A few of those speak to me as a Bird or a Deer.
But it sounds like you already had a deer.

yeah a deer is one of my mains! I really like them but it also feels odd having a sona with hooves sometimes, just not used to it I guess

Honestly I’m one of the people with a shape-shifter because it’s hard for me to not sway on a form I feel connected to. But I think a major point of connecting with an animal is something you not only find fascinating, but feel is a solid representation for you! It’s a little hard to explain that. But if you imagine the features you most resonate with, what would they be?

Also keep in mind that you can alter the features of an animal or species without making it a hybrid! If you want to just add horns to something or change the teeth and make them sharper, I’d say that doesn’t make it a hybrid, it’s just more customized!

Try also not to focus too much on picking everything to be exact as far as the actual species goes. If you really like having it down to an exact to feel most connected, then that’s totally fine! But if that isn’t as important, try not to make that your main concern.

As for some suggestions, the first animals that came to mind were: a fainting goat, a Maine coon cat, a marbled Fox, and a boreal woodland caribou!

hmm, thats a good question, probably those I listed above but I also need to think on it a little more!

also thats very true and somethin I usually do, doesnt feel like me without a bit of customization no?

ans thankyou kindly for th suggestions, fainting goat made me laugh LOL, but all very good, i'll definitely consider them <3

I'm kinda in the same boat as you, lol. Had a huge fight with a friend make me fall out of connection with my genet sona, and I've been bouncing between a redesign of the genet as a kitsune with shapeshifting, a cabbit, and a werecat for the past half year.

As far as your sona, the stuff you listed there really feels like cheetah traits to me!

ahh I feel, it's so rough trying to settle on one thing, not that you have to but if you like to it can certainly be frustrating, I'll figure it out one day!

and thankyou for the suggestion, cheetahs and deer seem to be my top recommended haha.

I have many “selves” but I try to maintain a grounded representation of my waking self and my fantastical self. For my every day fursona, I chose a Pharaoh hound. Dogs are a dime a dosen and not particularly unique but certain qualities attract me to them. They are very sleek and not furry, they’re elegant, I love that they look a lot like the Egyptian god Anubis, they are a sight hound which works well for me because I’m always surveying my surroundings and finding things.

Maybe try building up your traits first and feel around for animals that share a lot of them(from your own perspective). It is important that you form the relationship since it will be serving as something that represents you after all.

pharoah hounds are really gorgeous dogs and quiet unique to see, amazing choice I'd say.

also yeah thats what i've been trying hard to do but I like too many animals and find I relate to too many in different ways, hence the struggle of settling on just one haha.

This describes the situation I had with my sona/s aswel, or settling with one
It's such a frustrating and sometimes upsetting situation to not be able to settle, it took me years to find out that I most connect with deerkind, and I made a sona that i was connected with to a degree but as I change, so did my tastes for a sona and so I changed to a different deer?? Moral of the story, It's okay to not be able to connect to one fursona, but it can be rly frustrating if that's exactly what you're trying to do;; (mostly sharing to let you know you're not alone aaa)

Anyways, Personally I always kind of saw you as a deer in general, so fallow deer would still suit you!

Have you considered Seneca white deer? they have this mysterious/majestic feel about them

Or maybe a peryton? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peryton

glad i'm not th only one who's experienced sona troubles though I'm sorry you've had a hard time settling on one as well! it can be super frustrating when you just want something that really feels like you.

also thankyou very much for the suggestions, deer seems to be the common suggestion for me so I may mess around with it some more <3

Out of the options you gave you remind me most of the fallow deer just based on deers habitat and mostly their personality being social herd like animals just still more reserved and sometimes skittish

Though there’s also the cryptid jackalope which is a bunny with antlers is awesome and means you could mix the domestic bunny and the deer

But I know your not especially a fan of mixing

Just do what feels best in your heart and that’s the right pick

My fursona journey has been an interesting one. It began when I first discovered what furry was in college. I had been watching an animal called "Our Home's Fox Deity" and for Halloween that year I tried to dress up as the titular fox. I made the costume like a fursuit body with a masquerade style mask instead of a head. Someone in the same club as me ssked if I was a furry and if that was my fursona. I thought, "why not, I like foxes well enough." I then studied up on fox species and settled on fennel since it had similar colors to the costume I had already made and was native to desert areas, and I came from Texas.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm exploring my gender identity. I commission some art of my fursona midshift into a red squirrel girl, and after exploring the idea further, I decide I'm a squirrel now. But it never quite fully stuck. I played around with other transformation ideas and eventually kinda liked the idea of being a deer. However, I didn't want to abandon the squirrel, so it was a weredoe, with no particular rules of how or when I changed so I could make it up as I went. I also toyed around with a bunny curse for a bit, but that didn't quite fit right either. By this point I also had over 40 characters that were not my fursona, but rather others I could have my fursona interact with.

I was very confused. I had so many characters and not one quite fit right, not even my main fursona in any of her forms. I started toying with the idea of being a cat. The more I thought on it, the more it made sense. I "mow" a lot in person for various reactions. I like fish, dairy, and generally keeping to myself, though perfectly happy with snuggles if in the mood. I just couldn't decide on what sort of markings suited me. Then I thought back to some transformation art I had commissioned in the past, one of my fursona becoming a calico kitty, and another of myself becoming a calico. And I also realized I had a pre-made partial of a calico I had purchased and paid extra to make into a full suit that would be on its way to me soon. Suddenly everything came together and I realized exactly what suited me most. I've been a calico kitty since then and haven't looked back.

