Crimean doctors talked about their observations of the behavior of four-legged animals caught in a "nervous" environment
Officially, the presence of dogs or cats in hospitals is undesirable. But how to get rid of them? You drive out some, others are nailed. In addition, there are compassionate patients who feed our younger brothers. Therefore, many doctors inevitably put up with their tailed neighbors, vaccinate them, wash them, chase worms. There is also a benefit for the mentally ill: animals help calm down, relieve stress, pay for care with affection and trust. But the doctors of the Crimean Republican Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 began to notice that communication with inadequate people clearly affects the psyche of four-legged …
Strangled three broods
Cat Katya is a hospital veteran. They say that she owes her appearance to one patient. The man was often seen at the clinic with a cat in his arms. Meeting people in white coats, he kept repeating to the mustache pet: "You will grow up, Katya, big and you will start giving birth to beautiful kittens for the doctor!"
However, when the cat became a mother, she completely forgot the good instructions. She mercilessly strangled her first litter. Where the kittens, born a second time, disappeared, remains a mystery. And for the third time, the nurses watched the careless mother. They noticed that Katya now and then darted across the courtyard to a pit. They followed and were stunned: the pussy brought a live baby, killed it and threw it into the pit! Then she scraped her hind foot on the frozen ground (it was in winter) and ran after the next one. Only two kittens managed to be saved from certain death by doctors.
After Katya was caught in a terrible occupation, maternal instinct awoke in her, albeit belatedly. She raised and trained all subsequent offspring, and when the kittens began to run on their own, she took them away … to get acquainted with the head! Sits near the office with a brood and meows loudly. As if reporting: they say, the kids are alive and well, do not think anything bad about me.
The cat attacked the truck
“I saw such a situation once,” recalls Evgenia Blinchik, head of the children's department of the same Crimean hospital. - A young cat is lying on the lawn. It seems he brought a tasty piece and was going to eat it. But when he saw a truck on the road, he immediately threw the delicacy and as it leaps onto the road! An unthinkable jump made! He stood in the way of the car, spread his paws, his back in an arc - in general, a typical pose of aggression. And let's hiss and yell in a bad voice.
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The driver beeps, but the cat not a step. The wheel passed literally in a centimeter! But even then this aggressor did not calm down: he turned after the car and continued his hysteria. If such behavior was demonstrated by a person, it would be quite possible to say that he has a shift on the basis of alcoholism, drug addiction, or a deep neurotic state.
Tailed masochist
Another of the puppies, born of a "hospital" dog, almost died because of his own stupidity, which, in principle, is not characteristic of animals. I found a hornet's nest and began to gut it with enthusiasm. Usually a dog, even a young one, needs one or two painful bites to realize that the prey has been chosen incorrectly. But the puppy, after each sting driven into the face, only twitched convulsively, squealed, but stubbornly continued to destroy the nest.
- My colleague and I just happened to be close and observed this picture, - recalls Evgenia. - And they decided: the puppy is either a psychopath with a need for pain, or simply mentally retarded. The guard from the checkpoint tried several times to drive him away, but he came back! This absurd outrage lasted about ten minutes.
By the way, the strange dog survived. Growing. Hope I got a little smarter.
I fell out of revenge in a puddle
Doctors and nurses more than once took home animals born in the clinic, mainly cats. And they, too, sometimes behaved unusual. On what to write off such eccentricities: on a peculiar character or "difficult childhood" in a mental hospital, the owners themselves do not know.
For example, one of the cats had an incredibly difficult temperament. She kept in fear not only the guests, but also the owners and was extremely jealous. She could, for example, decide that they have not paid attention to her for a long time, set up an ambush somewhere higher and jump right on her head! She especially enjoyed throwing herself at the sleeping people at night.
Another cat - very smart and pretty - also spent his childhood in the department of the clinic, and then an employee took him away. The pet has turned into a huge spoiled cat. Once he was taken for vaccinations. For a day after that, he sat in the corner, looking reproachfully at the hostess. And then he ran away and appeared only once. The woman was surprised to tell her colleagues about this meeting. Having met the hostess in the yard, the cat glanced at her with undisguised triumph, did not react to the "kitty-kitty" and the sausage hastily snatched out of his bag, but flopped into the nearest muddy puddle and diligently fell out in it! Then he jumped into the trash can - and let's dig out the garbage!
He sat in the trash heap until dark. Since then he has not been seen again. Neither give nor take - an illustration of the marginal behavior inherent in people living on a social day! There, too, there is bravado of one's own uncleanness in front of others, as if in revenge for a failed life.
Feel any aggression
Can human mental illness affect dogs and cats? Or maybe they are often offended, so they defend themselves?
- Well, you, patients love animals very much! - says Evgenia Blinchik. - Try to spend more time with them, especially with cats. I had to observe how the patient screams and swears, but at the same time automatically strokes the cat, which he holds in his arms.
And yet our smaller brothers feel aggression. And they react even if it is not directed at them. They hear the voice vibrate, the movements change, the muscles move. In addition, they have the finest sense of smell, and patients have a certain pheromone background, which is also a kind of "chemical attack". But in principle, to say that the inappropriate behavior of animals is caused by communication with the mentally ill - this requires research by specialists, zoopsychologists.
SPECIALIST COMMENT
Alexey KOROVIN, veterinarian-psychologist:
- People tend to attribute human feelings to animals. However, cats and dogs do not have everything as we do. It is unlikely that the described behavior is explained by the fact that tetrapods communicated with neurotic patients. The habits of cats and dogs are more likely to be affected by natural processes: spring, full moon, changes in the weather, etc.
For example, the case of a cat strangling its offspring is not at all anomalous. Street animals thus regulate the population in the territory. Or the murka is not sure that it can feed so many mouths.
Hissing at the truck from the cat's point of view is also normal. The animal got scared, so it tried to defend itself from the offender, to scare him. At the same time, the size of the imaginary enemy and his animality do not matter.
But the cat is really keen on insult and revenge! They express their dissatisfaction in different ways: some bite the owners, others shit in bed …
Further. It seems that due to the visit to the doctor and the injection, the mustachioed pet experienced severe stress. He ran away from home, and then, if possible, demonstrated his resentment to the hostess. What can I say - some cats, after such an emotional shake-up, leave for several days!
But mental problems in animals do happen. Therefore, if your pet began to show unreasonable aggression, fear or strong anxiety, it is better to show it to the veterinarian.