We lost our 12-year-old baby, Bailey, to kidney failure a little over 2 weeks ago. We miss him like crazy. We have 4 other cats. Suddenly, in the last few days, our youngest cat, Ben, has been adopting many of Bailey's old behaviors. It's really very strange. Bailey used to always sleep right next to me when I watch TV at night and now Ben is suddenly doing that. We've had Ben since he was a kitten and he's NEVER done that before. He's always been so incredibly hyper and not nearly as much of a cuddler as Bailey was since he was always too busy terrorizing the house and he would sometimes even bite us if we tried to cuddle with him for too long. He is now suddenly sleeping in the exact spot on the couch that Bailey used to every single night, right next to me. He even sleeps in the exact same position that Bailey did! Also, Bailey, being the oldest and the king of the house, would frequently groom the other cats and sometimes even the dogs. Tonight, I walked in on Ben grooming one of our other cats, Joey, exactly like Bailey used to, also something Ben has never done before. In fact, Ben and Joey never really even got along all that well because Ben would constantly pester Joey and chase him all over the house.
I'm just extremely surprised by Ben's sudden change in behavior. He will be 2 on August 1st and he is the baby of the house (until we bring 2 new kittens home in a few weeks) and he has significantly calmed down and mellowed out since Bailey passed. He used to be absolutely insane and so hyper, racing all over the house and getting into all kinds of trouble, but now he's suddenly acting like...well...Bailey. Another really interesting thing is that Joey (the cat Ben was grooming tonight) has been extremely clingy and vocal since we lost Bailey. He also has been eating less since Bailey's passing (unless it's wet food). Tonight, after Ben groomed him, he went right to the food bowl and ate a huge amount of food and seems much more relaxed now.
Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this? I just find it so strange that Ben has suddenly, completely out of nowhere, started doing several of the things that Bailey always did and has calmed down so much. I actually kind of like it, but am curious as to what would cause Benny to do this. He is the absolute last cat I would have expected this from! He's done a total 180!
I'm just extremely surprised by Ben's sudden change in behavior. He will be 2 on August 1st and he is the baby of the house (until we bring 2 new kittens home in a few weeks) and he has significantly calmed down and mellowed out since Bailey passed. He used to be absolutely insane and so hyper, racing all over the house and getting into all kinds of trouble, but now he's suddenly acting like...well...Bailey. Another really interesting thing is that Joey (the cat Ben was grooming tonight) has been extremely clingy and vocal since we lost Bailey. He also has been eating less since Bailey's passing (unless it's wet food). Tonight, after Ben groomed him, he went right to the food bowl and ate a huge amount of food and seems much more relaxed now.
Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this? I just find it so strange that Ben has suddenly, completely out of nowhere, started doing several of the things that Bailey always did and has calmed down so much. I actually kind of like it, but am curious as to what would cause Benny to do this. He is the absolute last cat I would have expected this from! He's done a total 180!
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