Psychedelics and animals

[Entheocybe]

Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead used to dose his favorite horse and dog with acid(As well as himself) on certain evenings and then ride out into the countryside. He said he never saw any negative effects.

 

[Timbo]

i find my dog likes me but anything that flies hates me. I had 2 bats swoop me and a bird swoop and peck my head once on mushrooms. I also noticed flies and mozzies would come close but never make contact with me.

 

[Sprinklervibes]

i find my dog likes me but anything that flies hates me. I had 2 bats swoop me and a bird swoop and peck my head once on mushrooms. I also noticed flies and mozzies would come close but never make contact with me.

hehe yeah I had two birds shit on my head already... public places

 

[Zagenth]

Felt I needed to revive this thread temporarily. I know animals behave differently while their owners or people around them are altered in many states.

However, I havent seen any mention on whether or not the presence of animals during a trip has actually influenced your trip. I was wondering if having a cat around has made your trip go in a different direction than having a dog, or fish, or lizards around. Or, if having animals around period has made your trip different than not having them around. Any thoughts?

 

[egor]

My pets become much more amiable when I am under the influence of a psychedelic, especially my parrot. He also talks alot more. My dogs both want to lay by me, same with 3 of the 4 cats. The only problem that arises is when the dogs mess with the cat that is in my lap at the time.

 

[Xorkoth]

A year or so ago, my cats got freaked out when I was tripping because it made me quite nervous then and my energy became anxious and frightening to them. Their hair would stand up and they'd dash away and hide and make nervous noises.

Nowadays, though, whenever I trip I get filled up with love and positivity and my cats, although they're always really, really sweet and cuddly, become so attached to me that they won't leave my side the entire time. I really enjoy it!

I also feel that I can communicate with them better when I'm tripping, since I'm more sensitive to emotions and vibes which is a big part of the way animals communicate.

 

[DigitalUnicorn]

when I was having a bad trip on mushrooms, my only other companion in the house was my beloved dog, who on this occasion had somehow turned from genial and nice, to absolutely skittish and defensive. Boy did that make me feel sad to see him just stare at me and then run away every time I got near.

 

[OrneTTe]

For some reason, pets seem like a really weird idea to me when I'm tripping so I don't like to be around my cat. It just seems so weird to me that there is this animal that just lives in your house and walks around freely.

 

[Ximot]

animals have lots of capacity for empathy - they're far more attuned to subtle energetic fluctuations than we are.

i'll never forget the day when i was in and out of k-holing on this deck chair at night one summer and my dog lay on my lap and stayed there with me, in that incredible space, keeping me company thru some of the rough parts, a vital connection to the love to be found confirmation of in the physical realm.

I wonder why he'd suddenly gotten drawn to me. What did he get out of it? Either he sensed my K-Hole loneliness and came to provide consolation/comfort, or maybe he actually liked the sense of total dissolution, letting go beyond all fear, beyond all instincts... maybe he just liked the vibe. I dunno.

Regarding cats and dogs.... I am totally a dog person and find cats a little uncanny, especially when I'm tripping. Like, they KNOW... somehow. And WHAT they know is utterly alien, though very familiar in a told-you-so kind of way, like they're always mocking me... spooky! Dogs are totally unpretentious straightforward honest and not in any way manipulating, calculating, ... well, they are but it's so easy to see through. Cats are like oracles - forever fascinating, but for my own sanity's sake i'd rather not consult them every day.

 

[Ximot]

It's almost like cats get jumpy when they have to deal with someone who's tripping, and by their jumpyness, they start making the person tripping uneasy - a perfect example of vicious circle.

totally. well I kinda feel that cats are perma-trippers to a degree, and that when we attune our consciousnesses to their level, we become intruders and they get very territorial, on the verge of ferocious. Freaky.

If you will allow for this vicious circle to keep going then this may be the cat's way of diverting your attention from what this state of consciousness might really, REALLY offer... ahem... as the cat is always in that realm and merely needs to ward off an unwelcome visitor (intruder) for a relatively short time.

I feel cats may have a residual/instinctual natural animosity to humans for whatever reason. As long as they can suss humans out, they're fine with them, but when the human is tripping and gets to close to them, they freak out. Even not tripping I like staring a cat out ... I know they don't like being stared at, but hey, bloody cat, wtf u staring at me for, now i'll stare back... they do not like that at all, they don't like it when one gets inquisitive about them. I am aware that by staring the cat in the eye I am in fact making it uncomfortable... but then it's not me who started it, it's the cat that started the staring. All I do is hold the gaze, giving it some of its own medicine. Inevitably it's the cat that gets uncomfortable, not me. I find lasting loving, peaceful coexisting with cats to be almost a non-sequitur, sadly.

They hold a dark secret and perhaps this is why I am in awe of people who have complicitious relationships with cats... before I'll start talking about sorcery and witches now I'll stop :D

 

[egor]

It is odd how different peoples pets act so different twards them while tripping. I have been tripping since before I got all of them but my parrot, so they have been around me tripping as long as I have had them. I wonder if that could have anything to do with it??

 

[Zagenth]

It just seems so weird to me that there is this animal that just lives in your house and walks around freely.

That just made my day lol.

I don't know why, but I almost fell out of my chair laughing at this.

Although, I have never looked at it that way before. I, for one, happily share my house with my pets, regardless of what condition I'm in, but that is definitely an interesting take on the matter.

 

[Ximot]

freely - if it may come and go as it pleases. round here lots of people's cats are housebound cats who never see anything outside of the four walls they walk around "freely" in. maybe that's why they get so territorial when I visit such places and make myself comfortable.

 

[o great gazoo]

My one cat LOVES to be around me while on mushrooms but the other cat was scared of me and would hiss at me and hide. she's dead now though.

