The one lurking behind you Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Anyone feel more 'yourself' when with an animal and prefer their company to humans? For me it's cat's. I love them! I spend time almost everyday pretending I'm a cat. I feel like a cat is my true form. I look forward to the day when I can be the crazy cat lady living off inheritance and benefits surrounded by cats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parapluie Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I definitely feel more at home around animals than people. Any animals will do, but it's especially rats and cats for me. In fact, since I'm pretty shy, I gravitate towards people's pets when I meet them. The first thing I do when I visit someone's home is look for their pet! I pretend I'm a cat when I play with my cats and while I cuddle them. I can tell them anything too, which is why I prefer them to people, heh. And with rats, I never pretended to be one, but I told them everything too and carried them around on my shoulder with me every where. Animals can be much better company than people! I don't have to put on a "face" around animals, like I do with people. And they have easier social rules. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The one lurking behind you Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 I love your comment about animals having easier social rules! That is definitely something us humans can learn from animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittyloaf Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Yes! Cats don't nag me about school or work or be rude about mental illness like my relatives do! And they get me out of bed when I'm depressed as I hate for them to go without food or clean water every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamingbutterfly Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Yes, I always like the fact that animals accept you for who you are. People don't always seem very accepting. They also seem very in tune with people's feeling. I love my 3 cats. I used to have a pet rat. He used sit on my shoulder all the time and would give kisses when asked. My one cat will also give kisses when asked also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parapluie Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Yes! Cats don't nag me about school or work or be rude about mental illness like my relatives do! Yes! Animals don't care about mental illness which is nice! My cats are crazy too though, so I'm sure they understand. One pulls her hair out from anxiety and the other one has some obsessive cleaning issue, both diagnosed by the vet. So we're all mad here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenllama Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 My Guinea Pigs are some of my best friends, they are such large characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 One of my family's cats always used to know to come and comfort me after my Dad yelled at me when he still lived at home. But I do like humans as well. Even though I'm really shy and often scared of people, I like the connection that I can have with people I'm close to. I would be lost without my boyfriend, my brother, and my best friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The one lurking behind you Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 One of my family's cats always used to know to come and comfort me after my Dad yelled at me when he still lived at home. Awww that's really cute Hallowedink! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likeabowlof0ranges Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 (edited) Edited May 29, 2012 by Likeabowlof0ranges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enlightened_plutonian Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I have always preferred to talk with animals when I feel like shit, because at least they don't judge me or laugh at me. If I ever needed a listening ear when I lived with my parents then I would always go to their pets and never them. I had a relationship with their pets in ways I could never imagine letting my parents (who I cannot stand) in. Unfortunately I no longer have pets of any kind. The responsibility would be too much for me right now. But this is something to consider when I am in a much better place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodoldneon Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 **Jumping up and down with arm raised** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 There are a lot of mentally ill "dog people" in the pet care business. Dogs can be figured out by learning about canine behavior in a way that can't be taught so easily when it is humans. At the doggie daycare I worked at, the were 5 people with BP who were "out," and some others who obviously had something going on, although I couldn't say what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thradia Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I totally agree with this. I feel much more comfortable with animals then with people. There are a few humans that I can't live with out.. but I can count them on one hand lol My cats always know when I need comfort or when I'm sick, sometimes even before I know it! @helenllama I have a guinea pig too! She has more personality then some people I know! lol Never, EVER, forget her daily bowl of lettuce! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherriichan Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) I agree with this entirely! Animals don't judge nor make fun of me, and I feel more like myself when I'm with them. I love dogs. They're so big and cuddly and cute that they really calm me down; I babysit for a neighbour and the Labrodor they have is the sweetest thing! When I'm stuck flicking through the TV channels, she's right there keeping me company (and probably just as bored), and there's always something comforting about dogs; they're so cuddly and easy to communicate with. Needless to say, because she's a Labrodor she malts everywhere and I usually get covered in fur, but I don't mind. Edited June 2, 2012 by Cherriichan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joachim Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 People make me nervous, I know my heart rate goes down when I'm with my Smokey dog and he's sooo glad to see me, every time... we have a little routine where he acts silly and I act scared and call him a crazy dog...he tells me when it's share an apple snack time and whens it's getting late and I should go to bed (and snuggle him awhile) and when it's time to get