# Are animals a who or a that? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943 "2015-12-20T19:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HarryTheHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/1 "2015-12-20T19:38:56Z")
My cat is a who but a crocodile is a that. Why? ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/2 "2015-12-20T19:54:28Z")
Probably because we give names and personalities to our pets and not to wild animals. If the crocodile’s name was Elizabeth and it was my pet, I’d call her “her” instead of “it” and use “who” instead of “that.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/3 "2015-12-20T21:13:24Z")
Says who? To me, your cat is a that. Unless he’s the cat in the hat… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/4 "2015-12-20T21:31:29Z")
This is probably better suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/5 "2015-12-20T22:50:12Z")
If it has a name, it’s a “who.” If not, it’s a “that.” ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/6 "2015-12-20T22:58:13Z")
> [@yearofglad](#): > > Probably because we give names and personalities to our pets and not to wild animals. If the crocodile’s name was Elizabeth and it was my pet, I’d call her “her” instead of “it” and use “who” instead of “that.” Wait a minute. I met Elizabeth down in the Everglades happily munching on a raccoon and a stray cat. Small world it is. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/7 "2015-12-21T01:36:51Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > If it has a name, it’s a “who.” If not, it’s a “that.” Also, as **yearofglad** mentions with object pronouns, generally if it has a name it becomes _he_ or _she_, instead of _it_, though the dialog of nature shows may use _he_ or _she_ with a nameless animal when tracking it over a sequence shots. (Nature films in general play with anthropomorphism a lot in order to construct narrative drama, so I wouldn’t consider their dialog normal discourse.) ---
**Author:** ![Gretchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@Gretchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gretchion)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/8 "2015-12-21T03:31:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Says who? To me, your cat is a that. Unless he’s the cat in the hat… And then he’d fit right in with all the Whos of Whoville. ---
**Author:** ![HarryTheHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/9 "2015-12-21T05:22:27Z")
That was the first question I’ve asked at TSD. I think this is going to be fun. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/10 "2015-12-21T06:41:11Z")
All the zoo animals are Whos. Cite: I worked at the zoo, and have visited backstage at lots. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-a-who-or-a-that/740943/11 "2015-12-21T13:14:09Z")
The reason many wild animals are so cantankerous toward humans is precisely because we don’t treat them like fellow humans. We treat them like dirty, nameless animals and they don’t like that. I’m changing my ways. My little schnoodle dog, Daisy (née Marguerite Francesca von Tibby) and I are going on a Nile Safari next month and we plan to treat all the wildlife we encounter as the valid individuals they are. I expect them to return the favor. I’m giving them all nicknames, will shake their paws, hooves, flippers or fins and we’ll play fun water games with them (e.g. Marco Polo with the hippos, peek-a-boo-I-see-you with the crocodiles, etc.). I’ll post the results of my anthro-beast sociological experiment upon my return…or not.