English Translation
I want a pet tiger.
I think this is “tiger cub” rather than “pet tiger”? Or can cucciolo be used for “pet”?
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I only know cucciolo as *puppy or *cub so read this as I want a tiger cub or puppy. (Believe it or not Romeo the Italian parrot taught me “cucciolo” and also “smettila”. We learn from many sources eh!
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“Cucciolo” is used mainly to refer to a very young (a few months old) dog; it could refer to other young mammals.
So it does not mean “pet”. On the other hand, Italian does not really have its own word for “pet” (we have to use expressions such as “animale domestico” or “animale da compagnia”).
So, if the original sentence was the English one, and the Italian one was the translation, I can see how someone would try to avoid using “una tigre da compagnia” or “una tigre domestica” preferring “un cucciolo di tigre” (“da coccolare” : to pet). It would be a more natural sentence a child could actually use.
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