Do Animals Suffer From Mental Illness Like Humans?
I hope this doesnt sound weird. Do animals suffer from similar illnesses like humans do? I mean have you ever heard of a dog or cat with Down syndrome?
An elephant with Tourettes?
Hows about a schizophrenic Iguana?
Just cos they dont speak in our language, does that mean they all have normal IQ’s like us so to speak?
Any creature with a mind can have a mental illness. Of course it would not be the same as a human, because the mind would be different, and the normal behaviour would be different.
An elephant could not have Tourettes syndrome for example, (this is not a mental illness, anyway,its a neurological disorder). Many old male elephants however do become antisocial loners.
It would be very hard for us to diagnose a schizophrenic Iguana, as we diagnose this through communication with the patient, and it is his description of what and how he feels that determine it. An Iguana would not be capable of telling us how he felt.
Down Syndrome is not a mental illness, either, it is a genetic condition, which has very variable physical and mental effects.I think that it must be restricted to human beings, though no doubt other animals have their own genetic problems.
When it comes to animals, we are more interested in behaviour. Unless the cause is a physical one like a tumour, we generally are only interested in changing the behaviour of the animal if it doesn’t suit us. We may say an animal is mad or dangerous but what we usually mean is that we can’t control it.
Of course, animals in captivity may be under great stress, and suffer mentally. Maybe this is not mental illness though, rather a natural reaction to their situation.
Language is a human skill, other animals have other skills (spiders spin excellent webs) or methods of communication (bees dance).
IQ has nothing to do with mental health. I don’t think that there is a way of measuring intelligence across species lines, it’s not even really possible within our own species across cultural lines.
hi_patia
What Is Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia? And What Can It Do To Your Dog?
my goal in life is to become a vet tech and work with animals, especialy dogs and in that catagory.
this is one of the illnesses im researching, i’m not in school for it yet, i’m 15
but that gives me no right Not to be curious. Its probably not a simple explanation of the illness but all the info i can get would be strongly appreciated 🙂
thank you.
Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia or Immune mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) is a condition that occurs when the body starts to kill off its own blood cells. Autoimmune or immune mediated means that the immune system (part of the body that fights off infection) attacks itself. Hemolytic means breaking of red blood cells, anemia means too few red blood cells. It can be caused by many things (primary immune disorder, parasites in the blood, exposure to toxins, etc). It is treated with medications to increase the red blood cells and to decrease the immune response (often steroids or cyclosporine). It is a great question! You may want to go to http://www.veterinarypartner.com there is a lot of information on lots of diseases that is put together by veterinarians.
Melanie
My Dog Is Constantly Drinking Is This A Sign Of Illness?
There are lots of illness’ associated w/too much H2O intake. First thing you need to do is measure out the water and keep track of it so you may let the vet know that your dog is drinking this much water in this amount of time. It is always best to have him checked out to be sure and safe. Be careful of what advice you get from Yahoo.
My Dog Has Some Kind Of Illness. I’m Worried, Is This Serious?
i walked my dog this morning, and she tries to excrete as she normally does. Only this time, she failed to produce anything. Only a small amount of diluted blood. I continued my walk she didn’t seem at all abnormal. Except when she tried to exctrete again. the same thing happened. I rushed her home, asfast as i could. Recently, she’s been having problems with our floor. We’ve had the flooring for over a year and she’s had no problem. (My dog is nearly 12years old by the way). Now she’s been round to my uncles house to stay and they have a slightly more slipplery floor. Of course not being there, i don’t know if she’s had a fall, or something. I think she’s now got a psychological thing against the hallway flooring. (the kitchen is connected to the living room via the hallway) I let her out to the back garden this morning, and she came back in through the lving room. She wouldn’t walk into the kitchen, and got stressed. could her diluted blood problem, be to do with stress?
Thanks.