Do autistic/asperger's people have an abnormal love for animals?

[ShatteredUniverse]

Meh. I just don't really care either way. When I have pets, I lavish attention on them, etc, but I just don't have this overwhelming need to have one when I don't. I haven't had a pet in at least 5-6 years, and it hasn't affected me adversely (far as I can tell). I'm not gonna be able to afford one when I go to graduate school, anyway, so I won't be getting a new one for at least 6-8 more years. Na ja. . .

 

[Biblio-Love]

I read a comic by and Aspie girl once that said she was always the one at a party who was off in a corner playing with the family pet. That's me!

That is me too! Whenever I go to someone's house, the first thing I do is make friends with the family pet. I just feel more comfortable with animals. Their eyes are so honest. I could never be happy without animals in my life. I currently have a cat and three dogs.

 

[SallySlips]

I've always had a great bond with animals of all kinds. Ever since I can remember, I've had pets. Cats, dogs, rats, parrots, rabbits, even ducks. At one point I was up to 8 pets at the same time. Right now I have a cat and 2 dogs. I don't have a desire for any more - the ones I have take up all my attention! I have the strongest bond with my boxer/pitbull Tink. I talk to her like a person and it's almost like she understands. All she wants is to be happy and for me to be happy and there's nothing bad or deceitful about her. She even senses when I'm upset about something and will snuggle me for hours.

 

[LittlePuff]

I like animals more than most people. I'm one of those over-emotional ones. I'm a complete mess when one dies. Cats are easiest on me because the ones I had before the ones now, made it to 20 and 22. I feel like we understand each other easier. Their behavior and emotions are easy for me to figure out. Not people. There are no misunderstandings..so yes lol!

 

[Aspieistj]

Animals don't bother me with useless words. They never criticize or correct me. My pets are always thrilled to greet me. They don't care if I am fat, old or have AS. Most pets are pretty, soft and cuddly. House pets truly need me to take care of them. Most pets prefer their owners to other people. They entertain me. Other than cleaning a litter box or scooping poop, they cause me very little work. They don't scoff at the things I find important. They give unconditional love. They are more giving and loving than my kids. What's not to appreciate? I could go on for a lot longer!

 

[Ste11aeres]

I am probably one of the few aspies that don't like animals. I don't connect with them. I like cute pictures of animals, I feel bad for any animal that is hurt, I will cry if one dies. But I don't want them touching me, I don't want them in my space, and I can't take of them. If they are I feel resentful and hostile. I grew up with pets, my dad would get them and then we were expected to take care of them. But we weren't ready for that responsibility. My parents were very inconsistant with thier expectations, so it was confusing for us to know what we were supposed to do. Then when I lived with my grandma, she spoiled the animals, like if we went somewhere to eat, she would stop at mcdonalds on the way home and get a burger for the dog. I had to share a bed with my grandma and she would put food in the bed for the dog and cat in case they got hungy in the night, not just dog and cat food, but pieces of hamburger or ham. My grandma would call me selfish if I didn't give the dog a piece of my food, even if it was chocolate. I would tell her that it was poison for the dog and she would say it is just a little bit. She would say all the time that the animals were the only ones that loved her. This hurt alot. We had two dogs here, one was very rambunctious and now and then it would chew up my stuffed animals including the first one my boyfriend got for me, he did it rarely. He was also very large and difficult to control. The other dog we had was very submissive and didn't get into things, but she was very old and she ended up having seizures toward the end rather frequently. It was horrible to see her go through that and not be able to do anything for her but wait till it was done and clean up the mess, then always worried about another one. It was devastating when they died, and I don't understand going through that again. When they want to be near me and cuddle up with me, it doesn't feel like affection it feels like an invasion. The dog we have now is very heavy, all muscle. After seeing him eat poop when he first came here, I don't want him licking even my hand. Also people keep using it as an example of why I shouldn't have children, or why I shouldn't be around their child.

After your family members somewhat weird relationships with animals, I don't blame you for being ambivalent about them, yourself.
And it doesn't mean anything about whether you should be around children. If you were cruel to animals, that would be troubling. But that is clearly not the case; you are, instead, reserved in regards to them.

 

[Sparticus]

The Furry and feathery little sobs come running after me! I'm not "hey I don't have any ___ on me, I can't feed you today." They just sing or croon to me in their language. I'm like "no! I'm not an animal Whisperer, now go away before I pet..."

But they stick aound, the dogs stick their nuzzles?/noses at me, I kiss em [how can I not?] squirrels, chipmunks and those gossipy birds LOVE me!? I love animal better than people and animals can "feel" me better than humans.

I Once had a budgie and i owned him for one month, and he died from a bacterial disease and i barely bonded with him but i tried. I cried and fell into a depression after that for 4 days. In my family we have 5 pets and 4 of those pets were my idea and i'm the only one in the family who obsessively loves for them and cares for them, do you people have any case of this? and scientists and researchers have developed this new treatment for autistic people, it's called animal assisted therapy and it involves just plain animals and the person just keeps it (simple as that) and they think it provides mental,physical and learning benefits.

 

[EdenPrime]

I love animals. With cats I find them easier to understand than people. I can tell how they are feeling or what they are thinking. If they don't want my attention they'll leave me alone, and if they want something they'll let me know

 

[Archer36]

I always been fascinated by animals in general ... my favorite cartoons were the ones with animals ... In Transformers, my favorite one was Ravage. Rawr!!!
When I was kid, we had some cats and dog ... always loved them, but never get attached to them. Then when i was 20yo. I got a little cat .. I liked it a lot. But i had to give him for adoption because i wasn't taking good care of it. It was the best thing to do at the time.

