Different times, different styles, different pets.
Every era has brought new music, new fashion and amongst many other things, new pets with itself that were popular for various length of time.
Some stayed in style longer than others, while some were gone before we could even think about getting one.
Remember pet rocks?

Dogs have been man’s best friend since the beginning of time, but when did other animals become popular for domestication?

Cats:
Cats and mankind’s relationship goes all the way back to the Stone Age. Cats had quickly learned that finding humans meant finding rodents, but this was still too early for them to be considered domestic pets. However, the discovery of an ancient cat’s bones (dated back to 6000 BC) on Cyprus, knowing that cats are not indigenous to the island, proves that they most likely arrived there accompanying the first human colonists.

Hamsters:
The first reported hamster, an elderly female in particular, was found in Syria in 1839 by British zoologist George Waterhouse, who named it “Cricetus auratus,” the Golden Hamster.

Fish:
Keeping fish dates back to Roman times, which then first became a popular hobby in Europe in the 1600s. Many people of any age and interest are attracted to the quiet, colorful and gentle life of the fish and choose to keep them as a companion.

Mice:
According to records, the earliest domesticated mice were kept in the royal palaces of Japan and China.

Guinea pigs:
Guinea pigs were first domesticated around 5000 BC by the Incas, but were most likely kept for food. In the 1600’s, Dutch merchants brought these furballs back from the Americas to Europe, to become popular pets of aristocrats.

Birds:
Birds were first captured and caged solely for their beauty in 2000 BC. Egyptian hieroglyphics introduce what appear to be the very first pet birds, displaying doves and parrots.

Ferrets:
Ferrets were first domesticated around 3000 BC in Egypt, at the time of the Pharaohs. Proving this, ferret images were found in many Egyptian tombs indicating that the animals were held in high esteem.

Today, the new phenomenon for the perfect pet, the latest hit on the pet market, is micro pigs.
To demonstrate the craze, even Victoria Beckham has bought two for her beloved David for Christmas.

Article source: The Guardian

I am in love with a pig. Sweep, a little black one the size of a kitten, is nestled in my arms and has fallen asleep, silky ears twitching, which makes me dare to hope he’s in love with me too. I stroke his hair and inhale his piggy smell – hot, damp earth, with a touch of chocolate digestive. My heart swells to bursting. I imagine this is how new mothers feel, only they’re probably less smitten. I want a micro pig more than I’ve wanted anything in my life.

I am not the only one. Yesterday it was reported that Victoria Beckham has bought David two micro pigs – surprise! – for Christmas. They probably came from The Little Pig Farm, run by Jane Croft in the Fens, but she’s not saying. She greets me at the gate with a pink-and-brown-spotted micro pig under one arm and puts him down in the outdoor pen, where he scampers off. She opens the door of a shed and there they are, a pile of miniature pigs cuddling up to each other on a bed of straw and listening to Classic FM.

Croft has been breeding micro pigs for two years, and has sold nearly 400 as pets at around £700 each. They are selectively bred from a mix of pot-bellied, New Zealand kune kune, Gloucester Old Spot and Tamworth pigs until they attain tiny proportions – fully grown, they stand at just over a foot. They make, it seems, brilliant pets – they are affectionate, can be house-trained, learn their names, and Croft says they are more intelligent than dogs. The only restriction is that under Defra rules, you need a livestock licence to move them around. Still, the phone rings constantly, especially now Christmas is coming (as presents, not dinner). ‘I’m not really selling them as presents, and I won’t sell to anybody,’ says Croft, who vets people to check they know what they’re taking on – micro pigs need a large garden, should be kept in pairs and can live for 18 years.

Sweep, Croft’s house pig (he even sleeps with her in bed, curled up under her arm) trots back to his basket and she gives me Moonpig, an eight-week-old with warm pink skin who squeals, then settles and nuzzles my shoulder. She thinks I’m her mum! I am a pig! I am not being dramatic when I say that life without this porcine poppet suddenly looks bleak. A plan forms – I could hide her in my handbag.

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