From The Owl Research institute
Have you ever noticed how much variation there is in the faces of Northern Saw-whet Owls? Take alook at these side-by-side comparisons and see how different each owl can look from the rest.
One datapoint ORI collects from each owl is the amount of facial white right around the face. As you can see, some owls have a lot of white, and some have hardly any at all; it certainly is interesting to see all the faces that pass through our station.
I had 3 cats I rescued from outside. You would think they hated all of humanity. None of them would be adoptable animals, which is why I kept them after treating their injuries.
They wouldn't really spend time with me when I was home, even after them living with me for a few years, but they were absolutely upset with me for about a week every time I'd go away for more than 2 days! It was totally on their terms, but I know they had a positive bond with me.
And I still miss them now that they're gone. They taught me a lot about tolerance and patience and how sometimes you don't always get the reactions you feel you deserve, but it doesn't always mean they don't care, they just show things differently. They were who they were, and I came to respect that.