What do people's pets tell you about them?

I have multiple fish tanks and a shrimp tank. What’s that say?

Unless they own a parrot, not much.

Don't have a dog ATM, but when I did, and had scummy friends and neighbors, I noticed that thieves are always afraid of dogs.

a dog ATM

Is that like a golden goose?
- Insert food: receive dog poo

I keep asking the pets for their owners secrets but they don't tell me? I've tried pats, compliments and treats? Am I doing it wrong? How are you getting them to tell you about their owners?

If stray cats in a town are friendly, that means the community is friendly. If they're timid, beware the people.

Cat's in urban areas that aren't socialized are always skittish. It's about not being socialized to humans are a critical age. The areas that you are finding "friendly" strays are where people abandon former pets. Former pets were socialized at the critical age and want human contact.

Basically you are describing areas with shitty humans as areas with superior humans.
- You say that like those cats aren't just on walks around the block.

Generally the way they interact with the pet. Do they have empathy and respect for the pet or do they expect it to be and do what they want. You can usually pick up on this pretty quickly.

there is crossover, I let me dog do almost anything she wants, but I do not tolerate aggression and jumping on people. if she does, she gets corrected and people are always "it's okay". no it's not ok, she can respect people by not jumping on them and possibly hurting little kids. there is a time and place for certain behaviors.

other than that, we explore and hike and do lots of fun dog stuff.
- Thank you for being a responsible dog parent. I hate getting jumped on, and sometimes their nails are sharp too and actually break skin. :/

If they don't like cats because you can't train a cat, and/or cats seemingly hate them, I consider it a warning sign they want people to obey them rather than exist with them.

Cats can't be trained like a dog. So when people complain about that and don't like them for that, I consider it a sign of "I want you to obey me, don't question it."

Cats can be trained, to do very specific things. I can say that from experience.
- It sounds like a cat trained you lol
I also suspect they'll have issues respecting boundaries. Most people I know who're bad with cats are also bad at that.
- One time I was dating this girl. She had 4 cats, and recently got a dog. She had ZERO self control with that dog. She straight up ignored the cats, let the dog do whatever it wanted, and could NOT understand why her cats didn't like the dog.
  
  Well, it's all about body language. The dog was acting like it's never been given attention in its life. It would run full speed at the cats, and then dive at them full speed. The cats did not like that. But this girl just said "See??? These cats have become so hateful since I got the dog!"
  
  Uhhhh, no. The cats just don't like an animal 2X their size and 15X their weight divebombing them. They see you treat the dog better than them, and so don't view you as their protector anymore.
  
  Then she said "You won't be able to pet the cats. Don't worry, its not you, it's them."
  
  I'd say within 20 minutes I was holding one in my arms, one on my lap, one napping at my legs, and the skittish 4th one was making progress towards me.
  
  She was right that it's not me, but she was wrong about it being the cats fault. It was HER fault.
  
  I never met any of her friends, but she said the cats never warmed up to ANY of her friends. This tells me her friends were just as self unaware of their body language as she was.
  
  The cats warmed up to me because when I first got there, I didn't chase them down demanding I pet them. I stuck my hand out, allowed her to sniff my hand, and the cat said no. She didn't even want to sniff my hand. So I said "ok, thats cool too." And I just maintained body language that I was calm and not a threat, but if she wanted to come say hi, she could.
  
  Thats all it is. Just making sure they know they can be comfortable around you. And the girl I was dating at the time didn't understand that.
Cats are waaay easier to train than dogs too!
They can be trained. https://youtu.be/Uu-hRtkaVLc shows a bunch of stuff in a few minutes. I wouldn't train mine because that sounds like a lot of work for something that is just fine without the training, but it is definitely possible.
- Sorry about the double reply, but I watched that video and I can't agree with doing that kind of training with your cat. It's impressive, but it's also treating your cat like a circus clown, in my opinion.
  
