Interacting with critters
Feb. 27th, 2019 04:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wispfoxAs some of you may already know, I learned to read cat body language long before human body language. In part, I suspect it's just simpler than humans, as other than hiding sickness and injury, cats don't tend to hide their emotions.
At this point in my life, I have a pretty good sense of how to interact with most animals. This has sometimes earned me the nickname druid, as well as reflecting my most commonly played RPG character class.
There was a friendly pup on the train home this evening, which caused me to reflect on the various things I have picked up along the way around relating to critters of various sorts. I'm most comfortable with cats, then dogs, and then it varies.
1) My first - and perhaps most important - principle is pretty simple. Unless you have information otherwise, always let animals approach you. And, within your abilities, be calm, quiet, and still around animals unless you know they would prefer otherwise (for example, a dog wanting to play). If it's a critter smaller than you (especially if it has free reign), make yourself smaller if you can (eg: get lower to the ground. When I'm meeting new cats, I will often literally lay on the ground near them).
Speak softly and calmly to an animal if it is familiar with humans. I've gotten a number of creatures to come to me by doing this, especially combined with getting lower to the ground. It helps to not have loud humans nearby. (most humans are loud)
Being overly enthusiastic - no matter how happy or hopeful you are - will scare most animals away. (unless you know otherwise, it's a safe default assumption)
2) If it is an animal that greets others of its type with sniffs, offer your hand if it decides to approach (move slowly, unless you know otherwise!).
Note: all animals can bite - as a sign I once saw said, "If it has a mouth, it bites. That's what it's for." Some are more or less likely to do so. However, most animals - unless rabid - will either flee if they feel the need or nip lightly if one doesn't seem to be getting the message from more subtle (often body language) cues. Of course, 'lightly' will vary depending on how well the animal understands the level of pressure that will injure a human. If it is an animal that you _know_ tends to bite - for whatever reason, usually because it associates hands being offered with food being offered - don't offer your hand.
I associate most small rodents with being nippy - perhaps due to lack of handling, perhaps due to being tiny. However, I've never been bitten by a rat (I've also only approached pets, not wild), nor a guinea pig. Rabbits have bitten me, very lightly, but rarely - mostly they leave if they want to be left alone (as with guinea pigs).
3) If it is a domesticated animal with a collar, and it is interested in petting, scratching under the collar is a pretty good bet. Most animals cannot easily reach under there, and even those which can tend to find collars itchy.
Thicker furred creatures tend to prefer more vigorous scratching to get through their coat (goats, many dogs, horses), especially if they are usually tormented by flies. Light touch feels too much like a fly. Note that I have very little experience with larger herbivores like horses and cattle, so cannot offer much beyond this.
If it is a domesticated animal which seems to not mind - or obviously appreciates - petting, and it starts moving away, that may not mean it's done. It may just want you to pet a different part. Many critters (dogs and goats, at least) appreciate scratching their sides and what would be a butt in humans.
Many domestic animals only learn to appreciate petting if they get it early in life and regularly enough.
I've met pettable chickens, for example, that had a lot of human contact growing up. It's more of the exception than the norm that animals like human contact. I'm weirdly thrilled by petting birds, especially if they trust me enough to preen the sheath off new feathers (pin feathers). :)
4) Lots of people believe that wagging tails mean a dog is happy. Unfortunately, just like with humans, you need to pay attention to more signals than just the tail movement. Ear position, tail position, teeth (bared or not), and similar information all contribute to the message that a dog is expressing.
5) Similarly, many people believe that cats are aloof. I suspect that a lot of this belief is due to the fact that cats have no facial expressions. Dogs can mimic a fair amount of human facial expressions, but even if a cat wanted to (and I have met cats that I bet want to!) they do not have the muscles to do so. It can be helpful to know if a cat was away from its mother early or not, because that can determine if a cat has typical cat body language or not (human-raised cats are a lot harder for me to interpret, for example).
I've known a lot of human-focused cats, and indeed that is more my experience than human-avoidant. This may be more about the fact that we often adopted new cats because they were on our porch and we managed to coax them indoors, growing up.
6) I'm not completely sure of this, but pretty sure: if an animal is bouncing around, it probably wants to play. Dogs will play bow, as well as bouncing around. Cats can also get bouncy when they want to play, and many hooved creatures (at least the babies) will also bounce around. Bouncy!
