Posted by
u/prunusceravium
No pets, no stress
Annoying pet budgie
Vent
There is a pet in my house but I refuse to contribute any care and engage with him as little as possible.
This might seem off-topic, but this is needed context. My parents are divorced, but they had relationship problems since I was a kid and only got divorced recently. To avoid my dad, my mom spent a large amount of time out of the house for years, would come home at 1-2am every night.
We only ever had "basic" pets in the house, like hermit crabs. And we had fish, and a turtle. The only care I gave these animals was feeding (and moistening my hermit crab's sponge.) My parents did the rest. Cleaning the turtle cage, replacing the water in the fish tank. My mom never liked mammals as pets because they're messier because fur, and smellier. As a kid this disappointed me. I wanted a dog and a rabbit as a kid, but I came to understand in my adulthood. Now I never want to have any pets.
Anyway about 7 years ago (I can't remember), still years before my parents divorced, my mom took me to a bird store. She wanted a bird. She asked me if I'd take care of it. I was petfree back then too. I was straight up and told her, no, "I don't want extra chores." Which I worded as that because I full well knew she wouldn't be the one taking care of it because she'd spend so little time at home.
She got a budgie. I feel bad about this, because I do not hate him, but I hate everything about the circumstances, and I hate the effects he has on my home.
First of all, the seeds and feathers everywhere around his "cage." I put cage in quotes because, it isn't a cage. He's kept at our bay window. My mom put him there so he could watch the birds outside. Which I always thought was unbelievably stupid. Yes, keep him there so hawks ram into the window trying to catch him. It's happened before. The only thing keeping him there is the blinds, which aren't up all the time, so sometimes he jumps off and he'll be roaming the living room potentially getting poop all over the place until someone notices.
Goes without saying, but he's loud. I used to like sitting in the living room alone with the tv off, browsing the internet, or eating meals in there. Not anymore because I keep hearing high pitched chirping. Not only that, but my mom got him this "bird toy" that isn't even a toy for birds. It's a novelty item for humans. It's a plastic bird with a motion sensor that when activated plays sound clips of a bird tweeting to a small handful of songs such as This Old Man and Oh, Susanna. He will stand in front of this demon toy and do nothing but activate it, all day long, until the batteries die. It's so obnoxious, repetitive. The bird even tries to mimic this stupid "toy" when he chirps.
I have ADHD so in most circumstances I'm incapable of filtering noises. Which makes me spend all my time in my house in my room with the door closed. The sound is unbearable. I literally can't hear myself think.
If it were up to me, I'd keep that "toy" off. But, my dad took a bit of a liking to the bird and is like "but he likes it!!" He didn't like him at first but he was forced to do much of the caring because my brother and I refuse to clean the "cage." And mom was rarely home to do it. And nowadays she doesn't even live here anymore, and didn't take "her" pet with her. She took her turtle but not the damn bird. So my dad ended up bonding with the bird. When my dad worked I'd keep the toy off especially when I'm in the kitchen trying to cook. My dad has been unemployed for months now though so ever since he's been home all the time he keeps that stupid toy on just because the bird likes it, how it makes me feel be damned. He thinks I'm selfish.
And he's developed that degenerative brain disease pet nutters get where they become desensitized to how unsanitary animals are. One time we got into an argument because I was about to cook and he was with the bird in the kitchen, the bird was sitting on the counter. I flipped, I told him that's unsanitary, now I need to sanitize the counter before I start. I wondered how often he lets that bird on the friggin counter. And he was letting the bird sit on our clean folded laundry another time, which I also flipped at.
I can't stand having this bird in the house. I needed to vent about it. I wish my mom would just take this bird that only SHE wanted already. Before she had an excuse because her new boyfriend had a tiny house but now she bought a house. TAKE your bird please, give me peace in my home back. And it's not because my dad wants the bird. Despite liking him, he wants my mom to take him.
www.reddit.com
archive.ph
