do cats mourn?

We have had two cats for over 10 years, both males,probably littermates, who were adopted from the animal shelter at the same time. One of them recently died from a sarcoma involving his sinuses. We buried him on our property. The surviving cat has spent a great deal of time at the grave, sniffing around or just sitting there. Today he brought a dead mouse and deposited it there.
Does he realize the other cat is buried there? Is he in some way mourning? Or does this represent something else?

Most cats mourn in lots of the same ways we do. I have seen and heard about cats who cried for months trying to find their playmates. My best guess is that your baby is trying to cope with the loss of his best friend. He is showing signs that he knows where his friend has gone. Cats somehow seem to tune into things that we as people even can't seem to see. I hope all of you are coping okay.

amocito - I am very sorry for your recent loss. It is never easy saying goodbye to one we love. I will add your family to my list of catsite friends and say an extra prayer that you and your remaining fur child heal from this. I think your kitty is paying quite a tribute to his lost brother. I will remember your story.

I am so sorry for your loss. It must be a very hard time for you and the remaining kitty. They had a true bond that cant be broken.Thanks so much for sharing. I too will remember this.

Amocito, also sincere sympathy over your loss. But what a weird story, like Greyfriars Bobby (the little dog in Scotland who guarded his master's grave). Unusual enough in a dog but even more so for a cat. So sad about the mouse offering, it must make it doubly hard for you. I've never heard of a cat mourning in this way, though they certainly miss a departed one, at least for awhile. My only slightly similar experience is a friend of mine moved with two old cats, had been together for years, and when her attention was briefly diverted, the male got out on the road and was killed. My friend saw the whole thing happen and was powerless to prevent it (and the car didn't stop). She brought the dead cat back inside and sat with him on the lawn, distraught and literally beside herself with grief. The strangest thing was the old female came running over and sniffed the body, cried very loudly and sadly once or twice, then ran away and wouldn't come out of the garden shed until the next day. Obviously she had an awareness that her friend was gone forever.

Amocito; My sympathies to you in your time of loss. I shall pray for your fur baby's safe journey across the Rainbow Bridge. It is sad the way his brother is mourning, but in my 30+ yrs. of loving cats and being loved by them; I can tell you that they do indeed feel loss deeply.

Please know that it is okay to take all the time you need to heal from this loss, and feel free to come back to this site whenever you want to share memories of your "boy".

TLK and her 6 =^.".^='s

I am sure he is mourning in his own way... I just hope he will get over it and I hope you and your family will be ok. I don't pray but I will be thinking about you... So sorry about your loss...

Anne-Claire

I am very sorry for your loss. We have had cats who have lost playmates or siblings and even their children. we have witnessed grief such as that of any human. This is especially true of the mother who has lost a baby. The mommy will look everywhere for the baby crying all the time. As far as a playmate feeling grief, yes I have seen this too. But I have also seen the compassion that the other cats give. In fact just recently we had a young kitten lose a sibling. Their mother kept looking for the other baby, completely ignoring the survivor. One of the other cats walked in and dropped a mouse right in front of the surviving baby and has seemed to take over the care for this one. I tell you we humans could learn a thing or two about compassion. And, like us grieving is a process we have to go through before we can go forward. I am sure that your kitty is going through the natural process.