Overated Animals?

[KonekoJira]

i think wolves are beautiful animals!
but personally, i see them everywhere. i think theyre abit overrated imo.

[yamsaha]

I don’t like this thread very much. There is nothing wrong with liking a certain animal, even if it is very popular. Each species has good and bad creatures in it. There are bad dogs, bad cats, bad snakes, bad birds, bad bears, bad wolves, bad everything. It’s not fair to judge animals based on how many people like them. Don’t like cats? Fine, but don’t call them “overrated” just because a lot of people like them. Like cats? Fine, but don’t attack people that don’t, as you’re encourage them to think they ar overrated. Each animal is beautiful in its own way, and it shouldn’t be judged based on how many people like it.

Am I missing something? I don't feel like anyone is being attacked.

[Sixx O'Clock]

I feel like people are being biased here like if they r a cat lover it’s dogs if they are a dog lover it’s cats

No true, necessarily. I own three cats and one dog and I still think they're both overrated. I love mine to death, don't get me wrong, but all the people spouting the whole "cats are sweet and cuddly" spiel have obviously never had a cat that has anger issues and lashes out at anyone that isn't their owner for literally no reason. And I get that some dogs are smart and all that jazz, but literally, my dog got her dumb self wrapped around a pole and continued to wrap herself up further when I was trying to help her. If that's not dumb then I don't know what is. lol
Point is, generalizing like that really isn't good for the animals. All animals are individuals and should be treated as such. I've seen too many good dogs and cats end up in shelters because they weren't up to their owners "expectations."

[Catsplat18]

Parrots are super overrated, kinda. As pets. Parrots are horrible pets (sans the domesticated English Budgie) and I don't think anyone should have one. Their overratedness actually hurts them via the pet trade.
Chickens, pigeons, ducks, canaries and zebra finches are better avian pets.

Parrots can be great pets for the right individual.

It's bad to call a type of animal a "horrible pet," because there is so much diversity. Somebody might say that dogs are horrible pets because they were once attacked by a dog, even though obviously there are many wonderful dogs out there. At least the dogs kept as pets are all the same species! "Parrot" refers to 393 species in 92 genera. You cannot lump all of those into "horrible pets."

Everything depends on the individual parrot, and the individual owner - this is literally true for any animal kept as a pet. The way a pet behaves is influenced by the way its owners treat it. If you abuse a parrot, it will develop problems, and might be a bad pet for the next owner! If somebody keeps their parrot shut up in the cage the entire day, that is abuse, and you CANNOT blame the parrot for becoming aggressive and lashing out at new people that it meets. This is also true for a dog, or a cat, or any other pet.

It also depends on the kind of pet you want. If you want a mainly decorative animal, you might get a fish tank. You will be expected to take care of the fish (and trust me, fish are a lot of work - cleaning the tank, maintaining the pH, temperature, etc.), but the fish might not thank you for it. Of course, there are individual fish that might come up to the glass to observe the person who feeds it, but other fish may hide when you come close to the aquarium. So, you might consider fish to be a "horrible pet," if you weren't looking for that kind of pet!

Maybe you want a pet who you can snuggle with, but also needs its alone time. How about a cat? But again, every individual cat is different. You might have a cat that is aggressive and scratches you, or you might get a cat that you can pet all day and night! If you get a "bad" cat - or really, one that does not meet your expectations of what a cat should be like, you might be biased and call cats "horrible pets," despite many cat owners loving their cats to death.

The same goes for parrots. Parrots are very diverse (like I said, 393 species in 92 genera!!!) - some are better suited to living with humans - a cockatiel is more likely to form a strong bond with you than a palm cockatoo. Of course, it does depend on the individual. You might have a really nasty cockatiel and know someone with a super sweet palm cockatoo (which is unlikely, since palms are not common pets at all). And it also depends on who the parrot is comfortable with! My parrot, Kiwi, hates strangers. He will bite my friends if they come over. They probably leave my house thinking that parrots are "horrible." However, Kiwi is bonded to me, so he is an excellent pet - to me. In fact, he is sitting on my head as I write this. You might think that because I own a parrot, I will be biased towards them. Actually, I look at the whole perspective. It is true that many parrots end up in animal shelters because many people do not understand what it takes to have one as a pet. Parrots, and birds in general, are very different from us. They are in an entire different class than us! They act very different from mammals, so we may not understand their behaviors properly, and end up being bitten as a result. It is pretty obvious that when a cat hisses at you, you probably shouldn't try to pet it. But parrots are different. Kiwi hisses when he's angry, happy, excited, and calm! I have spent years getting to know him, so I can tell if he wants me to pet him or if he wants me to back off. Somebody who doesn't know him will probably end up being bitten by him - but again, he hates strangers. I have met really wonderful parrots who will walk up to me (or fly) and beg me to pet them - these are okay with strangers. But my parrot would never ask a stranger to pet him. It really depends on the individual. People might walk away from Kiwi, thinking that he is a "horrible pet," but I love him with all of my heart, and he does love me back - the same way a shy dog might hate strangers, but love its owner.

