It's magic... possibly. A thing that causes us all to hear the same language, unless we concentrate on speaking our own natural tongue.

[Definitely Venus. She was around here somewhere being very Venus-y.]

Deer, dogs and cats are usually safe. The deer protect us, even if they look wrong somehow. The dogs do it too to an extent, but they usually deliver things. The shadowy, smokey cats keep the peace. As long as you're not breaking the law, they're just cats. If you do, they attack and there's no way to stop them until they punish you, assuming that they see the crime, and nobody's been cursed.

Other animals? That can depend.