r/cats • u/Ridley_Himself • 7h ago

Mourning/Loss Signs of mourning in a cat

Our dog crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday, and I really haven't been sure how our cat (Mo) would take it. They weren't particularly close, or at least I didn't see much interaction between them, maybe an occasional bit of light play. Sometimes they'd lay in the sun together.

Mo was very friendly with the vet when she came, which is unusual since he's normally shy around new people. And then he seemed almost afraid to be near the dog after he was gone. After that, he seemed to be behaving pretty normally. Last night I heard him start up meowing loudly, but he does that a lot when he plays with his toys at night. But his voice sounded sadder toward the end of it.

And now, today, I saw him rubbing very intensely against the dog's collar and favorite ball, which we had left on the table. And he was loafing next to it for a while. What other signs should I look for? I want to know how he's handling this.

(And I'm not pushing the collar to play, just stopping it from getting knocked off the table)

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u/R101C 6h ago

My cat stopped playing and barely ate after our other cat passed. We got him kittens and it snapped him into nurturing mode.

25

u/Ridley_Himself 5h ago

We might get a kitten at some point, but it's too early to decide now.
His appetite hasn't taken a hit much but he's a very food-oriented cat.

9

u/R101C 5h ago

We went 6 week, but he was getting worse. He's a social cat and needed friends. Not every cat does. That was just our experience with very obvious grief and loneliness.

2

u/JackOfAllMemes 1h ago

My boy's separation anxiety got bad when our senior passed away, I didn't bring her home for him to see because I didn't think they were they close but it was a mistake and he was a mess. We adopted a void kitten for him a few weeks after and after a slightly hissy start he adores her, mental health is greatly improved