(2026-09-17 19:51)Wolffiz Wrote:  Do you think your alterhumanity / therianthrophy is caused by something specific or see it simply as your personal identity?

I checked the "spiritual" box because I can't think of anything that would have been a psychological cause. From the moment I left the ground (fledged?) I knew I was a creature of the air, a bird. It never occurred to me to question that, no more than it occurred to me to question if I had feet.

(2026-09-17 19:51)Wolffiz Wrote:  Something I recently read online made me wonder how excatly do all of us experience it.

Can you share what that was, or the gist of it?

Probably linked to being neurodivergent, i experience things that are weird even to the non human community as a whole

I have 1 Kitty called Oscar! My grandmother has two, my aunt has 1, my other aunt had three, now unfortunately two, and a dog, my uncle has 1 dog and one cat. The dogs are newer but I know my grandmother had looots of cats so my uncles/aunts grew up with them. We’re a very cat loving family X3.

(2026-09-17 19:59)Emcat2010 Wrote:  Im mainly a psychological Therian, and I believe my therianthropy is caused mostly by imprinting, and perhaps a little by neurodivergence, though I am not formally diagnosed with anything.

I grew up surrounded by cats in my household, and family and friends with dogs. I think this is where I “inherited” those behaviors from.
My paleotype and one of my fictotypes came from video games I played a lot as a child.
For my other ‘types, I can’t really say. For one of my fictotypes particularly, I cannot tell whether it is spiritual or psychological. I like referring to my life as my fictotype as a past life, like I lived as her, but I’m not really sure if that’s what I believe, or if it just feels easier language wise.

But anyways, I’d say growing up with animals was the biggest factor.

That sounds nice though ?, pets and animals overall are really cute, cats & dogs too!
I believe in past lives but I don't know if fictional / some way mytchical ones could be possible in a paraller universe, or sum, but who knows? I believe we could reincarnate to another planet though!
How many cats did you / your family have? <

Im mainly a psychological Therian, and I believe my therianthropy is caused mostly by imprinting, and perhaps a little by neurodivergence, though I am not formally diagnosed with anything.

I grew up surrounded by cats in my household, and family and friends with dogs. I think this is where I “inherited” those behaviors from.
My paleotype and one of my fictotypes came from video games I played a lot as a child.
For my other ‘types, I can’t really say. For one of my fictotypes particularly, I cannot tell whether it is spiritual or psychological. I like referring to my life as my fictotype as a past life, like I lived as her, but I’m not really sure if that’s what I believe, or if it just feels easier language wise.

But anyways, I’d say growing up with animals was the biggest factor.

Do you think your alterhumanity / therianthrophy is caused by something specific or see it simply as your personal identity?
Something I recently read online made me wonder how excatly do all of us experience it. Do you have a reason that you think explains it or not?

I label my therianthropy as involuntary because it is not up to me when I want to growl or when I am behaving animalistic. I dont get to choose where or when I am like that. Yes, there are specific moments and situations that trigger the animal like responses but I cannot choose that in this very moment I will act or feel as a wolf. I mean shifts and etc.
I can consciously try to trigger it but that is not, what I think therianthropy is about. My wolf behaviour comes and goes independently on what I think or whether I want it or not.
Yes, I chose I will call myself therian and yes, I chose to label myself as a wolf because that is the closest thing which is fitting my experiences.

My us$0.02 worth...

Is it voluntary or involuntary if something in you changes, but you do nothing to stop it? That's pretty much my case, It never even occurred to me to question my avian nature, much less that I ought to not be that way.

In fact, there were a couple of times in my life when I "voluntarily" tried to be more "normal" to fit in a bit better, but it never lasted. Without my avian self I just wouldn't be me.

Like a lot of these sorts of questions, I suspect the answer will be somewhere in between, or be a range rather than a single point.

I think id say something along the lines of, my non human identity is involuntary because i didnt choose it.
Nothing about what i experance is because i wanted to act or behave in that manner. I didnt choose to be different from the mjority in a way thats been detrimental. Why would anyone choose to be something that triggers abuse. Yet i lent into it to find myself.
I think time is a crutal component here to, particularly with youngsters who are discovering themselves. That period in life when so much is involentry and confusing yet its what you come out of that period that which defines yourself. Again not chosen but descovred or realised. Yes it can happpen later in life when you stop being what your told you are or what you think you should be. Again they are concous choices that are abandoned for the truth of your idenity.

Just my casual ramberlings

@FogLikesFeathers14
I definitely do agree with this a bit. I think that growing up around a cat/s as my biggest companion certainly influenced my therianthropy a lot. And while I don't think it explains my spiritual therianthropy, it's what I use to explain my psychological therianthropy for my housecat(I believe) Theriotype. I can also see this for my bird theriotype as I loved bird watching as a kid and still do. I can recall looking to feathered friends in times of despair and just as a way to decompress.

I feel like I'm rambling so I'll stop. In short I agree.