Alias Method

Alias_Method.rb

class Animal
  class << self
    def query                       
      where(name: "cat")            
    end

    def query_as_array
      criteria = send("query_as_criteria")
      criteria.count == 0 ? nil : criteria.to_a
    end

    alias_method :query_as_criteria, :query
    alias_method :query, :query_as_array
  end
end

Animal.query # now returns an array