Am I Ready for a Pet?

By the WhatPetShouldIGet Expert Team · Reviewed against veterinary & animal-welfare sources · Updated Sep 16, 2026

Wanting a pet and being ready for one are different questions. Answer ten honest questions about your family’s time, money, home and plans, and get a score with a get-ready checklist. Free, no sign-up, about two minutes.

🐾 Already picked a pet? Check that one

Best answered by a kid and a grown-up together — a few of these are grown-up questions.

The ten questions, and why they matter

Here is the whole check before you start. None of these has a wrong answer, and every “not yet” comes with one practical thing to do about it, so the result is a to-do list rather than a verdict.

On your busiest day, how much time could someone give a pet?

A pet’s needs don’t take a day off for homework, practice or visitors. The busiest day of your week decides which pets can fit, not the quiet Sunday.

  • At least half an hour, every day
  • About 10 to 15 minutes
  • Honestly, hardly any

When the new-pet excitement wears off, who makes sure the daily jobs get done?

Kids can do a lot of real pet care, and they learn a lot doing it. But interest comes and goes, and the animal cannot wait for it to come back.

  • A grown-up checks that it happens
  • A kid, with reminders
  • We haven’t talked about it yet

Could your family pay for food, bedding and check-ups every month?

The price of the animal is usually the smallest number. Food, bedding, bulbs, filters and vet visits keep arriving every month for the pet’s whole life.

  • Yes, it fits our budget
  • Probably, if we’re careful
  • Not right now

If your pet got sick, could your family pay a surprise vet bill?

Small pets get sick too, and one vet visit can cost more than the animal did. Knowing how you would pay before it happens means the answer is never “we can’t.”

  • Yes, we have money set aside
  • It would be hard, but we’d manage
  • No, we couldn’t

The cage, tank or bed often costs more than the animal. Could you set it all up before the pet comes home?

A pet that arrives before its home is ready spends its first days stressed and cramped. The right setup is the biggest part of good care, and often the biggest bill.

  • Yes, the home comes first
  • We’d buy things as we go
  • We thought the animal was the main cost

Is the pet allowed where you live, by your landlord, your building and your local laws?

Finding out after the pet arrives is one of the saddest reasons animals lose their homes. Checking first takes a few minutes.

  • Yes, we’ve checked
  • We think so
  • We haven’t checked

Has everyone you live with spent time around this kind of animal without sneezing or itching?

Allergies are one of the most common reasons families give a pet back. Finding out first protects your family and the animal.

  • Yes, nobody reacted
  • We’re not sure yet
  • Someone is allergic

Who would look after the pet when your family goes away?

Vacations, sleepovers and family emergencies all happen. Many pets can’t safely be left alone even for a weekend, so the plan needs to exist before the trip does.

  • We have a plan: a sitter, neighbor or boarding
  • We’d figure it out
  • We have no idea

Some pets live 10, 20 or even 50 years. Could your family care for a pet for its whole life?

A tortoise can outlive its owner and a parrot can live for decades. Kids grow up and move out, so the plan has to cover the pet’s whole life, not just the fun first year.

  • Yes, we know how long it lives
  • We haven’t looked it up
  • We only want a pet for a year or two

Have you learned how to look after the pet you want?

Knowing what healthy looks like — how it eats, moves and sleeps — is how you spot a problem early. It also shows whether everyday life with the pet matches what you imagined.

  • Yes, we read a care guide together
  • A little
  • Not yet

How the score works

Each answer earns 2 points if you are ready, 1 if you are nearly there and 0 if it still needs work, and your score is the share of the points you could have earned. 85% or more means ready, 55 to 84% means almost ready, and anything lower means keep preparing. Whatever you score, every answer that missed full points adds one job to your get-ready checklist.

This check is about your family. Being ready for a goldfish and being ready for a dog are very different things, so once you have an animal in mind, take its own check below: there are 50 of them, 295 questions in all, each written for that animal’s real needs.

Already picked a pet? 50 readiness checks

Each page lists that pet’s questions with what to do about each one, what it really costs and who it suits — and runs the check with a score.

🐶 Cats & Dogs

Dog 6 questions Cat 6 questions

🐹 Small Pets

Rabbit 6 questions Guinea Pig 6 questions Hamster 6 questions Gerbil 6 questions Mouse 6 questions Rat 6 questions Chinchilla 6 questions Ferret 6 questions Hedgehog 6 questions Sugar Glider 6 questions Degu 5 questions

🦜 Birds

Parakeet & Small Birds 6 questions Parrots & Larger Birds 6 questions

🦎 Reptiles

Gecko 6 questions Bearded Dragon 6 questions Anole 6 questions Blue-Tongued Skink 6 questions Chameleon 6 questions Iguana 6 questions Snake 6 questions Aquatic Turtle 6 questions Tortoise 6 questions Uromastyx 5 questions

🐠 Fish & Amphibians

Fish 6 questions Betta Fish 6 questions Goldfish 6 questions Shrimp & Snails 6 questions Crayfish 6 questions Axolotl 6 questions Aquatic Frog 6 questions Newt & Salamander 6 questions

🐛 Bugs & Invertebrates

Tarantula 6 questions Scorpion 6 questions Hermit Crab 6 questions Millipede 6 questions Stick Insect 6 questions Praying Mantis 6 questions Hissing Cockroach 6 questions Land Snail 6 questions Isopods 5 questions Ant Farm 5 questions Jumping Spider 5 questions

🐔 Backyard & Farm

Chicken 6 questions Duck 6 questions Quail 6 questions Goat 6 questions Mini Pig 6 questions Pony 6 questions

Questions about being ready for a pet

How do I know if I am ready for a pet?

You are ready when you can say who does the daily care, how you will pay every month and in an emergency, where the pet will live, and who looks after it when you are away, for its whole life. If any answer is “we’ll figure it out,” sort that one out first.

What age should a child be to look after a pet?

There is no single right age, because a grown-up should always be responsible for a family pet. Young children can help with small jobs like topping up water. By about 8 to 10, many kids can follow a daily checklist, and tweens can do most of the routine care with a grown-up checking in.

What should we do if the result says “not yet”?

Use the checklist. Every answer that did not score full points comes with one practical thing to do about it. Most families are only one or two fixes away, and waiting a few months to get them right costs nothing.

Why check a specific pet as well?

Because readiness depends on the animal: being ready for a goldfish is very different from being ready for a dog. Once you have a pet in mind, take its own check. Every one of the 50 pets on this site has one, written for that animal’s real needs.

Can we practice before getting a pet?

Yes, and it is the most honest test there is. Pet-sit for a friend, help look after a classroom pet, or volunteer with a grown-up at a shelter that welcomes young helpers. A few weeks of real feeding and cleaning tells you more than any quiz.

🎉 Not sure which pet? Take the pet quiz 💸 What every pet really costs