Pet Jealousy And How To Deal With It

Puppy. Kitten. Bunny. The names we give to pets have connotations of cute, adorable, fluffy, and cuddly. Generally, everyone adores pets, and animal-haters are often categorized with the like of terrorists and murderers. After all, who could ever hate on Lassie?

But here at Love Buzz we understand that sometimes that adorable little creature can be the enemy. And not just because he used your favorite shoes as his restroom. Pets can often become the source of jealousy among couples. As MSNBC points out, boyfriends may sometimes ignore their girlfriends (ahem, their smart, talented, beautiful girlfriends) and instead bestow their love onto their childhood pet. Read: How to Control Jealousy

Deep down, we know that being jealous of a pet is silly and irrational. To avoid becoming an animal hater, try these tips to avoid pet jealousy next time you find yourself glaring at your boyfriend’s cat.

1. Win his pet’s affection. Try bonding with the animal. Join in when your partner starts making a fuss over it. Take his dog out for a walk or just spend a few hours cuddling with his bunny. With any luck, Sparky will be running to you when you both walk through the door. Watch: Animal Aphrodisiacs: Do Pets Help Us Date?

2. Appreciate his pet for what it has to offer. There is a reason so many people love animals. They can take the edge off of a bad day, and make terrific cuddle buddies and listeners.

3. Get an animal of your own to fuss over. But remember, your partner may become jealous of your new playmate.

4. Take up a hobby. Devote the hours he spends to picking out cute nicknames for his hamster, knitting a sweater for his cat, and drawing portraits of his fish to learning a new language or sport. While he will always have his dog their to protect him from predators, you can just seamlessly kick a** for yourself after learning kickboxing in your downtime.Read: What Your Pet Names Say About You

5. Talk to your beau about your jealousy. A crazy thought, we know, but you could casually mention that you find the attention devoted to Subject A, his pet, is exponentially greater than the affection showed to Subject B, you. Just don’t break out a pie chart mapping the difference.

6. On the same note, don’t create a list discussing all the ways you are superior to his favorite pet. We hope he already realizes you can offer him many things his pet cannot such as deep conversation, a back massage, and sex.

7. Kill off the animal. (Just kidding!)

Instead, remember that when it comes right down to it, you are his girlfriend, fiancé, wife, or random hook-up. You are the one he confides in, spends most of his time with, and has a human connection with. Yes, sometimes you can’t beat some good, old-fashioned cuddling with your favorite animal. But the relationship you two have is so much more. Well, OK, except maybe if you are the random hook-up.