Parrots are a lot of work, and require a lot of money, and time.

And, they might be hard to understand, which could result in the owner accidentally teaching the parrot bad behaviors.

But you cannot call all parrots "horrible pets," because every individual parrot is different. And, each species (there are 393 of them!) has different needs. Regardless of how it acts, a macaw is going to be more work than a budgerigar, not to mention live longer (80 years vs. 10 years, on average of course). Getting a parrot can be a lifelong commitment. If caring for a macaw for maybe your entire lifespan sounds like a bad idea, then a macaw might be a "horrible pet" for you. But of course, "macaw" refers to 16 different (alive) species (19 including extinct species - not that you'd have one of those as a pet), and their lifespans, needs, and suitability for companionship with humans will vary, not just by the species, but also by the individual.

In conclusion, you shouldn't refer to parrots as "horrible pets," because it really depends on the individual parrot, and you. Maybe you don't want to commit to a pet that lives a long time, is very intelligent, requires a lot of work, and will form emotional bonds with you. Maybe you want a pet rock instead. It all depends on what you're looking for in a pet.

I probably came across as salty, but I have nothing to be upset about - I have a wonderful companion who will love me for 40 years. I just want to inform you and ask you to re-evaluate your opinion. You should treat all animals as individuals, and judge them as individuals, too.

As for overrated animals, I'd have to say unicorns, at least how they are depicted in today's media and trends.

[Silxe]

Parrots are super overrated, kinda. As pets. Parrots are horrible pets (sans the domesticated English Budgie) and I don't think anyone should have one. Their overratedness actually hurts them via the pet trade.
Chickens, pigeons, ducks, canaries and zebra finches are better avian pets.

Parrots can be great pets for the right individual.

BIG PARAGRAPH

Dude chill out that came off as way too aggressive. I work at a cat shelter, I am experienced in animal care, I'm not ignorant.
I really did expect some zealous exotic animal person to attack me over this, but please calm down.
I'd rather take to PM instead of clogging up this board if that's ok with you.

[mediocre mackerel]

This thread needs some happiness and positivity

Pls dont kill me for spam

[Catsplat18]

Parrots are super overrated, kinda. As pets. Parrots are horrible pets (sans the domesticated English Budgie) and I don't think anyone should have one. Their overratedness actually hurts them via the pet trade.
Chickens, pigeons, ducks, canaries and zebra finches are better avian pets.

BIG PARAGRAPH

Dude chill out that came off as way too aggressive. I work at a cat shelter, I am experienced in animal care, I'm not ignorant.
I really did expect some zealous exotic animal person to attack me over this, but please calm down.
I'd rather take to PM instead of clogging up this board if that's ok with you.

I re-read my argument and also found it to be rather aggressive; I'm sorry. I also forgot to meet your point about the pet trade. I totally agree with you on this - exotic animals are often stolen from the wild, and this does hurt their populations. The red-fronted macaw is endangered in the wild, largely due to the pet trade. Captive breeding has helped save the species from extinction, but unfortunately many captive-bred birds are kept in captivity (either for zoos or as pets) instead of being released into the wild to restore the population. I also agree with you that chickens, pigeons, and ducks make good avian pets (I am actually going to get my own chickens soon, and hopefully ducks, though they are messy - and I'd love to foster a pair of pigeons, thought that's never going to happen). On average, canaries and finches spend most of their life in a birdcage, so I don't approve of them as pets, unless they are kept in an aviary with room to fly or hand-tamed and spend a lot of time outside of the cage. However, canaries and finches are often harder to hand-tame than other pet birds, like parrots, pigeons, and doves.

[Catsplat18]

This thread needs some happiness and positivity

Pls dont kill me for spam

memes and gifs are always welcome in my book

[ramattra]

dogs and wolves. dog lovers get so hyped up over dogs and it's like ???? you see them everyday bro please chill. like if you love dogs cool but I don't think they're something to stop what youre doing and flip out over yknow? i mean im a cat person but if i see one i don't go "oooh it's a wittle kitty! cmere who's a good boy whos a good boy? you are! oh yes you are! *insert more strange baby talk and maybe some meowing here*" but who knows maybe the dog lovers i know are just weird

[leopardus]

i know everyone else has already pretty much said this,
but i think wolves are very overrated, even i like them myself.
mainly i think people like them because they have relation to werewolves and lycans?
also because they are dog-like, i don't really think they're like dogs too much..,
but yeah, that's what i think honestly.

@falon oof i LOVE dogs but i agree a little, but i also can't
help screaming internally when i see a dog walking on a sidewalk, something about
it makes me so happy inside, seeing a big warm pupper strutting.
i don't like baby talking dogs really but i do it sometimes
i can't say i'm too much of a cat fan, considering i haven't had many cats, but i do like them,
would you think they are overrated or underrated? i honestly think they're a little too overrated,
not as much as dogs and canines, but yeah.. maybe i'm thinking this from a lot of
cough warrior cats related things cough

what do you guys think is an underrated animal? maybe sea animals...
reptiles... etc, anything that's not too fluffy and soft. i like lizards and snakes a bit