#animal advice

[wild-raven-and-crow]

How to Get a Bird Back When it Flies Away

(This applies to corvids, parrots, and some other birds.)

I have heard people say that if your bird flies away you'll never get it back, but if you know what to do parrots and corvids are some of the easiest birds to get back.

Here are a few ideas about what to do:

Watch direction of flight so even if it flies out of sight, you know what direction to start looking in. Depending on the type of bird and how frightened it is, the bird may fly miles before landing.

If a bird is frightened, it is likely to fly in a fairly straight line away from whatever upset it.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BIRD even if you have waited for hours below it and it hasn't flown down to you. If night falls, and you are unable to stay with the bird, make absolutely sure you are back before dawn when the bird will wake up. The bird is very likely to fly somewhere new at dawn, or start looking for you. I can't stress this enough: you need almost unreasonable amounts of patience. It may take your bird many hours (perhaps even days) to fly down to you, but don't lose hope. (If you don't know for sure where the bird is, make sure you start looking for it again at dawn.)

Have someone else go get treats to lure the bird down, or its cage if that is available. (If the bird likes its cage, that can act as a lure.)

Things you can do to prepare for this ahead of time:

Teach your bird to come to its name.

Teach it to fly down to you. ("Stepping up" and flying upwards to you are not equivalent to flying down. Flying down takes different skills.)

Record its calls, so you can replay them for it when it flies off. If you can't see the bird or the bird can't see you, you can replay the recordings to help call it to you.

If your bird has unclipped wings, but never flies because its wings were clipped so young that it doesn't know how, either keep its wings clipped or teach it to fly. Otherwise it may spontaneously fly off your shoulder when its outside and not know how to fly back to you.

[the-animal-kingdom]

The average humidity to keep a leopard gecko healthy is between 30% and 40%.

[teamkrissy]

So I'm in a really sticky situation with this cat. In November, I noticed a cat meowing at all my neighbors windows. The next week, she was on my doorstep when I came home from work and I let her in, thinking she was someone's lost pet. I filed missing pet reports with the local shelters, I made posts on local lost pet Facebook communities, my spouse downloaded neighborhood apps and posted about her there, I called around to local vets, I made flyers. I was sure that someone would contact me and ask for their cat back. 2 weeks went by and we started to consider the possibility that no one would claim her and we had a new cat. Then our neighbor noticed her sitting in our window and knocked on our door. She didn't have any questions and didn't want to answer ours, just said that the cat belonged to her son (around 10 years old.) We were relieved, our older cat wasn't a fan of this interloper, we wouldn't have to worry about getting a second autofeeder or figure out how to coordinate vet appointments for 2 cats. Another week went by and my neighbor's tree fell through our backyard, knocking out power for us and our neighbors on the other side. This meant I finally got to talk to the cat owners and clear the air so they knew we were looking for them and not just stealing their pet. She hadn't even thought of looking for the cat, just figured it would find it's way home from wherever it went. Then a week and a half ago, I heard a cat meowing at our window again. It was raining water and chunks of ice and no one was home next door. So I let her in and dried her off because she was soaked. She hasn't gone back to the neighbor's since. It's below freezing where I live now. I bought an outdoor shelter for cats, it's a small elevated structure with a flap style door big enough for 2 cats to lay down in. I stuck it in our back yard for the cat to shelter in next time it rains or just whenever she is cold. The problem is that I think because we have taken care of her more at this point than our neighbors have, the cat thinks that this is her home and doesn't even try to go to the neighbors house. We still let her in sometimes, but throw her out every time we hear the neighbor's car, hoping that she will run to them and they will finally let her in. We can't really keep her here, because at least at one point, they wanted her enough to ask for her back and they can see our house through our windows (we have house plants, we don't close the curtains on that side of the house.) So what do I do? The winter is about to get much worse. The neighbors don't seem to notice her absence, but if they see her in our window, they'll probably ask for her back again just so they can throw her outside again. She isn't much of a street cat, she's young and small and just sits between our houses when she's outside. They don't seem to feed her. I just.... I don't know what to do. Someone please halp

[explodingcosplay]

I need some advice on getting a couple of cats to get along, please.

