Do cats mourn the loss of fellow pet companions? Study confirms that cats are not all cold and heartless

Cats are misunderstood pets. Mercurial and mysterious, cats are not as expressive in their affection as dogs are. Cats take their time to warm up to their caregivers. Aloof in their demeanor, they may appear standoffish to the other pets in the household, greeting them with fierce hisses and slaps. Cats are solitary animals, unlike dogs with a lineage of pack ancestry.

So it is easy to believe that cats would be unfeeling at the demise of one of their fellow animal companions in the household. Cat parents may wonder if their beloved, spoiled, grumpy brat cat truly has a heart or not. However, a new study expanded the understanding of feline behavior. The research study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science revealed that cats do mourn when another household pet dies.

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Behavior Change

The shift in behavior suggests the cat’s grief. Behavior before and after death is examined to identify the behavioural disparity due to the cat’s understanding of the abstract concept of death. Grief manifestation is more pronounced in the cats that spend more time with the pet that passed away. That pet has become a part of the cat’s daily routine, like playing, eating, or sleeping together.

After the pet’s demise, the cat feels a void in its routine and stops eating or playing. Becoming more withdrawn, there's a stark difference between the cat's feisty solitude before and the sad loneliness after the furry friend's death. If the deceased pet was thoroughly involved in the cat’s routine, the cat is more likely to perceive the absence and mourn.

The closer the relationship was with the deceased dog or other pet companion, even if the cat’s affection was not tangible, the behavior change post-death is more likely to be conspicuous and disruptive. The bond between the pets predicts the intensity of the grief, regardless of the species. A cat can show a similar grief response to a dog's death or a fellow cat in the same household.

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Projection

Cats that have a stronger bond with the pet parent are more likely to observe, learn, and emulate the pet parent’s grief for the deceased pet. It makes them mourn alongside. Similarly, if the caregivers had an attachment towards the deceased pet, the cat is also likely to project their grief through behavior change.

However, in some cases, grieving pet parents project their pain towards the surviving cat, anticipating and expecting the cat to be sad, and overexplaining minor behavioral changes as grief expression. Cats are more subtle in their expression, and when they express grief, it becomes evident in their listlessness to engage in daily activities immediately after the death of their companion pet.

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