{"id":431,"date":"2017-11-01T15:34:01","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T22:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/?p=431"},"modified":"2020-10-26T12:49:24","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T19:49:24","slug":"grieving-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/01\/grieving-cats\/","title":{"rendered":"Grieving Cats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published November 9,\u00a0 2014, IAABC (International Association Of Animal Behavioral Consultants)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Who would still ask if cats grieve? That emotion, however a cat\u2019s experience is seen through our poor human lens, is one where accusations of anthropomorphizing can be just wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clients plead, \u201cI just want to know what my cat is going through. What can I do?\u201d Good question. We still don\u2019t know much.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, we watch the changes in their manner, from their reactions to the loss of another cat, whether friend or enemy, when it comes to sleeping, playing, eating, eliminating, just being, to status readjustments in a multi-cat home. There are changes and there are responses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some cat experts believe it unlikely cats mourn the way humans do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. John Samuelson, President, AZ Veterinary Medical Association: \u201cIs the cat wandering around the house feeing sad? Or thinking, \u2018Score! I\u2019ve just doubled my territory!\u201d? The fact they\u2019re not pack animals means they\u2019re less likely to mourn, because they\u2019re not social to begin with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another well-respected vet, who asked not to be named (Nobody wants to hear this, and nobody wants to be the one to tell clients this) believes, \u201cThe only grieving cats do is when their babies die\u2014for perhaps six or seven hours. There is no true empathy for each other. A dog cares who they\u2019re with. A cat cares about where they are\u2014they protect their turf.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These views represent those that many vets maintain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Others believe cats mourn, and quote statistics to back it up. In 1996, the ASPCA\u2019s Companion Animal Mourning Project found that 46% of cats ate less than usual after the death of a companion cat. Around 70% showed a change in vocalization pattern. Many slept more, and changed the place where they usually slept.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prof. Nicholas Dodman, Program Director, Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences, Tufts U. Cummings School of Vet. Medicine. was vehement. \u201cThey grieve! I \u2019ve seen it many times.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

JE: Why do some vets still believe they don\u2019t? That because cats are not a pack animal, they don\u2019t have empathy for one another, so believing they mourn is anthropomorphizing?<\/span><\/p>\n

ND: That\u2019s unknowledgeable and they haven\u2019t kept up. \u2018D\u2019 in animal behavior! It\u2019s \u201850\u2019s thinking. There was a movement in the 1950\u2019s, real scientists don\u2019t attribute feelings. Just because they speak in a different language to ours doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t feel what we feel. There\u2019s nothing special about cats that they wouldn\u2019t feel\u2026wouldn\u2019t grieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

JE: According to the \u201cMourning Project\u201d , more than half the cats became more affectionate, even clingy, with their owners, when they grieved.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

ND: I have not seen that. If they are mutually bonded to another animal, they will go into depression. Life seems gray. They lose interest in life. I had one cat who wouldn\u2019t eat, after his friend died. He developed hepatic lipidosis\u2014went to ICU at Tufts, and on verge of dying. They narrowly pulled him through.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to lack of appetite and loss of interest, as stress hormones, such as cortisol, are released when cats mourn, hair loss (often because of over-grooming, as grooming is self-comforting, and feel-good endorphins are expressed) can be common. It\u2019s been theorized that as a cat\u2019s own smell is comforting as well, the urinating in inappropriate places may also be a kind of self-reassurance, as the cats feel stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many experts note a three-stage grieving process: the first shows itself with vocalizing, pacing and searching. The second: the cat is listless and disinterested in whatever is going on around him. The third stage is a kind of acceptance, although perhaps not in the human sense. This is where we\u2019ll find cats truly \u201ccoming into their own\u201d in their character; becoming friendlier, more active, more\u2026individual, if the passing cat had previously dominated him, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

The death of a cat leaves not only a change, but a hole in many cats\u2019 lives. Some experts feel a cat\u2019s notion of death is that of a child\u2019s\u2014the state of permanency is unfamiliar. Yet clients have noted that when a cat is around the body of the deceased cat, there was less \u201cmourning\u201d; did they make a link between killed prey and a dead friend? Was there therefore a kind of resolution to that death?<\/span><\/p>\n

I wonder about a difference in smell to and of an ill or even dying animal There must be that percentage of a second, after all, that cats recognize each other by smell before the sight, which would explain the phenomenon of scrapping with a previous friend-cat newly returned from the vet\u2019s clinic; that cat is a stranger to the one left at home. In addition, they have such a strongly-developed sense of smell that the lack of the specific cat\u2019s scent in the home is surely noted. Yet, when a cat is taken to the vet\u2019s to be put down, cats, like children, can wait for him to return..<\/span><\/p>\n

