Adjustment to Single Cat

[canopener]

My older cat died this week, leaving my younger cat a solo cat for the first time in her life. Ciaran died after a brief illness, and during his illness, Kismet had significant reduction in appetite. Since his death, Kismet has started to eat a bit more (I don't know if she just finally got hungry enough, is a little less stressed, or I finally found a tempting enough food), but she is still showing some signs of anxiety. This is obviously to be expected. I always had the impression that their relationship was somewhat one-sided, with Ciaran having a stronger bond to Kismet than she to him, but Kismet was used to having him around.
My concern is that she has never been a solo cat--she was with her siblings in foster care and then came into a household with another cat. Part of me thinks she may come to prefer being a solo cat--she's always been very independent--but being alone in the house, especially when I am at work, is something new to her and she has a history of anxiety with change. How can I help her adjust?

(Note--I did talk to the vet about Kismet's decreased appetite and anxiety when Ciaran was ill. She suggested trying gabapentin, which Ciaran was taking for arthritis. Kismet is difficult to medicate, and because I don't want to cause her additional stress, I've been reserving it days when she seems particularly anxious.)

 

[LTS3]

I think there are tips here: Do Cats Mourn? – TheCatSite Articles

I would just give the cat lots of attention and leave her alone if she doesn't want to be bothered. Many cats do adjust to being the only cat. Feliway may help keep stress levels down. Leave a radio on during the day tuned into a classical music station or NPR or something at a low volume to help with any loneliness.

Is the gabapetin in pill form? Using Pill Pockets or something similar helps. Or you can have the medicine compounded into another form that is easier to give like a flavored chew treat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, try a purr toy, a heartbeat toy and either classical music --on a timer so it's not on all the time, or more specific Cat Music

 

[canopener]

Is the gabapetin in pill form? Using Pill Pockets or something similar helps. Or you can have the medicine compounded into another form that is easier to give like a flavored chew treat.

The gabapentin is in liquid form. The difficulty has been that with her not eating consistently, putting it in food/bribing with treats is an unreliable delivery mechanism.

 

[LTS3]

Can you syringe the medicine directly into your cat's mouth? Or look into compounding it. Wedgewood Pharmacy has these options and a local compounding pharmacy can do the same: Medication & Information for Animals The transdermal ear gel is the easiest and less stressful way to give medicine. The melt-on-the-tongue option might be easy, too. Just pop into the cat's mouth and make sure it doesn't get immediately spit out.