What kinds of animals have Americans keep as pets in the past? Preferences have changed over time, and new species added, but the list is familiar. Dogs, birds, fish, cats, and rodents were the most common pets.
There were some differences, however. Caged birds were more popular than they are today. Dogs and cats were sometimes both pets and workers. Exotic-animal pets were rare, often souvenirs of foreign travel. Like today, small-animal pets were most common when children were present, but some, such as the hamster and the gerbil, were not introduced until the mid-1900s. One important change came with the new interest in "purebred" animals beginning in the 1840s. Some Americans became involved in animal "fancies," reshaping their pets through selective breeding and showing them in competitions.
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"House, Kennel, and Field"
Currier and Ives
Chromolithograph, 1893
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
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U.S.S. New York, Admiral Sampson's
steward and his pet iguana
Detroit Publishing Company, 1893 - 1901
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
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