One's almost four years old and the other is almost two. They seem to hate each other.

The younger one seems to be the main starter of their fights (although elder seems to start a couple too). Elder has a safe room but Younger keeps trying to enter it. When he does it causes stress on Elder. She also seems to be afraid to leave this room.

The thing is, it's an un clean room and I'm not allowed to clean it (it's not my room and while not directly told I can't clean it I have been told "I'd rather you not). Elder stays in it almost all the time. And she doesn't seem to be doing good mentally.

If it's just Elder she's a sweet cat. She usually won't be a lap girl but she'll lay next to you and purr. She loves watching videos and listening to podcasts and things like that.

If it's just Younger he's a butthead but a sweet but head. He'll lay down with you and get jealous if you don't give him all your attention.

We have a total of eight cats and they both get along with the others pretty much fine. Younger some times wants to play with our eldest cat (nineteen) while he just wants to sleep. So it's not that neither of them just doesn't get along with other cats.

We adopted Younger a couple months ago along with his brother. They're a bonded pair and their previous parents are having to try to get rid of their animals for reasons that aren't mine to tell. I don't want to have to give Younger and his brother back, since I don't know what'll happen to them. But Elder doesn't deserve this.

I want her to be able to walk around her own home without being afraid of Younger.

I have tried calming collars. Younger likes to strip his off and Elder seemed to have a reaction to it and her breathing got weird.

I have cat nip but I'm not sure how well that'll help them get along.

[thernrtwinsofficial]

It's 4 am and my hooman insisted on me posting her cat strategies... she should be sleeping...

Anyways who am I to question that.

Understanding Your Cat

So I'm just going to say this first: all cats are UNIQUE. They are not dogs, who are almost always the same. Some of these might not work for all cats, but this is just a GENERAL GUIDE. Please do not get mad if not all of this works.

So, cats. They are perhaps the ultimate carnivores, yet somehow, we have managed to tame them twice. Currently, there are two lineages your furry friend may have come from. This does not mean much for behavior, health, etc, it's just something interesting about your cat's past.

All cats stem from one of two heritage: Egyptian, or Mesopotamian. Both were very early cultures built around the middle East, and both were the territories of a genus known as "wild cats." These furballs dominated much of the old world, and they are the ancestors of our cats. Most cats tend to be dominantly from Egypt, as many were smuggled from there for their value both in trade and in pest control. A lot of cats still have at least some of the Mesopotamian side, and some are dominantly of that lineage.

But once again, this does not change the basic cat behavior. It's just interesting to know.

Basic cat language that humans have the ability to perceive is made up of mostly body language. Cats put their tails to use especially, and watching their tails can be very important when gauging your cat's mood.

A happy cat will have their tails up and erect, and the extra little twitch at the tip signals extreme joy in your presence.

A tail that is thrashing about or pounding on the ground signals that they are not very happy in this situation.

When their tail is down, this means caution, or curiosity. Curiosity can also be signalled with a tail shaped like a question mark, which is very fitting if you ask me.

A puffed up tail means they are either hyper, angry, or scared. This is not one you want to be around for.

When a cat is sad or lonely, their tail will usually be all the way down, like their mood.

Gaining a cat's trust can be very hard and take awhile, but here are a couple signals for you and your cat to shoot at each other.

Slowly blinking is a sign of uninterest in attacking. Cats will often make heavy eye contact when aggressive or in battle, so try to avoid this all together at least in the early stages.

Getting low to the ground shows submissivness and the urge to avoid conflict. If you can, lay down when trying to socialize with your cat so they know you are not a threat.

If your cat starts to get stressed, here are a couple suggestions. All cats are different, so these may not all work.

-Find some music they like! I've found that my cats like Alternative and bird songs. Some of the shelter cats i have worked with enjoyed calm piano, running water, and forest sounds. One of them went totally docile when I played it.

-Give them distractions! Bring in their favorite toy, or get them something that would smell interesting. If you can get then to think about something else, the problem could fade as a whole.

