Cat behaviour after loss of littermate

[yellowplumpreserves]

I wonder if anyone would be willing to tell me about how your cat was after losing their littermate.

Just over two weeks ago we had to have one of our two male cats pts. It was the right decision as he had suddenly become very unwell and the vet said he would have pts if it was his cat. It was very sad as he was a lovely affectionate cat and only 16 months old.

We showed his brother his body twice before burying him and he didn't react much. For the first week he acted fairly normally though was more affectionate (he was always the more aloof and independent of the two). However in this last week, I've noticed that he's more vocal, more clingy, and is often sniffing around places where his brother often sat.

Anything we can do?

Attached is the last picture of them together. Mackintosh is the tabby (the one who died) and Archie the black and white cat. And there's a picture of them with their sister when they were wee (we fostered them with their mother from when they three weeks and kept them when their mother and sister left when they were 14 weeks).

That's very sad. I think I would consider adopting another cat around the same age that has maybe come from a group of cats and so is used to having other cats around.

I wish I could get another. He's quite a friendly cat (except with the one who belongs to some people a few houses away). He doesn't even seem bothered by the stray that meows around our house most evenings.

Sadly I think it's unlikely as we live (because of work) in a West African country where rescues are non-existent. Not cats are feral and the ones who aren't are semi-feral and kept to get rid of mice and aren't fed/played with etc. Our vet told us that most people who have cats don't look after them at all. It's really sad.

How we came by ours is a long story, and not sure it could be repeated.

He's definitely behaving oddly though. Several times when he has been sniffing around (not something he did much before his brother died) he has looked into so confined space and hissed but not with a puffed tail like he is scared. Still very affectionate and pretty confident but more vocal.

I guess I wondered how other people's behaved in similar circumstances and how they helped them. If I am unlikely to be able to get another cat is there anything I can do?

Are you feeding the stray? Just wondering, as you say that Archie isn't bothered by him being around, if it would be possible to adopt that one into your home...?

I haven't really got close enough to the stray. It's terrified of me. Have left food down where it often is but it doesn't get eaten.

Our cat's brother died and he searched and cried for him for two years. He still comes in and goes to the place his brother liked to sleep.
I thought very hard about getting another cat but haven't because he might be very upset by a strange cat moving in.

We had to have on of our 10 to cats PTS 2 weeks ago. We had 2 non related cats which who had been together since they were 16 weeks old.
Our remaining cat has behaved similar to the OP. Not much change in the first week but getting increasingly vocal and clingy now.
I wish I could explain to him but hoping he will settle down. