Can rats have mental illness?

Question

Can rats have mental illness?

Answer 1

yes all animals can have mental illnesses

this may be due to stress, no enrichment, cruelly treated or even if they have no companionship

this is why I am so against animal testing and circuses etc

becausethey do not take care of their animals

beating them and keeping in small cages were they can not exhibit natural behaviours

animals can also die from these problems

Answer 2

Unfortunately, Yes.  As a lover of animals, my heart breaks when I think of suffering animals, no matter what the cause.  Rats can suffer from just about any mental illness that a human can. As a matter of fact the rat brain resembles a human brain more so than that of any other animal! I would have never guessed that.  I would think that a human brain would be more similar to the brain of a primate but that is not the case.  I would assume that is why medications as well as other products that are regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) often employ rats for animal testing.  Because the brain of a rat is so similar to that of a human, the effectiveness of medications (for Alzheimer's for instance) can be studied in rats and then translated into corresponding human data.  I would often see lab techs transferring rats around from room to room when I was in graduate school.  I still get that "hurt" feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about those poor little defenseless rats.  Rats can also be useful when studying medical effects on other parts of the body but the brain is the organ that is most similar to the brain of a human (most humans anyway hee! hee! lol!)

Answer 3

Yes.

Many mental problems are caused by genetic defects and any animal can have these.

Stress can also cause or assist mental disorders. Animals can undergo any level of stress just as humans.

Answer 4

Anything with a brain can have a mental illness.