Ailurophilia (pathological attachment to cats)

Ailurophilia (from the Greek “ailuros” cat + “philia” attraction, love) is a psychological disorder, excessive love for cats, when older people (women and men) cannot pass by stray animals without taking them in. Then they don't feel lonely while caring and showing love to them. Do not forget that these are unique animals, they normalize blood pressure and the human energy field, relieve depression and headaches.

Ailurophilia: how love for cats turns a person into a slave

In ancient times, people idolized cats: these graceful animals protected supplies from mice and gave their owners peace and tranquility, and some even believed that they were endowed with magical powers. Today cats are one of the most popular pets. They also conquered the Internet. But this “cuteness” also has a dark side. This is ailurophilia - a pathological attachment to cats. The RIAMO in Balashikha correspondent tried to understand the “cat disease”, its causes and symptoms.

Mental disorder

The word "ailurophilia" comes from the Greek "ailuros" - "cat" and "philos" - "love". These words evoke pleasant thoughts about tenderness and affection, but in reality everything is not so rosy. Ailurophilia is a recognized mental personality disorder.

“Let’s immediately make a reservation that we should not confuse people with a pathological mental disorder and those who simply love animals very much, but within reason. There are a lot of memes about cat people floating around the internet. For example, a picture: a human skeleton is sitting in a chair, and a cat is sleeping in his arms. The message is this: the owner is “withered”, but does not disturb the sleep of his beloved pet. Cat people treat themselves with humor, and this is one of the signs that they are of sound mind,” says psychologist Maryana Nabigulaeva.

“Here is the most typical picture of ailurophilia: a person lives in a two-room apartment with 20 cats. There is total unsanitary conditions, and all the neighbors suffer from the terrible smell. The animals suffer from overcrowding and hunger - the owner is unable to feed them. A person either does not react to any complaints or claims or takes them with hostility, fiercely defending his animals,” explains the psychologist.

Sometimes people suffering from ailurophilia do truly shocking things. There are many known cases where cat lovers kept the corpses of their pets on the balcony, being unable to say goodbye to them. Others froze animals in the freezer and said that they wanted to prolong their life in this way - “after all, a cat can be thawed in 10-15 years and revived.”

Causes of the disease

Statistics say that people suffering from ailurophilia are united by loneliness, emotional instability, social isolation and low self-esteem. Single elderly women are especially susceptible to the disease, although in recent years young people, including men, have also begun to be affected.

“Typically, ailurophilia is closely associated with another mental illness, such as schizophrenia or dementia. Often, a pathological love for cats arises after some serious mental trauma - the loss of a child, the death of relatives, the betrayal of loved ones. In each of these cases, cats play their role: either they fill the inner emptiness and brighten up a person’s loneliness, or they give a feeling of their own superiority over other, albeit weak, creatures,” explains Maryana Nabigulaeva.

New hypothesis

In 2011, American scientists shared with the world a new hypothesis about why cats so easily “enslaved” humanity. It turned out that the Toxoplasma gondii parasites, which can be contained in cat feces, can disrupt the functioning of the human higher nervous system and cause various behavioral abnormalities in him, including a pathological love for cats.

This discovery was discussed for a long time in the scientific world, but in the end scientists came to the conclusion that Toxoplasma gondii can indeed “awaken” an uncontrollable love for cats in a person, but in very rare cases. Toxoplasmosis is also associated with the development of schizophrenia.

What to do?

Society certainly suffers from people with ailurophilia. Neighbors complain about the terrible smell emanating from the “bad apartment”, the constant noise and cat squabbles. Call the local police officer? He will just shrug his shoulders, because the owner of 20 cats cannot be charged - he has not broken the law.

Environmentalists and social activists supported the initiative: some with concern for animals, others with concern for neighbors who suffer from overzealous cat and dog lovers. Unfortunately, the law has not yet been adopted.

