Often one of those topics that comes up in furry writing circles is dealing with words that have “human” or “man” in them and how to deal with that (like Human Resources).
But I’d like to talk about the opposite of that - terms that use animals in them. Like bullshit, gym rat, drunk as a skunk, horse’s ass, and so on.
In a world with sentient animals, these would be highly offensive terms. It would be like saying “Indian Giver”, or an “Irish Lunch” (getting drunk in the middle of the day) or to Gyp someone. If the story is set in a time period or a culture where this kind of prejudice is accepted towards certain species, it makes sense. However if it’s a modern (or future) setting where the society is more politically correct, it becomes highly less likely it would pop up in casual conversation and cause no issues.
Furthermore, it just makes a lot less sense in-world. Why are rats more associated with the gym than other species? Why would a bull’s feces any worse or stand out more than another’s? And the only reason why “drunk as a skunk” came about not because skunks act drunk or get drunk, but because skunk and drunk rhymes. Such terms would have to go along with a species’ behavior (or perceived behavior), and that only fits some of our language; others is merely what animals we had most commonly at hand (hence bullshit, horse’s ass, and jackass).
To me the most troublesome word is bullshit, because it’s the most commonly used day-to-day term that’s likely to come up in conversation. Now, I’ve seen it changed to crabshit (on a planet that’s 90% water) and dragonshit (in a fantasy setting), but in a furry setting, it’d really depend on what animals are eaten? Or some domesticated animal? Birdshit?