I think that this is supposed to be similar to the classic tamagotchi's off of the 90's. There were no status bars (like a real pet) and figuring it out was part of the charm . I do think that if the pet is really hungry/thirsty/tired there should be an a different animation, like pointing to mouth for hunger.

I agree animations and aesthetic are awesome (much better than the original LCD pixel Tamagotchi's).