Poll of the Day > This is my pet bird. This is my pet fish.

(+) Yeah! (+)

People say that, but they never say this is my pet mammal or this is my pet reptile.

People say 'this is my pet hamster', but there are more breeds of hamster than cats and dogs combined.

Typically if you have "pet fish" you have an aquarium with a variety of species and thus it is suitable to be more vague but I don't think I've ever heard "pet fish" usually it's just someone saying they have an aquarium and then if you're interested you can inquire about the specific species. I don't really know many people with pet birds, but the few I have are "Oh I have a couple parakeets" or the one dude I knew with a conure.

But I welcome you to say you have a mammal or reptile and enjoy the weird looks you get from people as they try to figure out what prank you're trying.

I've heard people say "pet snake" and "pet frog."

Lokarin posted...

People say 'this is my pet hamster', but there are more breeds of hamster than cats and dogs combined.

That's true. I've heard "pet hamster" a few times.

I think the reason people usually don't say "pet dog" or "pet cat" is they are the most well-known pets, so people don't need to say "pet" because people already know.

I expected to see pics of pets but I got scammed. Boo TC.

how is that any difference from just saying "this is my dog/cat"

are people introducing their animals like "this is my full blooded german shepherd with his registered name of franklin"

or "this is my tortoiseshell calico ragdoll cat, princess mega fuck"

usually though when people introduce their bird they say what kind, because usually people who do not care about birds aren't going to know the vast majority of the types of birds, same with lizards and fish n shit. but most people tend to know a bunch of different breeds of dogs and cats since they are the most popular types of pets

well cats probably not so much. a ragdoll longhair and a ragdoll shorthair are like two completely different looking cats despite being the same breed, unless they interact with the cat to discover its ragdoll capabilties they aren't really gonna know.

and probably a lot of people confuse golden retriever with a regular lab with longish hair, too

badjay posted...

I expected to see pics of pets but I got scammed. Boo TC.

This

There are just too many damn birds and fish and no good reason to tell them apart tbh.

I just found it funny that we tend to refer to birds and fish by their class names but we're much more specific with other animal species

Also the different species of mammals/reptiles changes how we interact with them, and birds/fish all pretty much do the same thing.

Bear? Which kind?
Cat? Big? Stay away. Small? Friend.
Raccoon? Harmless but stay away. A pet if you want destroyed furniture.
Dog? Friend.
Wolf? Can kill you but won't want to get near you.

Fish? They swim around. Some are tasty.
Birds? They fly and you can't touch them because they're too fast.