Grieving cat?

[pipersjo]

I lost my dog, Ollie, unexpectedly in an accident on Monday. Pepper and Ollie were buddies. They played together, sort of slept together (Pepper slept on Ollie--Pepper was almost bigger than Ollie, lol), and just ran around annoying their sister, Petunia, together. Since Monday, Pepper has become very aggressive. My hands are covered in scratches where Pepper has nailed me. He ripped open my palm last night because I wouldn't let him bother Petunia. That 1 may have been misplaced aggression and maybe he is just not getting enough excercise, but I have been playing with him and trying to wear him out. Petunia is just very affectionate right now so if she is grieving, I can handle her kind of grief. What do you guys think? Is he grieving? Just needs even more excercise?

I couldn't handle the empty spot where Ollie's bed was in the living room so I also set my 5 gallon aquarium back up so that they could watch the fish and give them something else to do.

 

[momofmany]

I'm so sorry to hear about Ollie!

I've never seen grief expressed as aggression, but that is clearly possible. Pepper will be stressed about losing his friend, and when a cat is stressed, they can express it in a lot of ways. When mine lose one of their friends, I try to figure out what they need at that time, whether that be more attention, more snuggle time, more play, etc. Petunia sounds like she needs more snuggle time. Pepper may just need something to work out his stress (play).

I have a cat that loves dogs (Stumpy). He grew up with 5 dogs and when the last of those crossed, he went into a deep funk for about a year until we adopted our current dogs. On the day that we brought Sam home, Stumpy's entire attitude about life picked up and he was a happy cat again. So yes, sometimes it takes another animal to replace one that was lost.

 

[pipersjo]

I would love to get another dog in the future, but I just can't yet. i am crying as I type this-- I know I am not ready for that step yet and it wouldn't be fair to whatever dog I would get. I have had a bunch of people telling me about Pug puppies that are available, but I just can't yet. I just brought Ollie's ashes home yesterday and he is sitting on my bookcase in the living room until it warms up and dries out so that I can take him to the trail that he loved to hike on (yes, my Pug was an extremely active Pug!).

I hope that I can play enough to help Pepper through this. Petunia is my little cuddle bug right now so there is no issue with me helping her through it-- she is normally so aloof that this is great!

 

[nanner]

Originally Posted by pipersjo

I couldn't handle the empty spot where Ollie's bed was in the living room so I also set my 5 gallon aquarium back up so that they could watch the fish and give them something else to do.

First of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It's so tough to lose a buddy.

Do you think it might help Pepper if he had Ollie's bed somewhere? It might be a comfort for him to actually smell Ollie. Just a thought.

What made me think about it was, years ago, when I had two cats, Torfinn and Gudrun, Torfinn had to be put down - he was very old. Gudrun was younger than he was (6 years), but for the first few days after Torfinn was gone, she kept going to spots that were only his spots, and sleeping there. I took it as a kind of comfort thing.

But I know it must be painful to see Ollie's bed.

 

[pipersjo]

Ollie's bed is still in the living room with the cover off. I am trying to wash things and put things away (unsuccessfully, I might add) and took the cover off to wash it and still haven't washed the cover or actually put the bed away. I found Petunia sleeping on it yesterday so that was another reason I just couldn't bring myself to put it away. I am trying so hard to do what all of us need and I don't think I am doing a good job.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

My cat Muffin is grieving the loss of our senior cat, Speedboat since Jan. 25.
I am just trying to give him extra love and hugs. He is sleeping in Speedboats bed. It is hard to know what to do. I wish I had let him see Speedboat before we buried him. Maybe then he would quit looking for him.
Hugs to you and your other furry friends. l am so sorry for your loss.