As for suggestions for you...I honestly think that's a personal journey of discovery, and you may not find the perfect answer the first few tries. What may help is trying one you feel strongly about for a bit, and if it doesn't end up feeling right, it's alright to try again and again until something clicks.

Iv gone throught a very similar thing almsot my entre life. i know the frustration that comes with being indecisive about chooseing a main. the things is. iv only begun tor ecently ask myself teh Really hard questions about What makes a main sona. and ill be honest in saying i dont have all teh answers yet. sometimes. its just a thing one must Exepriance. I will say this. staying Loose (shapeshifter) deffinatly allowed teh possability of Exerimentation. that all being said I am happy to annoucne that I have chosen my main or rather My main chose me. I am now a Hybrid Wolf Bear and after that decision has been made life has goen alto smoothly thus far. the choice was almost an accedental one as i was playing around with character desings and i ended up this way. Iv also had alot of input from outside sorces like my husband and my mom (who vaugely Vaugely knows what a furry is) who has soemtimes described our side of the family almost WOlf Like. XD ..so what advie do I have?

First, Dont fight your inital instince. If your feeling a particular mood or your imagination or Muse is giveing you images and idea in your brainpan, Do fight it dotn argue with it just try to let the image evolve and correlesct into something tangleable.

Second, Try everything! run down the list of thing your and then, try the things you dont like, try being soemthing Youv never considerd in your entier life, you might be surprised what the results is. also Dont get frustrated with indecision, embrace it as a thing that is a part of your development.

And thirdly, When your ready, Youll know, itll happen, just be Open to the Experiance and go with the flow. Allow teh oppertunity of the thing be a part of you.

And lastly HAVE FUN , as i said befor try not to get frustrated just be yourself and embrace teh changes and eventualy everything will turn out fine. It just take time and paitance.

Good luck ^^

My character was basically a "physical" version of my personality. Being strong and quite in real life, while having a side of me that likes to make my friends laugh and be happy, seemed to fit perfect for a Dragon: Reclusive, mighty, fierce, but can have a soft side if one accepts you/if you can befriend one.

As for you, have you considered a jackalope or wolpertinger species?

Puma. You found like a mountain lion.

Why not do what I do, give your one fursona multiple forms or versions of themselves?

Hrm..so you're having a connection crisis? And your bio listings..actually make for an interesting combination..

You're not tall, so Cheetah and deer, fit perfectly together. You've a love of feesh (another point to feline) though cheetah don't eat it (never seen em pounce a croc)
Startle easy-point to dear. So far two and two Why not combine aspects of them? Say, a cheetah with horns, or a deer with cat paws, and long tail-bonus points for poof tail when scared (And noms teh fish so sharp teeth)
No one expects a carnivore deer.

As for how I came to be a snow leopard. I had always had a connection with big cats. In particular Mountain Lions and snow leopards (Actually found out, they're practically the same species of cat, just really diff markings)
How I bonded with those two, is kinda funny. Literal interactions with them. I had a friend who rescued an injured mountain lion cub and raised the little guy. Part of the reason he'd been abandoned was he was a runt. He'd never get bigger then 200lbs. And he acted like a humungous house cat. Including taking over your lap at the worst times. "I'm gonna go pe~sit right here as the massive cat with claws just grabbed my lap...dammit"

The snow leopard came from the sacramento zoo, when I was living in Cali. My tech college, beat several other colleges in donations for the zoo, to help with a very expensive want of a purchase (electric microscope with a camera feed) 60K it was so, the zoo techs could show the visitors what they were looking at. Well, we were short..by about 8k still beat six 5 other schools combined. So, they couldn't afford the microscope BUT, they could afford renovation to the snow leopards habitat (Which she'd been needing for a while) so as thanks they brought her to my campus/class. And I tamed her under her handlers nose by, taking an insane gamble and trusting my instinct, and hugged her. She blinked and proceeded to lick my face as "I claim you" When I was taken to the other end of the classroom to get yelled at by my instructor. Kitty followed and I had to laugh cause she wanted pet. Also found out, snow leopard tails are insanely plush. Like knuckle deep thick plush fur. Same with mountain lions. And dear god are they dusty!

I'm probably the last person to ask when it comes to fursonas. I don't consider myself interesting enough to project onto a character (Mostly due to my self deprecating nature). So all my OC's are their own individual entities with varying personalities and backstories. I find them a lot more captivating to work with when they aren't restricted to being an extension of myself.
Not sure if this is helpful in the slightest, but I figured I'd give my two cents.

Hmmm.. I'd say Jackalope or Caracal ^^

to make my sona i just stuck things I liked to draw together lol big ol floppy ears rhino horn big hands and hooves

Have you ever considered a domestic cat as a fursona?

You sound like you have several qualities that I would associate with domestic cats, and a domestic cat might give you some more design options than trying to stick to wild animals like cheetahs and caracals, which have more uniform markings.

I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask but, I thought I was a cat for a really long time! I was a cheetah, bunny, dog (but only once) then I realized I actually really liked mice particularly fancy ones. I decided to try and make a character not a sona and couldn't help but see similarities between myself and a mouse. So I'd suggest started with an animal that you really enjoy, maybe look them up on Google and see what kind of traits kind of match up with you. That'd be suggestion! I hope it helps! Even if it's only a little.