Can you relate to an animal?

Post Reply New Topic

I noticed that most of the people here relate well to cats (me included) and even have their avatars as cats,

What is you favorite animal?

TURTLES! Turtles turtles turtles turtles turtles! I love them so much! They do cute things like sticking their feet out in the sun or greeting you when they're hungry.

Anyway... what's your favorite animal?

I used to have a red-eared slider when I was at university (pets weren't allowed in the dorms, but I had him anyway). I had to give him to my mother when I moved away, and I still get upset about it if I think about it.

I am obsessed with animals. I love studying their behaviour and their biology, and I relate to them and their actions and reactions very easily. I'm terrible at describing how I feel unless I can use animal metaphors (though I don't think most people understand what I'm trying to say even then!). This might sound weird, but if I feel anxious, it really helps me to feel calmer if I look at an animal or pictures or videos of animals if there aren't any real ones in the vicinity. Cats have always been my favourite, but I have also collected penguins (representations of them, not actually living ones!) for the past several years. I will buy anything with animal on it, though, especially clothes. I could spend all day (and often do at home...) talking about my cats or reading cat stories.

I have always related better to animals than to people. Since I was a little girl, I was researching and studying animals—their social behavior, their environments, biology, etc. At first my interest was mainly in dogs (specifically Great Danes, Dobermans, and German Shepherd Dogs) and horses (specifically Arabians and Morabs). Then it went to kangaroo and moose (I admit, these are as recent as the past few years . . . spent my honeymoon searching for moose in Canada and drove around the outback in Australia searching for roos! Ha!)

I've worked in the film industry and many other types of jobs, and realized (after burn-out) my gift is really with animals so started my own pet care business. Studied and was certified in small animal massage a few years ago (so fun to learn the muscles, etc. and how touch techniques can have therapeutic effects physically and mentally). Was also certified in dog training, though I've been working with dogs in that capacity since I was eight years old.

I used to love cats and then for some reason in my mid-20's I just stopped liking them. Now I find them irritating, but I have no idea why. I still like dogs, although only the big ones (never liked the little ones), but my favorite animals are hippos and capybaras. Or, for animals that actually live in my part of the world in the wild, white-tailed deer and black bears: I identify with both, for different reasons.

I'm a cat person. They're more particular, and if one shows a liking for you it's special. They're also more opinionated. I had one poop on pillow because I forgot to feed him one morning. He also left all his "presents"(mice at the time) in front of my bedroom door.

I definitely love cats!! ! I like animals that aren't threatening to me - I have too large a fight-or-flight reaction to dangerous animals, especially ones that move quickly and unpredictably to me.
I definitely feel a connection with most animals though I like just sitting one on one with an animal.
Cats would be my favourite. We currently have 2 guinea pigs though and they're awesome

I can't say I relate that much to animals. I am melted by them but to say I relate to them would be a stretch. There is one way in which you could say I do but it might be more of a feeling of disconnection from or confusion with human society than a connection to animals. I do feel it strongly in this one way though. Human society seems too complicated. We need money but only because what we really need is the food, water, and shelter that money buys us. Why do we have something in the middle? It's just ridiculous. Animals work to meet their needs directly. That makes more sense to me than working to get money which I don't really want on it's own. The only reason anyone wants it is as a means to get something else. There's unnecessary stuff in the middle. Why can't everything just be direct?

A group of wolves working together to kill an animal they couldn't kill on their own and then dividing up the loot doesn't seem as unnecessary as a human business. It might not be fair. There's always the pariah in the group that gets the raw deal but he still survives. Human business isn't fair either.

I realize that our system allows us to form larger organizations than just a pack of wolves or a gang of pirates. It'd be too complicated without the paper, money and intangible concepts such as debt to determine who gets what or does what job when you have 200,000 people or even 500 people that share ownership of the same business or are a part of it in some way.

It's not useless but it still seems silly to me. The way certain animals live doesn't seem silly to me. It's direct and to the point. That's the one way I can relate to them. In most other ways I don't identify with them strongly. I'm human. There are many things about animals that don't make me empathize with them. In some ways I look at the way they live and say "that makes a lot of sense" but I still understand that other species think differently than I do as a human.

Definitely turtles for me. Turtles are the animal for me. They're friendly and curious without being hyper or needy, they're lovely, special, unique...
pet turtles do the cutest things... and they're happy when you come home.... they have much personality... they're perfect

I relate to turtles, as well. I too can be said to live inside my thick shell, I do everything at my own pace, and where a turtle withdraws into their shell, I withdraw into my mind.

The animal that I can relate to most is probably the gray wolf. They are usually social animals, but can be solitary. This is similar to humans because we are social creatures but a lot of aspies can relate to being the lone wolf. I've felt that way a lot. I am also a person who is loyal to my friends, sort of like a wolf pack. I can also be nasty around people that offend me or my friends, just like another aggressive wolf pack. Wolves are also competitive creatures with stamina, and that reflects my personality as well. I am so competitive that I get really angry if I fall short of my goals. My stamina comes from distance running for several years.

Wolves are also very misunderstood creatures. People see them as evil monsters that kill everything for fun. The rarely attack people and they only kill to eat. Autistic people have been viewed as monsters lately as a result of the shootings in Newtown. Wolves and autistics have both been misunderstood by people that don't know much about them.

I like cats, rabbits, meerkats, and lots of other animals too.

birds, blackbirds and parrots

I relate to cats very well and have yet to meet one that I didn't connect with in some way. Big surprise, right?

I feel like my cat and I are on the same wavelength, so to say. He's almost obsessive about going everywhere in the house with me and gets upset if I don't let him tag along. We "talk" to each other (he's very vocal and chatty) much to the amusement of everyone else in the house. He cuddles with me every night, which is super cute but detrimental to my allergies. :/

Totally agree! I love cats and have never met one I don't connect with, even the ones who "don't like people". I really miss having a cat- mine died last year and my mum won't get another one because she said she gets too attached to them.

My friend's family has a cat (aptly named Groucho) that everyone warned me against buddying up to. She's very sweet and old, but apparently attacks people out of nowhere, especially if you touch her stomach. Well, a few weeks ago, my friend walked in to see me sitting on the floor with her in my lap while I was scratching her belly. She was purring and having the time of her life. Massive confusion and jealousy ensued.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. My sister's cat died in December and it was really hard to work through. We had adopted her when I was in fourth grade and she was all ready a few years old. That cat lived a very long life.

Yep, I can relate to that scenario! My old flatmate's cat doesn't like people apparently but let me tickle her tummy and rolled over, then I could pick her up. My friend was got really jealous and asked if I wanted to keep the cat, I didn't realise he was joking and asked why he didn't want her and he got offended with me. I haven't seen the cat since.

My cat was really old too- he was 22 and we'd had him 16 years. It was weird when he died- i didn't get as upset as my mum but I really miss having a cat around and he was a really friendly cat who'd been like my best friend when I was growing up so I missed talking to him. My mum got annoyed with me for not crying and being upset when he died and said I obviously hadn't cared about him which wasn't true, i did find it hard when he died because I was really close to him but I'd love another cat too, not as a replacement but to have that sort of relationship again. Mum doesn't get that and she says she misses our old cat too much and can't replace him. I really want to get another one though!

There have been multiple times when I've been at someone's house, even for a party, and I felt compelled to socialize with their dog more than anyone else.
Dogs are just so much easier to deal with than people.
For some it's cats over people.