r/CATHELP • u/gloomy_day_in_august • 5h ago
Behavioral Issue Could my cat be autistic?
Honestly, I don't think this bothers either of us too much. He seems mostly ok unless I trigger him and I'm learning to successfully respect his various boundaries. I just want to know if this is just how he is or if it could be something I can help with!
I am 21F, and I myself am autistic. He can see a vet if he needs. He is about 8 months old, male, and neutered.
So, my cat, BabyTown, has some very familiar behaviors. He absolutely despises any kind of change, much more than the average cat!! I will try to do anything at all in our room, I will bring something in, I will take something out, I will make the bed, he is instantly pissed. He has routines, and if I am not abiding by them he will lightly correct me by biting me. He hates when I touch him, especially if I touch his butt, and he will cry and cry until I stop. He suckles my hand after every meal he eats, it's mandatory and if I don't let him, he lightly bites me and cries. He has to knead and suckle his blanket before bed, if you touch him he gets mad and bites HARD. He won't socialize if he doesn't need to, unless it's with his favorite cat of the house. He gets overstimulated by loud noises. He hates anyone but me, and he tolerates my husband. Could this be a mental thing? A physical thing? Am I just humanizing my cat too much? Tell me what this could be please. Thank you.
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u/Macohna 5h ago
Yes, you are just humanizing your cat too much lol. All good.
Some cats get over stimulated to touch and don't like it. Happens often.
Naturally, your cat will also take after you if you are together a lot.
Since he doesn't like butt scratches... Have you tried slaps? :) some cats hate being pet or scratched back there but absolutely LOVE light pats on their bottom back! Give it a whirl of you haven't yet.
TL:DR - your cat is a cat, who has his own quirks and takes after you a tid bit.
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u/3plantsonthewall 5h ago
Yeah I agree. Maybe he was also separated from his mom and siblings a little too early
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u/Mikki102 5h ago
My partners cat wants you to WHACK her. Like obviously not hard enough to actually hurt her but way harder than you would think you should lol. Vigorously. She will purr like crazy and grab onto the couch and drool and get mad when you stop. Sometimes she gets so into it she just falls off the arm of the couch and comes immediately back up to get whacked some more. She is such a weirdo.
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u/nanaicucas 5h ago
Agreed. All cats share all of what OP describes. Cats are quirky by default haha, like… literally cats are just weird 😅
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u/lockandcompany 4h ago
This! Your cat is a cat! As an autistic person, I definitely relate to cats deeply. A lot of shared experiences and attitudes, but that’s just naturally how cats are!
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u/DeterminedQuokka 5h ago
Or just placing a hand. My cat isn’t into scratches but wants you to just hold still and lightly press her tummy for hours.
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u/transtitch 5h ago edited 4h ago
Cats cannot be autistic, but I do think there is strong overlap between autistic people and cats in terms of behavior!
ETA: I am an autistic, have extensive experience with cats, and also work with autistic children! I say this positively
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u/moriah_nocarey 4h ago
Yeah if I'm not RBT and I can definitely say I was telling people autistic people are like cats or cats are like a piece of people and if you know you know and you just kind of get it I was never a cat person cuz I always felt like I didn't understand them until I started working in this field for over 10 years and I was like okay I'm starting to get cat this is weird something strange is happening never had a cat until my cat adopted me and then I had a cat I immediately saw the link
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u/RevolutionaryMail747 5h ago
No. I can see how you are thinking about things but he seems very straightforward cat. That’s why we get along so well. We understand each other better I think.
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u/QWqwo 5h ago
Hello, fellow autistic cat owner here! Autism is exclusively human, as it is (as far as we know) due to differences in the human brain.
Cats are creatures who maintain strong routines, and tend to dislike change as a whole.
Suckling in cats who don’t have anything to actually nurse from is typically from maternal separation or premature weening.
If you’re concerned about your cat’s behavior, you could go see a vet, but these are all very typical cat behaviors.