“A person suffering from any mental disorder simply does not accept the fact of his illness. And ailurophilia is no exception. It is useless to appeal to reason or openly conflict. If concerned neighbors want to help, you need to get in touch with the relatives of the cat owner. Perhaps they live in another city and have no idea of the scale of the problem. If you have no relatives, you need to go to a clinic or a neuropsychiatric dispensary together with the local police officer. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to help a person with ailurophilia in other ways,” sums up the psychologist.

Causes

Due to the fact that the disorder comes in a variety of manifestations and does not represent a separate mental illness, the exact cause of hypochondria has not yet been identified.
Psychotherapists attribute hypochondriacal thoughts to signs of processes such as distorted perception by the cerebral cortex of impulses coming from internal organs. Hypochondria and its causes are disturbances in the functioning of the cerebral cortex, manifestations of delusional disorders, changes in the functioning of the autonomic-vascular system, which is responsible for the autonomous functioning of organs.

Hypochondriacs vividly and emotionally describe all their signs of illness (severe liver and kidney diseases, oncology, infections), but in reality they are not detected.

Often, hypochondria is characteristic of emotional individuals who are easily suggestible and also susceptible to the influence of the media.

Hypochondriacs are often elderly people or teenagers with an unstable psyche who are easily susceptible to negative and unnecessary information. All doctors in hospitals and clinics know hypochondriacal individuals; they have been taking part in various examinations for years. This disorder affects men and women equally. Medical students are particularly susceptible to this condition. As soon as training ends, the signs of hypochondria from textbooks recede.

Hypochondriacal individuals are very well-read, follow medical news and medical programs, and visit all medical sites. Most patient complaints are exaggerated and excessive in number, while the manifestations of the disorder themselves cannot be controlled. This distinguishes hypochondria from ordinary anxiety and suspiciousness about one’s health.

Some researchers explain the reasons for the clinical picture of hypochondria with feelings of irritation, anger, depressive feelings, a desire for dependence and low self-esteem. Others believe that such people are characterized by increased sensitivity to pain, which provokes an erroneous interpretation of painful sensations. Sometimes the patient's behavior is seen as a way to obtain social support.

This condition can occur in a sick person since childhood or after undergoing a major operation, that is, when the patient was on the verge of death and life. Not the least role is given to the influence of parental education

This happens when parents pay great attention to the well-being of the child. After such an attitude, the child also begins to treat himself attentively, however, more pathologically

Severe stress, depression, and phobias play an important role.

People with psychosis, neurosis, delusional ideas, problems in intimate life and communication are often susceptible to hypochondria. And the factors that develop hypochondria are the general availability of medical information, sensational programs about new diseases, and intrusive advertising of medications.

How to treat a painful love for cats

Only an experienced specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe comprehensive treatment. Or rather, a consultation of several doctors is needed - a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychologist. Often sick people do not admit that they have a mental disorder and refuse treatment. In such situations, you need the help of loved ones who will find reasonable arguments.

In serious situations, people who have an unhealthy passion for animals should undergo treatment at a psychoneurological dispensary. At this time, it is better to send your four-legged friends for foster care with volunteers or shelters, where they will have a real chance to find adequate owners and live in normal conditions. Pseudo sympathy and indifference of others often lead to the fact that all the sick person’s pets die, and he himself loses all social connections and undermines his own health.

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Guardian or pest?

A reader of the online magazine psytheater.com might say, “These people help homeless animals.” But you need to help in specially designated places, and not in your own apartments, where unsanitary conditions and a disgusting smell begin to arise, disturbing the neighbors.

Representatives of this type of obsessive-compulsive disorder often violate two laws, which calls into question their desire to care, making them pests:

Animal abuse;
Restricting the rights and freedoms of other people.

You can bring to justice a person who has an excessive love for animals and collects them in his apartment, but often this illness is difficult to eradicate. The man is released into the wild, and he again begins to collect a “menagerie” in his house.

In fact, such pet lovers often harm their pets rather than protect and care for them. Since the number of pets under care becomes large, a person with a pathological deviation simply does not have the means to feed them and maintain hygiene. Often animals are not allowed outside; therefore, all their defecation activities are carried out in their habitat. Malnutrition often leads to death. There are even cases when animal lovers do not notice the corpses of dead animals and do not remove them, which creates a specific unpleasant odor indoors.

