Our readers never disappoint when it comes to interacting here on the pets section: whether it's the interesting insight and exchange of ideas or, as we see at the end of each week, cute pet photos!

This week's slideshow is a particularly fun and interesting mix of creatures.

You'll see a cute cat with a penchant for umbrellas, a dog that loves sweet potato fries and a very unique bird you may never haven known existed: a lorikeet.

Lorikeets — arboreal members of the parrot family and sometimes referred to as 'honeyeaters' — are avians that have an unexpected attribute that sets them apart from other birds in their family.

Instead of eating mostly nuts and seeds like other parrots, lories, as they are sometimes called, dine on flowers, pollen and nectar. Their brush-like tongue is perfect for extracting nectar and pollen from flora.

You can learn more about these acrobatic birds on the San Diego Zoo's website by clicking here.

Photo submissions for future slideshows are always being accepted, and participating in our weekly photo blog is easy! Simply email a photo of your pet, just being him or herself, to ppsa2mi@gmail.com any time for our weekly Pet Photo Friday feature.

Be sure to include the name of the animal(s), as well as their age and city or township of residence in your email. Photos should be 1200 pixels wide and in .jpg format.

We put the week's photos into a slideshow, publish and promote each Friday here in the Pets section.

Lorrie Shaw is lead pets blogger for AnnArbor.com. Follow her daily pet adventures on Twitter.