Help a sad old soul

Hiya fellow cat lovers! I had gotten two kittens when I was younger. A grey tabby cat (who was mine) named Ranger and his brother a orange tabby with a missing tail , we named him Finnigan (he's my mothers cat) They had never been separated from each other until recently. About a year ago my babyboy Ranger passed away after living a long life of 15 years.Finnigan has not been the same since then. He stays up all hours of the night crying and nothing seems to get him to stop (we tried treats, playing, cuddling etc.) It breaks my heart to see him wandering around looking for his brother. He is 16 years old and is a sweetheart, hes not agressive and has never bitten anyone or even hissed at them. I suggested getting him a kitten friend but I don't know if that would be a good idea being that he is 16 years old and depressed. Also when we got them as babies they had their claws removed already. So Finnigan has no front claws so this poses an issuse if I introduced a kitten with claws I don't want to cause problems or potentially hurt Finnigan.

I don't have enough experience to give you an answer . . . but I wanted you to know that I'm thinking of your Finnigan and hoping he improves.

opalcatlady said:

Hiya fellow cat lovers! I had gotten two kittens when I was younger. A grey tabby cat (who was mine) named Ranger and his brother a orange tabby with a missing tail , we named him Finnigan (he's my mothers cat) They had never been separated from each other until recently. About a year ago my babyboy Ranger passed away after living a long life of 15 years.Finnigan has not been the same since then. He stays up all hours of the night crying and nothing seems to get him to stop (we tried treats, playing, cuddling etc.) It breaks my heart to see him wandering around looking for his brother. He is 16 years old and is a sweetheart, hes not agressive and has never bitten anyone or even hissed at them. I suggested getting him a kitten friend but I don't know if that would be a good idea being that he is 16 years old and depressed. Also when we got them as babies they had their claws removed already. So Finnigan has no front claws so this poses an issuse if I introduced a kitten with claws I don't want to cause problems or potentially hurt Finnigan.

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I am very sorry for your loss. Sometimes senior cats can adapt to a new companion. All my cats have their claws and I adopted a  6 week old kitten when my boys were around 10 years old.  One of them stepped up and taught an under-socialized Starbuck manners.   You could always try contacting rescues or shelters in your area.  Perhaps you could check to see if any of them have a young adult or older declawed kitten for adoption. I would definitely look into adopting a companion that is already declawed.   I think if your are going to adopt it may be better to find a companion that is already declawed since Finnegan is 16 years old.  Also a 16 year old cat may be overwhelmed by a really young kitten anyway.  

I'm going to say that I don't think a 16-year-old cat would do well with a kitten or young cat. And depending on his personality, he may not want a companion at all, and if that's how he is I would let him have a peaceful retirement. Of course he'll mourn for his brother, but that doesn't mean he wants another companion. Another cat won't be his brother. But if he has the kind of personality that would appreciate another cat, perhaps a sedate older female would be a good choice.

He should also have a full vet checkup, because howling and depression can be caused by some health problems too.

I had a similar experience several years ago.  I had 3 cats and the most senior cat died at 16 1/2 years old.  Six month later, the next senior-most cat died at 15 1/2 years old.  That left the one kitty who had been born feral in my back yard and brought inside at 8 weeks old.  The 15 1/2 year old kitty had been the kitten's surrogate father, the one who taught him that people are terrific things to cuddle up to and count on for cool things like food, comfort and free medical care.

The surviving cat did the same thing your Finnigan is doing, pacing up and down the hallway and living room all night calling out for his buddies he was raised with.  I felt so bad and kept telling him I was sorry and how much I missed them, too.

Anyway, I was signed up at the shelter as a foster home, but I hadn't been active in a while.  I stopped by to see if I was still signed up, and the lady said I was.  I told her I had lost two cats in 6 months and that my remaining cat was terribly lonely without them, so I was available to foster again.  She sent me home with not one, but two, 7 month old brother cats that day.

Turns out that Einstein, the surviving cat, missed the two cats he grew up with, but not "those" new cats.  He wouldn't let them use the litter boxes for a week and they were going potty in the guest bath tub (hey, things could have been worse, right?).  The second week I fostered them, Einstein adjusted, decided the new kids were ok, and everyone got along fine.  No more meowing all night.

I ended up adopting the brother orange and whites....  So, happy ending.

If you're unsure, you might consider opening your home to a foster cat that needs a temporary place.  (My story is called a "failed foster"...you're not supposed to keep them for yourself.  lol)

I'm sorry for your and Finnegan's loss. 

Thank you guys so much for all your help! I'm definitely going to schedule an appointment with his vet and make sure there is nothing else bothering him. Then have a family meeting to see if getting him a kitten will help if all goes well at the vets. I would defiantly consider being a foster mom, so with that I going to check in with my neighborhood shelter. There are so many thoughtful people on this site I am extremely grateful

xoxo

If you get a kitten or young cat, it would be better to get 2 the same age. That way they can keep each other busy and the old man can interact with them if he wants, or not, and they won't be lonely. If you get just one I'm afraid he/she will be an intolerable pest to the poor old guy. Kittens want to play all the time and elderly cats aren't up for a lot of that.

I have an opposite problem. My 6 month old just lost his 7 month old "brother". While another kitten would seem like a good fit, my remaining cat is a hellion! So I am looking at adopting an adult gregarious male that can handle roughhousing. You probably would do best with a laid back adult cat for your remaining kitty.

I don't think it's a good idea. I'd rather getting him an extremely friendly old female cat. If ur cat was a female she might get along with a kitten, but i noticed my older male cats are more into relaxing and more active cats irritate them.

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Every "combination" of cats will produce different results just because of the variety of personalities.  I was down to one cat again from September until early February when I brought home a 4 month old feral.  I kept them separate for a week then gave them short, supervised visits.  The kitten was indeed pouncing and rough-housing with my 12.5 year old senior.  He handled it pretty well, but I kept the visits short at first.  My senior has managed to teach the kitten to "Settle down, kid!" and they are now up to 4 hours unsupervised.  My senior has become a lot more playful too, since the kitten arrived.  Instead of just sitting around like a slug or half-heartedly swatting at a toy when I tried to get him to play and exercise a bit, he is actually initiating play now.