A Michael Broad Blog
The idea that all domestic cats suffer from Asperger’s syndrome is based on their character. The domestic cat character is like that of a child diagnosed with Asperger’s which is an umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. So, what is this character? Answer: difficulties with social interaction and nonverbal communication together with restricted and …
It can difficult to tell if your cat has mental health problems. The subject of mental health in domestic cats is a very difficult one even for the experts, including veterinarians because we don’t know enough about it. And we don’t know enough about it because we can’t talk to our cats. We therefore …
This is a very tricky problem. Firstly, you have to assess whether your cat is genuinely biting his tail. He may be playing with his tail and cats do this innocently without causing harm. Nothing to concern you if it is this. But if your cat is causing harm then clearly you both have …
This is a nice philosophical question. In the video on Reddit.com a ginger cat plush toy is being fought over by two pet dogs. Watching in the wings is the family’s ginger tabby-and-white cat. The cat looks concerned while the dogs destroy the plush toy. I wonder if the cat fully understands what is …
I think you could extend the word ‘autistic’ to describe the behaviour of unsocialised cats. I explain why. A couple of years ago I wrote about pet vaccinations and the belief by some cat owners that they can cause autism in pets because of the claimed link to autism in people by former doctor …
As I understand it, no authoritative words have been written which tell us that animals can and do suffer from schizophrenia including of course domestic cats. It appears that schizophrenia is a uniquely human mental illness. That is not to say that domestic cats and other animals cannot suffer mental illness although with respect …
I’m discussing domestic cats and whether they can get eating disorders, a definition of which is “…a range of psychological disorders characterised by abnormal or disturbed eating habits….’ What are we referring to? I have a feeling that some websites get mixed up about the subject. In discussing eating disorders we have to discuss …
Can cats suffer from agoraphobia? It is a condition where the sufferer becomes anxious in places that are strange and where they don’t have control. It usually refers to a fear of wide open spaces. In the case of cats, who might suffer from agoraphobia, I am referring to a fear or dread of …
