Doanimals commit suicide

[BuckyKat]

Unrelated to my other post but....

I have been told that animals have no concept of death and my partner tells me they do not knowingly commit suicide...I don't know, I have known of animals that hide away when they know they are going to die....injured cats for example or old animals when they can no longer hunt...I wondered what anyone else thought?

Do animals welcome death, do they look for it when they are ready, are they capable of knowlingly making that kind of decison?

[pusspuss]

many years ago we had a cat that had been unwell . we looked all over but could not find her.
late in the day i could hear her purring but could not get to her as she had crawled behind a door and some bricks in the backyard. after moving some bricks i managed to get her out. my mother took the cat to the vet the next day and the vet put her to sleep.
we all thought she had gone behind the door and bricks to hide and die.

[Banana-Girl]

Hi, I dont suppose we will ever know will we but I too have heard stories ofanimals mostly cats that go off to die alone. A heartbreaking topic and something we animal lovers dont want to think about x

[wildwood]

Animals, apart from humans and perhaps the apes and dolphins, have no imagination so they can not contemplate suicide but many have a certain concept of death after it has happened to mates or closely associated members and relatives of their species.

[blanx]

I have read that the reason animals go off and hide to die is an instinctual thing to avoid attracting predators to the family group. It's common for cats to do this, but I have known a couple of dogs to do this too, and wild animals do it.

[Octavius]

Suicide is really a human concept, primarily driven by mental health issues. Sick or injured animals of many different types will act in such ways as to guarantee a speedier end to their suffering, and this appears to include whale beachings, although some of the healthier whales will also follow the pack leader onto the beach, without the apparent ability to foresee certain death by their actions.

So it is a bit of a misnomer. Self sacrificing could be some form of defence which again, e.g. the protective mother or father would probably not foresee death, but would expect to survive.

So all in all, no they probably don't.
And lemmings don't jump off clffs either.

[Banana-Girl]

I find it hard to believe dogs have no imagination, although I am not saying I disbelieve you, just if you met my 2 babies you would think they had all the imagination and cheekiness in the world (2 dogs), I have been fortunate as lots of others to swim with dolphins and climb to see mountain gorillas in both Bwindi, Uganda and in the volcanoes in Rwanda and I agree what fabulous thoroughly curious and remarkable creatures. I think when we have a pet if it does die we all need to have our own beliefs and feelings on what really goes on as there is very little concrete proof to suggest any other, I hope there is a heaven for animals alongside ourselves, others and religious nuts will say I am mad but anyone out there who has lost a beloved fiend or has a true love to extremes with the animal kingdom will most likely agree with me

[mrs.chappie]

I know of birds that have starved to death, once their mate has died. It happened to a pair of lovebirds I used to have.

I also once read a report that two macaws were moved to a new home in another part of the country, and were so upset by the move that they starved themselves to death.

Post mortems revealed empty stomachs, so the conclusion from the vet was that they had deliberately starved themselves to death.

Very sad.

[terambulan]

I dont think animals hide to die. If an animal is in pain or discomfort (particularly a domestic pet) it goes off alone 'cause it doesn't want to be hurt by being lifted/stroked/touched/cuddled/fondled/poked.

[Banana-Girl]

Also if animals lets say dogs or cats have no imagination or feelings as emotions kind of run side by side how come if you have 2 pets and one suddenly passes away there are cases when the other will hide away, pine, starve etc, surely there is something questionable there

[Octavius]

I agree teram. When my cat Boo was very ill he went and hid away from us, simply because he didn't want to be touched I believe.

We did get to him eventually to take him to the vets and he nearly ripped my arms off. He died of kidney failure about a week later.

[Banana-Girl]

I also agree Teram an intersting but probable explanation

[terambulan]

OCTAVIOUS ..... gotta be capital 10/10!

Ur the first person on here to agree with me on anything. I was beginning to wonder whether my missives were actually posting.

thanx......now I can sleep happily.

[BuckyKat]

Thanks all, I appreciate your thoughts...

I do think animals have imaginations, certainly my cat could be very creative when trying to get something [whether it was a bird or piece of cooked chicken on a table]....I hope they have no concept of death though...but don't suppose I'll ever really know .. thanks again

[BuckyKat]

lol, knowing Jack Russells, my guess is that it was Rotty!

[kita1]

This is interesting:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Do-Animals-Comm it-Suicide-63441.shtml

[funnygirl]

What about lemmings??

[Banana-Girl]

Kita 1, that was one of the most interesting links I have ever read since joining the answer bank, brought a little tear to my eye, but how nice to receive a reply from someone obviously intelligent not taking the mick and showing a clip which cant be denied as some sort of proof, others also answered with good responses, def one of the best threads I have been involved in so far, as an animal lover, like most others you believe what your heart wants you to believe otherwise it is too painful but then to read that link was fascinating.

[BuckyKat]

I echo those thoughts Banana-girl and thank everyone who took the time and interest to respond to my question, its given me a lot to think about ...

it seems clear that whatever name you might give their behaviours, animals are able to make a decision which results in them ending their own lives ... guess it means most creatures are able to feel love [for a companion or a pack] and loss ...

my mum's dog stopped eating and playing after her two 'pack' mates died [one of old age and one of an illness], sadly she also died [the vet put it down to old age and a bronchial infection but also low levels of resistance], I just wondered if it was possible she chose this route ... sad ...