Unfortunately, kids with food allergies often have a double-whammy...animal
dander allergies as well. So, when your friends are talking about Fido and
Fluffy, you may be wishing with all of your might that you had a pet to call
your own, as well.
Happily, there are pets you can own and love who, best of all, don't have
to have their cages or litter-boxes cleaned, don't smell, and don't bark and
keep the neighbors awake. No annoying shots or fleas, other than virtual
ones, either!
I've rated the ones I've tried below. **** is the best grade that one can
get. I hope you find one you can enjoy!
I didn't rate sequels, as they are generally too much memory for most
home-computers (for example, they will only run on Pentiums).
Catz I (original) -- If you want to own one cat at a time (I've figured out
how to own as many as I want on a Macintosh (however, you can only play with
one at a time), but haven't figured out how to do that on IBMs), and don't want
to face a death, Catz is for you! Your kitten grows up into a cat that never
faces old age or death. You can play with it as long as you want. Unfortunately,
believe it or not, after a while you may get tired of that one cat and wish
it would die! You can take care of that by adopting a new cat. *** Operating
system: Macintosh or IBM-compatable.
Creatures I (original) -- This is one of my favorites, although the creatures,
called norns, look like no real animal. So, if you prefer reality, you would
be better off with Catz or Dogz. What is fun about this program is that the
norns live in a large virtual world with submarines and platforms. They also
have virtual DNA, meaning that they can have children, and those children will
look like the parents. Since their webpage has free downloads, with Internet
access you will be hard-pressed to grow tired of this game. **** Operating
system: Macintosh or IBM-compatable (it says it requires a Pentium processor, but
I have a Compaq Presario 2200 -- no Pentium -- that it works fine with).
Dogz I (original) -- Dogz is very much like Catz, but dog-fans will prefer it
over Catz. These dogs will fetch the ball for you, very much like a real dog,
and you can take a test at the beginning that will pair you with a dog that
is similar to you. *** Operating system: Macintosh or IBM-compatable.
Oddballz I (original) -- This game is like Dogz and Catz, but is "out of
this world," since the creatures are ones you have never seen before! Downloads
are available online, and you can own more than one creature at a time! Best of
all, you can morph the strange creatures into "legitimate" animals such as
weasels, cows, bulls, bunnies, bears, chickens, etc. *** Operating system:
Macintosh or IBM-compatable.
Offname Handheld Pets -- If you go bargain-hunting you can often find handheld
pets for 99c or less! That's a pretty good deal, and they are generally just
as good as a name-brand Tamagotchi, with the same features (see below). **
Tamagotchi -- This hand-held pet was the beginning of a huge craze! Depending
on how you care for your Tamagotchi, you can end up with one of many creatures,
including a surprise creature. **
Iffies, and non-virtual pets, include fish and Sea Monkeys. Talk to your
parents and allergist and see if these are an option.
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