Petophilia, addicted to your pet 

If you have answered yes to these questions, you may be interested in this article in which we are going to explain what petophilia consists of. We will give you some pointers to discover whether you suffer from it along with some tips for having a healthy and balanced relationship with your pet. 

What is petophilia?

Petophilia is excessive love for pets or, to put it otherwise, confusing the affection and care that we must rightly provide for our animals with an unhealthy attachment. 

Nowadays, nobody doubts that animals deserve respect and that a pets is one of the family, but if it gets out of hand we can cause serious problems, for both our emotional health and that of our animals. 

To work out if you are addicted to your pet, we are going to give you some pointers:

• You talk to your pet as if it were a person and tell it about your problems and daily activities.
• It is difficult for you to be separated from your pet, even temporarily.
• You worry excessively when your pet gets sick and your health suffers too.
• You spend too much time on your pet, creating a dependency in the animal that can lead to behavioural problems.
• You prefer to be with your pet than with human beings and you isolate yourself from your family and friends.
• You only go out to places where animals are allowed, thus limiting your social activity.
• Your reading material consists only of blogs and books about animals. You read so much about animals that you are the "dog charmer" of your local dog park and advise everyone on how they should take care of their pet.
• You wear clothes and accessories with prints of your pet.
• You spend more money on your pet's food than on your own.
• You dress your pet in human clothing and even sit it to eat at the table. 
• On your social networks, you publish more photos of your pet than of yourself and write the posts as if it were your pet speaking. 
• Whenever you leave home, you buy treats or a gift for your furry companion. 
• You only practice sports that you can do with your pet.
• You choose your holiday destination thinking about your pet's preferences.
• When you are on the sofa and your pet falls asleep on top of you, you don't get up so as not to disturb it, even if your legs fall asleep or you have something important to do.
• You celebrate your pet's birthday and throw a party inviting their furry friends, with a sausage tart and their favourite treats.

If you recognise yourself in any of these scenarios, you may suffer from petophilia or, at the very least, be somewhat addicted to your pet, to a greater or lesser extent. But don't worry, this situation can be resolved.