How to treat ailurophilia

Only a qualified specialist can determine how to treat ailurophilia, and finally make such a diagnosis. Or rather, even a council of doctors - clinical psychology and psychiatry in this case closely interacts with other branches of medicine. Treatment methods are determined by the doctor individually for a particular patient.

As with all mental disorders that develop gradually, a person does not realize that he is sick and often refuses to be treated, and therefore urgently needs the help of loved ones or people he simply knows who will convince him to see a doctor.

If such a person is in your environment - lives next door or works in the same team, it is very important to show attention, simple human participation, which will relieve him of the feeling of loneliness or misunderstanding. Before the so-called “point of no return,” the disease goes through several stages, when the patient can still be helped

If the disease has already reached a serious stage and a person has ceased to hear reasonable arguments, one should contact a psychoneurological dispensary at the place of residence, where qualified specialists work who can find an approach to the patient and convince him to begin treatment.

The cats of such owners will certainly be better off in shelters or foster care with good volunteers. At least there they will receive normal care and the prospect of finding new, adequate owners.

Indifference or pseudo-sympathy (why touch grandma? And I feel sorry for cats!) in the case of ailurophilia, as with any other mental disorder, is very dangerous. After all, this disease has nothing to do with real love for cats - it is destructive for animals, perhaps even more than for the patient. Look around - maybe there are living beings nearby right now, humans and cats, who need your help.

Ailurophilia (gatophilia, galeophilia) is a mental disorder of a person suffering from pathological, uncontrollable attachment and immense love for cats. Often, painful attachment is observed in elderly and lonely women who have no one else to care for. With this disorder, people can simultaneously keep up to several dozen cats, without being able to provide them with acceptable living conditions. The cat family helps to cope well with loneliness, filling the house with its presence and replacing departed loved ones. In most cases, ailurophilia is observed in individuals who find it difficult to get along with other people. The mass keeping of cats creates a lot of inconvenience for other residents of the house due to the violation of silence and sanitary rules.

Ailurophilia can manifest itself not only in older people, but also in young people, both women and men. Lonely or isolated people who have lost their loved ones, or people who are sexually attracted to cats are at risk.

Insidious parasite

Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite. In order to go through the entire life cycle, it, like other parasites, needs to change several hosts. The latter, in turn, are basic and intermediate. In the body of an intermediate host, parasites are usually in the larval state, and the maximum they are capable of is asexual reproduction. They begin to lead a sexual life only after entering the body of the main host. And that is precisely the cat.

In an effort to continue their life cycle, the parasites, while in the body of the main host, again begin to look for an intermediate one. It is then that they make the cat so attractive to humans. Parasites try to lure their new “home” - the human body - as close as possible in order to easily penetrate it.

Is ailurophilia contagious?

American researchers in the field of parasitology from Stanford University have substantiated the fact that the parasite toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii) “zombifies” its victim and makes it inadequate.

This microorganism invades the amygdala, changing the set of conditioned reactions in the brain. In nature, this parasite causes fish to jump out of the water and grasshoppers to jump into the water.

I will now give only two examples of this pathology. I am not a psychiatrist and I found the information on the Internet. But they shocked me.

When there are a lot of cats at home, you don’t need a husband

Another example. This story happened in Israel.

You won't believe it, 550 cats found shelter in the house of one married couple! And it was all the fault of his wife, a passionate cat lover.

My husband filed for divorce because his life was unbearable. The house was simply overrun with cats. “As soon as I sit down to eat at the table, cats immediately appear and steal the food!” . … It’s impossible to go to the toilet… the bed is always occupied…

No reconciliation could be found. The woman chose to leave her husband.

Do you know the American writer Ernest Hemingway and his six-toed cats? So there were 57 cats living in his house!

