by Marie Garner

Created on: May 20, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

My husband and I have been surprised at the intensity that our thirteen-year-old house cat has been mourning the loss of her litter mate. We adopted the siblings together at six weeks of age from a local Animal Shelter. Our intention at the time was to get one family cat but of course, the two little Gray kittens stole our hearts and we threw caution to the wind and arrived home with both Spooky and Pookie. It was a good choice as they have both been not only delightful but also inseparable their whole lives together. The two companions spent their days grooming, sleeping, sunning and playing together. Even when lying on us, they would squeeze on the same person rather than each taking a separate lap.

Several months ago, we noticed one of the cats losing weight. Further testing revealed a large inoperable tumor in her bowel. At the same time, we also noticed her sister showing bald patches on her stomach and the underside of her tail. All blood tests came back normal and our veterinarian felt that the cause of this baldness was from Spooky over grooming due to stress. The solitary change in her life was that her sister Pookie was terminally ill. The doctor felt that Spooky could sense the illness in Pookie and was in all probability upset because of it. Unfortunately, Pookie had to be euthanized and Spooky was about to embark on life without her.

The first night after Pookie's death Spooky cried loudly and searched the house for her. I would bring her into bed with us to cuddle her and she would settle for a while but then jump down and start her fruitless search again. It was heart wrenching to witness. I knew she would miss her sister, but at that time, I had no idea of the intensity and the length her grieving process would entail.

It has been over two months and Spooky continues to wallow in her sorrow. She is caterwauling both at night and during the day, is peeing outside of her litter box, and is difficult to engage in play. She looks sad. It is fortunate that she is eating, as I understand that some animals will refuse to eat while grieving.

In order to help her through this difficult process we are giving her a lot of extra attention and working hard to retrain her to the litter box. We know that bringing in another cat or kitten as company will not solve the problem. In reality that would almost certainly add to her stress. Sadly, no other cat can possibly replace her long time companion and soul mate.

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