  I get your reason for sharing it. I just wanted to express that is not what regular people should try to be doing with their pets. Everyday activities and training with a cat is way way simpler than that clip.
- You just spend time with them and show them what to do and what not to do. It's not that hard, as long as you pay attention to them.
Cats are an experiment in consent

Nothing ... unless it's a parrot

In Australia theres a very specific breed of bird that generally (although not always) indicates that a man is gay.

If a guy has ever had a cockatoo, theres a good chance he is gay.

Well duh it's right in the name
- Who doesn't enjoy a cockatoo on the weekend?

I stereotype that all animals are a reflection of their owner's behaviors. Mostly because I've shaped every animal I've ever been around for more than a few weeks. It is likely my consistent routine, intuition, and self awareness. I don't put up with crap, I reward good behavior, but I punish bad behavior. I primarily withdraw my attention in a pronounced way, but when an animal intentionally acts out by biting, stealing, scratching or trespassing intentionally, I toss a pillow at them. It only takes a couple of times and it stops the behavior to the point where I only need to grab a pillow in the future. I might need to toss a pillow once or twice a year. Above all, I am simply consistent in positive attention. My cats come when I call, one will fetch toys, the other asks to be brushed. We all prefer quiet. I am never scratched, bitten, or threatened with play biting or scratching. I've had a dog that played by the same rules. But like, when people come over I herd them into my room, there is a hideaway under my bed. I make new toys out of junk all the time, etc. All of my pets are like this, so I view all pets as a reflection of the consistency, self awareness, and intelligence of their owners.

Just a question, no offense - are you diagnosed with ASD?
- I'm in social isolation from disability. On a full day of testing for cognitive effects from a massive head injury with a psychologist, I'm well above average in every category tested. I'm an outlier for functional thought with an abstract focus based on intuitive thinking skills. It is not ASD. I can seem odd to some opposing personalities, but these seem just as odd to me.

2 Dogs, 17 chickens, 5 hermit crabs, 1 fish, 4 shrimp, 1 snail, 1 silverfish. Tell me.

You sound a lot like me is what I'm saying.
Silverfish?? Like the guys who crawl around your bathroom?
I had a decent idea until the silverfish, I think you're an alien abductor now and this is your sick collection.
Smallholder with a leaky aquarium. Possibly vegetarian. Show the silverfish to the chickens if you don't want to murder it yourself :-)
What is a silverfish? Like... The bug? Perhaps this is a regional thing
- My sweet daughter rescued it from the bathroom.
eats the shrimp

Hey, you're out of shrimp.
How could you have only four shrimps??

I have (have) had 13 cats at one time. I'm down to 6.

That's too many cats.
- Bruh I said I'm down to 6.
  
  And can you blame me?
  
  I mean look at them..
- I told a girl I moved in with that we have a limit on pets. Either 1 dog, or 2 cats. Thats it. I'm not going to be walking down the street with 15 dogs, and a room dedicated to cat litter boxes.
  
  Zero cats? Maybe you need a cat.
  
  One cat? Maybe your cat needs a friend.
  
  Two cats? This is an acceptable amount number of cats.
  
  Three cats? This is getting out of hand, but maybe you found a foster cat that you decided to permanently home.
  
  Four cats? You're officially the crazy cat lady from the simpsons.

99% of dog owners chose a breed that looks similar to themselves.

If you ask people about their favorite pet or breed and why they chose it, they will tell you what they most value in humans as well. Usually it’s also how they define themselves (more or less accurately).

I guess I technically do value humans I'm not allergic to, but so far that hasn't come up in my life yet.
hmm, I guess I'm a bastard

I have a cat, a dog, a rabbit, and chickens. Now I’m wondering what people assume about me because of them.

I think people who have active dog breeds (like shepherds, huskies, and other working dogs) are probably active themselves. Beyond that it’s more telling to me how they treat their pet, regardless of what kind of pet it is.

It tells me who has money and who doesn't.

They have a pet.
If they relate to them as if they were humans that usually correlate, in my experience, with them having very low empathy for actual humans.

I don't like people who have pets..