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ASD and animals?

Hazel87

Active Member
Is it true that there is often a link and that people on the spectrum tend to really like animals? Or is this more of a stereotype? I'm curious because animals are definitely one of my front and center special interests. I've loved animals since I could ever remember, my dad tells me all about how I used to get ridiculously excited if the A&W bear commercial even came on the TV lmao. I feel a strong connection to them, I feel it in my body. I think everything about them is so adorable and fascinating and I can't stand anything bad happening to animals (I hate bad things happening to innocent humans too, don't get me wrong but I tend to be more sensitive to much less desensitized to non-human suffering).

My book shelf is full of animal books, critical animal theory books. I have had animals my whole life, I live in an apartment with a strict no animal policy right now but I snuck in my 4 rats and a hamster because I can't not have animals. I really can't. They calm me down, they make me happy.

I'm obsessed with learning about animals, wild and domestic, and learning about the health and anatomy, behavior, needs, etc of animals, esp mine. I still miss my cat I had growing up and he died 6 years ago, he was my best friend as a kid.

Every time I see any animal, I just want to hug and kiss them and snuggle them and take care of them. I can't even imagine life without animals, they are the best thing about life honestly, haha. I love them so much.
 
Is it true that there is often a link and that people on the spectrum tend to really like animals? Or is this more of a stereotype? I'm curious because animals are definitely one of my front and center special interests. I've loved animals since I could ever remember, my dad tells me all about how I used to get ridiculously excited if the A&W bear commercial even came on the TV lmao. I feel a strong connection to them, I feel it in my body. I think everything about them is so adorable and fascinating and I can't stand anything bad happening to animals (I hate bad things happening to innocent humans too, don't get me wrong but I tend to be more sensitive to much less desensitized to non-human suffering). My book shelf is full of animal books, critical animal theory books. I have had animals my whole life, I live in an apartment with a strict no animal policy right now but I snuck in my 4 rats and a hamster because I can't not have animals. I really can't. They calm me down, they make me happy. I'm obsessed with learning about animals, wild and domestic, and learning about the health and anatomy, behavior, needs, etc of animals, esp mine. I still miss my cat I had growing up and he died 6 years ago, he was my best friend as a kid. Every time I see any animal, I just want to hug and kiss them and snuggle them and take care of them. I can't even imagine life without animals, they are the best thing about life honestly, haha. I love them so much.
I completely agree with everything you said.
Apparently it is a very Aspie trait for women, not sure if it applies to males so much.
I have 2 dogs which I got when I was working at a shelter and currently I volunteer at a koala rescue center. It is like therapy for me helping these beautiful, gentle creatures.
 
I get on better with dogs than people. I know most of the dog's names but few of the people's.
 
Well I have been vegetarian since 1996 and since having a cat I have further gained an affinity to animals, in fact I seem to understand my cat better than people. My first cat named Christine (Chrissy for short) was actually a rescue that a neighbour no longer wanted as it drove him nuts always demanding attention when he just wanted to relax, he even spoke about dumping her somewhere and I got really angry making him phone around cat sanctuaries who were all full. I ended up taking the cat off his hands and I was at first really worried that I wouldn't be-able cope well with the responsibility, but surprisingly I did and I soon got very attached to her. Sadly after a long illness she died of cancer a few years later which totally devastated me, but despite very hurt, within 1 day I got another rescue which I named Chloe (no-one wanted her because she had lost her tail and the cat sanctuary owner asked everyone wanting to adopt if they were interested on arrival, but I snapped her up immediately as soon as I saw her). People said I shouldn't get another cat on the rebound, but it was the only way I could cope with losing Chrissy (she was properly cremated and her ashes have been kept).

People often underestimate animals, I've heard expressions like, "it's just a cat", but a cat and any other animal has the same right to live and be happy as you or I in my opinion, who are we to say humans are the most important beings on this earth? Animals also have feelings, they can get upset, lonely, happy, sad, fearful, frightened Etc Etc. and they are more intelligent than most people give them credit (obviously I am referring to reasonably complex animals, I don't believe a 1 celled organism has feelings for instance, but who knows maybe even a fly has feelings?). Sometimes I am condemned for caring too much about my cat by others and that I am stupid watching her when she is out to ensure she is okay, I am also sometimes laughed at for talking to her (she does pick up a surprising amount of English), but I actually care about Chloe like she's family.

PS: Chloe was actually ill just over a week ago, she was lethargic with a temperature and I obviously became extremely worried, but thankfully after an injection of antibiotics at the vets she was back to her old self within a couple of days and has been running around super fast ever since. She is roughly 3.5 years old now and I've had her since she was around 2 (an estimated age given by the vet as they couldn't trace her previous owner after she was found living abandoned on the street and they also didn't know how she lost her tail). Having no tail seems to be no disability at all, she can jump + balance perfectly fine just like any other cat. She can't show expression through her missing tail (different tail shapes, positions and movements mean different things for most cats), but she makes up for it in other ways and she also makes a variety of different sounds with various meanings. She loves to fetch me to the door and wait for me to follow, then she will sometimes suddenly run at extreme speed back and forth making sure I am watching (she most definitely shows off lol).
 
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I was thinking about axectly this question earlierr today. For myself, I connect with animals easily.

Watching video of the hurricane rescues I feel for the animals and not the people, as logically the people probably had notice to prepare.
 
Getting on better with most animals than people. Honestly, dunno if I would be here if not for many animals in my life. Sounds kind of dramatic but, well. They're more patient, understanding and loving. Do you need any other response?
 
I'm a vegetarian and I have had cats all my life. I also have a turtle. I cannot understand the rationale behind raising animals just to slaughter and eat them.
 