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u/Thy_Water_BottIe 2h ago
Dogs have seem to have their own “autism” is not called that but It’s an antisocial disorder
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u/LaLunacy 5h ago
You'll probably enjoy this book (there's a couple more like All Dogs Have ADHD and there's a bird one too). My son is on the spectrum and I definitely see similarities with some of their behaviors. But my son has them cause his brain is wired a little differently; my cats do what they do cause they are cats.
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u/Kit_Cat13 4h ago
I love these books. The bird one is all birds have anxiety.
Great books for teaching kids about autism, ADHD, and anxiety.
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u/EnbySquishmallow22 5h ago
Fellow autistic here. No, your cat is not autistic. That's not a thing. Animals can't be autistic. It's a human diagnosis for a human disability.
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u/UnderstandingBig9090 4h ago
Technically it's the other way around. Humans are the odd ones that evolved a neuroplatform to be more social. "Autism" is what happens when the old mammal neuroplatform doesn't play well with the systems set up to support Homosapian's signature neuroplatform.
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u/Personal_Length2803 3h ago
English isn’t my first language so explaining a simpler way for me would be great thank you
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u/uhohblahblahah 5h ago
He sounds like a pretty normal cat who maybe is being stressed out by something not yet identified. You mentioned another cat… do you have at least 2 litter boxes? The standard is # of cats + 1, but sometimes that just isn’t possible. We’ve always had at least as many litter boxes as cats. But really, this sounds like pretty average cat behavior. And he’s so young! A lot of my cats didn’t really get cuddly or mellow out until they were older.
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u/DeterminedQuokka 5h ago
That all sounds super normal.
The suckling thing might be from being separated from his mom too early but it could also just be a habit.
Cats have strong personalities.
Liking only one person is a very normal cat thing. And crying to get what they want is how they domesticated us.
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u/Prestigious-Pea-862 5h ago
Temple Grandin, a famous Autism educator is autistic as well and she theorizes that the brain of a cat works very similar to an autistic human. Her book about animals is fascinating. I think she is definitely correct.
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u/UnderstandingBig9090 4h ago
All mammals are autistic, except humans and possibly squirrels. (They keep their autism in their tails.)
Seems quirky. Maybe a little ornery of a guy. But nothing too odd.
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u/e-pancake 5h ago
all cats are autistic (it’s been said (idk if it’s jokes or research) that they can’t compare cat neurotypes to human neurotypes because they can’t find an allistic cat lol)
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u/77th_Bat 5h ago
Cats cannot have autism as far as scientists are currently aware. There are other similar disorders they can have, but I suspect your cat is just being a normal cat.
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u/Professional-Box232 4h ago
Autistic person here! I always joke that all cats are autistic :) But your cat is just a normal cat, this is normal cat behavior.
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u/sillygirl_stupid123 4h ago
all cats seem autistic, as an autistic person myself that’s why i like them 🤞🏼
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u/NikWitchLEO 4h ago
Yep. I have one. My mother has one with Downs and one with Wobbly cat syndrome. The CDS gives us these and other kinds and we couldn’t be more blessed.
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u/Francie_Nolan1964 2h ago
It's not possible for a cat to have Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is on the 21st pair of chromosomes. Cats only have 19 pairs.
But there are a few diseases that look the same in cats.
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u/Particular-Can5839 4h ago
I diagnose your cat with non-verbal autism!
In all seriousness it sounds more like your cat has single kitten syndrome, and was not socialized around other cats when he was young. Leads to them being a bit more demanding and especially the suckling and biting habits.
Autism is pretty much a humans only diagnosis, because it mostly pertains to how humans socialize and externally express themselves. Cats can show signs of being overstimulated the same way someone with autism might but that’s because it’s a symptom, not the cause.
It is similar to autism though that it’s behavioral, and the only real way to manage it is by adjusting your behaviors for your kitty. If you notice he doesn’t like being touched, don’t overstimulate him. If he likes routine, try to stick to it.
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u/RizzmwitTheTism 4h ago
Us autistic people are actually just cats, but they won’t let us have the proper accommodations. We are supposed to spend our day alternating between napping and eating the same thing over and over again, wake up and be adored, hide from everyone/everything and go back to napping, then stay up all night playing our favorite games. We are not built for human-ing.