up and definitely when it's dinner time he doesn't care if I have make-up on or if I've brushed my teeth or my hair...and he'll let me hug him anytime when I'm feeling bad I've raised, adopted, friended, nursed, and hospiced a lot of dogs...they have always learned me and I learned them very easily...just happened to be dogs, could've been some other animal I think...I have never paid for an animal...caring for them costs plenty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 (edited) I love my goldfish, I wasn't expecting any kind of emotional connection with him but it has surprised me how much affection I feel and how much interaction we can have given that he is a fish. I'll be honest, I'm not much of a cuddly animal person. I respect the beauty and awe of nature but I think a lot of what I have received from animals was more about what I projected onto them than what they were actually capable of. I think animals have majesty and power etc but much of the cuddly stuff is not something I see in them. I'm more a people person, humans are more mysterious and complex in some ways (not all.) I can't see the fascination with being a cat lady or withdrawing from the world to be with animals, I think it would be kind of boring. It's easy to love an animal when you get to call the shots much of the time and ascribe what you want to see in them, it's harder to do that with a human. But I'm probably a horrible person ; ) Edited June 3, 2012 by Titania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyMe Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I have mixed feelings about animals. I had 2 dogs whom I loved dearly -- I mean DEARLY. They were my constant companions and had completely different personalities and made me laugh every single day. However, when my depression took a severe downturn and I had trouble taking care of myself much less my kids and my dogs, I ended up sending the kids to live with Dad for a while and I surrendered my dogs to a no-kill shelter. To this day, I feel like such an asshole about that, I can hardly bear to think about it. Even though I know that at the time it was the best decision for both them and for me, I know they were totally devoted to me and didn't care that they were housebound with me or that they didn't eat on a regular schedule or get any exercise. Intellectually, I know I made the right choice for their care, but emotionally....I feel like the biggest asshole in the world. Still. That was several years ago. I went without pets since that time until 2 months ago, when I adopted a stray cat that had been living in a feral community. I have an acquaintance who traps ferals and has them fixed and when she caught Richard (that's what I named him) she could tell he was not a typical feral cat. He had several wounds on his face/neck/hindquarters from fighting since he wasn't welcomed into the feral community and he was clearly depressed. Completely disheveled and thin as a rail. She begged me to take him in and I did. Took him to the vet immediately to test for FIV and FL and other common cat issues. Luckily he had a clean bill of health other than his open wounds. So I nursed him and cared for him and for the first few weeks I never really saw him except at meal time. Now, he's kind of my pal. He talks to me almost non-stop when he's awake. He is very aggressive about cuddling when he wants cuddle time. He has some serious food security issues, to the point where I have to lock up his food (even the canned - he's figured out how to work the pop-off lids) and had to get a locking trash can and have to lock most of the human food up or keep it in the fridge or microwave because he will eat anything he can get into his mouth. He's both a comfort to me and a source of aggravation, but even the aggravation is with affection. I guess I really feel for him because he has his own kind of crazy he's dealing with and so do I, so I feel like we're a good match. I don't talk to him, as in really talking to him about my problems/issues, but we have conversations all the time. Along the lines of him: meow meow meow me: Oh, really? Then what happened? him: meooooooooow meow meow me: I don't believe it. him: MWROAR, meow meow.....and so on. Dude literally never stops talking when he's awake. I'm used to it, my youngest son was like that from ages 2 to 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatty Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I know I'm being an irritable bitch when my daughter's cat pisses me off. At least he does it less frequently than my daughter does. I'd honestly rather just keep the cat and kick her ungrateful ass out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joachim Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 dolphins! I got to get in the water and pet one...it was absolutely a spiritual experience...and I saw a documentary on PBS http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/ocean-giants/video-bubble-play/7578/ so smart and playful...actually made me cry, don't know why ...stephanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurf2050 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Animals are the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rae-Rae Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Growing up I felt this way about cats. I've always had a strong affinity to them. Now that I'm a mom it's young children more. I have almost infinite patience for most kids under 5, and almost none for adults. I think like with pets it's the honesty you get, their emotions are so transparent. I still have pets and I love them dearly but taking care of the babies is now what calms me and gives me purpose. I suspect when they all grow up and I stop taking in kids to watch ill go back to cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northlight Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Always. I also don't really trust people who aren't animal people. My pets are such a huge part of my life that anyone who doesn't feel the same way isn't likely to become a close friend. Through my most recent period of suicidal ideation Timothy (my avatar) was the thing that kept me alive. He's recently been diagnosed with heart disease and I'd feel suicidal but then remind myself that he needed me. Honestly, no one else is going to give him two heart meds, an NSAID, GI meds, and a couple of vitamins a day. They're not going to remember to weigh him and muck with his food a bit if he loses weight. They're not going to know how to give him SQ fluids in a way that upsets him the least. I can even haul my suicidal ass out of bed to sit with him for a while. True, half the time it was just me holding him, rocking back and forth and crying but he doesn't mind. He thinks tears taste good and I think piggy kisses are surprisingly helpful. One of my cats is definitely my child when it comes to anxiety issues. He compulsively overgrooms which is actually somewhat similar to SI in that it causes the release of endorphins and acts as a self soothing mechanism. When there are strangers around he hides. When life has been too much (too many visitors, vet visit, etc) he hides in the closet for a day or so. Sometimes it's too much for both of us and I hide in bed and he hides in his closet and occasionally sneaks out to join me in my bed hiding time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I love animals of all kinds, but dogs are my favourite....don't know where I'd be without Abby and Fred. I remember when I was working on the farm I used to pet the cows and sheep and chat away to them..... Here is Abby..... And Fred...