Do you think animals commit suicide?

[Dragon's Heart]

TL;DR: turtles/animals can be like that. it's okay (that the turtle isn't doing well). but I understand why you're hurting. it could be something about its habitat that's not working. I know I sound really, really cruel saying "it's okay", but I'll explain.

I keep a cat. 5 months old now. mom's friend keeps tons of cats and just let 'em do their own things, every breeding season. friend owes mom some money, felt sorry and gifted mom a kitten. mom wants no cats, so lil cat lives with me. I named it "lil man". it's meowing in the cutest way now as I type.

I read some vet stuff so that lil man don't need to suffer through my own hands. turns out there's every fucking reason that animals would stop doing what their life needs. a lot of cats, for example, would become unable to take a piss after they been stressed out. burnt out might be a better word, I think, cuz the condition can last very long till they get kidney stones and shit. or you know, the classic "rabbit dead cuz owner bathed it" stuff, even when it wasn't causing physical problems for the rabbit. it's the *fear* of hypothermia, that got them rabbits literally die from this stress, trauma, almost INSTANTLY. I think it's a fucking wonder that they *do*, but also a fucking wonder that humans *don't*. as long as the body's alive, the human mind gives you a second, third, fourth, a thousand even, alter to go on. I have four other. I am one, the host, wanting to take everyone on this boat with me and sail to death. not the "original" cuz there's no "originals" once the mind splits. we had another host before, now she's just "dead", in the head, not functioning to the outside world anymore.

I know the medical world invalidates our experiences but this is the only answer I have as to why I'm always losing time. and it took *me* so long to realize and to accept that. my ex has it too. we both diagnosed at this point.

so I mean, life is not easy for whichever animal. there's every way functions can go wrong. and it's meant to be like that, really. for every way something'll be able to work, there's a way it can break down *or* still function but differently. "differently" like, autism, ADHD, or like DID/OSDD (what I/we have). that's why I say sick and mad people are always gonna be with us. as long as humanity exists, we are here. same with other animals.

no one knows if your pet turtle wants to see a vet or not, go to the wild or stay home. but it's okay that lil turtle isn't doing alright though. there's always gonna be turtles like that.

although from what I heard, providing the right kind of habitat for many species of turtles can be tricky. maybe there's a way with that. we don't wanna *cause* another to suffer, but a lot of the times when there's little we have under our own control, it's more compassionate and caring to simply accept and bear with that.

Yes, I've seen this sort of thing so many times particularly with animals of prey. They "give up the ghost" very quickly. Possibly to help get through the stress of dying no matter what the reason, they sense it coming.

 

[Ch92921]

No. You need intelligence and self-awerness.

 

[little helpers]

I feel that animals would commit suicide at the same rates humans do if they were smarter. Nature is extremely cruel

real good point.

should there be reincarnation, I'd beg to be a tree my next life. maybe I should put that on my suicide note. just in case. /s

 

[Sans]

I always pictured dairy farms as picturesque fields in the Alps where animals roam and play. Then the farmers craft beautiful artisanal cheeses from the collected milk. I think I have a habit of romanticizing everything.

Could this become a reality?

 

[NormaJeane]

I was raised on a working dairy farm and at least for me the answer is yes. I always wondered when a farm animal would get very sick, it would just stop eating and drinking water and a few days later would pass away.

Be it a pig, cow, horse, I saw each of these basically do the same thing. One could put food and water by them, and they never would touch either.

Always made me wonder why, when I first saw this happening, then I finally had a ah moment and thought that they were just done and tired.

Walter

I disagree, I have been active in the equestrian sport and I have been working with horses for many years and I have been with dogs and cats and I have never seen any of them commit suicide. Non-human animals can not understand the consequences of their actions in the same way as a human. Non-human animals have no knowledge of death and suicide, they do not understand that they are going to die eventually, they do not know that they will die if they stop eating and drinking. Non-human animals can see another animal fall and die, but they do not understand this situation. The animals who ended eating and drinking did so because they were sick. Humans also lose their appetite when we are sick or depressed.

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

If a cat eats salmon, is it pursuing a healthy lifestyle?

 

[SparkleWater]

my guinea pig tried to killherself by holding her breath because shehad an infection

 

[miserable_existance]

I know that animals sometimes engage in self destructive behaviors that may lead to their death. Such as animals drowning themselves or voluntarily starve. But do you think this is the same thing as suicide?

Recently saw a video on youtube of a Leopard in a zoo in Russia refusing to eat for days once the caretaker of the leopard left the job in the zoo , and as per the video the zooowner had to call the Leopard caretaker and request him to take the leopard with him . This seemed like a self destructing behaviour on the part of Leopard in deep sorrow / mourning .

 

[Applebees]

I know that animals sometimes engage in self destructive behaviors that may lead to their death. Such as animals drowning themselves or voluntarily starve. But do you think this is the same thing as suicide?

Animals do not have self-consciousness in the same way that we do.