(To takahmamash) Same with a cat. I’ll never forget a friend of mine who, during a visit with a shadchan, casually glanced at her watch and said, “I have to go home and feed my cat.”
“A cat!” the shadchan exclaimed. “Don’t tell anyone you own a cat!”
The notion of pets seems goyish to the East European set, who are generally very cold to animals. I generally avoid dogs and cats because of allergies. And while I respect animals, and despise any cruelty toward them, they are of no interest to me as far as pets.
Nevertheless, I understand why people like them. For some, pets can be therapeutic.