today's random pet poll

[ratcreature]

I once again failed to convince my rats of the merits of being still to let me cuddle them for longer than three or four scritches...

Poll #5584 rate your pets' cuddliness...

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 35

View Respondents

How willing to cuddle is (are) your pet(s)?

View Answers

It is not the kind you cuddle (e.g. racing cockroaches or fish or the like).
1 (2.9%)

It won't tolerate petting or cuddling at all.
1 (2.9%)

It lets me pet it sometimes. If I'm lucky.
5 (14.3%)

I can bribe it with food to let itself be petted.
2 (5.7%)

If I force-cuddle it, it usually holds still and endures it.
4 (11.4%)

It voluntarily lets me cuddle and pet it for a short while, if I initiate.
7 (20.0%)

It sometimes voluntarily comes to me and initiates cuddling itself, but not for long.
9 (25.7%)

It initiates or even demands lengthy cuddles, but only on its own terms.
18 (51.4%)

My pet loves to cuddle at almost all times.
11 (31.4%)

It's not so much that it likes cuddles, as that it likes to sleep in a warm and soft spot that happens to be me.
16 (45.7%)

I dislike cuddling my pet, so this is avoided from my end, and I couldn't say what its preferences are.
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[brownbetty]

I have to distinguish between cuddles and petting. My dogs wants to be petted until my arm falls off, but if I try to confine him in any way, he levitates three feet up into the air and gallops off in all directions.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, my rats don't like being confined much either. They either try to get away or start some nervous mutual grooming, which rats do for appeasement I think. It doesn't panic them much, probably because when a rat looses a scuffle it is also sometimes held down by the other rat for some force-grooming, which is kind of like petting them, I guess.