Then when i was mid-20s, I had a very strong interest in the furry community. I went to furry conventions and all that stuff. It was really good for me, I learned a lot about people ... I was even wearing costumes .. don't judge me, it was a lot of fun. ... but when I was out of costume, I had too much difficulty to communicate with others ... and at some point I just left.

Then after that, i was all about Cats the musical ... I became a huge fan ... then the interest died again ...

And today, sometimes I'm thinking about getting another cat ... but I'm too scared that I wont take good care of it. I have difficulties to keep my place clean, a cat would just make it more complicated. I prefer not to try again.

Oh, and I still have a couple of Schleich animal figurines. .. they are cute... and dusty...

 

[Crazi]

I think it depends on the person. I wouldn't say it's an Aspie thing per se.

 

[Sev]

I've always adored cats and they have always be comfortable around me, particularly in my younger years. I guess I just like cats, because despite the fact that many humans don't appreciate my company, opinion or conversation, cats have always shown affection to me; even strays.

 

[nowwhat]

It may have to do with the fact that they're non-judgmental by their nature, and as such we don't have to worry about putting on a "normal" act to form a connection.

How many of us feel totally, completely accepted by even one or two people, however many relationships we are carrying on? Animal return kindness and affection for kindness and affection, and they cannot lie or be false.

 

[Sunnylims]

I occasionally joke with my boyfriend that I am "transspecies" (like transsexual). But instead of feeling like a male trapped in a female body, I feel like an animal trapped inside a human body. I connect so much better with animals than I do with people. If I ever get invited somewhere, my first question is "will there be an animal there?" If I'm at a party (which is very rare) you could probably find me on the floor with whatever animals I can find.

I am beyond lucky that I get to work with dogs everyday now because when I was a server, I was having meltdowns almost daily. Animals are where I belong, and I have accepted that. I was always kind of ashamed for my extreme love of animals, but now I don't even try to hide it. It's just me!

 

[Steph06]

Yes!! I adopted a couple dogs and foster some more and it's one of the best decisions I ever made. They're cuddly and loving and nonjudgmental. And they're reliable and loyal too. Best life choice ever.

 

[Aspie@60]

I absolutely love animals -- much ore than people in most cases!

 

[Peace]

I Once had a budgie and i owned him for one month, and he died from a bacterial disease and i barely bonded with him but i tried. I cried and fell into a depression after that for 4 days. In my family we have 5 pets and 4 of those pets were my idea and i'm the only one in the family who obsessively loves for them and cares for them, do you people have any case of this? and scientists and researchers have developed this new treatment for autistic people, it's called animal assisted therapy and it involves just plain animals and the person just keeps it (simple as that) and they think it provides mental,physical and learning benefits.

I don't really care one way or the other.I just coexsist with them. They are simple and I understand them well. Many people on how They seem to gravitate to me. I am excellent at rescuing them, otherwise I just leave them alone, and want them to do the same for me.

 

[grapesicles]

Glad that others love animals as much as I do!

Rabbits are my favourite - I have one, but he lives an hour away with my parents. I try to visit him at least twice a week, otherwise I miss him too much. To me, they are the sweetest animals and also very intelligent.

Yesterday I went with my boyfriend to a craft centre that also had rabbits for sale. There were baby ones which were like handfuls of fluff with the cutest tiny ears! There was no one supervising the cages and they seemed so neglected in filthy cages - I was so tempted to put them in my bag and take them home.

 

[Granta_Omega]

I used to be a vegetarian because of how much I care about animals. I generally value animals over people, and think we treat them poorly very often.
I generally think people only care for their own over their animals because of the selfish gene, but it really makes no sense that people are more important than animals are to me. So I guess I would have an abnormal care for animals.

 

[Autism]

I Once had a budgie and i owned him for one month, and he died from a bacterial disease and i barely bonded with him but i tried. I cried and fell into a depression after that for 4 days. In my family we have 5 pets and 4 of those pets were my idea and i'm the only one in the family who obsessively loves for them and cares for them, do you people have any case of this? and scientists and researchers have developed this new treatment for autistic people, it's called animal assisted therapy and it involves just plain animals and the person just keeps it (simple as that) and they think it provides mental,physical and learning benefits.

I want to cry when one of my fishes dies, cried for days when my hamster died, was a wreck when the cats died. I love animals because animals are such pure creatures, will never act in deceitfulness, will never try to cheat, they are just such pure life forms.

You can not see that in the population, animals are almost like babies in the first couple of months, always curious, so preciously innocent, wide eyed, learning, and then they trust humans who will then kill them.

I will always care more for animals than I would care for the beasts on two legs out there.

 

[Autism]

Glad that others love animals as much as I do!

Rabbits are my favourite - I have one, but he lives an hour away with my parents. I try to visit him at least twice a week, otherwise I miss him too much. To me, they are the sweetest animals and also very intelligent.

Yesterday I went with my boyfriend to a craft centre that also had rabbits for sale. There were baby ones which were like handfuls of fluff with the cutest tiny ears! There was no one supervising the cages and they seemed so neglected in filthy cages - I was so tempted to put them in my bag and take them home.

Awww, I love rabbits too. As a child I played in a wildlife farm place all the time, wasn't supposed to be there but hung around there all the time because it was one of the view places where total freedom reigned.
I played with ponies, donkeys, rabbits, chicks, and they were all so very cute. I used to feed the donkeys all the time, would drive my bike to fetch grass and hay for them and watch them eat, great big, old, gray, smelly donkeys, they have not only stubborn characteristics but also very peaceful characteristics.

Used to run around hundreds of rabbits on the wildlife farm. They just let them run free on the grass and they continued to multiply. It was like a little Eden.