than kids.. plus we can put them in crates if they are bad.
the sad thing is many people have animals that they treat bad - or are not responsible for.. then they go and do the same thing with their kids. People I know had dogs with no discipline - so they got rid of the dog. Now they have three kids .. all running amuk!