Title Says All. And if you want to tell me some books on the subject, mental illnesses in animals.

I've never heard of mental illnesses in animals although I think my cat has some mental problems. She used to walk down the hall and then veer sideways till she hit her head against the wall. Same spot. That was when she was a kitten. Now she's gone senile in her older age.

No but seriously you should look online. Amazon should have some books or look on barnes and noble's website or try wiki.

Originally Posted by Fae152

I've never heard of mental illnesses in animals although I think my cat has some mental problems. She used to walk down the hall and then veer sideways till she hit her head against the wall. Same spot. That was when she was a kitten. Now she's gone senile in her older age.

No but seriously you should look online. Amazon should have some books or look on barnes and noble's website or try wiki.

Thanks, for the idea, on how to find books on the subject!

I've had animals with diagnosed depression, one of which required medication it was so bad(my grandmother his owner had just passed and he was very attached). I own a cat with some OCD symptoms, she steals ANYTHING shiny and has to try to eat everything at least once. Your best bet to learn about mental illnesses in animals would be to go directly to a vet prepared with a nice long list of questions about the subject. Its a lot better then reading about it in a book. If they aren't busy they should be more then willing to talk especially if it may be for a school paper etc.

Originally Posted by SamuraiPanda

I've had animals with diagnosed depression, one of which required medication it was so bad(my grandmother his owner had just passed and he was very attached). I own a cat with some OCD symptoms, she steals ANYTHING shiny and has to try to eat everything at least once. Your best bet to learn about mental illnesses in animals would be to go directly to a vet prepared with a nice long list of questions about the subject. Its a lot better then reading about it in a book. If they aren't busy they should be more then willing to talk especially if it may be for a school paper etc.

Well, I don't know if I will be around a vet anytime soon. I appreciate you informing me very much! :)

One of my cats has a mental defect caused by a dog attack when he was a few weeks old. The vet never put a name on it, because it's not life threatening, but basically his head was cracked in a few places and he is, for lack of a better term, retarded. He's slow to catch things that are moving, he misses landings when he jumps, and his purr button is broke, he never ever stops purring. His identical twin brother has no problems at all (they had the same placenta coming out).

There aren't many books on the subject. I went looking when we got our twins. For the most part, he's not hard to deal with, just have to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't climb anything too high and give him extra love.

Originally Posted by MollyJean

One of my cats has a mental defect caused by a dog attack when he was a few weeks old. The vet never put a name on it, because it's not life threatening, but basically his head was cracked in a few places and he is, for lack of a better term, retarded. He's slow to catch things that are moving, he misses landings when he jumps, and his purr button is broke, he never ever stops purring. His identical twin brother has no problems at all (they had the same placenta coming out).

There aren't many books on the subject. I went looking when we got our twins. For the most part, he's not hard to deal with, just have to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't climb anything too high and give him extra love.

Oh. Thanks, for informing me!

I think a lot of 'mental' issues animals have arise from processes such as sensitisation, habituation, and conditioning of all varieties, which is fairly deep stuff.
Stress certainly doesn't help, and in many cases can cause mental issues to arise via aforementioned processes.
If you want to know some books that may be of help regarding conditioning and so forth, or if you want me to talk to you a bit about it, your welcome to PM me. I might be of some help, seeing as my degree is going to be in Animal Behaviour. ^^

If by mental, you mean "psychological," I am not immediately aware of any specific condition. If by mental, you mean "in the brain," then the one that immediately comes to mind is cerebellar hypoplasia, which is apparent in humans and animals alike (youtube has quite a few videos on cats with CH).

Kind of curious why you're asking about this, Screams-Of-Death. It might help if you where more specific.

@ ArialJane-I am asking because I think it would be fun to learn about, and I also think it is important to be informed about.
@ Keyori thanks, for informing me on how to learn about certain conditions.
@ Sun Thanks, for informing me.

i wouldn't know anything about mental illness in animals. if you have an animal that seems mentally retarded or something, maybe they have brain damage.
i used to have a brain damaged cat (my dad stepped on her when she was a kitten and she ended up with a skull fracture). she wasn't really stupid, she just didn't function fully. i think she was blind in one eye and she was a very slow learner.

just google it, you will get way more hits than what you may get here XD

Originally Posted by Shooga!

just google it, you will get way more hits than what you may get here XD

When I google mental illnesses in animals, though I don't find much info. Thanks, for the advice though.
@ BinkaKitty: Thanks, oh so very much for informing me. :)

Anthrozoology.org has some articles/studies on the subject. Those might be useful.

One of my cats was depressed for a few months when one of our other cats died and now our dog has just died he seems a little upset. Like hes sleeping on the dogs blanket with his paws stretched over it kind of looking like hes hugging it. He was very close to the dog, when he came in the dog was always the first thing he'd go to and purr and rub all over. He isn't as bad as when the cat died, when she died he didn't come back for days except maybe 10 minutes to eat. He even found a way to break open the cat flap so he could go back outside.

There's also

Mental health and well-being in animals

By Franklin D. McMillan

Mental Health and Well-Being in Animals represents the first authoritative reference compiling the diverse information on the animal mind and combining the revolutionary advances in the cognitive sciences with the knowledge in veterinary medicine and clinical animal behavior.
Mental Health and Well-Being in Animals takes a descriptive and proscriptive approach to mental health, mixing the scientific research with practical information with clinical applications for veterinary health professionals to use in practice.

I'm not sure where you can get it from but you could try the library first.

Theres NO SUCH THING! Only humans suffer from mental problems...

Originally Posted by Thoth Star

Theres NO SUCH THING! Only humans suffer from mental problems...

After seeing the depression in my animals and other mental illnesses in animals I have to disagree with you. Animals suffer from mental ailments every little bit that we humans do. Just because their brains are not developed in the same manner as us does not mean they can't suffer from the same issues.

Just remember animals are always much smarter then you give them credit for. My cat can easily open doors if he wanted too, and has done so in the past. And I'm not talking about nudging open a slightly jarred door. I'm talking about turning the knob on a completely closed door. I've even seen a dog climb a 8 foot chain link fence to get out and run with the kids.

Haha I was being sarcastic but whateverr~

Originally Posted by SamuraiPanda

Just remember animals are always much smarter then you give them credit for. My cat can easily open doors if he wanted too, and has done so in the past. And I'm not talking about nudging open a slightly jarred door. I'm talking about turning the knob on a completely closed door. I've even seen a dog climb a 8 foot chain link fence to get out and run with the kids.

My cat brought his collar back twice after he lost it somewhere and my mum told him he wasn't having a new one. :XD He has some problems, I think its his vocal chords, he lacks the ability to meow he squeaks and he can't purr you can tell when he's trying to because his breathing changes but no purr comes out.

My brother's dog takes pans off the cooker eats out of it and puts it back.

Sarcasm is never properly read only spoken :/