The State Duma proposes to introduce a limit on the number of cats in an apartment

Recently, many complaints have been received by the Duma regarding the problem of the number of animals and their maintenance in apartments.

Here's what Vadim Solovyov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) said about this on August 26, 2015:

It has become common for a person, suffering from a mental illness, to keep 50-60 cats, turn his home into a menagerie and create terrible unsanitary conditions. However, the neighbors suffering from this outrageous disorder have no rights to influence it.

And in conclusion . I like cats. I can't pass by a homeless kitten indifferently. I have a cat, I love her and I don’t need any more. Sometimes there is not enough time to pay enough attention to her, but over the years of living together, she has already become a member of the family and understands everything.

Now you know what ailurophilia is. So my friends, cat lovers - everything should be in moderation. Don't be MAD cat people and catophiles. And don't turn your home into a GHETTO for cats.

Ailurophilia can lead to tragic consequences!

Moscow. August 21, 2021. INTERFAX.RU - A teenager who lived with his mother, 60 cats and 4 dogs, committed suicide in St. Petersburg on August 1, reports the Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg.

The body of a 16-year-old teenager with signs of falling from a height was found near the front door of one of the houses on Rustaveli Street, the department specified.

The press service of the Investigative Committee reported on Thursday that a criminal case had been opened against a woman suspected of driving her son to suicide.

According to the case materials, “the suspect, neglecting the needs of her son, forced him to live in unsanitary conditions.” The apartment where the teenager lived contained at least 60 cats and four dogs. On this basis, conflicts arose repeatedly between the son and mother, during which the deceased expressed thoughts of suicide.

According to the investigation, on August 1, the boy once again expressed a request to his mother to bring the apartment into a condition suitable for habitation. The woman ignored this request, as a result of which the boy committed suicide.

Currently, investigative actions are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the crime committed. The issue of bringing charges against the suspect and choosing a preventive measure against her is being decided. The criminal investigation continues.

The criminal case is being investigated under Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement to suicide) against the 43-year-old mother of the deceased.

Ailurophilia: dangerous symptoms

What signs indicate that there is not just an attachment to cats, but symptoms of ailurophilia? If a person keeps more cats than he can support, providing them with good care and living conditions, and also reduces the quality of his own life, with a high degree of probability we are talking about a mental illness.

Unfortunately, now apartments in which dozens of cats and sometimes dogs are kept in cramped conditions and unsanitary conditions, starve, breed and die from numerous diseases are far from uncommon. The stench, noise and dirt poison the lives of everyone around. The frequency of such situations, in which both pets and neighbors suffer, prompted the State Duma last year to discuss a legal limit on the number of animals in residential premises. However, the by-law has not yet been adopted.

In the United States, authorities estimate that about 2 thousand cases associated with ailurophilia occur in the country every year. According to statistics, one in 150 thousand Americans owns so many cats that it becomes a problem for others. By the way, American “cat collectors” or “cat hoarders”, as they are called there, sometimes go so far as to freeze deceased pets and store them in refrigerators.

Each such case is shocking. For example, one such “hoarder” from Boston, who froze 60 cat corpses, even equipped his house with special plugs on the windows, as well as systems for additional ventilation and room aromatization to prevent the spread of an unbearable stench.

Rules of cat etiquette

And finally, if you want to please your pet, you should adhere to several rules:

it is necessary to allow the cat to determine the nature of the relationship; the cat always makes the first step;
you should not disturb the cat when it is sleeping or resting;
if the cat is hiding in a high place - on a closet, rack or shelf, you need to pretend that it is not visible at all;
the personal space where the cat rests loses its function if it is disturbed there;
in the cat world it is not customary to demonstrate tenderness too intrusively;
You should not stare at a cat when it enters a room - most of them would rather leave than remain in the spotlight.

Ailurophilia - pathological attachment to cats | Dangerous or not?

Is it a mental illness?

Good afternoon, dear reader! My name is Anya, I am a veterinarian by profession, and in this article I will tell you in an accessible and understandable way about my excessive love for cats, as well as what I think about it, based on my knowledge in the field of veterinary medicine.

