How can I help Boo get over the loss of his friend??

Boo seems to be taking Zorro's death very badly. I took Boo along with us so that he could see Zorro after the fact, and he did seem to know right away that his friend wasn't coming back.
He's not eating like he normally does, and he's acting very depressed. He's either walking around the house crying, or else he's lying somewhere sulking.
I know that he is going to be upset for a while, but I was just wondering how long this is going to last, and what I can do to help him.I've been giving him tons of cuddles, but it doesn't seem to be helping. He wants his friend back.

I found this page to be very informative on handling a cat's grief. Keep an eye on Boo and if he is not eating, get him to a vet.

He may not want cuddles right now, but I think you can hang out with him and talk to him which could help you both.

Thank you for the website. It was very helpful. Hopefully he doesn't completly stop eating. I don't think I could handle him getting sick right now.

Originally Posted by gothicangel69

Boo seems to be taking Zorro's death very badly. I took Boo along with us so that he could see Zorro after the fact, and he did seem to know right away that his friend wasn't coming back.
He's not eating like he normally does, and he's acting very depressed. He's either walking around the house crying, or else he's lying somewhere sulking.
I know that he is going to be upset for a while, but I was just wondering how long this is going to last, and what I can do to help him.I've been giving him tons of cuddles, but it doesn't seem to be helping. He wants his friend back.

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I am so sorry for you and Boo. I just went through this with Snickers and the loss of Marbles in August. We ended up having to take her to the vet and get an appetite stimulant for her. I also gave her stinky food (fancy feast) which she finally ate some of. I know this might sounds strange but the breaking point for her was my talking to her. She had not eaten in a couple of days and was staying on one of our dinning room chairs. I went under the dinning room table and sat face to face with her. I just poured my heart out to her and told her that I was so sorry about Marbles and I miss him terribly as well but she really needs to start eating for me and staying here for me. Snickers lifted her head up and looked at me when I mentioned Marbles' name. I got up and walked into the family room and she followed me and meowed! I was so happy. I gave her some food and she ate some. Anyway, that is what worked for me. I just gave her lots of love and attention too (especially trying to play with her lots). I pray you can comfort each other.

Poor Boo!

Cats work through their grieving process in all different ways and in their own time. Most will work through it fairly quickly if you go out of your way to comfort them but also get into a very rigid schedule with them. Cats love schedules and it throws them off balance if there isn't one for them. If you keep a rigid schedule, it just eliminates a little bit of their stress.

I have had 2 cats that took an extra ordinary length of time to work through their grief (over a year). For both of those cats, it was the addition of new pet friends that finally got them over it. In the case of Stumpy, he grieved when he lost his dog buddies and didn't come back fully until we adopted 2 puppies. In the case of Pinky, he lost 3 of his closest buddies to FeLV and finally came back around 18 months later when we adopted a few kittens. We had other cats in the house but for some reason they didn't comfort him.

When Wellington lost his brother in October last year, he just cried for weeks, wandering round calling for him and got very depressed. He did not start to recover till January, when Biscotte turned up to join us, and he adopted her from the first day. They became best buddies and his grief turned to caring for someone else. This was despite a house full of other cats - it took the new one to help him through it. It is a difficult time, for them as well as us, and I feel for you.

I think it is terrific that you took Boo along. You are very sensitive to do that, and I am sure it helped.

I agree with worriedmommy -- talk to him! It made a big difference when I commiserated with Walter, this summer. I would say, yes, I miss him terribly, too, every time he did the searching and crying. I would stroke him and acknowledge his loss and talk softly about his Roland.

It has been three months now and he still seems sad sometimes. We have three new cats, two of whom are fairly sedate adults, but they clearly are not "replacements," for Roland, for any of us, including him. He will play a little (he is 13! but Burmese), and will touch noses and tolerate the others, but there is no cuddling or mutual washing. Yet. I am still hopeful.

Boo went though a complete change last night. I don't know how this helped at all, but for some reason it made all the difference. I was sitting on the counter in the bathroom, and I didn't notice it, but Boo was lying on the floor right under me. I went to step down off the counter, and my heel landed right on top of Boo. I stepped down pretty hard too. Bo screamed and ran off. He was absolutely terrified of me for about 10 minutes. I kept telling him how sorry I was. After about 10 minutes, he seemed to have a complete change. He started running around the house playing with toys, and ran over to his dish and ate a TON of food.
I have no idea how me stepping on him would make him snap out of it, but for some reason it did. He's acting like himself again (although he is a little more sulky)