Animals of various sorts are mentioned throughout the zajal poetry of the Andalusi Arabic writer Ibn Quzman (d. 555/1160). My proposed paper will focus on two poems of particular interest: (1) ) In "Zajal 21" the poet highlights the figure of a domestic guard dog; an animal not normally found in Classical Arabic poetry, but which is, in this instance, treated conventionally (the animal is loyal to his master) in an unconventional context (the poet, who is disloyal to his wife, has divorced her). (2) In "Zajal 92" the poet brings into play the figure of a pet cat (again, an animal not normally mentioned in the Classical tradition), only to affirm that the cat has abandoned the poet because of the latter's failure to feed it, given his extreme poverty. Once again, the animal is behaving conventionally according to feline instinct (dogs are loyal; cats are not) in a poem in which its appearance is unconventional. From the above, it may be concluded that, in the topsy-turvy poetic world created by Ibn Quzman, animals that are unconventional to Classical Arabic poetry are portrayed conventionally. The proposed paper will base its conclusions on a detailed contextual analysis of both poems, along with contrasting references to a third ("Zajal 147"). previously studied, and in which the unconventional function of birds (the raven and the ringdove) normally conventional to Classical Arabic poetry was highlighted.