Someone I know had the theory that since canine and feline animals are more social, that could be why there seem to be more, over antisocial animals. Correct me if im wrong, but canine/feline animals tend to seek community over, say, reptiles. It could be that they're more prevalent for that reason.
However, another friend proposed that this theory may suggest that everybody could be a therian. I don't know if I quite agree with that, but it definitely is a proposition.
The first part is an interesting idea. We may just not be seeing the theriotypes that wouldn't seek out these communities as often. I don't think it suggests everyone is a therian though...but it definitely would account for why so many wolves tend to gather together. Not as much in regards to foxes though, who are only semi-social, which is what I noted from meeting others offline as well.
my personal theory is as follows, based off of what i've seen:
The reason a lot of people put so much emphasis on the amount of canine & feline therians usually stems from the idea of therianthropy being a past life when it comes to Spiritual Therianthropy. This causes an uproar, such as "there can't possibly be so many wolves!" when in reality, there very well could be. (using wolves as my example here since they're the ones that i've seen the most uproar/discourse around.)
In reality, someone could be a wolf-therian due to their soul being wolfen, someone could also be mistaking their werewolf theriotype for a regular wolf (tbh i think this is highly likely. There's not much talk in regards to theriomythics outside of this website, and many feel forced to use the term otherkin even if it doesnt fully fit their experience. I fell into this group myself.).
Also: most of the discourse I've seen completely forgets the existence of psychological therianthropy and tends to view it as a strictly spiritual experience, which does a disservice to the whole community.
I do also think that the social behaviours of said theriotypes can come into play too, like both posts above. So ultimately it's kind of a mix of reasons why there's so many canines and felines.
I'm not sure this theory holds up with feline therians since most felines are solitary in nature.
This is a great theory. Of course, a theory is a theory and there isn’t a true reason why there are so many canines/felines, but there’s no harm in there being so many of them either. It does propose an interesting point though. What matters most is we experience non-human instincts, and we band together as a community as such. Thanks for the post
Cool post! Why I think there are more canine/feline therian is that we are likely more used to them coexisting with us in society >.. We keep them as pets and we love them lots, ushering a deeper understanding and connection, some might think they are even felines/canines therian. Just a theory, but I think that may be why!
UnholyLeaf's theory makes sense, but I do agree with Eli.
My kintype when I was was younger was primarily feline (big cat, leopard specifically) but shifted as I got older.
Back them I was very much anti-social,only talking to people when I needed to IF I needed to.
I had one singular friend that I talked to willingly and that was it, I avoided all other human contact as much as possible.
This kind of makes sense, except a decent amount of felines and canines are more solitary in nature. It also kind of ignores non canine or feline animals that are very social, such as fish and bees.
I think that there are more canine and feline therians because they have many varied characteristics, and it's easier to group your experiences into these very broad categories. Since they are both mammals, as are humans, it allows for a more direct connection on many different levels whether large or small. Also, young therians may be assuming that they are either a canine/feline because they are the most common, causing a greater influx in these therianthropes. (Although this is not the case for me because I have felt like a cat my entire life, even before discovering the term therianthropy) Many felines and canines have evolved alongside humans for thousands of years, and our societies/way of life has somewhat melded together.
This topic is really interesting to me, since I do love to pick apart brain chemistry and figure out why humans and critters do the things they do, and I do have a few theories for this...
Like SillyKai said, a lot of folks may feel connected with their pets in some way. With dogs and cats being the most popular pets out there, I’m sure a lot of folks have had decent exposure to these creatures. Folks may see their pets as family, as a solace, as a safe place, and this mindset could strengthen if they’ve struggled with forming close bonds with humans...something that many neurodivergent folks struggle with, and I have noticed a great deal of therians being ND. Pets tend to love their owners unconditionally, unlike humans, and that’s where a sense of belonging could come in. Also the fact that pets don’t need to bond through speech could be a big contributor, since one of the biggest things that NDs struggle with is communication. When it comes to animals, as long as another animal isn’t a predator, prey, or trying to harm them for whatever other reason, then they’re fine with just...existing near each other. They don’t even have to speak
My other theory is how much we tend to observe in dogs and cats compared to other animals. When we’re exposed to a certain animal for a long enough period of time, we’ll notice little things in their behavior and think “huh, that’s a lot like me actually...”, and with dogs and cats being so common, of course folks will be observing them the most. Since we’re so used to any other kind of animal being territorial, asocial, and...a bit dim to be frank (since we don’t learn about them as often), it’s hard for people to relate to them. But both dogs and cats have the potential to show a more cuddly, social, and intelligent side to them when we bond with them and train them, making them more relatable. However, there could be folks who do feel a bit territorial and asocial (like yours truly), and they tend to gravitate towards more wild animals. They’re not quite as common, however, which is why dogs and cats are the more common theriotypes.
But, eh, those could be incorrect. That’s just what I’ve observed from watching the therian community and my theories are greatly based off of my own experiences. It could honestly be because of a whole slew of reasons, but who knows?
