Do Other Pets Mourn

[temperamentfirst]

Thankyou for sharing your experiences, so sad to read them.

My cat is only eating tiny amounts,a fraction of what he used to eat, and wants to be with me where ever I am.He is here now sitting on the desk beside the keyboard.

It must be hard for an animal to understand what has happened ,and where their friend has gone.

Grief is a dreadful feeling for humans, so now I see it is so for our pets as well.

Our dogs grieve - specially when an old pack leader goes.

Last year we lost a beloved cat. All the dogs grieved, and the remaining cat went very strange. He yowled a lot, refused food and became clingy. The strangest thing is that he has taken on some of the behaviours of the cat who died. The remaining cat was definitely the subordinate and quiet one. He still is far more vocal, and does things he never did, but that the other cat used to do!

[sterlingsilver]

A friend has contacted me to tell of her story.

Her oldest dog had to be put to sleep because of advanced cancer at 17, and the remaining two, around 14 and 15 became distraught, crying and moaning, refusing to eat initially, and then only very little.

After a month of the situation improving very little, and these two having gone downhill significantly,still visibly grieving, the family made the heart breaking decision to put them to sleep as well.Nothing the family did seemed to alleviate any of the dogs distress and their grief for their mate.

So the family lost their 3 much loved pets in a month.

In my own situation,my remaining cat has improved a little, eating a little more but a quarter of what he did before. He spends almost all his time by my side.

He loved my dog before but now is wanting to sleep with him almost all the time.

My dog is an oldie with some health issues, so I hate to think how my cat will take his passing. I dread it from my own point of view as well, obviously.