Cat stopped burying eliminations

[ellie78]

Hi, I have one 17 year old cat and in the last couple days he has stopped burying his eliminations when he goes to the bathroom.  He has always done this before and actually used to bury my other cat's waste as well.  We lost the other cat, his brother, a couple weeks ago.  I've seen some things online stating this is a dominance behavior, but there are no other animals in the house now.  Is he doing this to assert his dominance now that the other cat is gone or is this a sign of something I should possibly take him to the vet about?  He has, of course, been stressed since the other cat passed but up until now had only been a bit more needy and vocal.  No issues eating or other behavioral problems.  I don't care if he buries them, I'm just concerned it might be a symptom of a bigger problem.  Thanks!

 

[catspaw66]

It could be the stress of losing his brother, or it could be that he is in pain.  A visit to the vet would seem to be in order here.