Can an animal be born mentally retarded?

I did wonder about our beagle, Larchmont Jeffrey. He used to howl a lot and escape our little property when the moon was full and wander about. He had a tag on his collar that said,“If you find me, put me in the Larchmont Taxi.”

The taxi driver (only the one guy who knew and liked my mother) drove Jeff to 7 Villa Lane, collect.

So, monthly, Jeff and the taxi used to appear in front of our house, until my mother finally sent Jeff to a “nice family in the country.” I loved that dog.

Yes, it is possible. It’s not as noticeable as in humans, because we expect so much less of them cognitively. But animals generally share the same developmental order of events that we go through as foetuses, and it can go wrong in the same ways.

I cannot think of a naturally occurring case (sure, there was Kenny the white Bengal tiger but I don’t know if it was ever verified before his death). I know they’ve replicated Down Syndrome in mice in attempts to help find a way to eliminate it from the human population.

However, I would not be surprised if they can be. Several personality disorders have been witnessed in the animal kingdom, especially chimpanzees (such as Dr. Jane Goodall’s Passion) as well as schizophrenia.

pretty sure there are plenty of other mental disorders that just aren’t springing to mind right now

@Winter_Pariah One of the most obvious disorders I am aware of in the animal kingdom is PTSD. An abused dog will never completely trust a human the way most domesticated dogs will. Also, this.

Yes. I had a cat that was “slow”. He could not meow properly and was always a couple of steps behind all the other cats both physically and mentally. Many times he would just stare off into space as if his mind was on hold. He would not respond to physical stimulus at these times.

I remember we had caught a mouse in a live trap. As the mouse ran from one end to the other, his brother Pepsi would follow the actions of the mouse and never let it leave his sight Moxie, on the other hand was way out of synch with it, looking where it had been, not where it was. .

I had them both with me when I went to college. I could put Moxie on my shoulders when I walked around and he would just stay there like a living collar. When I drove back home, I would put him up on my shoulders and he would stay there, front paws over the left shoulder and back paws over the right, and would ride there between my head and the headrest for the five hours it took to get home. While Pepsi curled up on the passenger seat and slept.

The first time I left them alone over the weekend both Moxie and Pepsi were gone when I got home Sunday. On Wednesday Pepsi showed up at the house, came inside, ate and then left again. Two hours later he showed up again with Moxie in tow. The next time I left this repeated itself except it happened on Tuesday. The third time, the same thing but on Monday. After that, Pepsi was always waiting for me Sunday night. He would eat then go off for an hour or so and show up with his brother.

Moxie was not a stupid cat, just not all there.

My mom had a cat that was a born idiot.

We all loved cats, but this particular one was so brainless, only my mother could love him.
Teddy would walk across the room and stop, looking confused… was i going over there, or was I gonna pee?
Guess I’ll pee.

Yay, pick me up and pet me. I am all about being petted and peeing. whatever,

Dumbest cat ever born.

I don’t see why not. I would think animals born retarded would not do well in the wild though and not live very long. So, if the trait inheritable it would be less likely to be passed down in the animal kingdom, but there can always be a mutation or an unexpected double chromosome that affects IQ I would think.

Even if the animal survived to reproductive years some of the genetic mutations that cause low IQ also result in the person being infertile so that probably is true in the animal kingdom sometimes too.

I’m not a scientist, I’m just extrapolating what I know and taking an educated guess.

2nd hand account: a grand tiger is kept in a cage, just enough for it to pace 8’ to and fro. An organization steps in, and finds a suitable reserve for it. A dream environment. Too late, the tiger paces 8’ to and fro until the end.

Yes. Animals are susceptible to genetic defects and intrauterine trauma/damage just as we are. They don’t, however, have the same access to technological and medical support that we do and so don’t tend to survive as often.

One thing I forgot to mention is some genetic problems that cause low IQ also cause physical problems that kill the animal or person within a short time after birth or result in a shorter life span even if they are not killed by preditors or lack of food. For instance many Down’s syndrome people are born with gastro-intestinal defects that would result in death without surgery and a significant percentage of them also have heart defects.

Two words, Fozzie Bear.

I have heard of mental illness being prevalent in animals. I have a dumb but lovable Cocker Spaniel but I think that is not an oxymoron.

Any number of congenital defects can cause cognitive deficits. Just a few examples:

Prenatal hypoxia
Spaniel Rage Syndrome
OCD
Hydrocephalus
Congenital Hypothyroidism

We had a cow we named Stooge. Draw the conclusion?

I once had a dog who suffered from a type of epilepsy, he was a little goofy as well but good-natured, when he fitted he would also foam at the mouth, it was very sad.

I had forgotten about that @Adagio.
When I was a kid my neighbors had a poople (half poodle, half piece of crap) that used to go crazy running up and down the adjoining fence barking at our dogs.
On one occasion he dug under the fence. My mom was looking out the kitchen window at the time and she said he came tearing into the middle of the yard, saw my big hulking German Shepherd and froze in place. My dog walked over to him and sniffed him.
By the time Mom got out the back door he was walking toward her with the other dog in his mouth like he had just picked up a ball for her to throw. When she yelled for him to drop it he simply opened his mouth and the poodle type dog fell to the ground. Mom said he was as stiff as a board when she picked him up but she could find no holes in him.
She took him back to his house and explained what happened and the woman next door immediately set out for the vet. I understand the dog came out of it on the way there but since he appeared bewildered and shaken up she had the vet examine him anyway.
The vet said he very likely had an epileptic seizure brought on by fear and to take him home and keep an eye on him.
From that day forward he still ran up and down the fence barking but never dug under it again.