Seriously, they don’t belong on a couch and cuddling with you. Or even furniture in general, like beds / armchairs. No, not even if they give you the puppy eyes. Off the couch, Fido! And let’s not get started about cats and sofas. But why? Oh, let’s see…
1) Fleas!
Yup. Fleas. Think that looks small and not a problem? Well, look what they could do to you:
These things are a few millimetres in length. And they get stuck into bedding, linen, fabrics. They’re so bad you have to resort to bombs to clear them out. And because the life cycle of the flea is so long (6 weeks or more), you’ll have to continuously vacuum, clean, and exterminate all fleas. Sheesh!
2) Hair. Hair everywhere!
Imagine all that fur getting stuck into the weave and whorls of your nice linen sofa. Ouch! Even a custom slipcover wouldn’t help much, unless you opted for leather or a microfibre. And even then you’d have to vacuum and wipe down the sofa a whole lot more.
3) Worms. Worms! WORMS! :/
Yeaaaaah, I don’t think we ned a photo here. Just imagine worms, happily burrowing through your body, and then shudder.
Any contact with contaminated soil or dog feces can result in human ingestion and infection. Once infected, the worms can cause eye, lung, heart and neurologic signs in people.
Children should not be allowed to play where animals have passed feces. Individuals who have direct contact with soil that may have been contaminated by cat or dog feces should wear gloves or wash their hands immediately. Oh, and children and pregnant mothers are most at risk.
4) Feeling lucky? Get some MRSA / Plague / Cat scratch / Meningitis today!
Proof: A study done at University of California, Davis. Link
So uh yeah. Small chance of getting a horrific disease every time your pet licks your face. Or cuddles up with you on anything. I’m honestly quite reconsidering the whole pet ownership thing right now.
5) Scratching, biting, or half-eaten sofas
Pets have claws, and teeth. And if you don’t keep them entertained, they might just turn your furniture into a chew toy. Sometimes they’ll do it just to be an ass. Sometimes they’re just a touch special, like this dog.
But if you make sure furniture is a no-go zone and strictly enforce it, you’ll reduce your chances by quite a bit.
All in all, pets are really fun animals and I’d hate to turn off anyone from the joys of ownership. So here’s a bunch of silly animals.
Really though. Keep them off the furniture. Or get a custom pet-friendly slipcover for anything expensive 😉