My Cat Witnessed His Brother Get Ran Over And Killed By A Car And Is Very Depressed

[Ellielikescats99]

hello eveyone, so I have (had)3 cats that I bottle fed since 2 weeks old and of course they have an extreme bond. 3 boys who did everything together, this past Wednesday my cat gurmo was hit by car and died, a neighbor witnessed it and said his brother Orange was there yowling and basically screaming over his brothers body. My other cat was at home and didn’t see it, my cat orange is so depressed, my once playful energetic independent boy is now depressed sits on my bed with a glazed look in his eye and basically looks crushed and just like he doesn’t want to move. I have tried to put my mourning aside to give him extra attention but he just looks so sad I don’t know what to do, there other brother Bob seems completely normal and I’m not sure if it is because he didn’t witness it happen ? I just wanted to see if anyone here may have gone through something similar, I tried to google it but couldn’t find anything about a cat actually witnessing there siblings death it’s been almost a week exactly I just want Orange to be okay this probably sounds rambley but it’s just hard to put it all into words, and tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[rubysmama]

I'm so, so, sorry. Condolences to you, and to little Orange. RIP sweet Gurmo.

I've never had a cat witness another cat's death, nor do I recall reading anything like that here on the forums. However, it is very common for one cat to mourn/miss another. Plus he is probably picking up on your sadness/stress.

Until other members reply, I'll post a link to a TCS article that might be helpful:

Do Cats Mourn?

 

[TobiDaDog]

I am so so sorry for your loss. That is devestating. I am no professional but in my experience it helps to keep them busy when they're grieving. Buy some new toys, bring some interesting new smells into the house and hide them around! My two love branches brought in from the forest. Start giving him something tasty to eat at mealtimes or hide treats in toys and feeders for him to find. Basically when he seems depressed, try to get him moving rather than sitting around feeling sad.

 

[danteshuman]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I like the idea of new smells and keeping him moving. I would talk to him. Saying things like "I know I miss him to" or "I'm really sad right now because your brother isn't here anymore." I'm in the camp of cats understanding our feelings and some of what we say. Plus it might help you through the grieving process.

Bottle babies think they are human. I know how close the bond is. I think he was yowling to get help for his brother. Bottle babies learn early on to get their humans to fix their problems. I'm not sure if that makes you feel better or not.

 

[Ellielikescats99]

Thank you so much everyone, his brother tries to play with him and he will play for a moment but then will give the “I’m not in the mood signal” to his brother bob but I think he is taking baby steps and I am grateful for that, Another thing I wanted to ask about was introducing a new kitten, my mom has 3 foster girls right now and for weeks I have been attached to one but I had no intentions of adopting her, I would tell my boyfriend how much she reminded me of our cat gurmo way before he passed, now that he is gone I started to wonder if bringing her home would be a good idea or if my current cats would not be okay with it ? Maybe a good distraction? (My cats are a year old so they are young and playful)

 

[Ellielikescats99]

And danteshuman it does make me feel better to know they seek me when they are stressed, it comforts me to be honest, that they know that I am there protecter thank you for saying this I never thought of it.

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't know about the new kitty - a new kitten could be a great idea if their personalities work together and try TobiDaDog 's ideas as well.

Try playing low volume classical harp music for your kitties. It is known to help calm and relax cats, or try the app Relax My Cats, kusc .org or MusicForCats . com

 

[1 bruce 1]

This is devastating. I'm sorry for your loss.
We've had similar things happen, and litter mates are hit the hardest due to their companion "being there" since birth, they don't know the difference.
Never let anyone tell you they don't know something is wrong if they happen to see the body. Unless they're 3 months old or younger, most know something isn't right and grieve like we do.
'1 year old for the survivor is old enough to know something has gone wrong, but young enough to adjust better than a 13-14 year old with a life time companion suddenly "gone". He'll be sad, but he'll adjust.
If in a month or so you notice he's NOT improving, call the vet. It's probably not even possible that a coincidence could happen, but if his brother died and he started experiencing a weird health problem, well....weirder things have happened. But it's not impossible.
Hang out with him, keep an eye on him.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thank you so much everyone, his brother tries to play with him and he will play for a moment but then will give the “I’m not in the mood signal” to his brother bob but I think he is taking baby steps and I am grateful for that, Another thing I wanted to ask about was introducing a new kitten, my mom has 3 foster girls right now and for weeks I have been attached to one but I had no intentions of adopting her, I would tell my boyfriend how much she reminded me of our cat gurmo way before he passed, now that he is gone I started to wonder if bringing her home would be a good idea or if my current cats would not be okay with it ? Maybe a good distraction? (My cats are a year old so they are young and playful)

There's always the option of being a "foster for a foster" home!
It might just help. It might make everyone feel better without forgetting the friend that was lost.
If this one attached herself to you, I see no harm in exploring this option further if it's something you're doing out of heart AND *(rational) mind.

