Just something I've wondered - I won't speak for all 'animal lovers', but I've known some people who own lots of pets and have a strong attachment to animals, who are very hateful or abusive to other people in their lives - like they 'can only love' animals but not humans (in fact Hitler was a vegan and strongly attached to animals). I think that people with narcissistic or antisocial personalities they want a 'relationship' where they have total control and, and where the other party will 'show them love unconditionally' and 'can't say no back' (ex. a dog doesn't care if you're Hitler or Mother Teresa). So I think that people like this might be drawn to animals as a source of 'gratification' since they aren't able to bond with people in a normal 'peer to peer' relationship. Of course their 'love' for animals isn't real empathy since the pet isn't on an equal footing in the relationship - it's more of a 'master/subject' relationship, and the pets or animals are more like 'valued possessions' than anything else. So when I run into people who seem abnormally attached or affectionate toward animals - I always think of "Hitler" and get a creepy vibe.
You might find the answers you want here [video=youtube;4-N5jjexaZ0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-N5jjexaZ0[/video] Old but classic Woody Allen comedy
Hmm, narcissistic or antisocial personalities who like animals. I don't know. Most narcissistic people I found were on Facebook. That website is like a magnet for those types. I don't think animal hoarding is a trait of anti social by its self. Hoaders usually have psychological issues, anti social might be one for some. I don't have any real experience with folks who hoard animals.
It depends on what you define a mental disorder. But yes it could, but it really depends on what the motivation is. Being a racist or sexist or any other quantifying trait of someone who judges others is not a disorder. BUT being a racist or sexist or bigot is a learned behavior, somewhere along the line someone chooses this to be their beliefs. Now on the flip side, being a paranoid schizophrenic is a mental disorder and that mental condition can shape the beliefs of an individual. I think a lot of the posts on this forum at times are to create a reaction AND many posters say things on here they know that they could not say in public. That is not being antisocial or narcissistic, it is knowing what is permissible in our society.
Like PETA? - - - Updated - - - Facebook's a way for boring, creepy and otherwise mediocre individuals to feel like they're actually important - so is Youtube, lol
Is obsessive animal love a sign of narcissism? No, I certainly don't think so. And I don't think narcissistic people can really love another breathing creature - their world only involves themselves. But I agree about some people who are animal lovers, yet very hateful towards people. One of the coldest and meanest people I've known is an animal lover. Not a bunch of them, but always has a dog and takes good care of it... was much more affectionate to her dog than her kids. I'd heard many times thru out my life that if a person doesn't care about cats/dogs, I guess animals in general, that person is supposed to be not a very nice person. That's wrong. One of my closest friends didn't care about pets - never got her kids a dog or cat - BUT she was one of the kindest, generous and most thoughtful women I'd ever known..... And I have a neighbor who's an avid animal lover. She volunteers at PETCO, brings a dog or cat home to 'foster' until the pet is adopted out. Very active w/animals.......
There's some people who really do find more comfort and companionshp w/their pets than they do w/people..... My oldest daughter has a lot of friends, but she sure loves her cat also. Has always had one...... I watch Hoarders occasionally and those people who hoard animals ..... my gawd.... one guy had a houseful of RATS, another about 70 cats, dozens of them dead.....
Classic example of over-thinking here folks. What I find even more creepy are the narcissistic women who dress their toddlers up in make-up and adult clothes, parade them in 'beauty contests' and get their vicarious thrills through their children. There are equally creepy idiots who dress their little dogs up in human clothes. They tend to be over-tanned, conservative matrons of a certain age with blue hair. Then there are pet owners who simply want to give an animal a good home.
