How to help a cat grieving after losing their companion
Surviving pets often experience intense distress after losing a bonded companion, crying, searching the house for them, and even refusing to eat. This lingering confusion and grief can leave owners terrified for their pet's health and desperate for ways to comfort them through the loneliness.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Giving the surviving cat extra love, attention, and affection, remembering that the cat is also bonded to the owner.
- 2Letting surviving pets see and smell the body of the deceased pet
- 3Keeping the deceased pet's hair in jars or containers
- 4Giving extra love, distraction with play, or treats
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Hes been wondering the house crying. None of the other cats will play with him and his heart break makes this so much harder”source ↗
“Im so scared the greif will kill him too. Is there anything we can do to help him?”source ↗
“Our cats don’t know life without this dog. Will they be OK? What can I do (if anything) to help them?”source ↗
“The one time we didnt our other cat was always looking around corners and stuff for months as if expecting our passed one to jump out at him.”source ↗
“They will grieve. May stop eating as much for a few days. May be needier. May keep searching the house for him.”source ↗