 

[Ellielikescats99]

I have taken everyone’s tips into account thank you so much, I might try to bring the baby girl to my house and see how everyone feels after a few days and if it isn’t going to work I’ll take her back to my moms and she will be adopted by another loving family, but something feels right about it and I want to go with my gut and try it, it’s so encouraging hearing from all of you, many people in my life are the “it’s just a cat?” type :/ everyone here obviously shares these same love I have, feeling that they are my children, it’s very relieving from this stress. <3

 

[rubysmama]

If you decide to adopt the kitten, here's a TCS article that may be helpful:
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

 

[Furballsmom]

everyone here obviously shares these same love I have, feeling that they are my children, it’s very relieving from this stress.

 

[kittyluv387]

If you have a good feeling about adding the kitten i think you should go for it!

 

[Ellielikescats99]

Hi! Just to update everyone, I brought home baby girl (we call her ghost for now) she’s a tuxedo with an all white face, my cats hissed at her and and went downstairs and haven’t come back up to my room, I’m a little discouraged but I wanted to ask if anyone of you guys have experience with a new kitten and if your cats needed time to accept and warm up( not see the kitten as threat) ? She’s such a sweet baby and I love her so much but I won’t keep her if my current cats won’t be happy.

 

[Ellielikescats99]

Here is a photo of the baby girl for anyone curious

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh what a doll - thank you for sharing!
I'm so hoping you decide to keep her!!
Take a look at this, hopefully it helps;
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

 

[Ellielikescats99]

Thank you! I just read through some of the article and saw that the hissing and initial interaction can go away with time and a great relationship can be formed, but with this being that they lost there brother a week ago I’m hoping the outcome can be the same as any other new kitten being brought in, and hopefully she can bring my boys some new fun and excitement eventually, her personality is so similar to my gurmo we lost it’s crazy, and it’s the reason I brought her home. I think I was hoping for a beautiful embrace from my other cats but obviously that is optimistic to a fault on my part, I’m going to just keep things quiet and slow around the house so everyone feels relaxed.

 

[rubysmama]

Awwww... what a cutie pie. How old is she?

 

[doomsdave]

Hi! Just to update everyone, I brought home baby girl (we call her ghost for now) she’s a tuxedo with an all white face, my cats hissed at her and and went downstairs and haven’t come back up to my room, I’m a little discouraged but I wanted to ask if anyone of you guys have experience with a new kitten and if your cats needed time to accept and warm up( not see the kitten as threat) ? She’s such a sweet baby and I love her so much but I won’t keep her if my current cats won’t be happy.

Here is a photo of the baby girl for anyone curious

Thank you! I just read through some of the article and saw that the hissing and initial interaction can go away with time and a great relationship can be formed, but with this being that they lost there brother a week ago I’m hoping the outcome can be the same as any other new kitten being brought in, and hopefully she can bring my boys some new fun and excitement eventually, her personality is so similar to my gurmo we lost it’s crazy, and it’s the reason I brought her home. I think I was hoping for a beautiful embrace from my other cats but obviously that is optimistic to a fault on my part, I’m going to just keep things quiet and slow around the house so everyone feels relaxed.

So sorry to hear about your kitty getting run over, but glad to hear that the healing has started. Nothing like a kitten to make you forget sorrow.

Little kitties disrupt older ones, the way it is. I just adopted one myself, and my five other cats, including a grumpy Great Great Grandma are doing the usual hissing, but they, and the new kitten are adjusting.

Introduce everyone separately, with the new one. They'll often run away in a panic (silly! Big Boy is five times the size of my new kitten) but they'll gradually get over it.

 

[Ellielikescats99]

rubysmama shes about 8-9 weeks weeks now I would say I’ve read that tuxedos seem to be especially sweet cats and I can totally see it with her. She loves being close and cuddling.