12 Animal Psychological Disorders

BOW WOW BLUES

Animal: Military Dogs

Diagnosis: PTSD

Doctor's Notes: Military veterinarians say post-traumatic stress disorder can affect military dogs in a similar way to servicemen and women. Several formerly exuberant bomb-sniffing canines have come back from their first tour in Iraq withdrawn and fearful of social situations. Vets are starting to develop training for these dogs in hopes of helping them overcome their newly acquired fears. (Komo News)

CABIN FEVER

Animal: Chimpanzee

Diagnosis: Situational Anxiety 

Doctor's Notes: Scientists were not surprised to find that lab monkeys developed abnormal behaviors, but didn't expect the same reactions in zoo chimps. New research shows that many chimps can get anxiety from living in captivity, which causes them to develop behaviors linked to mental illness. Some of the behaviors observed include rocking back and forth, drinking urine, pacing and hitting their own bodies. (Discovery)

PIG PROBLEMS

Animal: Farm Pigs

Diagnosis: Thin Sow Syndrome (Anorexia)

Doctor's Notes: While thin sow syndrome can be contributed to pigs with a poor diet or lack of food, doctors have also seen the disorder in animals with available nutrition. Professionals believe that pigs will sometimes starve themselves in response to social and and environmental stresses. Along with refusing to eat, pigs with thin sow syndrome are often overactive. (The Pig Site)

NITPICKING PECKERS

Animal: Parrots, Cockatoos and Other Pet Birds

Diagnosis: Feather-Plucking (Trichotillomania)

Doctor's Notes: Feather-plucking, or over-preening, in birds can be attributed to many causes. Some of the issues that cause birds to pull out their feathers and self-mutilate are anxiety, over-excitement and boredom. These emotional triggers can also be seen in humans suffering with trichotillomania, also known as hair-plucking. (Pet MD)

MINE!

Animal: Hamsters

Diagnosis: Hoarding

Doctor's Notes: Thanks to their expansive cheek pouches, hamsters are born with the skills for hoarding. It is common to see a pet hamster cram its face with food or gather an excessive amount of food in one area of its cage. Researchers believe this is a behavior leftover from the hamster's wild relatives, who collected stores of food to eat safely in their habitats during the day and during hibernation. (Food Hoarding in Animals)

CAT COMPULSIONS

Animal: Cats

Diagnosis: OCD

Doctor's Notes: OCD covers a range of repetitive and seemingly aimless behaviors in cats, including excessive grooming, meowing, pacing and fabric sucking. Vets believe that cats use the behaviors as coping mechanisms, with some of the traits even releasing pain-relieving chemicals in the brain that can help with anxiety. While these OCD outbursts may cause temporary relief, they are unhealthy for felines, and without intervention they can become permanent, untriggered behaviors. (Pet MD)

BERRY BAD

Animal: Elephant

Diagnosis: Substance Abuse

Doctor's Notes: Elephants have been found to seek out a certain kind of berry for its hallucinogenic qualities. The animal will go out on small quests to find the food in order to get high. Younger elephants sometimes accompany elders on these trips, learning the behavior for themselves. (Chicago Now)

TO MUCH NOMMING

Animal: Rats

Diagnosis: Binge Eating

Doctor's Notes: In a study, researchers found that when given periodic access to optional dietary fats, rats would develop binge-eating habits. This eagerness for consuming the extra food translated to other substance-abuse issues in later tests. Meanwhile, rats given full-time access to optional dietary fat ate more overall, but dispersed it evenly throughout the day. (Drug Free.org)

BAD TO THE HOOF

Animal: Horses Living in Stables

Diagnosis: Stable Vice/Destructive Behavior

Doctor's Notes: Horses that live in stables can easily fall into fits of boredom and anxiety. If there is no way for the animal to release these feelings constructively, they will begin picking up vices. These bad habits include wood-chewing, pacing, kicking and more. To help horses stay calm and entertained, companies have started producing stable toys. (Foster And Smith)

ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

Animal: Pea Aphid 

Diagnosis: Suicidal Tendencies 

Doctor's Notes: Researchers are looking to animal suicides as a model for learning about and helping suicidal humans. One of the creatures being investigated is the pea aphid. This bug voluntarily explodes when a predator appears. The blast scatters surrounding aphids, protecting them from the approaching predator. (NBC News)

GOT A LIGHT?

Animal: Smoking Orangutans 

Diagnosis: Addiction

Doctor's Notes: "Monkey see, monkey do" turned into a bad habit for Tori the orangutan. After mimicking smoking zoo visitors and getting a hold of discarded cigarette butts, Tori is now addicted to smoking. If  the orangutan doesn't get her nicotine fix, she becomes irate and throws things. Zookeepers are currently working on getting her to quit.