Visit your friends pets, feed ducks at a park, volunteer at a animal rescue.

Lots of ways to build relationships with animals around you

I have an aquarium… generally find a low-stock planted aquarium isn’t too high maintenance. Lights are on a timer (actually spent just a little more for a dim on/off system so they’d have a ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’) I feed them when I have dinner, or when I get home if I’m having dinner out of the house. I’ve got tape marking what I try to keep as the minimum water line (warm water, it evaporates over time).

Water changes used to be a big enough chore I’d let it go longer than I should but then I got a nice Python system and now it’s only an issue if there’s dirty dishes in the sink (don’t want to dump tank water on them and the system requires a faucet with temp control)

My spouse wants a second pet. While I agree that our current pet could use a companion, I just can’t. I’m already overwhelmed and cannot handle more.

I have some things to help me take care of my pets. I have an automatic litterbox that scoops itself and gives me a notification to empty it. I have an automatic feeder that feeds my cats three times a day so I don’t forget. I have a water fountain that I refill and clean weekly. I used to be very forgetful or struggle to make my mind do the tasks to take care of my pets, and I felt really bad about it. Now, most of the time I spend taking care of my cats is brushing them, petting them, and just hanging out with them. These items weren’t cheap, but to me, they’re worth every penny.