can cats have autism?

My cat is almost a year old but is about 25lbs of pure muscle. Hes huge but he acts almost like my autistic nephew. He thinks hes still a baby, never meows, never comes to anyone but me and is stuck in kitten mode all the time. He was an incest kitten but seems normal other than his size and he hasnt matured at all unlike every other cat in his family. Just wondering is this possible?

There are some problematic things that occur when we start anthropomorphizing animals because we assign a set of rules and assumptions that are inherently human to animals that are obviously not - a lot of pet animals do end up with what we would consider "baby-like" tendencies, and I think that's part of their appeal, that they act like perpetual babies (and in fact, because most pet owners treat them and refer to them as their perpetual babies). Unless there is a notable physical difference, like through various brain scans or marked cat behaviour, mental conditions in cats the way we see it in humans tends to be pretty rare.

When you refer to autism, autism is on a social spectrum. The way we socialize as humans is very different from the way cats socialize. We have a set of social rules that autistic people don't have that "click" with, or they "click" on varying lower degrees. They don't always act infantilized, nor are they always quiet. Humans are very verbal communicators, and extremely social (especially with words), whereas cats rely more on body language.

What you likely have is a cat who is a giant suck and loves the attention he gets, he prefers you, and he's just a quiet cat - a normal cat with his own personality. I've known a few cats who have been one-person cats and have only meowed when in pain or discomfort.

Crazycatlady19 said:

My cat is almost a year old but is about 25lbs of pure muscle. Hes huge but he acts almost like my autistic nephew. He thinks hes still a baby, never meows, never comes to anyone but me and is stuck in kitten mode all the time. He was an incest kitten but seems normal other than his size and he hasnt matured at all unlike every other cat in his family. Just wondering is this possible?

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Is he neutered?  If not that could account for his large size and muscle mass.  As mentioned above, all cats are different and have different personalities.  At a year, cats can still be very kitten like as well.  I have a two year old neutered male that still acts very kitten like. 

He has an appointment to be neutered soon but its strange that all his other family members have matured alot and dont really play with any toys they have

My 11 year old cat is still very kittenish. Very playful and silly, part of his charm I suppose.

Having a cat that still plays with toys is a GREAT thing. I would sooner have my cats actively playing with toys their entire lives than just lazing around getting fat. A cat that's playing is a cat that's hunting, and that's a cat that is being mentally and physically stimulated - all around better for their health, it keeps them busy, and it keeps them happy. If cats stop playing as they get older, I would be on the hunt for new toys or objects that would appeal to them and allow them individual interactive play so they can get exercised and avoid getting bored when we're not around.

Cats who aren't interested in toys tend to be the ones who haven't been introduced to or provided with the toys they like best yet.