When it\u2019s your child, that\u2019s another matter. I\u2019ve seen many mother cats whose kits were permanently, prematurely removed (through death or inappropriate selling), continue to look for their children for weeks at a time, while wailing and pacing. They displayed mental pain. That wail had a different sound than that of a mourned mate: it was more protracted and anguished-sounding.<\/span><\/p>\n

While some cats seem to mourn\u2014-hunting for them, searching, reacting for months, others get a fresh start when a warring feline departs. They don\u2019t seem to even mourn. They find their own personality once more, and can play, dash, show renewed confidence and renewed bonding with their humans.<\/span><\/p>\n

For some cats who are no longer the suppressed ones, the \u2018low cats on the totem pole\u2019, you can practically see them do cartwheels (catwheels?) when the previously dominant cat has passed. There is either a jostling for top position (first to eat? Taking over the humans\u2019 bed or the velvet armchair in he sun? A cat\u2019s hierarchy is more fluid than a dog\u2019s, but hierarchy it indeed is.) A new proverbial lease on life awaits.<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT CAN WE DO?<\/span>
\nWe can be there, with more love and more play. BUT don\u2019t force it. Cat sets the agenda. (Otherwise, that could add even more stress if, let\u2019s face it, the cat doesn\u2019t desire it.) Keep indoors if Shadow\u2019s mate was outdoors, and Bella is searching for him. Other than that, keep the routine\u2014routine. And remember that your stress\u2014your misery\u2014can affect her. Keep an eye on the situation, and watch for any changes. Mourning can last for days, weeks or more. Treats, toys, and unforced attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be too hasty in removing the deceased cat\u2019s things\u2014that smell may be comforting, and can possibly help the others \u2018transition\u2019, as it fades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let the surviving kids work out their rejigged social ranking themselves. We\u2019re human, after all; even the most savvy of us will miss subtle body language and scent signs that only a cat can know.<\/span><\/p>\n

For how long does this grieving process last? Of course it varies\u2014it can be, in my experience, from a couple of weeks to several months. I\u2019ve seen shorter and I\u2019ve seen longer. At some point, you may want to discuss the idea of short-term anti-anxiety medication with your veterinarian. Nobody likes drugs, but there is a real place for them , as there is for humans, sometimes, when it comes to calming the suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Get a new cat? Not so fast.<\/span><\/p>\n

First: give yourself time to process the loss. And make sure you\u2019re not trying to replace the loved one who has died. No cat should be put in this position: she has her own personality, her own needs, own character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe you shouldn\u2019t. Maybe the remaining cat has come into her own\u2014and seems quite, quite content being the only one. Perhaps she has, indeed, found herself. Perhaps the several remaining cats have settled into a new grouping, even blossomed with that, and a new cat would only disrupt that. They also don\u2019t need the stress of a newcomer, especially now. Maybe you have enough cats; Veterinarian-behaviorist Bonnie Beaver indicates that with more than five cats, you\u2019re asking for behavioral problems; in my clients\u2019 experiences, it\u2019s more than four.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider your own life. Do you want more freedom for activities that fewer cats\u2014or even no cats\u2014would make possible? Perhaps you can foster, instead. Will a new cat outlive you? Consider an older cat, perhaps.<\/span><\/p>\n

How soon? When you truly feel ready. Take time to process the loss, don\u2019t just knee-jerk. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m typical, but I waited a couple of months before getting another cat after my beloved Savoy died. I adore Grace, but realize it took me a little longer to truly bond to her because of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider this subject a thrown-down gauntlet. Needs research, not just anecdotal narratives. I\u2019m hardly pooh-poohing those; how much research has been instigated by just that? Personal experiences are often what we have to go by.<\/span><\/p>\n

But cats should come with a warning. \u2018This individual feels. Hurts. Respect that. Take care of that\u2019 We need to anticipate, recognize and be able to help console and reassure them when they\u2019ve lost someone. After all, we need that\u2014don\u2019t we?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published November 9,\u00a0 2014, IAABC (International Association Of Animal Behavioral Consultants) Who would still ask if cats grieve? That emotion, however a cat\u2019s experience is seen through our poor human lens, is one where accusations of anthropomorphizing can be just …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,7,27,48],"tags":[33,29,34,30,28,31,32],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cat-health","category-families","category-greiving","category-iaabc","tag-cat-depression","tag-cat-grief","tag-death-of-cats","tag-death-of-companion-cats","tag-grieving-cats","tag-mourning","tag-sad-cats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}