Animals can definately be autistic.
BUT one can also see similarities when it comes to certain animal types and human autistic traits, such as the way cats behave as an example.
BUT yes, I have known of autistic dogs even before I knew what autism was. One would occasionally come across a dog that would not react the same towards other dogs and end up being picked on as the other dogs seemed to sense they were not somehow reacting in the same way the other dogs expected them to react. (And this is NOT accounted for with the dogs upbringing, as the dog could have several others in the same litter who behave like ordinary average dogs would be expected to behave for that particular breed and type of dog).
I will also say that the way autism plays out in animals is actually similar to how autism plays out in humans when one sees the way they react to others within their same type... Yes, cats will natrually react differently to dogs and so do humans as we are all different breeds though one can see how we were all created by the same maker by the way variations of the elements of design carry through totally differnt species, though this is a different subject to be debated on another thread... BUT autism traits in any individual species can also be displayed as a spectrum of different traits...
But one has to really get to know the individual breed of whatever animal it is to pick out the one rare autistic one that reacts differently to the rest. (Usually the one others reject and has to live by itself or on the fringes of a pack... Example, when watching a flock of geese one may find one goose having to work harder and fly separately to the main flock who use each other to shelter behine and take it in turns at the front as they fly. (If one is into cycling, one will know how much easier it is to ride as a pack or bunch than it is to ride alone... This means the autistic goose ends up being way stronger in flight as it is keeping up with the others (Which takes way more effort) but is excluded from being part of the sheltered flight formation. Many other examples from other animal types, and as I know autism from being autistic, and I have grown up with farious animals, I have always found that I have had a soft spot (And they for me) for the autistic animals who act in ways similar to me as wel sort of gelled better together as we understood each other more... That is if the animal was brave enough to come to me as a few come near no one!
And I never forget a cat when I was looking round one of the many houses that were for sale.We actually wanted to buy the house but we didn't sell ours at the time, but there was a lovely litrle cat there, and I got it to come to me and gently did my thing and had it purring and rubbing itself on me and I was stroking it near its owner... And the owner was a very caring gentle man and so was his wife, both used to animals... They were lovely people, but when they saw their semi-stray cat purring and allowing me to cuddle and stroke her, they were absolutley amazed! They had been trying for a year or two to do that and so had others! There was me a complete stranger and she came to me! BUT I am on the spectrum and I believe the cst sensed it? Also I had cat hairs on my jumper from a cat at home, but these were country people and the people around them who visited would have that too as lots of people have cats who live in such places!
The interesting thing is that once she accepted me, she also started to rub herself against her owners legs as well! Something I was happy with because she needed to get closer to her owners because they were moving house.
