I didn't need to do a lot of research. I felt like a cat for years and years, and I always acted like one (I was "the furry" in school since I was like 7 lol, since most people don't know the difference ?) so I knew I was a feline and I knew I was small.

This is certainly true in my case. I am autistic and have had a special interest in animals for as long as I can remember.

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.

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.

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!

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

im not entirely sure how to explain my therianthropy because im still new to the community and granted, im also still learning things about myself. i kinda just see it as something ive experienced for while but didn't really think about until a couple years later. i think i've always had non-human tendencies when i was younger, i never really related with people as much and i've always wanted to be around animals more and even wished to be one. obviously i would do typical kid things like pretend to be an animal when i was playing with my friends but i never really stopped outside of that. i was especially more vocal as a kid and would often hiss or meow but im not very vocal as i was when i was a kid, im even hesitant to practice vocalizing because im afraid its something people will be weirded out by.

i would often be teased because of this and overall i was just a really weird kid so it was pretty common for my own "friends" i considered at the time to treat me like a personal pet or something. as i got older these feelings didn't really go away and it actually made me question my identity. on the bright side, im not as ashamed about it anymore its something that im still trying to come to terms with.

This is very interesting, and I think a pretty solid theory for some. Part of it fits my situation, but for the most part, this doesn't explain my experience as a therian overall. I also was fixated on animals at a very young age, long before I can remember, but this is where I diverge. While my parents have footage of me as a tiny, tiny pup imitating animals and I did continue to imitate them, for me it went beyond just pretend. I felt like an animal right off the bat, and I'm not neurodivergent or transgender, just asexual which doesn't cause dysphoria or disconnection. I never disassociated from myself until after I had pushed my therianthropy away.

I personally believe there are multiple things that cause therianthropy depending on the person and their situation.

I don't believe in souls, and I don't believe that we are born therians. Some of us may be predisposed to therianthropy, but it is not guaranteed to develop. So what does it take to become one? I see two main ingredients necessary for therianthropy to develop. Those being a connection to an animal, and a disconnect from oneself. The connection can come from a variety of places. People prone to special interests and hyperfixations are far more likely to have this connection. The same goes for people with pets, especially those who had a deep bond with the animal, potentially due to trauma. The disconnect from yourself or reality seems to have several common causes. The first of which is being transgender, which causes you to be uncomfortable in your body and life. Another one is being neurodivergent, which causes you to feel out of place in the world. Trauma and dissociation are very common causes as well, but it can be from anything really. When someone feels disconnected from the world, they will latch onto the animal that they feel connected to for a sense of security and identity. They will begin to project themselves onto the animal, then they will eventually see themselves as the animal. I feel that this recipe for therianthropy explains why so many therians are neurodivergent, mentally ill, and LGBT.
My experience certainly falls under this pattern. I had a special interest in animals from around the age of three, maybe younger. I would play pretend as an animal as much as I possibly could, and learned all that I could about them. Once I started school, I couldn't act like an animal visibly anymore. The school environment was incredibly overstimulating and overwhelming, so I dissociated frequently. I spent hours every single day at school zoned out. While I was dissociating, I engaged in maladaptive daydreaming. In these daydreams I would imagine myself and everyone around me as an animal. I never saw myself as a human, not even once. I wanted to be someone else and somewhere else, and being an animal was my escape. Eventually, this pretending wasn't pretending anymore. I really did see myself as an animal on the inside. That has never gone away.

I reckon I probably got weirdly attached to a particular animal during my horrendous teen years as some sort of comfort thing. Developed species dysphoria and then it stuck and irriversibly changed how I saw myself. That's my best guess.