Humans can suffer from depression, obviously. But I want to know, can other animals? I know some animals show suicidal tendencies (lemmings jumping off cliffs, whales beaching themselves, etc), but I think that’s because of nature, not mental illness. So can animals suffer from depression? If so, can they reason well enough to see self-destruction as a solution? And if so, can they be treated with medications?
Yes animals can suffer from depression. Yes they become self destructive, although in the form of self-mutilation and violence rather than sucide. Yes they can be treated with medications and vets can now prescribe Prozak for depressed pets.
Lemmings do not have suicidal tendencies, see Snopes for details.
Whales do beach themselves, but there is no evidence they do so as a form of suicide.
Depressed rats are used to test antidepressants. Here’s one articleabout a species of easily-depressed rats…
“They found the rats became depressed when separated from their close family groups. After two years of further research, scientists have established the rats can be used as a model to accurately test whether anti-depressants are effective. They say the rats are unique because they mirror the human condition and will allow the disease itself to be studied, as well as the effects of drugs.”
And for a quickie reference to the lovely ways that depression can be induced in rats, read this if you dare. I have also seen an adult cat act depressed after its sibling disappeared. Chimps and other primates show depressive symptoms (IMHO), but the animal rights people disagree (example).
Here’s the Straight Dope answer:
www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugsuicide.html
While animals may be able to suffer from depression, the examples of animal suicide you gave aren’t right (this is discussed in the piece).
I don’t think animals commit suicide, per se, but they certainly do suffer depression and anxiety. Several years ago, my uncle had a GSD (German Shepherd Dog) that was roughly…six? Maybe seven at the oldest. She was in excellent health, cared for perfectly, etc. When my uncle died a few years back, she ceased to eat, drink, play, go outside…all of the things that he did for/with her. My aunt took her to the vet who found no physical cause of distress whatsoever. She tried everything she could think of to coax her: steaks, fish, new toys, flavored water, vitamins. I think the dog died maybe six months later. I can’t chalk that up to anything but a broken heart.
When I adopted my GSD from the pound early last year, she had a tendency to pant heavily, no matter what the temperature. She would also shake and whine if there were any sudden loud noises, or if voices were raised (even in a happy way). After the vet checked her out, the doctor basically said it was anxiety. She gave us the choice of letting her settle in and monitoring it, or putting her on a pyschotropic. We chose to forgo the medications, and sure enough, after awhile the anxiety drifted away.
So, heh. There’s my personal experience.
yeah, my dog was given Prozak, but as more of a tranquilizer than an antidepressant, when my sister’s baby was first born because he looked like he was gonna try to eat it.
whenever we first gave it to him, he lay down and his eyes rolled back. it was kinda funny.
gypsymoth3, would you reccomend that for an Australian Shepherd? Because I have one (a male) and he just was seperated from his brother. He bawls and whines in the morning and through-out the day. He has also stopped paying attention a few times to me, and that’s very rare for him to do. I’ve tried most things but I haven’t tried to just wait for him to get over it. And I’m sorry for this being out of the conversation. But with context to the ops op: My mother said that dogs don’t have thoughts, but they do have emotions. SO…yes and no. They might react just like us, it all depends.
fauxpas, try giving him extra treats, attention and love. You can also try getting a soft stuffed animal, (I know this grosses people out) rubbing your scent all over it, especially your underarm smell, and giving him that. I did that with a dog I once had, and it calmed her immeasurably.
Unfortunately, just like us, I think it takes animals some time to get over loss. Good luck with the pup.
Of course animals can suffer depression. They don’t commit suicide, per se, but depressed animals do tend to act in self-destructive ways. They stop eating and drinking, lick and chew their paws raw, withdraw from the people they normally interact with, and so on.
Boredom, loneliness, and lack of stimulation can contribute to depression and self-destructive behavior, too. QGG is right on the money. Extra activity and attention can go a long way toward dealing with this problem. It can be a long road, though, and sometimes some Clomicalm can help take the edge off during the adjustment period.
If you start missing beers from the fridge, you have a real problem.
My horse’s best friend died a few months ago. The 2 of them had stalls across the aisle from each other, stood next to each other all day in pasture, and even walked in sync. When I would bring the Wonder Pony out of his stall, he had to stop and talk to Admiral even though they had just parted company a few minutes ago. Admiral was put down due to colic and the WP moped, and I mean moped for weeks. He became very withdrawn, quiet, showed little interest in anything. He realized Admiral was dead and didn’t even bother to stop by his stall when I took him out. I spent a lot of extra bonding time with him, told him about Admiral, did lots of grooming and basically hanging with the WP til he got over it. It wasn’t long term depression, but he was depressed and grieving. He’s over it now, but still hasn’t found another best friend.
Elephants are animals with very strong family bonds and they also show signs of anxiety and sadness when one of them dies or goes missing.
As a (relevant) aside, if you are searching on google, be aware that the veterinary term “depression” refers to level of cognitive functioning, not mood. That is, depressed=not alert/dull.