Can (do?) animals get mental illness(es)?

[Lynn B]

Maybe it's a weird question, but Maisie's thread about her dog's strange behavior made me think of it.

We have lots of knowledgeable pet owners here, and a few vets and soon-to-be-vets... and I'd just like to know if anyone knows if animals (cats and dogs primarily, but any animals) can suffer mental illnesses? Or would that be a strictly *human* experience???

I realize, of course, that animals can't/don't dwell on or *reason* on things like humans do, so they don't experience fears/phobias (perhaps about death, tragedy, etc) that may be common to humans. Their limited, concrete, thinking probably rules out a lot of human *quirks*. But an animal could suffer brain damage... or have some kind of a medical condition, or even just be BORN with some misfires, no?

On a similar note, could an animal be mentally retarded? Is that possible?!

I am totally serious here. Anyone have any thoughts? Comments??!

Thanks!

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

My male cat suffers from stress and anxiety.
(He sleeps in an air conditioned house all day and doesn''t have a care in the world...what on earth could he be stressed about?)
He overgrooms and has licked all the hair off the sides of his body (everywhere he can reach.)
He has a mohawk, more or less.
He is a black cat and has always been a little strange, the overgrooming has been more recent, maybe the past 2 years or so.
We joke that he is burnt on the outside, but not cooked all the way through.

Although animals'' brains don''t function the same way ours do, I''m sure it''s possible for them to have abnormalities just like humans.
Looking forward to hearing some expert responses!

 

[diamondringlover]

I had a German Shepard-Collie mix many years ago and she had an anxiety disorder, she would go nuts and destroy everything, one time she ripped open a whole bag of dog food, shredded our baby''s diapers (new ones in the box)she ripped down my kitchen curtains and bent the metal rods and she chewed on all the wood in the kitchen, including the door that was in there....she went bonkers!! she did this several times, the vet gave us pills to keep her calm and we tried to keep her in the basement during the day so she couldnt tear anything up...she only had the problem once in a awhile, but man did she do some damage, she got better as she got older!

 

[dragonfly411]

We once found a doberman who was clinically declared mentally retarded. The owners had been away and when they got home found their gate open. When they came to get him they let us know. I knew something was odd because he''d chase things that weren''t there around his food bowl. They had not docked his ears or tail because they didn''t want to traumatize him. He was friendly as can be, but you could tell... he wasn''t all there. The veterinarians had actually declared it.

I owned a filly who was definitely slow.

I also had a cat who got snake bitten and forever was mentally not right afterwards. She always cocked her head and walked half sideways, and made funny noises, and would chase nothings.

Animals definitely suffer from anxiety disorders. Birds plucking feathers, horses weaving stalls and cribbing, dogs pacing or chewing "worry spots" during high stress... all signs of mental problems related to stress or anxiety.

 

[Hest88]

Animals may not experience the types of phobias we do, but they can certainly develop PTSD-like reactions too. For instance, I hear of many cases where pets are abused by a certain sex, like a man, and those pets are always afraid of men. Or, my DH had a dog who was bitten by a German Shepherd as a puppy. For the rest of his life, if he saw, even from far away, a German Shepherd coming down the street, he would cower and try to run away. It always amazed me that the dog could tell the difference b/t a German Shepherd and other dogs that clearly.

Or, one of our cats is very outgoing and was never afraid anything, much less a doorbell. We had a home invasion a few years back, though, where we weren''t at home, the alarm went off, and the police came into the house. After that night, this cat always goes running when she hears the doorbell or loud footsteps.

 

[lyra]

As to your question about whether animals can become mentally ill, actually yes they can. My good friend''s 12 year old Dalmatian suffered from some neurological disorder very late in her life that caused her to sometimes become very aggressive. It was a recognized condition, although I don''t know exactly what it was now. Eventually the dog had to be put down since she was so unpredictable and unstable. It was very sad.

I think some dogs are smarter than others. It''s all pretty complex though. Some of it is pack mentality, or PTSD which seems to last forever in dogs, dominance and temperament issues, along with hereditary instincts.

 

[4ever]

Animals get depression as well.

 

[redfaerythinker]

Well I know animals can suffer from pseudocyesis (hysterical pregnancy), and that is an entirely mental disorder.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I have seen animals with symptoms of depression. I am sure they can get depressed.

 

[MissMina]

I have had two cats that had brain damage, one from a head injury the other either congenital or just after birth when
he was "overlayed" by his mother.The vet said "The porch light is on but nobody''s home". They both had to be carefully watched but they were very sweet natured.
Now I have a 15 year old cat I took in as a stray when she
was about two. We have always thought that she was autistic if that is possible as she doesn''t really "engage" us even after all these years. Most of the time she looks right through us like we don''t exist or stares off into space.
She stiffens if we try to touch her 99 % of the time.
If she sees certain objects like a gallon milk top strip she starts screaming like a banshee.
We try to keep her what passes for happy in her world.

 

[Lynn B]

Very interesting responses, THANK YOU ALL!!!

Yes, I do know and fully believe that animals can become anxious or depressed... and certainly suffer PTSD after trauma, abuse, etc.

I *think* what I was more referring to would be what might be mental illness issues not related to any specific *event* in the animal''s life, which some of you did mention.

And the more I''ve been thinking about it the more I realize that even things like bulimia and anorexia can be exhibited in the animal world, although obviously animals aren''t inundated with society''s demands to be "thin to be attractive", etc., nevertheless, I find it fascinating.

I wonder if there''s bipolar disorder in the animal world? Borderline personality disorder?