So, as mentioned above, ailurophilia is a huge and, most importantly, uncontrollable attachment to cats. It is precisely because it is uncontrollable that the researchers came to the conclusion that this is not just an unhealthy passion, but a real mental disorder, for which there are enough reasons.

Psychiatry notes that ailurophilia is most often observed in elderly and lonely people, but age in this case does not play the most important role. A person of absolutely any age and gender can fall into the risk zone, since no one is immune from complexes, isolation and loneliness.

How does this disorder manifest? Everything is very simple here. The most important symptom is that a person strives to keep as many animals in his home as he cannot support. Ultimately, this develops into the fact that pets begin to live in better conditions than their owner, who does not even notice how he is deprived of basic needs. As a rule, people who suffer from ailurophilia name all their pets, carefully monitor them and often allow them to do whatever they want. The smell that appears from their pets and the inability to contain such a horde does not frighten people with the disorder, or rather, sometimes they simply do not see these problems, and this, in my opinion, is scary.

From a veterinary point of view, I can say with confidence that ailurophilia is very dangerous for the health of not only the person who is susceptible to it, but those around him. Outdoor cats are a source of various diseases that can be dangerous for people. Many cats - a lot of risk. There are many cats whose waste products (feces) are not cleaned up - even more risky.

The good news is that this disorder is treatable, experts say.

In the early stages, it is very important to surround the person with attention and care, i.e. create all the conditions so that he in no case feels lonely and unnecessary. If the disease has reached a serious stage, it is wiser to seek help from a psychoneurological dispensary for help from qualified specialists who are able to prescribe the correct treatment

If the disease has reached a serious stage, it is wiser to seek help from a psychoneurological dispensary for help from qualified specialists who are able to prescribe the correct treatment.

Friends, be more attentive to each other and be sure to help if you have such an opportunity.

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Your cat is deliberately ignoring you

It is believed that cats are independent animals, unlike dogs: they are supposedly less attached to their owners and tend to distance themselves from them. This is not true - your cat is not ignoring you because she doesn’t care about you: she is doing it on purpose.

Japanese scientists who have proven this claim that a cat distinguishes the voice of its owner (or mistress) from the speech of other people. The University of Tokyo conducted research into the behavior of domestic cats. During scientific research, furry “volunteers” were approached by their owners and strangers, while the cats could not see who the voice belonged to. The animals stretched their heads and ears toward the sound, and when they recognized the owner’s voice, their pupils dilated, which may indicate strong emotions.

One of the study's authors, Atsuko Seito, explained: "During the evolution of their species, cats have learned to hide their feelings in order to survive." In the wild, cats try to hide their illnesses so as not to show weakness, since its life often depends on the strength of a predator. Domestic cats do the same thing: when they get sick, they tend to hide in the far corner and won’t let you near them. But after 10,000 years of living next to people, domestic cats have learned to communicate with us, and we seem to understand them.

Con Slobodchikov

The study was published in the July issue of Animal Cognition, just a week after another scientist's announcement. In an interview with The Atlantic, Professor Slobodchikov said he recorded prairie dogs communicating and used special computer programs, similar to artificial intelligence, to translate the barks into English.

Ailurophilia

Who is susceptible to animal addiction?

The group of lovers of pets and the desire to collect them in their homes often includes elderly people with an increased desire to take care of them. Often they become women, lonely, unloved, childless. It is often possible to observe mentally ill representatives in this risk group.

Sources

https://cats-burg.ru/coto-novosti/ajlurofiliya-ili-bezumnye-koshatniki/
https://umnaja.ru/toksoplazma-kak-parazit-vyzyvaet-v-nas-lyubov-k-koshkam/
https://aroundpet.ru/ajlurofiliya-bolezn-koshatnikov/
https://utro.ru/articles/2011/08/19/993314.shtml
https://www.dni.ru/society/2011/8/19/217420.html
https://PsyTheater.com/patologicheskaya-lyubov-k-zhivotnym-zveromaniya.html