-Get a safe zone! I have met a number of cats who feel much better in little tents or boxes, so getting a safe zone for your kitty is a must. For my cats, my entire room is their safe zone. They have access to a large rug, a bed, a cat bed, and a dark closet with a number of nooks and crannies. Figuring out what your cat may enjoy as a safe zone is key to a better life.

-Give them some love! If your cat is especially attached to one person, get them to come in the room. Sometimes they just need somebody familiar and comforting.

Finding your cat's personal language and signals is just as important as any of these tips I have shared, so be sure to keep adding to the list of things your cat does as signals. It can make a big difference in your cat's overall quality of life.

- The "certified cat whisperer" of Racer & Rhino

[gringadano]

Relax and stay chill

[novlr]

A quick guide to animal symbolism:

Animals have a long history of symbolism that varies between cultures and customs. As literary tropes develop, some animal symbolism has become universally recognised in the western literary canon. Here are some examples you can use in your writing to give subtext, develop motifs, or promote your thematic content.

🐥 Birds: freedom, hope, escape 🦁 Lions: strength, courage, royalty 🐶 Dogs: loyalty, devotion, protection 🐱 Cats: independence, stealth, mystery 🐺 Wolves: intelligence, nature, wildness 🦊 Foxes: cleverness, cunning, deception 🐍 Snakes: temptation, evil, deceit 🦋 Butterflies: transformation, change, new beginnings 🦉 Owls: wisdom, knowledge, mystery 🦅 Eagles: strength, freedom, nobility ◾ Ravens: death, mystery, the unknown 🕊️ Doves: peace, love, purity 🐻 Bears: resurrection, strength, power, new life 🤘 Bulls: virility, sovereignty, wealth

[vero-niche]

can i just say how much i adore how Nao-chan's gender is treated so casually in skip to loafer

like, as a white cis woman who is also quite tall and havent read the manga i didnt even realize she was trans until this scene in ep2:

and i didnt even have the time to get nervous how they would handle this as they already moved on, ignoring the comments (just like queer people learn to do so) except for Mitsumi's comforting touch (implying she also heard the comments):

and there were no sad words or anything about this either, it was just handled so.... normally. which should not be something worth highlighting, but, well, you know. also on that note, special shoutout to P.A. Works for casting a woman as her voice actor as well.

she's shown being the supportive and lively aunt and like seconds later in this scene she's back to being her usual self again:

in conclusion

[somewhatidealname]

i don't even like fnaf.

no idea what the lore is or who the characters are.

your springtrap has taken over my dash.

i am in love with him.

i want to give him headpats.

and maybe feed him nachos.

creechur.

thank you!! ^_^

i share a similar sentiment with you honestly i'm just a fan of the fucked up rabbit from fnaf 3

[marcanimation]

'ello folks, my Cleanup tutorial is finally done and out! hope you find it useful

[the-animal-kingdom]

A piece of random advice: if you ever come face to face with a cheetah where you are worried about being attacked, avoid eye contact, stay calm, do NOT turn your back and do not run away.

If possible, back away slowly but if unable then you have a couple of options, you can sit and wait for someone to help you or (in case of an attack) make yourself look bigger, stand your ground, make a lot of noise and make intentional arm movements towards the cat to frighten it.

[lazycranberrydoodles]

xie lian texts like a grandpa … i imagine pre confession their texts would be a graveyard of hua cheng’s failed attempts at flirting

xie lian's profile picture is from the manhua by starember / follow for more of hua cheng Ls

[wakeupthewublins]

Uhhhh any tips to stop a formerly/recovering feral cat from pooping on the floor in your home? I’ve tried mostly everything but the only thing that seems to work is her going outside when available, but if we’re asleep or something she just… goes wherever

We have multiple litter boxes, kept in safe open places, cat pheromones, have been cleaning the scent and stuff out of carpet, etc. She used to use litter boxes prior to giving birth when she’d visit us in the house

[harzeke]

what’s better than a girl and a boy who’s a dog

[rpmemesbyarat]

