Times Animals Had Hilariously Bad Days

By: Lisa Lee | Last updated: Mar 21, 2024

Animals, like people, can have bad days. Sure, they don’t have to hold down a job or support a growing family in a rough economy. But, they do have to worry about other animals stealing their food, getting locked out of the house, or getting scared by loud noises.

When things go wrong, they act just like humans. They get visibly annoyed, upset, or scared. Some – like the squirrel above – even seem to dip into existential anguish as they try to process what’s happening around them. Why is there no tree here? What’s life all about? These questions and more seem to show up on their expressive little faces. So, let’s take a look at 15 times animals had a bad day.

Everything Is A Coloring Book If You'd Please

Dalmatians are known for their spotty appearance of black and white. They’re simply adorable! But a little kid may see something else entirely…

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To this doggo, his tiny humans saw them as giant living and breathing coloring book! To be honest, as long as the dog was not hurt and the chemicals did not affect it, this seems like some good honest fun. Kinda looks cool too…

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He Actually Had To Be Helped Down...

This kitty cat maybe didn’t think the whole plan through when getting up or down this divide in a tree. It is one of those rare occasions that a cat finds themselves in that they cannot figure it out themselves.

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Luckily for kitty, their human was there to help them out of their unfortunate predicament. Not before taking a hilarious photo for the world to see of course.

Stella Ain’t Happy

One calm afternoon, Stella the cat was starving. She was looking forward to scarfing down a  great big meal all by herself. Unfortunately, Sarah, the much larger dog, had a similar idea. She was also hungry and looking for extra food.

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Sarah’s extra food came from Stella’s bowl. That clearly didn’t go down well for Stella. So, she did as any self-respecting cat would do and complained. She walked into the kitchen with an angry face and proceeded to rat out the dog. No word on if Stella got her extra food.

Is Anyone Home?

Sometimes dogs do things that they don’t entirely understand. They chase and bark at other dogs (or other people) that pose little to no threat to them. They eat disgusting food – including their own vomit – and then get sick from it without putting two and two together.

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Cowdimples31/ Reddit

Or, they run away. And then shortly after running away, they realize that living at home where humans feed, pet, and love them all day is a much better deal than being a street dog. So, they run back home… and wait by the door.

So Close...And Now What?

Racoons are known for their savvy slinking around neighborhoods and parks to get their hands on some tasty human treats. However, this little bandit did not think their plan all the way through.

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The racoon likely saw the sweet treat so close, yet so far. What could go wrong? Well, a head first plummet into a small place isn’t always the best call. That racoon learned a lesson that day.

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A Little Splat

It looks like a squirrel may have taken a bit of a tumble one winter day off this original poster’s home. However, the little paw prints in the snow indicate that the fall was not fatal.

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Maybe if it were a cat it would have landed with the ninja like perfection that we have come to expect from our feline friends. Though although the squirrel landed with a splat, luckily there were able to make a getaway.

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My Safe Place

Although we have phrases for skittish cats – namely being a “scaredy cat” – dogs are also a bit jumpy when it comes to certain things. In particular, loud noises. Whether it’s a crack of thunder, a screeching car, or a firework, they’re not ones to stick around and see what’s going on.

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Instead, they run away – like Ralph above. Soon after hearing the boom of a firecracker, he darted away to find his safe place. His safe place, cutely enough, is inside the bathtub with his favorite owner. Good boy, Ralph!

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A Very Small Broken Bone

This little hamster suffered a broken bone, the poor little dude. But he deserves health care nonetheless, and his compassionate and worthy human took the task to heart to get him healed up.

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Due to the little hamsters size, he required time dressing up as his little limbs were incredibly hard to wrap. The end result looks like it turned out very well, and we are sorry to say, he looks very cute while injured.

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Run, Dog, Run!

Dogs have a unique mix of bravado and skittishness. We saw the skittishness of Ralph running away from the fireworks above. We can see the bravado in dogs that are willing to bark and chase anything

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In particular, moose. If a moose comes anywhere near your territory, dogs are fine giving them as much space as needed. As you can see from the almost cartoonish look on the dog below, they don’t want anything to do with the massive creatures.

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Aww, Nuts

Squirrels, nuts, and trees go together like, well, squirrels, nuts, and trees. The cute bushy-tailed creatures love to collect falling nuts from one tree and stash them away in another. It’s the perfect strategy for waiting out a brutal winter.

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The only problem is people have to cut down trees for a whole variety of reasons. When they do that, the squirrels don’t understand the reasoning. They just understand that a good source of food is now gone. So, they sit, sadly (and cutely) on the stump of a dead tree.

