Can cats have a mental illness?

[Tiah]

This question might sound dumb, but can cats be mentally challenged? I have two munchkin cats, 7 and 4. Both females, they are very skittish, not the brightest (and I say that in the most loving way ;) ) , and I can just tell something is not "quite" right. Since they are obviously not "normal" cats, being munchkins, mutations have occurred, so I wonder if that could have effected some chromosome deformities?

But of course, I would not change them in anyway! :D

[slick]

I have not had any but I've know a couple of people that have had kitties that didn't seem quite right. One such kitty is Etta J and she is the sweetest little all-black furbaby, but you can just tell by the look in her eyes that the litterbox is not quite full. She's very skiddish too and doesn't seem to clue in to things. For example, it took her months to remember where the food dish is. Meowmie would carry her over and place her in front of the dish, then the next day Meowmie would put the dish down but EJ would be walking around looking for it. Mental illness? Maybe but we just don't know.

I don't know about Munchkins but it wouldn't surprise me if the "challenges" they face are due to the breeding...and of course we would not change them. That's what makes them so special and lovable. :)

[smokey the elder]

I had a foster, Buddy, who was clearly dumb as a box of rocks, but a sweetie! I think his problem was past trauma, since he acted like he had been abused at first. He's now with a wonderful loving family.

[stacwase]

ALL cats have a mental illness - it's called "Delusions of Grandeur". LOL!!!!!!!

[Maresche]

My husband jokes that two of our three cats are "touched," the third is "bludgeoned." The funny thing is, the one who he deems as being "bludgeoned" is least likely to actually have been since she's lived almost her whole life with us and the other two are rescues.

[dragonchilde]

Lord yes. We once had a cat who was paranoid schozophrenic. He was smart enough to know to be afraid of everything, but not smart enough to know what was okay. He used to wake up and stare at us like we were trying to kill him, and hiss and run off.

He was just kinda weird. Part siamese, too, which didn't help. ;)

[lady_zana]

My sister takes in strays and has a few special needs cats. Her calico, Little Sam, is beautiful and sweet but she's a little slow as well. If you throw a blanket over your legs, she's not sure where they've gone. She's a bit slow to catch on to things but she's a purrbox. Being slow hasn't hurt her ablity to love.