时差N小时 如何判断宠物需要医药治疗?(上)

（单词翻译）

Have you ever noticed that while it's pretty easy to tell your dog is sick, it's much harder to know how your cat or bird are feeling?

你有没有注意到发现狗是否生病很容易，但想知道猫或鸟的感受就比较难了。

Well, before you start asking your dog why it can't be more stoic¹ like animals half its size, it's probably worth considering each animal's place in the foodchain.

在你问“为什么狗不能比身材不及它一半的动物更坚强”之前，应该思考一下狗在食物链中的位置。

You see, the lower² down the food chain you are, the more important it is for you to hide any sign of illness.

要知道，在食物链的位置越低，隐藏疾病的任何征兆就越重要。

Obvious illness or pain function as red flags for predators³. You may as well wear a sign saying, “Easy meal, guys. Come and get me.”

明显的疾病或疼痛对食肉动物来说是危险的信号。就好像你身上有这样的标语“容易到手的午餐，伙计们，快来吃我吧”。

Now, even small dogs are genetically⁴ programmed to function like predators, which makes sense considering they are close relatives of wolves.

现在，即使是很小的狗也由基因决定了是肉食动物。所以把狗看作狼的近亲也是有道理的。

And birds–you can probably figure out why the only way you'd find out your bird is sick is when it dies.

至于鸟类，也许能知道它是否生病的唯一途径就是死亡。