When mummy kills the kitty: Pet murder as a form of infanticidal attachment

Drawing upon his previous writings about "psychological infanticide" and the "infanticidal attachment", Professor Brett Kahr examines the devastating impact of parents who murder their family cats and dogs and other pets, either biologically or, indeed, symbolically. The author explores four cases of overtly psychotic adult patients, all of whom developed severe symptoms of schizophrenia in the wake of traumatic episodes of child- hood "pet murder", perpetrated by mothers or fathers. Drawing upon historical research, Kahr has noted that, in 1939, Dr John Bowlby reported a case of a patient who developed severe hysteria in the wake of the death of a family pet. Such a clinical vignette, combined with Kahr's own cases, provides significant evidence that pet bereavement, especially pet murder, may serve as an important aetiological factor in the development of significant psychopathology during adult life.