Cat grieving after death of her brother?

miron

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I've only just joined this site today, so I apologize if this post is in the wrong section

On Saturday night, I got a call from my brother who was sobbing, saying that Keoni (aka Yone) was dead. That they just found him on the bed, not breathing. So I said I'd come over ASAP

When I got there, my oldest brother was lying on his bed beside the lifeless body of Keoni, petting him and crying uncontrollably...

My brother rescued Keoni and BabyGirl, who are from the same litter, as kittens. They are both approximately 16 years old, so it's likely Keoni simply passed from age-related causes

However, Keoni and BabyGirl have spent literally everyday of their lives together. They've been inseparable their whole lives.

And now that Keoni has suddenly passed away (there was no prior indication of health issues, in fact, he had been active and in otherwise good condition).....we're now worried about BabyGirl and how she'll cope with this major life change

She's already an older cat, and now she lost her primary companion!

She's already shown a decline in appetite, unusually reclusive behavior, and her meows are much softer and squeakier...

Does anyone have any advice for helping a senior cat through such a major life transition? Anything to watch out for? Any ways we can help normalize her life after the loss of her brother?
 

di and bob

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The only thing you can do is to comfort her in any way you can. Lots of attention, good food, and treats. You all need the comfort of each other, just being together helps. She will eventually accept that her brother is gone, though it might take a while, several weeks, and you might find animals are much more accepting of death than we are. They live right up until the moment they die, they do not fear death as we do.....
 

GustifursMom

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I am so sorry for your family's loss. A sudden loss is really difficult.

For the cat who is grieving, here are some ideas:

-Get a harness, take her outside. This will really help to distract her.

-Put on lots of cat tv, videos of birds and mice.

-Buy new toys.

-Put away everything that would remind her of him.

Good luck!!
 

Morpheus1967

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Watching this thread for the advice as well, as I am in a strikingly similar situation. Although they were not littermates, they were together for 16 years, with Mozart passing suddenly last Thursday.
 

Tik cat's mum

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I'm so sorry for your loss. And the only thing I can offer is what has already been said lots of TLC. Cat's do grieve just like we do, but be there for each other and she'll accept her brothers passing. You might find she becomes more affectionate and demanding of your time for a while, that's normal. When my boy lost his brother he spent a couple of weeks crying and looking for him. It takes time to grieve just give her lot's of love.
 
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