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Not forgetting naughty but darling Kitty...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyMe Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Oh man....Fred looks SO much like my kind of dog. I would love to just grab his furry face and shower him with kisses!!! (Abby and Kitty are cute, too, but I have a crush on Fred!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Sometimes I prefer my poodle. He is with me almost 23 hours a day. I guess he is an emotional support dog....without having earned his vest and badge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Oh man....Fred looks SO much like my kind of dog. I would love to just grab his furry face and shower him with kisses!!! (Abby and Kitty are cute, too, but I have a crush on Fred!) Ha Ha....I must tell Fred that!! Abby is the one that usually gets all the attention.....everybody loves her and says she's gorgeous and poor wee Fred gets few compliments!! He tends to bark a lot which is a turn off for most people but we love him despite his noisiness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duskyglider Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I love my chihuahua. I don't know what I'd do without him. He loves me as I am and I love him. We embrace each other's faults and laugh about them together. Yes, dogs DO smile!! My teenage son has a guinea pig that loves to play on the bed with the dog. It is so much fun watching them, their life and vitality. Pets help people like me, who suffer from anxiety and depression. People think I spent too much money on the dog, but sheesh, he was worth every penny!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YetAgain Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Wow. Just yesterday, I was thinking about how humans are such social animals. I also reaccessed that I don't regularly interact with any humans in the real world. Only with my two cats, and my neighbor's dog who frequently comes over to my house for pets and snacks (the dog, not my neighbor). That's my social interaction group. I love all kinds of non-humans. It is easier for me to understand them. I don't have to try and decipher a bunch of mysterious social cues that I don't know, or understand, like I do with humans. There isn't any hidden subtext. Everything is straight forward. When I'm having a terrible time with my MI, my cats don't run away from me in order to not have to deal with me, like humans. They come close, head bump, cuddle, and purr. My neighbor's dog has spent many an hour sitting with me on my front porch while I pour my heart out to him. I love 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Blue Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I have my two pet cockatiels on my shoulders for most of the day when I'm at home (their cage is in the den where the computer is.) I also have two kitties as well as a pair of budgies (also in the den) and finches downstairs in the birdroom. I always had a huge attraction to animals ever since I was a kid (I was that one kid that always had a ton of pets - like a rabbit, a guinea pig and a hamster all at once.. etc etc.) I feel more comfortable around animals than I do around most people. Like someone else said, there are a few people I couldn't live without, but I can count them on one hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 IMO, Animals really have this unconditional love no person has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werehorse Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I have sometimes struggled to care for my cat and my horse when I am very ill, but they are often what has forced me to get out of bed and keep going. They are my main "protective factors" against suicide. Horses make more sense to me than humans. And I was annoyed when my previous tdoc suggested that being with my horse was somehow an "easy" substitute for relationships with people. Horses are not EASY. They demand you be present and emotionally consonant. They always tell the truth about what you are doing and what they are feeling. They insist you confront all your weaknesses and self-deceptions. When I was in an utterly crazy-making situation with my family, my horse saved my sanity, since I could trust him to give me a genuine response. The thing that makes me really sick about humans is the way they routinely treat horses, punishing them for what they do without seeking to understand it. As someone with a mental illness I identify with that, because it often seems that people, especially professionals, think they can somehow "train" me out of my "bad" behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirazh Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I've felt similarly about my cats, or dogs, or birds, werehorse. My one cat, he gets into cupboards and food, total scavenger, though he's better than he used to be. He had to scavenge to survive as a young kitten, and the ingrained habit runs deep. Punishing him would have no point. So I feed him regularly and keep many certain items in cupboards he cannot get to. I definitely relate better to cats than people. Perhaps that is 'easier,' I don't know. No guesswork with cats though, for me. No fear that I may mess up a simple question or point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikeSnowLikeGold Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 YES YES YES YES YES!!!!! I have 3 dogs, a rabbit, and a parrot. I had a rat who passed away last year. I loved loved LOVED my rat. LOVED. I'm getting her paw prints tattooed on my chest on Tuesday, in fact. We went everywhere together, did everything