Keeping Pets at Home

[Vrindavan]

I learned that it is not recommended for devotees to keep pets indoor at home.

Any more details about this from various perspectives ?

Thanks a lot.

[saidevo]

namaste Vrindavan.

A pet animal is known as krIDA-mRga--animal kept in control for pleasure/pleasure or a toy animal. It seems that the practice of keeping pets at home existed in ancient India.

• shrImad BhAgavadam has this reference:

vimuchya tam imaM bandham avidyA-kAma-karmajam
sarva-bhUta-suhRch chAnto maitraH karuNa AtmavAn |
mochaye grastam AtmAnAm yoshin-mayyAtma-mAyayA
vikrIDito yayaivAham krIDA-mRga ivAdamaH || SB6.2.36-37||

Because of identifying oneself with the body, one is subjected to desires for sense gratification, and thus one engages in many different types of pious and impious action. This is what constitutes material bondage. Now I shall disentangle myself from my material bondage, which has been caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s illusory energy in the form of a woman. Being a most fallen soul, I was victimized by the illusory energy and have become like a dancing dog led around by a woman’s hand. Now I shall give up all lusty desires and free myself from this illusion. I shall become a merciful, well-wishing friend to all living entities and always absorb myself in K???a consciousness.
(http://causelessmercy.esotericteaching.org/SB6.2.2.htm)

• 'Yoga VasiShtha' gl.3.041 has the phrase 'krIDA-mrga', with reference to a toy-antelope. (http://groups.google.com/group/yoga-vasishtha/web/gl-3-041)

• MWD also lists a reference in RAmAyaNa v.20, but I am unable to find the verse.
(http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/)

• Birds were certainly used as pets, as the famous story of Nala-DamayantI indicates, where DamayantI sent her pet swan as a messenger to speak her love to Nala. Parrots

You might find more references in this search link:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=opera&rls=en&q=%22pet+animals%22+%22ancient+India%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

[Adhvagat]

I have 6 cats here in my home, previously 7, but one recently passed away.

All of them were brought here because they were at shelters or were being abused in the streets. I'm totally against buying an animal, animals are not products, what we do here is because we like cats very much (material bondage, as Saidevo explained) and we can give them a better place.

I'm sure that at the time of vedic writings, animals were in much better conditions in the wild, so taking possession of them for pets wouldn't be the best practice. But currently in this world, abandoned domesticated animals live in bad conditions in the streets and are hurt by people without compassion.

However, after suffering a lot because the passing of my cat, I'll think more about this issue and try to refrain from this act that creates material bondage.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam:

As I write this, Maya, our orange female tabby is sitting by the keyboard purring happily after her morning meal. I truly believe some cats and dogs are souls between human births for some karmic consequence unbeknown to us. So keeping them is fine by me.

Of course there is probably variance on this by sect, region, etc. Certainly there is variance on it because of personal taste.

Aum Namasivaya

[Sahasranama]

We have a cat at home, we never bought any pets. This cat came to us. My grandmother and I were feeding bread to the ducks and this cat would chase away the ducks and eat the bread. Later this cat came to our house and we would put some milk outside, she would even eat some alu gobhi which is not good for a cat I think. But since my parents eat meat, they started to give her meat and eventually we let this cat sleep at our house, now she is part of the family.