Is companion animal loss cat-astrophic? Responses of domestic cats to the loss of another companion animal

Abstract

The examination of grief in nonhuman animals has historically been limited to anecdotal evidence. Recent investigations suggest that the psychological experience of loss may be widespread within the animal kingdom. Many studies have examined caregiver grief following the death of a companion animal but few have examined how other companion animals respond to these deaths. We sought to examine predictors related to the response of surviving domestic cats, following the death of a companion animal within the same household. A total of 412 cat caregivers were surveyed regarding both caregivers’ and surviving cats’ (n = 452) relationship with the deceased pet as well as possible immediate and long-term behavioral changes following the loss of a companion animal within the household. Amount of time spent engaging in activities together in a typical day predicted caregiver reports of increases in grief-like behaviors and fearfulness in surviving cats. More positive relationships between the deceased animal and surviving cat predicted decreases in sleeping, eating, and playing. The longer the cat had lived with the deceased animal, the more the caregivers reported increases in attention-seeking following the death. However, higher levels of caregiver attachment also predicted reports of increases in attention seeking behavior, which may reflect anthropomorphism in the projection of caregiver grief onto surviving companion animals. Consistent with this hypothesis, caregivers who experienced greater grief were more likely to report increases in their surviving cats’ sleep, spending time alone and hiding following the death. If caregivers reported avoidant attachment with the deceased cat, they reported greater decreases in grief-like behaviors in surviving cats following the death, suggesting that caregivers without strong, secure attachment binds were less likely to perceive that their surviving animals experienced grief. This is only the second known exploration of domestic cats’ responses to the death of another companion animal and reveals that cats exhibit similar grief-like behavioral changes following such deaths compared to dogs examined in previous work. That is, they engaged less in sleeping, eating and playing but more in seeking attention from humans and other pets, hiding, spending time alone and appearing to look for their lost companions. Future work is needed to determine whether these results reflect caregivers projecting their own grief onto surviving animal companions or whether cats may also experience grief following companion loss.