 

[swilow]

Interesting thread. My dog (male Rottweiler, 2yo) seems pretty relaxed when I'm tripping, I suppose because I seem to stroke him constantly. He gets upset if I vomit (which occurrs on most psychedelics for me), and cries, but I sound like my stomach is coming out when I vomit.

My girlfriends dog (female 8 yo rottweiler) has definittely influenced the content of my trip- she's a very calm, noble, intelligent and responsive animal (she shakes hands, will "speak" back, and protect you against any 'threat') and the feeling of empathy I've had with her has given me a satisying primal understanding, and greater empathy thereafter with some animals. Tripping can feel very primal, and it can feel 'correct' in some way to have the simple instinctive mind of a loved and loving animal nearby.

My dog kind of looks like he's wearing a massive black suit on LSD (me, not the dog).

 

[egor]

^^ My dog is a 1 1/2 year old chocolate lab/ridgeback mix. He is HUGE, like 120 lbs and not fat. He will not leave my side if I am tripping.

 

[Xorkoth]

That's because cats are an animal that we haven't bred the instincts out of like dogs. In a sense, they're much more like us than people really normally consider. We're both intelligent mammals that (for domesticated cats at least) live peaceful, easy lives spent with loving companions (hopefully!), but at the same time we have to deal with our instincts.

I grew up totally a dog person too, didn't understand cats at all. As I got older though I got know to know some cats very well, and then a few years ago my girlfriend and I got two cats, and although I still love dogs, cats are really special. Just like people, they put up this front to outsiders, but if they let you in you can see this really surprisingly intelligent and sensitive and loving creature with a really complex personality. To do it, you just have to understand that they're a little person, not to the same extent as you or I but still. Just the other day I was thinking about how now that cats have been domesticated, any house cat with a good life is going to have a lot of mental free time, just like ancient humans began to as they learned how to survive more effectively and not always be constantly working to live. That mental work that in wild cats is focused on hunting and surviving instead expressed in other ways.

Anyway, I totally agree that cats are very crazy to have around while you're tripping. They are extremely good at sensing vibes and intentions, and they do always seem to know what's up. Several significant trips I've had revolved around the sense that a very deep part of our subconscious mind is reptilian, remnants from when the first mammal evolved from the reptile, and although of course that link would be shared by all mammals, I especially see it in cats. It creeps me out and fascinated me at the same time. When I started tripping up until about 15 months ago, my cats would run and arch their backs when I was tripping. Now, they are glued to my side when I do and they both lay on my lap on their backs at the same time.

totally. well I kinda feel that cats are perma-trippers to a degree, and that when we attune our consciousnesses to their level, we become intruders and they get very territorial, on the verge of ferocious. Freaky.

If you will allow for this vicious circle to keep going then this may be the cat's way of diverting your attention from what this state of consciousness might really, REALLY offer... ahem... as the cat is always in that realm and merely needs to ward off an unwelcome visitor (intruder) for a relatively short time.

I feel cats may have a residual/instinctual natural animosity to humans for whatever reason. As long as they can suss humans out, they're fine with them, but when the human is tripping and gets to close to them, they freak out. Even not tripping I like staring a cat out ... I know they don't like being stared at, but hey, bloody cat, wtf u staring at me for, now i'll stare back... they do not like that at all, they don't like it when one gets inquisitive about them. I am aware that by staring the cat in the eye I am in fact making it uncomfortable... but then it's not me who started it, it's the cat that started the staring. All I do is hold the gaze, giving it some of its own medicine. Inevitably it's the cat that gets uncomfortable, not me. I find lasting loving, peaceful coexisting with cats to be almost a non-sequitur, sadly.

They hold a dark secret and perhaps this is why I am in awe of people who have complicitious relationships with cats... before I'll start talking about sorcery and witches now I'll stop :D

 

[Ximot]

Yep, reptilian eyes. I need to take DMT to truly feel my reptile

 

[Xorkoth]

Interestingly, DOC is the chemical that I've taken that most closely connects me to my inner reptile, although I have a feeling LSD would do so extremely well also. But I haven't broken past a light to moderate +2 with it yet.

On my best DOC trip, I spent quite a bit of time exploring my DNA and ancestry, and spent some of that time as a prehistoric reptile. It was very bizarre yet very familiar and comfortable.

 

[Zagenth]

That's because cats are an animal that we haven't bred the instincts out of like dogs. In a sense, they're much more like us than people really normally consider. We're both intelligent mammals that (for domesticated cats at least) live peaceful, easy lives spent with loving companions (hopefully!), but at the same time we have to deal with our instincts.

Well, I have to disagree a little bit here. Dogs are pack animals, every single dog species, even wolves, are pack animals. Thats why they recognize an alpha individual, be it another dog or a human, as their leader. They obey their alpha pack leader, which is why dogs are so trainable. Cats on the other hand, are solitary mainly, lions are the only cat breed that respond to pack behavior. Cats are highly individualistic, they cant be trained in the normal sense, and have very distinct personalities. Most cat owners can say that their cats have an air of arrogance in them. They tend to do things their own way and in their own time. Granted, cats can be great lovable pets, loving attention and such, knowing when their owners need affection and whatnot, but its nowhere near the on command thing that it is in dogs. It has nothing to do with breeding out natural instincts, its all about the way their species is wired.

Several significant trips I've had revolved around the sense that a very deep part of our subconscious mind is reptilian, remnants from when the first mammal evolved from the reptile, and although of course that link would be shared by all mammals, I especially see it in cats. It creeps me out and fascinated me at the same time.

Read up about the triune brain theory, cause our brain is literally divided up into three parts, the reptilian, the mammilian, and the logic parts. Its very easy to research this nowadays with the "google generation" lol, so I wont go into explaining it all.

Anyways, felt like sharing, have fun and be safe.