I do have a real pet – a cat called Princess. I’ve had lots of pets in this life, but when I set up home in Seattle, I found myself pet-free for the first time in ages – and I enjoyed that for a few years. But then a co-worker was looking for homes for some kittens. I said I’d think about it – and she took that as a yes! That was six years ago, and it has been a happy little relationship. My cat is kept indoors, and most of the time she is happy with it. I have very mixed feelings about dogs and cats in urban areas, and the two years I spent working in pet-care retail only made me question it even more. I think city life is too stressful for most dogs, and too hazardous for most cats! Just my opinion.
Pets involve a committment that I am becoming more cautious about as I get older. I even consider the possibility that Princess may be my last cat, even though I should only be in my early 60s when she eventually dies. That’s looking a little far into the future!!
Anyway, I realized I had a committment problem a couple of months ago when I decided not to install Tapfish on my iPod Touch… I was worried that I would not make it to a WiFi hotspot often enough to feed them and clean the tank, and that they would be dead in no time. THEY AREN’T EVEN REAL FISH!!
But then a co-worker who has Tapfish on his iPod Touch showed me his tank and confessed that he had let his fish die over the weekend when he was busy watching basketball, but that he had been able to revive them (for
a price). I do not advocate such a cavalier attitude with real animals, but that reassured me and I stopped for coffee on the way home and got myself a tank and a few green snappers to start.
It drew me in immediately! Everytime I passed a hotspot I could connect to, I checked on the fish. And I managed to keep them alive! But then I got the iPhone, and when I synced it for the first time, Tapfish found its way to the iPhone – but alas, the fish didn’t, and I had to start over. (The fish on the iPod Touch are, I’m afraid, floating lifeless at the top of their tank. I am just leaving them at peace.)
My co-worker is busy racking up points and fishbucks and adding tanks. But I am not interested in being competitive with this app. I really just want virtual pets in my iPhone. My biggest complaint about Tapfish was that there was no way to name individual fish. Imagine how thrilled I was when last week’s update added that feature! I now have a sea turtle called Dale and a little fish called Percy who was bred from a green snapper and a clown fish. The rest of the fish are unamed as I will sell them when they are grown and buy or breed more little pets. I check on them many times a day. The colorful tank is always a cheering sight, and the bubbling sound is actually very relaxing to listen to. Visiting the tank relieves a lot of stress:)
I am told there are other virtual pet experiences on the Internet or iPhone. And then there are the ZhouZhou pets. But I think I am going to stick with the Tapfish for now. It’s about all the committment I can handle beyond my cat. Speaking of the cat….
Urban Bliss 