Is it really that unusual to dislike animals ?

[Whyisthatweird]

I’ve been told so many times now that it’s either not normal or a sign that something is wrong and one person even said it made them feel so uncomfortable to be around me when realising what an aversion I have to animals ??!! Surely I’m not alone ??

I don’t hate animals - I’m just either phobic about them or I can’t stand them for multiple sensory reasons (smell, dirt, germs etc) and therefore totally avoid them ! I don’t make a fuss about it it’s just when anyone realises they act like it’s a sign of being some kind of psychopath ! A colleague recently got a puppy and I couldn’t be in the same room. I can see why others find them cute and accept that but I feel nauseous around animals and she was trying to follow me around saying ‘what’s wrong with you ?’ It got really uncomfortable.

Am I the only one ? I feel like some kind of freak !

It's a thing OP, rare yet shared by a few. A friend's son shared your phobia, as a child it made his life difficult, as an adult now he's learned to control his fear but it's still there. He generally doesn't share the information with others as people can't really comprehend it.

I don't like animals either and would never have a pet. I don't mind looking at them, like horses in a field etc.
We had a dog when I was a child and although she was lovely all I could ever do was feed her. No stroking or picking her up. As for picking up shit! Aagh, not a chance. Luckily my siblings did all that 😀
I have to say it seems you have a severe reaction to animals though OP. If it bothers you maybe seek help through therapy, otherwise don't worry about it. You don't have to like everything everyone else does.

People do think you're odd if you don't like animals. When I split up with my ex he took the dog and I wasn't bothered. I didn't object to the dog and I fed him and cleaned up after him but I didn't miss him when he was gone. My son was recently asking if I'm going to get another dog to keep me company and the idea that a dog could be company is completely alien to me. My son thinks that's really strange.

I’m so indifferent to animals. I just don’t care about them at all. I find the people who are like animals more than humans are the weird ones.

Why are you sorry?

Clearly my set of things I don’t like are particular to me (although other people do share them)- my point is not thousands of people don’t like succulents, it’s that thousands of people don’t like things that other people think are normal or lovely.

Of the top of my head-

I know a woman who feels nauseous if she has to be in close quarters with buttons

a woman who won’t drink the last inch of tea in any cup in any setting because she says it tastes of bleach,

A women who, while knowing she is 100% not allergic to them, is terrified of nuts,

someone who is convinced she can taste if her coffee hasn’t been stirred exactly 5 times

a bloke that can’t eat his food if there is more than one type of potato on his plate

2 people who will shudder involuntarily if you say prawns to them.

a woman who finds short men standing next to taller women makes her shudder(!)

These are normal functioning people with entirely normal lives.

People are strange- not liking animals and finding their shit and smell disgusting is really not the strangest!

I don't hate animals or have a phobia - I'm just not that interested in them. And I don't want in my house.

I find that the animal lovers I know seem to regard me as completely odd for having no desire to have a pet or to get licked and slobbered over by their fur babies.

I don’t like animals. Never have, since I was a child.

I think the fur babies thing is part of why people find it odd- animals, and pets especially, are fetishised and made central to such a lot of fuss these days- clothes for animals, parties for animals, films about animals, dogs and axolotls having their own insta/ticktock accounts etc etc. Grumpy emus going viral. They have become some sort of central tenet of society.

I bet it wouldn’t have been such a shock 100 years ago if someone didn’t like them.

I have wondered this before!
I don't HATE animals, I don't wish them harm, I can enjoy a David Attenborough documentary and admire animals in a wildlife park from a distance. I enjoyed the thread on MN recently where the guinea pig was due to have babies. Animals are fascinating in many ways.

BUT I don't want any animal near me or on me. I don't want to touch them, stroke them or smell them. (Not quite to the level of distress OP describes - but I would certainly do what I could to avoid any contact with animals - yes, from aardvark to zebra 😉)

But I have had to learn to avoid ever saying to people that "I am not an animal-lover" as it seems to imply some a deep-seated untrustworthiness. Some people have been quite nasty- said I must hbe cold-hearted etc.

I really don't get it.

Why can't you just be not a fan?!

You're entitled to not enjoy animals, but it's like saying you don't like bees, or trees, or the moon, or rivers - i.e. nature - so it's off-putting to most people.

I’m just either phobic about them or I can’t stand them for multiple sensory reasons (smell, dirt, germs etc)

Surely you recognise that this isn't normal? It sounds like some kind of mental health issue. Maybe you would benefit from some form of therapy.