7) If you are around the owner of a critter and they offer suggestions, remember that what an owner can do may or may not be what a stranger can do. It's still worth trying, but try to not be too disappointed if you cannot.
8) Some reptiles are _very_ social creatures. Sure, some just want your body heat, and depending on how much handling they get regularly they may not want any contact at all. But - I've met many bearded lizards, and they all seem to be quite social. I'm not certain of how social tortoises are, but my impression of the ones I've met at pet stores is that they are pretty social as well - but they tend to live a long, long time.
9) Birds can be awesome. They are also usually very very loud. And messy. If you have one of the brighter species, they will need a _lot_ of interaction - parrots are social creatures, typically used to hundreds of individuals in a flock, and used to traveling large distances. Unless you have researched a potential pet bird to a large degree, and preferably spoken with people who do parrot rescue, don't get a pet bird. Also, many (most?) parrots live as long or longer than a human.
10) Sub-lethal lead exposure shows heightened aggression in mockingbirds - and probably a whole lot of other creatures (we know this happens with humans). If you are in a high lead area, be more careful. An animal which might otherwise simply flee may well attack instead. I suspect this also affects the adaptability of feral cats and dogs in higher lead areas.
11) If you want to approach a prey creature (such as for a photo), don't look directly at it. Looking straight at it may cause it to think you want to eat it. When I'm trying to take a picture of a bird, I'll literally crawl toward it with only the camera looking straight at it. The slower you can move, the better, and being low to the ground is also good (it's harder to spring at something as a human from low to the ground, and I think they know this).
There you go! Many tips. I'm sure that I know more, but these are the ones I'm most able to express verbally.
At this point in my life, I have a pretty good sense of how to interact with most animals. This has sometimes earned me the nickname druid, as well as reflecting my most commonly played RPG character class.
There was a friendly pup on the train home this evening, which caused me to reflect on the various things I have picked up along the way around relating to critters of various sorts. I'm most comfortable with cats, then dogs, and then it varies.
1) My first - and perhaps most important - principle is pretty simple. Unless you have information otherwise, always let animals approach you. And, within your abilities, be calm, quiet, and still around animals unless you know they would prefer otherwise (for example, a dog wanting to play). If it's a critter smaller than you (especially if it has free reign), make yourself smaller if you can (eg: get lower to the ground. When I'm meeting new cats, I will often literally lay on the ground near them).
Speak softly and calmly to an animal if it is familiar with humans. I've gotten a number of creatures to come to me by doing this, especially combined with getting lower to the ground. It helps to not have loud humans nearby. (most humans are loud)
Being overly enthusiastic - no matter how happy or hopeful you are - will scare most animals away. (unless you know otherwise, it's a safe default assumption)
2) If it is an animal that greets others of its type with sniffs, offer your hand if it decides to approach (move slowly, unless you know otherwise!).
Note: all animals can bite - as a sign I once saw said, "If it has a mouth, it bites. That's what it's for." Some are more or less likely to do so. However, most animals - unless rabid - will either flee if they feel the need or nip lightly if one doesn't seem to be getting the message from more subtle (often body language) cues. Of course, 'lightly' will vary depending on how well the animal understands the level of pressure that will injure a human. If it is an animal that you _know_ tends to bite - for whatever reason, usually because it associates hands being offered with food being offered - don't offer your hand.
I associate most small rodents with being nippy - perhaps due to lack of handling, perhaps due to being tiny. However, I've never been bitten by a rat (I've also only approached pets, not wild), nor a guinea pig. Rabbits have bitten me, very lightly, but rarely - mostly they leave if they want to be left alone (as with guinea pigs).
3) If it is a domesticated animal with a collar, and it is interested in petting, scratching under the collar is a pretty good bet. Most animals cannot easily reach under there, and even those which can tend to find collars itchy.
Thicker furred creatures tend to prefer more vigorous scratching to get through their coat (goats, many dogs, horses), especially if they are usually tormented by flies. Light touch feels too much like a fly. Note that I have very little experience with larger herbivores like horses and cattle, so cannot offer much beyond this.
If it is a domesticated animal which seems to not mind - or obviously appreciates - petting, and it starts moving away, that may not mean it's done. It may just want you to pet a different part. Many critters (dogs and goats, at least) appreciate scratching their sides and what would be a butt in humans.
