While a pet can be a good source of entertainment, one of the main considerations while keeping a pet is the possibility that it will cause some disease to the owner and his or her family. The problem is particularly severe if there are small children, babies in the family, and senior citizens as they are more likely to cause diseases to these family members who have relatively lower immunity levels
It is observed that pets which will roam freely in the house like cats,dogs are more likely to cause illness to family members compared to small pets like fish and birds which are confined to the fish bowl, fish tank or cage . Cats, dogs are likely to attract pests like bugs, fleas which can spread many infectious diseases. Additionally the dogs may bite, cats may scratch causing injury.
So in a house with small children, it is better to keep fish and birds as pets compared to keeping cats and dogs, who can also damage the furniture and other items in the house .Some time ago, avian flu was caused by birds, however the problem has reduced to a very great extent.