<p>"Researchers found that students who lived with a pet were less likely to report feeling lonely or depressed. They often relied on the animal to help them through stressful times, says lead author Sara Staats, professor emeritus of psychology at OSUs Newark campus.</p>
<p>Many students said that their pets fulfill a significant role that is missing in their lives," Staats says. "The pets are not a substitute for human social interaction and support, but they do provide important interaction for these kids who might otherwise feel isolated from their current environment.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I’ve heard from a lot of rescues that a lot of college students aren’t necessarily good pet owners. As a class, we tend to be poor (not much spare cash for things like decent pet food, unexpected vet bills, and spay/neutering). College students going back for the summer often dump a lot of animals in shelters around the end of the school year as well. We also tend to be busy with both social engagements and scholastic responsibilities, which hinder the time that can be spent on pet care (more an issue for dogs than cats). </p>
<p>Not that I wouldn’t love to be able to keep a cat or dog, because I would; the biggest thing I dislike about living in a dorm is the inability to have a dog, actually, and I know it’s one of my roommate’s biggest cons to living on-campus as well. I miss my dog a lot, and I love seeing the Seeing Eye puppies-in-training that liberally dot my campus. I’m just not sure that encouraging college students as a whole to go out and get pets is a grand idea.</p>
<p>This doesn’t surprise me at all. My daughter, who attends a university 1,500 miles from home, took her horse and her pet rats (hey, she’s pre-vet, what can I say) with her to college. She boards the horse at a facility a few miles from campus and she keeps the rats in a big cage in her dorm room. Boarding the horse in her college town (she’s in the Midwest) is actually less expensive than boarding it at home (New England), so that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Best money I ever spent – in spite of the distance from home and the new surroundings, D was not the least bit homesick. Whenever she felt out of sorts, she would spend a few hours riding/grooming the horse, and, voila, instant happiness. Surprisingly, the 5 rats have been a huge hit with her fellow dorm residents, the only problem being that too many people are constantly dropping by wanting to visit/play with them. Go figure.</p>
<p>I agree that college students would probably make crappy pet owners. I don’t think a population that generally thrives on spontaneity/lack-of-routine and experiments with drugs/alcohol/general-craziness would be ideal for taking care of a pet…</p>
<p>In general, yeah, MOST college students are crappy pet owners. People who actually love pets and aren’t the lazy ****heads you find liberally dispersed on most campuses, are pretty good at it. My friend and I are planning on fostering animals during the school year. We have $1000 set aside for food/vet bills/toys, we’ve been approved for fostering, we take our own dogs for walks liberally, and the most we’re away from the pet-friendly house we’ve rented is 3 hours at a time, as well as making arrangements to bring them home with us or pass them on to another foster home for summer breaks, depending on the situation. So you can have pets at college with preparation and dedication but most students are flighty and about as responsible as a toddler, so by and large I’d recommend against it.</p>
<p>I really want a small animal in my apartment (nothing big like a cat or a dog) like a hamster. I think it would make me feel better -_- or least a fish… if I didn’t have to worry about summer break I would definitely get a small critter.</p>
<p>The question is, these pet-owning college kids, did they have pets before coming to college? They might have been more realistic about caring for pets than those who got their first pets in college, not realizing how much work and money it takes to keep a pet happy.</p>