How to decide whether the noun after "other" is singular or plural?

Question

I checked these two sentences in the grammar checker. The grammar checker suggested "type" and "animal" in the first sentence need to be in singular form. However, in the second sentence, "type" and "animal" need to be in plural form. Why?

1. He bought a cat, dog, or other type of animal.
2. He bought a cat, a dog, and other types of animals.

Additional question.

1. He bought a cat, dog, or other type of animal.
2. He bought a cat, a dog, or another type of animal.

Is there any differences in the meaning between these two sentences?

Thank you in advance

Answer 1

In 1 it sounds as if he only bought one animal - i.e a cat, or a dog, or somethinmg else. The reporter is clearly not sure what animal he actually bought.

If I were speaking I would most likely say "...a cat, dog, or some other (type of) animal".

In 2 it sounds as though he bought several animals. But it is a bit clunky the way it is written. Were I reporting it I might say- "He bought, a cat, a dog, and some other animals - of various types".

It is not very clear from either sentence how many animals in all he bought. And in the first one whether there was only one, or two, and the reporter is not sure whether one of them may have been neither a cat nor a dog. How many animals did he buy? One, two or three? Or more? I am not clear about that. The second sentence suggests there were at least four.

Answer 2

In this context, "other types" can only mean more than one.

If he bought just three animals, it would say:

He bought a dog, a cat, and another type of animal.