Many domestic animals only learn to appreciate petting if they get it early in life and regularly enough.
I've met pettable chickens, for example, that had a lot of human contact growing up. It's more of the exception than the norm that animals like human contact. I'm weirdly thrilled by petting birds, especially if they trust me enough to preen the sheath off new feathers (pin feathers). :)
4) Lots of people believe that wagging tails mean a dog is happy. Unfortunately, just like with humans, you need to pay attention to more signals than just the tail movement. Ear position, tail position, teeth (bared or not), and similar information all contribute to the message that a dog is expressing.
5) Similarly, many people believe that cats are aloof. I suspect that a lot of this belief is due to the fact that cats have no facial expressions. Dogs can mimic a fair amount of human facial expressions, but even if a cat wanted to (and I have met cats that I bet want to!) they do not have the muscles to do so. It can be helpful to know if a cat was away from its mother early or not, because that can determine if a cat has typical cat body language or not (human-raised cats are a lot harder for me to interpret, for example).
I've known a lot of human-focused cats, and indeed that is more my experience than human-avoidant. This may be more about the fact that we often adopted new cats because they were on our porch and we managed to coax them indoors, growing up.
6) I'm not completely sure of this, but pretty sure: if an animal is bouncing around, it probably wants to play. Dogs will play bow, as well as bouncing around. Cats can also get bouncy when they want to play, and many hooved creatures (at least the babies) will also bounce around. Bouncy!
7) If you are around the owner of a critter and they offer suggestions, remember that what an owner can do may or may not be what a stranger can do. It's still worth trying, but try to not be too disappointed if you cannot.
8) Some reptiles are _very_ social creatures. Sure, some just want your body heat, and depending on how much handling they get regularly they may not want any contact at all. But - I've met many bearded lizards, and they all seem to be quite social. I'm not certain of how social tortoises are, but my impression of the ones I've met at pet stores is that they are pretty social as well - but they tend to live a long, long time.
9) Birds can be awesome. They are also usually very very loud. And messy. If you have one of the brighter species, they will need a _lot_ of interaction - parrots are social creatures, typically used to hundreds of individuals in a flock, and used to traveling large distances. Unless you have researched a potential pet bird to a large degree, and preferably spoken with people who do parrot rescue, don't get a pet bird. Also, many (most?) parrots live as long or longer than a human.
10) Sub-lethal lead exposure shows heightened aggression in mockingbirds - and probably a whole lot of other creatures (we know this happens with humans). If you are in a high lead area, be more careful. An animal which might otherwise simply flee may well attack instead. I suspect this also affects the adaptability of feral cats and dogs in higher lead areas.
11) If you want to approach a prey creature (such as for a photo), don't look directly at it. Looking straight at it may cause it to think you want to eat it. When I'm trying to take a picture of a bird, I'll literally crawl toward it with only the camera looking straight at it. The slower you can move, the better, and being low to the ground is also good (it's harder to spring at something as a human from low to the ground, and I think they know this).
There you go! Many tips. I'm sure that I know more, but these are the ones I'm most able to express verbally.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-28 12:57 am (UTC)Although, I swear cats' tails are hardwired directly into their emotional brain centers.. they can't NOT express how they are feeling. but unless you've a lot of experience, it's hard to pick up on the nuances as it's not something humans are hardwired for.
Also cat body communication is location contextual.. where they are in relation to you, varies what the context of their body language is. A cat blinking down at you from on top a high cupboard is a different message than one blinking up at you.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-28 09:15 pm (UTC)I would probably assume one of two things for the above you cat - either "I win and am taller than you" or "You can't get me here so I'm safe, but curious about you" - depending on my relationship with the cat. Lower than me? Is probably saying hi and that it trusts me.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-02 02:16 am (UTC)Rats have pretty bad eyesight and might bite to see what your hand is, especially if they are used to people handing them food.
Great tips on the collar, and heavy touch (re: flies).
no subject
Date: 2019-03-02 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-04-20 06:21 am (UTC)I know a lot about my cats' communication styles, but much less about cats and animals in general. :-)
no subject
Date: 2019-04-22 08:09 pm (UTC)It was also an interesting task to set myself - there was a great deal more that I could have said, but it was going to be too difficult to generalize in a post like this!