A few years ago, I heard about a family who had surprised their children with what they thought was the “perfect” Christmas present: a tiny calico kitten named Freya, complete with a big red bow tied loosely around her neck. The kids were delighted and spent hours caring for their new family member. But by New Year’s Day, they had lost interest, and the cat care responsibilities fell to the parents. The joy that once filled their holiday quickly turned into regret, and poor Freya was banished to the basement. She lived a lonely, solitary life, all but forgotten by the family who once adored her.

Freya’s story is not unique. Every holiday season, animals given as Christmas gifts end up neglected, abandoned or worse. Properly caring for an animal is an enormous responsibility, and many people who receive them as gifts or buy them for their children find that they’re unable—or unwilling—to make the lifelong commitment. Animals suffer as a result.

Animals are not toys. They are living beings with unique needs and the potential to live for 15 years or more. Caring for a cat, dog or any animal requires time, money and patience. Animals need and deserve veterinary care, food, exercise and companionship. And those are just the bare minimum. Providing an animal with a good life means giving them daily moments of joy, interesting experiences, respect for their personalities and preferences, and consideration of their best interests.

When animals are given as gifts, the recipient often hasn’t had the chance to consider whether they are ready for such a commitment. Are they home enough to care for a social animal like a cat? Do they have the time to walk a dog every day? Can they cover unexpected medical expenses, which can quickly total thousands of dollars? These are not questions that should be answered by someone other than an animal’s potential guardian.

Once the novelty wears off, many animals given as gifts are doomed to a miserable existence: locked in a basement, chained outdoors or abandoned on the side of the road in the cold to freeze or starve to death. Others join the millions of animals who enter shelters each year when their unprepared recipient finds them to be more responsibility than they agreed to.

The issue isn’t limited to cats and dogs. Small animals like hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles and birds also have big needs and specific care requirements. For example, rabbits require a lot of space, social interaction and a specialized diet. Without proper care, they can become depressed and develop serious health issues. Many overwhelmed owners release these animals outdoors, where they cannot survive, or surrender them to shelters, where rabbits are the third most common animals.

There’s something else to consider. Many animals sold as “gifts” by pet stores and breeders come from cruel mass-breeding factories such as puppy mills, where animals are caged in squalor and deprived of exercise, socialization and veterinary care. Purchasing an animal from one of these places perpetuates neglect and suffering.

If you were considering giving an animal as a gift but have now had a change of heart, the holidays can still be a wonderful time to support a future animal guardian. You can give them supplies such as toys and treats, a book on animal care or even a certificate to cover an adoption from a local animal shelter—allowing them to choose their companion responsibly when the time is right, after the chaotic holiday season is long past.

Animals deserve homes where they are wanted, understood and cared for—not just for Christmas but for their entire lives.

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Melissa Rae Sanger is a licensed veterinary technician and a staff writer for the PETA Foundation, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.

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