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/3/2010 7:46:46 PM
Author: MissMina
I have had two cats that had brain damage, one from a head injury the other either congenital or just after birth when

he was ''overlayed'' by his mother.The vet said ''The porch light is on but nobody''s home''. They both had to be carefully watched but they were very sweet natured.

Now I have a 15 year old cat I took in as a stray when she

was about two. We have always thought that she was autistic if that is possible as she doesn''t really ''engage'' us even after all these years. Most of the time she looks right through us like we don''t exist or stares off into space.

She stiffens if we try to touch her 99 % of the time.

If she sees certain objects like a gallon milk top strip she starts screaming like a banshee.

We try to keep her what passes for happy in her world.

These were VERY interesting stories, thank you so much for sharing. Yes, your kitty certainly does sound like what we would call "autism" in the human world.

Please everyone, keep the comments and stories coming!

 

[Maisie]

This is a really interesting subject. It must be possible for animal brains to have problems to some degree. I really hope there is nothing wrong with Blossom. She has always been somewhat depressed. Maybe I need Caesar Milan

 

[loriken214]

In my former marriage, the Ex and I had a min-pin and this dog constantly humped my feet every chance she got. She was spayed and was well fed and "normal" in every other way that we knew of, but she would attack me the minute I sat down. It went on for years and I couldn''t figure out a way to make her stop. The vet had no clue why she did this. I gave her to the Ex in the divorce.

Bonnie, our mini-dachshund, eats poo and we have no idea why. It is really gross and our vet has no idea why she does this. She has been eating poo for years and only does it in hiding. We find evidence by seeing crumbs where there once was a pile of poo. YUK! I''ve caught her doing it a few times.

Bonnie also humps her big brother Clyde. It is really weird to watch. He is twice her size, yet she goes at him. They are from the same litter.

Isn''t there something about miniature breeds having neurological problems because of the breeding down? I thought I read something about that a few years ago.

Lori

 

[elrohwen]

Absolutely. I've lived with a dog with dementia before (canine cognitive disfunction).

I'm sure there cases of brain damage and being born with "misfires", as you put it. I think we're just much less likely to notice these things in a pet than in a person.

eta: You mentioned disorders not caused by a particular event - in general, anxiety disorders aren't caused by anything. Many dogs who are anxious were never abused and have lead perfectly happy lives. I think anxiety is inborn more than anything else.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Well, I have seen anxiety in animals and I have seen a variety of intelligence levels in animals... so I would say YES to both!

 

[dragonfly411]

Date: 6/3/2010 9:32:06 PM
Author: loriken214
In my former marriage, the Ex and I had a min-pin and this dog constantly humped my feet every chance she got. She was spayed and was well fed and ''normal'' in every other way that we knew of, but she would attack me the minute I sat down. It went on for years and I couldn''t figure out a way to make her stop. The vet had no clue why she did this. I gave her to the Ex in the divorce.


Bonnie, our mini-dachshund, eats poo and we have no idea why. It is really gross and our vet has no idea why she does this. She has been eating poo for years and only does it in hiding. We find evidence by seeing crumbs where there once was a pile of poo. YUK! I''ve caught her doing it a few times.


Bonnie also humps her big brother Clyde. It is really weird to watch. He is twice her size, yet she goes at him. They are from the same litter.


Isn''t there something about miniature breeds having neurological problems because of the breeding down? I thought I read something about that a few years ago.


Lori

Loriken - On the Min Pin .... you should have found another vet. The humping deal is one of two things. In many cases it is a dominance thing. Dogs will hump to declare they are dominant over one another, and can do whatever they want to the less dominant one. Or it can be caused by hormonal imbalance, usually not enough estrogen being produced, and a common side effect of being spayed.

I actually worked with a mare once though who after getting pregnant, became very studdy, and started mounting her herd mates. The weird part was she had a girl.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 6/4/2010 10:36:20 AM
Author: dragonfly411

Date: 6/3/2010 9:32:06 PM

Author: loriken214

In my former marriage, the Ex and I had a min-pin and this dog constantly humped my feet every chance she got. She was spayed and was well fed and ''normal'' in every other way that we knew of, but she would attack me the minute I sat down. It went on for years and I couldn''t figure out a way to make her stop. The vet had no clue why she did this. I gave her to the Ex in the divorce.



Bonnie, our mini-dachshund, eats poo and we have no idea why. It is really gross and our vet has no idea why she does this. She has been eating poo for years and only does it in hiding. We find evidence by seeing crumbs where there once was a pile of poo. YUK! I''ve caught her doing it a few times.



Bonnie also humps her big brother Clyde. It is really weird to watch. He is twice her size, yet she goes at him. They are from the same litter.



Isn''t there something about miniature breeds having neurological problems because of the breeding down? I thought I read something about that a few years ago.



Lori

Loriken - On the Min Pin .... you should have found another vet. The humping deal is one of two things. In many cases it is a dominance thing. Dogs will hump to declare they are dominant over one another, and can do whatever they want to the less dominant one. Or it can be caused by hormonal imbalance, usually not enough estrogen being produced, and a common side effect of being spayed.


I actually worked with a mare once though who after getting pregnant, became very studdy, and started mounting her herd mates. The weird part was she had a girl.

It''s true that a lot of animals hump out of dominance and chemical imbalances. My girl bunny humps my boy once a day if he lets her (he usually doesn''t let her

). I know a bunny who was overly humpy with his girlfriend (both fixed) because he was having bladder stone issues and was in pain.