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A Breaking Point

Apparently, this dog’s human made the decision to put them in their crate due to hyperactivity and needing a bit of a timeout away from everyone. You know, a time to collect their thoughts.

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But this dog wasn’t going to be limited to the four barred walls his captor had assigned her. It was a great day to become SpiderDog…Spog? And so she did.

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Laugh It Off

Cats are smart, but there is a limit to their smarts. Although they may be able to follow your finger around (something dogs aren’t that great at), they have no idea what’s going on with pictures. A picture and the real thing are the same for cats.

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If they see birds on a TV show, they’ll try to capture them. Likewise, if they see a picture of a delicious chicken on a table, they’ll try to eat it. That didn’t work out for this cat, so he laughed it off.

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Stick to the Water, Duck 

Ducks are fantastic at water-based activities – swimming, diving, floating, etc. Activities that take place out of the water, however, present all sorts of problems. It’s clear they still have a lot to learn. If you don’t think so, look at the picture below.

GoAskAlice/ Reddit

How … did that happen? Unfortunately, the duck is keeping its beak firmly shut – no comment. However, the human who posted the picture said that they rescued the poor duck that got its webbed feet stuck in the fence.

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Curiosity Got the Cat a Necklace

Cats are curious creatures. Sometimes that serves them well – for example, they find a new favorite nap spot. Other times curiosity does the exact opposite. It actively harms them. The following picture is an example of the second kind of curiosity.

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This curious soul figured it would investigate a vase. It started out okay, but then the cat got its head stuck in the vase, which caused it to panic. The panic caused it to break the vase. The broken vase caused it to get a new necklace… and a terrified look in its eyes.

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Get the Paw-Cuffs 

It turns out humans aren’t the only ones who can get arrested. When dogs break the law, they gotta pay as well. It’s only just, right? Well, maybe. It really depends on the nature of the crime. For the doggo below, the crime was running away from home and attacking a deer.

emmethompsonn/ Reddit

The police intervened – after a concerned neighbor called – and captured the fugitive dog. Now, he’s caught red-pawed and in the back of a cruiser. We just wonder if he has paw-cuffs on … and if the deer is pressing charges.

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The Waddling Thieves

Considering how many sushi restaurants there are around the world, most people agree that sushi is one of the most delicious meals you can possibly eat. It’s not only people who think this, but also other animals – particularly penguins.

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Penguins, as you may or may not know, love the Japanese delicacy. They love it so much that they’re willing to break into local sushi places, hide under cupboards, and raid the place at night. Unfortunately for these two little guys, they got caught in the act.

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Don’t Like Snow

As we saw from the necklace cat above, curiosity leads to both good and bad things for cats. The cat below provides another example of the bad stuff – or at least the jarring stuff. This curious critter was itching to experience the outdoors.;

Slaughterizer/ Reddit

So, the owners opened the door. The cat ran through – right into a wall of snow. The cold and wet quality of the snow was not something this cat was expecting or comfortable with. Those eyes look like they’ve seen a monster!

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Bring Back My Food Bowl

The fetal position is something that humans get into when they feel particularly vulnerable. It helps to bring a sense of comfort to a stressful situation. Dogs, as you can see below, do something similar – a doggie fetal position if you will.

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For the chubby doggo below, a “stressful situation” means the food bowl isn’t directly in front of her right now. Instead, it’s in some weird contraption that makes a loud noise. So, she found her safe space and anxiously awaits the return of the bowl.

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Between a Door and a Door

If humans have a hard decision to make, then we say they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either extreme isn’t that appealing. If cats have a rough decision to make, we might say they’re stuck between a glass door and a screen door.

dylan_smith58/ Reddit

That’s exactly where this cat is. How he got there, we don’t know. How’s he going to get out of it? Hopefully, someone pulls out the screen door so the cat can safely make it outside. Then, the cat can rethink its decisions.

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Goats Need Trampolines Too

Goats are cute little creatures who love to play. In particular, they love to jump as high as they can, as far as they can, and onto whatever they can. As humans know, one of the best ways to jump high is to jump on a trampoline. Goats know this too.

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Or at least the goat above clearly knows this. It’s not having a good day with that broken trampoline. How is it supposed to jump high without the proper springs? Impossible! Get this goat a new trampoline quickly.

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How Not to Sit in a Chair 

Dogs and cats definitely have their own distinct personalities, which is why there are cat people and dog people. However, they also share a lot. For example, they share the ability to let their curiosity take them to ridiculous places.

Nolanus/ Reddit

Like places that involve getting stuck in a chair! This little puppy was so excited to go run around the garden on a hot day. Then, it forgot how big it was and tried to squeeze through a chair. Clearly, that didn’t work out too well.

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