Fever pets

Pets : Domestication

While in theory any animal might be a pet, in practice only a small number of species of mammals (especially dogs and cats) and other small animals, such as birds, fish, or lizards, are practical.

One reason for this is that large animals are not able to fit inside small dwellings.

In general, a pet must either be small enough (or easily controlled) for his or her undesirable behavioral tendencies to be negligible, or the animal must be actually domesticable.

Examples of the former are such animals as fish (including carnivorous ones such as piranha), invertebrates or small reptiles.

A few animals are sufficiently capable of adapting to human interaction to be considered domesticable. Dogs ("man's best friend") are considered to be a classic example of domesticated animals normally suited to being pets.

Domestic dogs are quite similar to wolves, but their physical form and behavior are characteristically different, more than mere differences in size, coat, or coloring. Behaviorally speaking, characteristic changes in dogs due to domestication include a prolonged infancy, increased playfulness, and barking. Wolves are far less playful and don't bark.

Domestic cats appear to be less changed behaviorally by their association with humans, in comparison; however, they do fit the example of an animal being small enough to control.

The same hunting tendencies that make domestic cats useful for control of vermin make its larger, wild relatives too dangerous for domestication. Even small wild felines, such as bobcats or ocelots, can seriously injure or kill a human.