Although a majority of families with kids in Hong Kong opt for dogs or cats as pets, a growing number is bucking the trend and bringing home other pets to give their tiny toots company. If you do not want to bring a cat or a dog as your pet, here are the top 5 picks from which you can select your preferred one:

• Fishes: After the most popular category of dogs as pets, fishes rank as the second choice along with cats for most Hong Kong families with kids. The aquarium fish market of Hong Kong offers the largest collection of interesting aquatic pet stores from which you can take your pick. You may also visit the Goldfish Market where a series of shops sell pet fish. Most shops here sell goldfishes, which are packed in bags full for water and hung outside the shops.

• Turtles: Kids love these slow crawlers and many have them as pets. You can buy Albino turtles from stores at the Goldfish Market. Kowloon street market is yet another place where you can find a wide variety of turtles on sale. If you plan to bring home a turtle, remember that it might be small in size (somewhat similar to a HK $ 5 coin) but can grow big to resemble the size of a plate. You will need large enclosures with special lighting and heating arrangements as well as adequate filtration systems to help your pet grow and live life in a healthy and spacious environment.

• Birds: The bird garden on Yuen Po Street is your destination if you want to buy birds as pets. Over 70 bird stalls exist here, which house a wide variety of beautiful birds like mynahs, macaws, cockatiels, songbirds, and starlings. This garden and its spacious courtyards are a treat to behold, with their mesmerizing blend of sights and sounds. Although songbirds are the most preferred pet for buyers here, other birds too are sold fairly quickly. You can also buy pet bird paraphernalia from this place, which could include porcelain water bowls, exquisite wood and bamboo cages, and bird snacks like special honey drinks, toasted seeds, as well as live grasshoppers and crickets.

• Cavies: The cavy family native to South America includes the wild cavies, the capybara, and the domestic guinea pigs, among other animals. In Hong Kong, guinea pigs are the most common pets that you will find in many families. However, if you want to buy cavies just because you think that such small pets need a lot less maintenance work as compared to dogs or cats, think again. These rodent pets require high maintenance. You can buy cavies that are a few months' old from Hong Kong pet stores. The maximum life span of these pets is usually 7 years.

• Rabbit: If you are planning to bring home rabbits, prepare yourself mentally to commit for a long-term as the life expectancy of these pets is between 7 and 10 years.

So, choose from any one of these pets to help your kids enjoy some precious company and make them learn a lot about their partners from close quarters.