My cat, Spots, is almost 1yr old and he lost his brother, Coal, about 1 month ago. Ever since he has been meowing a lot and his meows sound sad and distressed, or like he is calling for his brother. We should him the body to let him know that he died so I don't know... Other than that he eats and behaves normally. We did get three new kittens recently and he doesn't really like them, so maybe they are stresting him out? Any ideas?? Thank you!
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My cat is meowing strangely
- Thread starter kira korani
- Start Date
He is grieving for his brother. The new kittens aren't helping, either. You need to give him extra attention and love him as much as possible. Play with him more than the kittens for a while and reassure him. This is a difficult time for him, just like it is for people.
I agree that Spots is definitely grieving the loss of his brother. Cats have their own individual grieving process too. When Spots is calling out or making the sad meows try giving him extra attention as much as he will allow you too. You could also try to distract him with a toy. When my Baby-T passed away years ago unexpectedly at the vets office my other two cats were behaving as you described. Baby-T was a 2nd mother to them when they were babies so they had a hard time with the loss too. Oddly enough what really seemed to help was sitting down on the floor talking to them and explaining that Baby-T was not going to be coming home and had crossed the rainbow bridge. I told them I was sorry they lost their mommy and she was helping other babies now like she helped care for them. I also told them that she was now their angel and would still always look out for them. They really seemed to calm down after this conversation. When they did start looking for her I got out a toy and used it to distract them. I don't remember exactly how long it took them to finally accept that she was gone since it was a long time ago.
I would take a step back with the introductions with the kittens and Spots because I do not think he is ready yet. Perhaps you could give the kittens their own room to hang out in when you are not home so Spots has some space. I understand not wanting to keep the kittens locked up but I think the introductions need to be done slower right now. You could always give the kitten supervised time in the house for a few hours and let spot investigate their room without them in it. There is really no way you could have known how Spots would react to the kittens while he is grieving.
I ended up adopting a young kitten unexpectedly about 4 months after Baby-T passed away. Starbuck was only 6 weeks old and the boys accepted her very quickly. One of them actually acted like a daddy and took on the roll of socializing her. I rescued Starbuck from a friend who's cat wanted to kill her. I even told my friend that I can only take her if my boys are willing to adjust to her. My introduction could have just has easily turned out the way yours did. You had no way of knowing for sure how things would work out. Oddly enough my friend did adopt another cat the same age as her cat and they bonded instantly. Some cats just adjust to change better than others.
Here are some articles that may be helpful to you.
The first one is about the grieving process for cats.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/do-cats-mourn
Here is another article about how to do introductions.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-successfully-introduce-cats-the-ultimate-guide
Here is another article about play.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playing-with-your-cat-10-things-you-need-to-know
This may have some useful tips on how to distract Spot while he is trying to look for his brother.
I would take a step back with the introductions with the kittens and Spots because I do not think he is ready yet. Perhaps you could give the kittens their own room to hang out in when you are not home so Spots has some space. I understand not wanting to keep the kittens locked up but I think the introductions need to be done slower right now. You could always give the kitten supervised time in the house for a few hours and let spot investigate their room without them in it. There is really no way you could have known how Spots would react to the kittens while he is grieving.
I ended up adopting a young kitten unexpectedly about 4 months after Baby-T passed away. Starbuck was only 6 weeks old and the boys accepted her very quickly. One of them actually acted like a daddy and took on the roll of socializing her. I rescued Starbuck from a friend who's cat wanted to kill her. I even told my friend that I can only take her if my boys are willing to adjust to her. My introduction could have just has easily turned out the way yours did. You had no way of knowing for sure how things would work out. Oddly enough my friend did adopt another cat the same age as her cat and they bonded instantly. Some cats just adjust to change better than others.
Here are some articles that may be helpful to you.
The first one is about the grieving process for cats.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/do-cats-mourn
Here is another article about how to do introductions.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-successfully-introduce-cats-the-ultimate-guide
Here is another article about play.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playing-with-your-cat-10-things-you-need-to-know
This may have some useful tips on how to distract Spot while he is trying to look for his brother.
