Can Animals Have Mental Disabilities?
Mental health issues aren’t exclusive to humans—animals can experience them too. From cognitive decline resembling dementia to anxiety and trauma-related behaviors, science is uncovering how genetics, environment, and experience shape the mental well-being of animals. Researchers are learning how stress, isolation, and even brain structure can affect how animals think, feel, and behave—and how we can better support their mental health in homes, zoos, and the wild.
Max’s Story: Aging and Cognitive Dysfunction in Pets
Max, a lively Labrador retriever, loved car rides and greeting visitors at his owner’s office. But by age 16, things changed. He started having accidents indoors, struggled to sleep, and no longer recognized familiar words and commands. He also became more irritable, showing clear signs that something was wrong.
Max was experiencing cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS), a condition that affects aging dogs and cats. In dogs, it closely resembles Alzheimer’s disease in humans, leading to memory loss, confusion, and behavioral changes.
Animal Learning and Mental Health Research
As a researcher studying how humans and other animals learn, I work with a variety of species—from bees to pigeons to crawfish. Part of my work focuses on understanding how different factors impact mental health in animals.
Some animals are born with genetic or developmental differences that affect how their brains function, leading to learning challenges or cognitive impairments. Others may develop mental health conditions due to stressful or traumatic experiences. Here are some key examples of how mental health issues appear in animals.
Many dogs become stressed during thunderstorms. Creating a comfortable, enclosed “safe” space without windows inside your house can help.
Genetic Conditions and Mental Health in Animals
Down syndrome is a common genetic condition that can slow down learning and thinking in humans. People born with Down syndrome may have a harder time learning new things, remembering information and making complicated decisions.
Down syndrome is caused by changes to a chromosome – the strands in our cells that store our genes. Normally, people have 23 pairs of chromosomes; when someone is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21, it produces the effects of Down syndrome.
Most animals can’t have Down syndrome, because their genes are organized into chromosomes differently than human genes. However, our closest relatives, including chimpanzees and orangutans, do have a similar organization of genes. Conditions very much like Down syndrome have been observed in these species.
One example, Kanako, was a female chimpanzee born in a research facility in Japan. She had vision and heart problems caused by an extra chromosome. Scientists don’t know whether Kanako had trouble with learning, because her vision problems made that difficult to test. However, Kanako enjoyed socializing with other chimpanzees and lived a long life in a wildlife sanctuary.
Wild chimpanzees are probably also sometimes born with genetic conditions like Down syndrome, but the effects make it difficult to survive in the wild, just like being born with a heart or a foot that doesn’t develop normally. Kanako was able to live a healthy life thanks to the help of her human caretakers and good veterinary care.
Science historian Laurel Braitman explains how she worked to understand her dog’s mental health disorders, and how studying these problems in animals can offer insights for treating similar problems in humans.
Coping with Trauma: Animals and Stress
Animals that are born healthy can also develop mental health problems in response to conditions around them.
For example, just as soldiers may develop post-traumatic stress disorder after experiencing a life-threatening situation, working military and police dogs can develop a similar condition. Dogs with canine PTSD may cling to their owners, startle at everyday noises, or frequently act panicky or fearful.
Veterinarians can prescribe anti-anxiety medication to help these dogs stay calm during scary events, like fireworks or thunderstorms. Owners also can use behavioral treatments to reward the dogs for staying calm and relaxed around things that seem frightening.
Most traumatic events, like earthquakes or car accidents, can’t be predicted in advance. However, in some cases, such as capturing and restraining a wild animal to relocate it, workers use tranquilizers or sedatives to make the animal sleepy, or cover its eyes and ears to reduce fear and prevent long-lasting problems.
Environmental Enrichment and Mental Well-being
Another common cause of mental health problems in animals is daily stress. Animals held in captivity at zoos, farms or research labs may experience stress from sources such as traffic noises, uncomfortable temperatures or not being able to engage in certain natural behaviors.
Animals have many signature behaviors: Penguins swim, meerkats dig, baboons socialize and chickens take dust baths. When animals can’t do important behaviors, they may experience stress and mental problems.
To keep this from happening, zookeepers and animal caretakers provide environmental enrichment – objects, structures and activities that stimulate the animals’ minds and help keep them from getting bored.
Recognizing and Supporting Mental Health in Pets
Sometimes it’s easy to see when animals are stressed or anxious. They may pace back and forth, spend their days in hiding, or be unusually aggressive. Getting sick frequently or losing weight can also be a sign of poor mental health. Certain hormones, called corticosteroids, can be measured from a poop sample to provide clues about whether an animal is under too much stress.
Even pets in loving homes can experience mental health problems. Some dogs struggle with separation anxiety – extreme fear of being left alone by their owner. Lack of mental or physical activity can also produce anxiety symptoms.
Whether it means taking your dog to the dog park to run and socialize, or building puzzles that hide treats for your parakeet to find, keeping animals busy is good for them. In more serious cases, veterinarians can prescribe medication or behavioral treatments to help your pet feel better.
Human Compassion in Animal Mental Health
Humans can use science to understand the many conditions that affect mental health in animals and find treatments to help them. We also can show compassion and care for others – whether human or animal – who experience mental problems.
Written by Rachel Blaser, Professor of Neuroscience, Cognition and Behavior, University of San Diego.
Adapted from an article originally published in The Conversation.
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2 Comments
Any thinking thing can be mentally ill and that includes future AI’s. Mentally ill AI’s is a subject that has been explored for decades in SF.
Even more so, the extremely disturbed minds that would create it. Case in point would be the extremely disturbed mind of who interfered with what was to be my original comment. An individual with a compulsion to kill domestic animals and other people as well. Not to mention the propensity to start wars, genocides, etcetera.