Hello, I was just wondering anyone knew if animals suffered from some of the same psychological ailments that humans do, such as schizophrenia, paranoia, and autism?
Some quasi-tabloid (Inside Edition?) today had a bit on insane cats with obsessive compulsive disorders. One of them supposively chewed its tail to the point that they had to remove 1.25" of it. How did they treat these disorders? Prozac. Yep, good ole Prozac mixed with tuna juice and squirted into kitty’s mouth. They said it works great.
On the other hand, the big advocates of this were “cat psychiatrists” who charged handsome sums, so I’m a bit skeptical.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
Actually, that’s a really good question. Scientists have studied animal behavior quite extensively, and many psychological theories and principles are based on such research.
Paranoid states, anxiety disorders and the paralysis of helplessness have all been induced and observed in animal behavior.
Whether an animal is possibly born into such conditions as autistic is another matter. I haven’t heard of such a thing, but my knowledge is limited.
One factor, among the many, that may differ between the mental health of people and the mental state of animals is that animals live their lives at a somewhat base, instinctive level. If you crowd a large group of rats into a small box, they will soon become aggressive and turn on each other. Stuff a large group of people into a small box, they will label it the “the suburbs” and raise the price of real estate.
Interesting question.
There is an advertisement in the current issue of Prevention Magazine for a doggy alzheimer’s drug.