Aros + Animals

[Ghostflower]

I'm the kind of person who often feels closer to non-human animals than to humans themselves.  There are no social expectations to perform a certain way, and I have less reservations about being unabashedly myself when it's a dog or a cat I'm hanging out with.  In fact, I've often prioritized my relationships with pets when making big decisions in life such as moving and staying close to home. 

Thinking about my life more critically and imagining what it might look like without romance, I keep circling back to how important animals are to me and how I could probably be happy raising pets rather than children and how I never want to lack for dogs and cats in my life. 

I was wondering if any other aros feel similarly.  I don't need advice, but I would love to hear about other people's experiences and the joy that you can derive from such non-human dynamics! :)

(No surprise that I have a cat icon and have recently begun delving into the genre of novel dedicated to relationships between cats/dogs and humans.  "The Travelling Cat Chronicles" is everything to me.)

[S-Hawk]

can def relate. i have a cat rn n always liked chilling w him. altho currently i prioritize friends over their nonhuman counterparts i still adore him v much. i dont consider him as a pet but rather a friend

[Zariah]

Very much relatable! My dream companion is a specific breed of dog. And seeing specific types of dogs (small, white, fluffy ones) makes me so much more happy than seeing my friends. Even though I don't know the dogs I'm seeing - (Is it just me, or does this feel weird?)

[Ghostflower]

2 hours ago, Zariah said:

Very much relatable! My dream companion is a specific breed of dog. And seeing specific types of dogs (small, white, fluffy ones) makes me so much more happy than seeing my friends. Even though I don't know the dogs I'm seeing - (Is it just me, or does this feel weird?)

It is not just you!  I have been known to cry while meeting dogs for the first time.  Even seeing them from a distance can leave me feeling all choked up. 

[Keith]

I definitely can relate!!! I have a dog Izzy, and she has been the main source of my happiness for like the past 4 years. Of course taking care of her can get tiring, but seeing her genuinely happy is definitely worth it. Sometimes I feel like she's the only one who actually enjoys my presence and wouldn't trade it for anything else. I love her soooo much!!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

I'd also love to have a ginger cat in the future, because simply looking at them makes me feel better. 

Besides that, I'm a huuuuge shark fan!! They've been my hyperfixation for a long time and I just can't help but get excited every time someone mentions them.

[SilentShadows]

I've definitely always been drawn to animals! I especially loved fantasy and reading books like Warriors and Wings of Fire as a kid. I do find them a lot easier to be around than people, though admittedly that may be more of an anxiety thing, haha. Helps that they won't ask you weird questions about "romance" or try to hit on you.

[Ghostflower]

On 8/23/2023 at 3:25 PM, SilentShadows said:

I've definitely always been drawn to animals! I especially loved fantasy and reading books like Warriors and Wings of Fire as a kid. I do find them a lot easier to be around than people, though admittedly that may be more of an anxiety thing, haha. Helps that they won't ask you weird questions about "romance" or try to hit on you.

I was a Warrior cats kid in middle school, yes! :D (And I recently caught up to Wings of Fire.  It's fantastic!! 😍)  When I read books like "The Hunger Games" in sixth grade, I was baffled by my friends' emphasis on the love triangle and "choosing" which guy they liked best.  I would retaliate by picking a non-romanceable option, like Buttercup the cat :P

And exactly, I think that my anxiety and autism come into play when I interact with humans versus other animals.  Not only do humans try to hit on you sometimes, but they also gender you in uncomfortable ways; it's much easier to be a trans person around a cat! 🥰 And if you hug a big dog?  It results in much less chest dysphoria than if you hug another human (at least, in my experience)!

[Alysia]

On 8/26/2023 at 5:14 PM, Ghostflower said:

And exactly, I think that my anxiety and autism come into play when I interact with humans versus other animals.  Not only do humans try to hit on you sometimes, but they also gender you in uncomfortable ways; it's much easier to be a trans person around a cat! 🥰 And if you hug a big dog?  It results in much less chest dysphoria than if you hug another human (at least, in my experience)!

In my household, we used to have a dog that definitely had a strong bias in favour of women. They'd absolutely fawn over any woman who visited us but would be pretty indifferent to anyone else who came.

I don't know how they would have interacted with a trans person, as far as I know I am the only person they met who isn't cis, and I don't ID as female, neither was I assigned as such at birth, so I can't say anything from that.

I definitely agree that humans seem to gender others in very uncomfortable ways, and sometimes quite bizarre ways in my experience.