Pet related words that are often spelled in the wrong way

gettingready wrote: »

Tom cat often used to describe male cats despite them being neutered - or am I wrong here? Always thought Tom cat is a boy that was not neutered. Pls correct me if I am wrong?

It's one of the tricky things about English. To be more specific, a Tom cat is a male cat with or without his appendages - but an entire Tom is the giant git that comes round and beats up your pets and makes the garden smell really bad


I do mentally flinch when I hear or read about animals being spaded - makes me think of them being slapped on the bum with a shovel and told not to get pregnant again. And everytime I hear Cockerpoo from certain people (usually the ones who talk about spading round here), I don't initially think of a crossbred dog sold for a fortune, I first imagine somebody going to buy a bird and being convinced by a BYB that's what they are meant to look like, because they're a very rare and exclusive breed of budgerigar.


Oh yes, and Madam Fluffyknickers' breed is, apparently 'Man Con'. I thought a Man Con was something relating to length, myself. :cool:

Though I've lived in the UK for 6 years, and spoken English for even longer, I only recently took the time to learn that I was not looking for vets to spray my female guinea pigs... It's not easy!

Another one I'll give you to giggle at, though it's from a fair 15 years ago, I was sure the dog breed made famous by Disney was called dalmatino.

Myself, I mostly judge people who call nearly all primates 'monkeys.'

P.s. The only primate that can possibly be thought of as a pet is the human offspring. I know.

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Never fails to amuse me as to how many animals get to have jags - I often wonder whether they mean a cat or a car :rotfl:


I still can't fathom where the term "jags" for vaccinations originates.

Whenever I hear the word "jags",I always assumed people have mis-heard the word "jabs",-the reference to the needle being inserted. "Jabs" is the word I have always known.