If animals, real or imaginary, feature heavily in your story, give this a read. In fiction, carnivores are frequently depicted as incredibly vicious and as attacking every other living creature on sight, whereas herbivores are depicted as gentle, benign, and typically only hurt humans on accident if they panic, such as by rearing or stampeding. This is bullshit. Firstly, many herbivores are incredibly vicious and are in fact far more likely to attack a person just for being nearby. This especially goes for large herd ungulates like rhinos, hippos, Cape buffalo, and moose. All of these are highly aggressive to humans and in general. Bison are considerably more chill than their African cousins, but they still send tourists flying (sometimes to their graves) in Yellowstone due to people trying to get too close and treat them like a petting zoo. Deer, often imagined as the pinnacle of fearful and delicate, will typically choose flight over fight. . .but should they choose to fight, especially a male in rut or a female with a fawn, they can and will kill a human being. Even a rabbit will do its best to fuck someone up if they feel they are threatened. Remember, every animal will fight for its life with all its got, and to herbivores, EVERYTHING is a potential threat. If an animal they’re not familiar with as “safe” is nearby, they will assume it’s a threat. There are some prey animals that are surprisingly docile---videos I’ve seen of people interacting with a wild potoroo and a Bosavi wooly rat show them to be incredibly chill, and the quokka is famous for its lack of fear towards humans—but these are the exception, not the rule. Wild carnivores aren’t cute pets just waiting for the right special animal-loving protagonist to take them home, but they aren’t these constantly-aggressive, constantly-angry, constantly-ravenous monsters either that so much media makes out. They most certainly will hunt when they’re hungry, and in the rare instance they decide to make a meal of a human, that human is indeed fucked (it’s hilarious to me how many people think they could fight off a lion, tiger, etc.) but unless it’s truly starving and desperate* most of them are not going to make a point of pursuing a potential meal, human or otherwise, to the exclusion of all else. Especially not if there’s other options around. Why expend all these energy chasing after the protagonists if there’s literally anything else they could catch and eat instead? And why do so many of these monster-animals seem so interested in catching and killing the protagonists, but not in actually eating them; a ridiculous number of predators in fiction will straight-up leave the body of a person they JUST killed behind in order to catch another human. Why? This makes no sense, I don’t care if it’s a fictional animal like a dragon or manticore, it’s not conducive to survival. Unless this animal is MEANT to have an actual sentient grudge (which CAN happen, a man in Russia once shot a tiger and took its kill; the tiger waited for him in his cabin when he returned) do away with the Super Persistent Predator trope. Especially when it’s an animal like a great white shark, whose preferred prey not only isn’t humans, we’re actually downright nasty to them because we don’t have the fat content of the seals and sea lions they typically eat (most great white “attacks” are just them checking us out or mistaking us for a delicious sea mammal) There are exceptions to this rant, though most are small creatures. For instance, stoats do engage in “surplus killing” and stockpile the bodies, and shrews are very aggressive little predators due to having incredibly fast metabolisms that mean they basically have to eat all the time to stay alive. And, yes, there are some large ones; the tiger shark will eat anything, bull sharks are pretty bad to be around, and the polar bear has actively hunted humans when the opportunity presents itself. But as with the “super gentle chill wild herbivore that is basically domesticated” they are the exceptions. And I’m sure you know of other exceptions; the fact they are “exceptions” in the first place means it’s NOT the norm. If there’s a reason the animals in your story are hyper-aggressive and persistent to a point they seem almost consciously evil, that’s fine---genetically engineered that way, for instance---but have there be a REASON. It’s seldom the default in nature. Think of it this way: You’d fight a lot harder to save your life than you would to get a hamburger (unless saving your life required that hamburger). Consider that when you write real animals, and when you craft fictional ones.  (* Which admittedly most real life man-eaters are; most large mammals that turn to actively hunting humans have been sick, elderly, or injured in such a way they can’t pursue their normal prey. But in fiction, the animals that are absurdly focused on eating humans alone always seem in perfect health and are seldom revealed as otherwise, or even having a reason at all. It’s just presented as their default behavior. Which it is not. That’s the point of this rant.)

[nickpeppermint]