A pet for Ranma?

[Musouka]

I finallyu found that Addventure thread I was talking about. Senshi Tails is the name of the thread.
What happened to Ranma's pets?
Answer:

Nabiki checked her notes. "We have:
Ami, a pet kitten rescued from a burlap sack that had been thrown in a canal, who was Ranma's pet until the Nekoken training made him afraid of cats and incidently killed her.
Minako, an exotic songbird that Ranma rescued from freezing to death one winter, only to end up fricaseed by his father.
Usagi, a rabbit from kindergarten that Ranma was supposed to take care of during Golden Week, except his father sat on the cage and crushed her to death.
Rei, a baby raven that fell from her nest only to be raised back to health by Ranma, except that during your convalescence Ranma's father swatted you out of the air while he was teaching Ranma to steal from restaurants.
Makoto a puppy abandoned out in a park that Ranma adopted and was teaching martial arts tricks too, except his father got hungry for dog stew one day.
Michiru an ornamental koi at a ryokan that Ranma used to sneak off to watch and feed, except that his father decided to dice her up and eat her while she was still alive.
Haruka an orphaned wolf cub found in the mountains by Ranma. Killed and skinned by Ranma's father, and then used to make boot lining.
Hotaru a pet ferret found by Ranma who drowned when Ranma was being trained in swimming techniques by his father surprising him by pushing him off the boat when they were a mile from shore.
Is that about it?" said Nabiki, thinking that this was eight of the supposed twelve and it was a good thing she had been taking notes. Can't sell the information later if you didn't have it.

[Materia-Blade]

Had to go with other. Sorry, I still think the idea of Ranma having a pet Raincloud even beats out a pet cat on irony.

[Lioconvoy]

You know even though cat won the poll, from the post I may go with fox. It would be a bit more interesting than a cat.

[Atlan]

I can't see Ranma EVER having a NORMAL creature as a pet. Even pre-curse.

Mabey a were-rabit or something. Perhaps a Harry Potter magical creature- A salamander, A Krup, or something equally ludacris.

[Darth Thanatos]

I voted for "fox", though I doubted between that and "other" and state a Raven, Hawk or Wolf as pet.

If chibi-Ranma were to choose a pet, I think he would have picked some of the more childish and common animals, like some of the ones you stated in the poll, but if practicality was an issue, then self sufficiency would be more in the line of a "training trip" pet.

The only self sufficient animal in the list is the fox. Or a stray, wild dog, may be, but I doubt you had those in mind when you stated "dog" as a possible choice. Of course, I can see a cat as Ranma's companion, but only on special circumstances.

I can see, though, a fox or one the animals I stated taking a liking to Ranma and following him around until Genma intervened. "Pets would make the boy soft" is a quote I feel belongs with Genma, not counting that caring for a pet might teach Ranma something about responsibility (:shock: the horror!).

[Andy2kk]

Something out of the ordinary, like Fluffy from Harry Potter the first book a giant three headed dog with Ranma treating it like a cute 'wittle' puppy dog. heh, or anything that most people would be terrified off, Ranma treating it as a beloved pet.

[Alathon]

I voted for a dog for a few reasons. One, they're mobile and one could easily have travelled with Ranma and Genma for a while, assuming we go with the fanon convention that they were constantly on the move. Two, dogs are loyal to people in a way that most animals, especially cats, are not.

Also, anything 'cat' or 'fox' is already done to death via neko-ken oriented stories, and Naruto crossovers.

Also, it's a bit of a stretch, but something as simple as feeding and caring for a dog for a few years could have in theory helped teach Ranma some of the basic decency that he demonstrates now and then, which Genma has always seemed rather thin on. Not to mention the 'watching out for people' ethic that Ranma displays now and then, that Genma just kinda doesn't.

[KonokoHasano]

I vote 'dog' for one reason. It would make an interesting fanfic if Ranma was the owner of Courage from 'Courage the Cowardly Dog'. Seriously...