I have three cats Hazel, and have had two dogs as an adult, I've rescued cats and dogs and some wild animals for many years, most of my life. Belonged to several rescue groups in the city, fostered a lot too. Was part of a catch, neuter, release group for most of my adult life. Part of a city network where we built outdoor shelters for feral cats, fed them, brought them to vets, found homes for them. Every block in the city I lived in, had about six to ten feral and or abandoned cats living on the streets. Under dumpsters, in alleys, sheds, under or in garages, one female cat with kittens lived in the large dryer vent of an apartment building.

Volunteered at several 'no kill' shelters as well, it was essentially a grass roots movement. As the city spca simply put down most of the animals they considered un-adoptable. So masses of animals were euthanized on a regular basis. That's changed to a certain extent, but not in outlying areas.

I love animals, and I feel I have an ethical responsibility to them, since I was very young. Think that it's our responsibility to be stewards of this world and everything in it, as much as possible. So like a lot of people, I do what I can.

Still become excited when I see animals, wild or domesticated. Even on television, I watch nature shows often, and last week saw an unusual tiny monkey that I'd never seen before, I was so excited that I knocked over a glass of water to get closer to the television. Out walking in a forest a few weeks back, a small deer crossed my path, with tiny horns that I'd not ever seen before. Still think about it, and how beautiful it was.
 
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I am and always have been a very severe cat whisperer. Cats and I get along in a way that people wonder if I AM A CAT! We lay in the grass, one even laid on my back, one had babies on my bed, we have had hundreds of cats and I had a close connection which each one. It is so odd and you guys who connect with animals know what I mean. It might be chimpanzees or something like Jane Goodall. I get it :)
 
I was brought up like most people of my era to eat the typical meat and three veg meals. As a child I never really thought about where the meat came from, but even then I couldn't eat anything I had seen alive. If we caught a fish or prawns I just couldn't bring myself to eat them even though I did if they came from a shop. As I got older and came to realise the suffering farmed animals go through, I became a vegetarian and now do all I can to improve the welfare of any animal produced for human consumption. I'm realistic enough to know people will always want to eat animals but I can't see why it can't be done humanely. They are sentient beings just as we are and they deserve to live their short lives without suffering.
 
I've had so many and varied pets in my life it's been a zoo.
My first pet at age three was a black cat.
I've always had cats until now.
I rent and they aren't allowed.

There seems to be a telepathic bond with animals I can't feel with people.
Currently I do keep tree frogs in the caged pool of the house I rent part of. Surprising it doesn't seem to bother the guy I rent from.

To give an idea of how varied and how many, I'll think back and try to make a list although I'll probably miss some.

Cats
Dogs
Aquarium fish and seahorses
Turtles. Both aquatic and land types.
Chickens/roosters
Boa
Iguanas
Oriental pheasants
Pigeons
Lizards
Ducks
Giant praying mantis
Cockatiels
Parakeets
Currently my frogs
and looking for an Iguana to add to the pool enclosure.

I've raised many baby birds, hand fed. And have a garden
outback for Butterfly Milkweed so I can help the Monarchs. I hand raise them in containers from caterpillars to Chrysalis then the butterflies.

Wild life I so enjoy also. Especially birds.
But, I also have some woods close by where I can go at dusk and the deer come out all around me to be with.
Love it.
 
I have a lot of time for animals.
Specifically cats and dogs as they're the species I've spent most of my time with.

I still think it amazing how a lot of dogs have evolved to work along side humans and show servility and cats have retained their independence. Showing no servility whatsoever.

I generalise when I state that I much prefer the company of cats and dogs to humans.
Cats and dogs couldn't give two hoots who or what I am. I don't have to utter a syllable in their company, I can just 'be'
 
I am a self-proclaimed "cat whisperer" because the vast majority of cats I've met have become attached to me. I owned cats throughout most of my life and researched them extensively, so understanding cat body language & moods has become second nature to me. I'm able to quickly discern individual cat preferences (such as where they preferred to be petted and how much pressure to use when petting).

I had to give my 16 year old cat up for adoption 1 year and 8 months ago. I miss her terribly because she somehow knew to comfort me during meltdowns. (She wasn't an official therapy animal; she was just highly intelligent & intuitive.)

These days I enjoy being visited by the neighborhood cats. There's a very friendly "wanderer" named Charlie (he has a collar & name tag) who often comes to my back door looking to be petted and given treats. He is incredibly affectionate, and I greatly enjoy spending time with him. I'm jealous of whoever owns him, hehe.

Unfortunately due to my mental health I don't think it's a good idea for me to own a cat at this point in my life. However, as I said before, I do enjoy the occasional visits from Charlie (as my sister put it, "all of the love & none of the commitment"). I think that I would benefit greatly from visiting a "cat cafe", but unfortunately there are none near where I live at the moment. I hope that that will change someday in the future.
 
I am a animal lover,I think they make better friends than humans,I have a river canal in my backyard and sometimes ducks will turn up in my backyard for bread,I also feed three magpies and one even followed me and flew into the house,I also have a Staffordshire bull terrier named Sprocket here is a photo.
F4DBA1E6-ADF5-47C3-85F4-5FCF90103955.jpeg
 
I am obsessed with my dog. To the point where I can say he is easily my best friend. It is the greatest thing in the world to him if I come back after being gone for five or more minutes. You can say anything to them, make any mistake, sound as stupid as one could possibly be, and he would just be happy that I'm talking to him. Making him happy is simple. Belly rubs, throw a ball in the house, or take him out with a chuck it or a frisbee. Taking him for daily walks is great, it gives me a reason to make it outside at least once a day, and gives my dog exercise, and lots of entertainment for both of us. And the cuddles. There is nothing like a 70 pound dog 'flop' onto you when your sitting down to get some attention.
 

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