Is there such a thing as retarded animals? I've never seen a 'slow' cheetah to my knowledge.?

Answer 1

Wild, probably not, as others explained. With such a handicap, they would quickly die for one reason or another.

But my girlfriend had a "mentally handicapped" cat. It was a dwarf, as well, and never quite got the hang of walking right, etc. It would try to jump and fall over, fell off of EVERYTHING. If it wasn't so funny, it would have been tragic (or vice versa). But she took good care of it and it lived a long, happy life, trying to chase her own tail -- and falling down dizzy!

Answer 2

It would be rare to encounter a "retarded" baby in the wild since their survival rate would be extremely close to ZERO. However, domesticated animals and those in captivity can be born or become mentally defficient. Since there are no external stressors to remove the mentally challenged animal from the natural progression, that is where you are most likely to see the retarded animal kingdom.

Case in point ... one of my niece's dogs was hit in the head a couple years back. The impact rattled the little dog's brain so much that it had trouble managing bodily functions and continually walked into objects that were right in front of it. Furthermore, the little dog walked with a tilted head. Currently, most of its problems have dissipated, but the head tilt and occasional running into objects still occur.

Answer 3

I don't think you'd see them often in the wild. It's tough out there, and they'd probably die young.
Domesticated animals, however, are more likely to have them. I'd suspect there are cats and dogs that don't have the same mental faculties as .... an average pet in the general population.

Answer 4

In the wild they die.
Domesticated animals, ... well, it can be pretty hard for us to tell if most animals are having trouble negotiating life, but we certainly notice smarter ones. I assume that there are all levels of mental aptitude in the all animals. But it is just my guess!