Dogs and cats may top the list of preferred pets in the United States today, but in the 19th century, the majority of our household friends were of the feathered persuasion. North American songbirds and canaries imported from Europe were so popular at the time that they became the first companion animal to acquire their own line of products. By 1840, bird shops (they wouldn’t be called “pet shops” until later) carried a complete line of different types of seeds, cages, insecticides, ointments and “tonics” for our chirpy pals. (Commercial dog food didn’t hit the market until 1910.)  In the 1870s, specialty items such as gravel mats and swinging perches were hot sellers.

The popularity of birds as pets has declined in recent years, and historians believe that TV and radio are partly to blame. In the 1800s, singing and talking birds kept housewives company as they worked, while elderly people and shut-ins whistled along to the birds’ songs and felt less lonely. Today the Home Shopping Network serves the same purpose, and doesn’t spill seeds all over the floor.