I would personally seek the help of hypnotherapy. If you've that strong an aversion it's rooted in trauma somewhere.

I think it's unusual to not be able to be in the same room.

I don't like animals, but I don't particularly dislike them generally. I'm just not interested, and don't want to interact with them.

I would never date anyone who wasn't an animal lover. Most of my friends are. So yes, in my group, you'd be unusual.

It does sound like phobia rather than dislike as pp have said.

I don't think it matters too much if you don't if it doesn't affect one's life; being able to go about life without having to take drastic action to avoid animals etc.

I do like animals but feel sorry for someone if they are distressed by their phobia of animals or anything else. I'm sure it's not unique and there's likely to be therapy available if wished.

Generally speaking if you have phobias or anxiety over specific things you either have to take evasive action or therapy I think.

People are acting like you’ve said you want to go out and kill all animals because you hate them!

I don’t think it’s unusual but maybe that’s because I have little to no interest in animals. Yeah, some are cute and that’s great. Other than that, I don’t really care about them. If that makes me untrustworthy in some people’s eyes then I’m fine with that!

Totally agree. I have worked in hospitals, but there's something about a lot of animals that gives me a sicky feeling. I can smell some viruses in hospital and i'm sure i can smell diabetes in humans. With animals it's an anal glandy smell. Like rotten eggs, rotten fish and poo mixed together. So when I go to someone's house and their dog is in the kitchen and they're making food, it's completely overwhelming. I can almost see poo smearings it's so disgusting to me. I've even had animals. I find them cute in pictures and i've never told anyone, but in real life the smell is disgusting to me. I've noticed my kids aren't bothered by animals either. They're polite, but I suspect we smell differently.

That's an extreme reaction. Your children have probably picked up your dislike.

Possibly. But I do think it's a smell thing for me emanating from the anus of animals. Not so bad in humans because we wear clothes and wash/wipe our bottoms but I can smell it in changing rooms mildly.

@fuckssaaaaake I love animals but know lots of people like you. You're not weird FYI!

You know lots of people who can’t even have Noah’s Ark mentioned around them lest they be physically ill. Lots of people who go for a walk and actually vomit at the sight of a dog turd somewhere on the grass (not their shoe). You know lots of people like this? And you don’t think this is weird? Hmmm.

I think it is weird, to have a phobia to such a degree, and professional assistance would benefit.

I have a ND child and right from childhood through adulthood they couldn’t/can’t stand having animals near or on them. It’s a sensory thing. However, they are more than happy to stand in a room and look at someone’s new puppy/dog/kitten/cat as long as the animal is far enough away and being held. They happily go to zoo’s etc and like to look but won’t go right up to fences or viewing screens (in case they break/smash apparently). They are happy to talk to people about their pets, look at pictures, look at funny Internet clips and couldn’t care less about dog shit or any other animals shit if it’s not on them. So, they have a phobia BUT it doesn’t interfere with everyday life for themselves or others. If it did they would need assistance, and I would have made them get it well before reaching adulthood.

In fact the child described also loves animals so much that they suffer greatly emotionally if they see a cat/dog they think may be lost or hurt and insist we or people they are with helps it. Even things like giving me a panicked call from the bus stop as they spotted a baby of some native wildlife that was too young to be on it’s own and worried something had happened to mum and baby was in danger, insisting I come and help. Stuff like that. We not touch the animals themselves though.

What an odd thing to say. Yes, technically we are but it's not relavent to this discussion.

I don't like animals. I find the big ones (cows, horses, dogs etc) frightening and the small ones either needy or gross. The only avimaks I can vaguely tolerate are cats but only in small doses.

Why couldn't you be in the same room as a puppy? For what reason?

It’s not unusual to dislike animals but it is unusual to have such a strong aversion that you can’t hear the words “Noah’s Ark” or feel nauseous if there is an animal in the same room.

I have some sympathy OP; although not exactly the same, like a PP I struggle to be around very young / small children because of the likelihood of encountering snot / mushed up food, which makes me gag (TBF I often gag on my own saliva while cleaning my teeth). “Cute” videos or photos of babies with food smeared all over their face make me retch and I can’t look at them. And while I love animals and have had both cats and dogs, I could never own a breed like a boxer or mastiff that drools a lot, and picking up after my dog or cleaning my cat’s litter tray makes me gag too. I do it, because for me the good bits of owning a pet are worth it (and pet hair doesn’t bother me in the slightest, so it’s not germ phobia). So I do get the sensory issue thing, it just sounds like yours is more extreme than most.