Your other cats after losing one.

[Rhall]

After losing my George 2 weeks ago, I have found my other two cats seem a lot closer. They are always together and never far from one another. They were together before I added George. Once George came, my two boys would play a lot together, but now my Ollie seems to be playing more with Ellie and she seems less aloof. No real point to this post, just wondered what others observed when you have had multiple cats and lose one. I feel like they are adjusting well.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

When we lost Tik my cat Patches became more clingy even going to my hubby for cuddles he never did that before. He had become a only cat and you could tell he missed the company. It took a year before we introduced another cat because we weren't ready but it was one of the best things we did for him he's 3 and runs around like a kitten again and loves his new little brother.

 

[klunick]

We lost our male cat in February and it was the happiest day for our female. You see, for 16 years, the male would terrorize his sister. Beat her up, intimidate her, etc. When he passed, it was like she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She finally got a personality other than a timid non-social cat. She was out and about in the house instead of hiding in my room. She became affectionate.

Unfortunately it was short lived because she unexpectedly passed away a few months later but at least she got some peace for a few months.

*I want to point out that her life wasn't a living nightmare 24/7/365. Most of the time the cats were fine together and got along ok. Just randomly throughout the day, the male would pick on his sister for no reason for a minute or two. She was never in any danger of getting hurt.

 

[di and bob]

Cats notice a change like that, and when they realize their companion is not coming back, can grieve just like we do. They also feel your grieving and that in itself is another change, so they adapt around that. They seek each other's company to reassure themselves that at least that companion is still there. They need reassurance and comfort too during all this upheaval in their routine and their lives. They also accept death more readily than we do, it is after all a part of life and nature. Cats live in the present, they don't cling to the past like we do, but they have feelings and emotions just like any other living thing. Some also feel grief more deeply than others, especially when there was a strong bond between two of them.
I remember my cats being more sociable and approachable when my Chrissy died, they were bewildered by the sadness and pain they felt radiating off of the humans and wanted comfort to be reassured. It was so hard back then to offer comfort when your whole world is shattered, but I realize now in retrospect that being forced to care and to comfort them pulled me back into the world of the living......