First pet - Cats. Two slept in my crib when I was born until I was about 2ish. Mom had a hard time picking me up because the cats would hiss at her when I'm sleeping.
I never had any other animal, except for the time I had 15 mice. It's not my fault that I got a boy mouse and girl mouse...13 babies (NOT normal!). Very cute.
For the 30 years of living on earth, I have not yet had ONE year without having a cat, and only 8 out of those years that I only had ONE cat...the rest, it's always 2 or 3 cats at a time.
That's about it! The oldest cat, and still alive, I had was Baby. He's 17 years old. I couldn't bring him to Vegas. :-(
I currently have 3 cats, Mocha, Hobbes, and Blackjack. My parents have 4 cats, Baby, Chief, Gizmo, and Whitey. Mocha is the only female.
None of my cats has been bought at a pet store. All are shelter/ foster cats. I refuse to buy cats from a breeder or pet store.
So...I never had a bird. Never had a goldfish for more than 2 days, never had a dog, never had any other type of animals. Just cats. I guess you can say I'm a cat lover!