I get the feeling that you're talking about the furry fandom, considering your previous avatar was something that associated with that.
Sorry for being harsh, but they're probably not alienating you because you have a special interest, rather than they stopped hanging out with you because you brought up an awkward subject that they didn't want to deal with.
You don't just tell friends these sort of things unless they're legitimately curious. It's gonna make things awkward for awhile :/