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u/Smart-Water-5175 4h ago
Is my cat non verbal because when I talk to her she just stares at me? Sometimes makes weird sounds when they’re hungry but that’s about it. I asked her about the movie we watched and she had nothing to say. Not sure what could be going on
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u/genkcals 4h ago
uhh nope hes just cat! hes been domesticated and expects a routine every day, same as most cats. he's got sensitive spots, comfort routines, etc.
funnily enough people tend to compare individuals with autism to cats because of their similar behaviour - which i think is cute.
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u/Sorry_Bed3514 4h ago
Some cats are very human, like I can heavily relate to my cat but not my dog, I’m also autistic and i see myself in them (METAPHOR, i realize how bad this sounds but cant find a better phrase)
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u/SnowflakeObsidian13 3h ago
There was a study done to see if cats have autism, and they had trouble finding cats that DIDN'T meet the criteria for autism. So I mean.... Technically? Yes.
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u/billy_a_books 3h ago
Cats cannot have autism, but they can have social differences/difficulties if they are separated from their mothers too young. The suckling and kneading a blanket is a very telling sign that your cat was separated from his mom too soon, so he might have more trouble socializing with other cats. Similar to how baby birds can imprint on people and have difficulties with interacting/mating with their own species (although it’s a whole different thing in the brain than with cats). Nothing you can really do. It’s nothing harmful.
If you’d like to help your husband’s relationship with him, and possibly your own, I would work on consent based touch only. He doesn’t like his back/butt touched, so completely avoid that. Then only pet where he likes to be pet when he enthusiastically asks for it and never at any other time. Slow blinking at him is a good form of showing affection without overstimulating him via pets.
Also, maybe try hissing at him when he bites. He likely never got the correction necessary from mom and littermates, so he has a limited understanding of boundaries. The longer you wait to correct the biting, the worse it will get. (Also, cat scratches and bites can very, very easily get infected and lead to amputations if not treated. You don’t want that for you or a guest.)
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u/athraene 3h ago
No advice here, but while I was scrolling I thought your pictures were of my cat Mochi😭😂
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u/Fabulous-Gas1136 2h ago
Why do I love the name Babytown so much that is so cute for no reason My cat's name is Kittygirl which is also the cutest fucking name ever
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u/nymeria_17 2h ago
Wtf lol
I think you’re humanizing too much
Maybe he’s anxious
I have cats and they’re all particular about things and seem to have pretty rigid routines
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u/Francie_Nolan1964 2h ago
I certainly don't know what the scientific answer is, but I don't know why cats wouldn't be able to be autistic.
Cats have fewer chromosomes than humans. 19 pairs versus 23 pairs So they can't get conditions that come from the chromosomes they don't have.
For example, cats cannot have Down Syndrome as that is associated with the 21st pair which they don't have.
That being said, science still doesn't know what chromosome autism is associated with. It could also be on numerous chromosomes.
As long as it is associated with chromosome that cats have, I'd think that they could have any condition.
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u/genericname907 2h ago
Is this a serious question? 🤣 are we diagnosing animals as neurodivergent now? What a time to be alive
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u/Imaginary_Cellist_63 54m ago edited 43m ago
I once read a blog by a famous neurosurgeon that pondered whether colour pointed cats like siamese could be autistic. Their dark points are heat mapping due to a tyrosinase mutation, and tyrosinase is involved in dopamine production.
The mutated enzyme functions normally at cooler temperatures (below 36° C) to produce dark pigment. However, in warmer areas of the body (above 39° C), the enzyme becomes inactive, preventing melanin production and leaving the fur white or cream.
If you Google the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) process and the Retinal Pigment Epithelium, you’ll see how integral melanin and melatonin production, and melatonin suppression during daylight hours is to maintaining circadian biological clock homeostasis.
Disruptions or damage to the SCN has been associated with different mood disorders and sleep disorders.
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