together, etc. I've had my parrot for about 7 months now and I love him too. He seriously makes me laugh at least once a day. He talks back to me, dances, with me, sings with me, flies to me, listens to me, etc. He's really great. We take showers together, go for walks together, watch TV together, play games together, and mainly dance together. We're rarely apart and I love it! He's more like a friend than a pet. I would also love to get a horse because supposedly they form a deep bond/connection with their people... Like parrots. Anyway, I'm huge into animal rights and animal rescue. I'm also going to college right now and trying to decide between a zoologist or something in the medical field. :/ But anyway... Yes. Oh yeah, and one more thing: Everyone is saying that they enjoy cats/dogs/animals more because they are easier to "read." SO not the case with parrots!!! It's really difficult to get all their body language down... I'm still trying to figure it out with my bird and definitely no one else in my family can even guess what his mood is lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) I love my cats, and they bring life and movement and interaction to an otherwise still and empty apartment. But they're really no replacement for human interpersonal relationships, for me. Since I don't have too many of those these days, I'm exceedingly grateful for my ki-kis! Edited November 26, 2012 by hagar running Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YetAgain Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 I love my cats, and they bring life and movement and interaction to an otherwise still and empty apartment. But they're really no replacement for human interpersonal relationships, for me. Since I don't have too many of those these days, I'm exceedingly grateful or my ki-kis! I'm very grateful for my cats, too. Your comment made me think about my perception of non-human vs. human relationships. I look at my cats -- pretty much all my interactions with non-humans -- and I don't think of them as a replacement for human interspersonal relationships. I think of interacting with my cats as a pleasant relationship, different from interacting with humans. Granted, my cats can't do things with me that humans can. However, my cats don't do the hideous things that humans can do (and have done) to me either. There are some very rare and precious to me exceptions, people past and present whom I consider friends. I think there are a lot of good people in the world. I've been used, abused, and mistreated by humans, in terrible ways. The worst thing my cats have done to me is make it impossible to leave a loaf of bread out because they will chew through the wrapper, and gnaw on the crust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socially Unacceptable Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 my rats are my children. they are such a comfort to me, give me motivation and their unconditional love and loyalty is amazing. A cuddle from my rats makes me instantly feel better no matter what. I have always been much better at forming connections with animals than with people. I love all animals, epecially my rats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northlight Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 my rats are my children. they are such a comfort to me, give me motivation and their unconditional love and loyalty is amazing. A cuddle from my rats makes me instantly feel better no matter what. I have always been much better at forming connections with animals than with people. I love all animals, epecially my rats I'm so jealous. I really miss having rats. They're easily my favorite species of companion animal. It's strange in my house, this is the first time in 13 years that I haven't had any rodents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unmasked Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Picking up on an old topic here. In my experience Dogs are genuine. The only agenda they have is feed me, play with me, let me out and love me. It's pretty simple. I love simple. People, their dramas, agendas and inability to know themselves is just too complicated. I once attempted to figure it all out. After 60 I stopped caring and decided that critters were much better and much safer companions than people. My therapist disagrees I am sure. I trust my dog and my parrot. Can't say that about people in my life. After having been married to a socicopath and recently having my best friend do a 180 (probably due to her own issues - lots of stress there). I know they will both be happy to greet me when I come home and they don't give a hoot in hell what I look like, what I wear, what I eat, who I know and where I am going. My dog is totally non-judgmental .... what a relief...... so tired of being judged by other people who are basicly just as screwed up as am I but they don't even know themselves well enough to see it..... If everyone could be more like a dog the world would be a much better place to spend a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessamine Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I too am an animal lover and trust them far more than I do humans (I also prefer their company to humans). I would not be here today if it wasn't for my kitty who sadly passed away a few months ago. He was the light in my life and the reason I kept going. He loved me far more than I could have ever hoped he would. He was a really remarkable cat, more like a dog than a cat and I miss him every day still. I currently have no animals, I'm just not ready yet, but life seems empty without one in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noppera-bo Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Yes. For me it's cats, dogs, horses, certain birds, anything fury and either large or small, dolphins of all species. Or hell, just trees and forestry and plants. I prefer all these things to people most days and in most situations and need a service animal around if I'm to be near any humans anyway. I may study humans, part of most of my jobs was that, but it makes me appreciate the simplicity of natural things other than humans all the more. I don't think they know how to enjoy the suffering in other animals as much as humans do even when humans misinterpret something like a cat toying with a mouse as enjoyment there's evidence it's more based on instinctually going after anything that moves without always being hungry enough to eat i, rather than truly enjoying the fear and pain the mouse is in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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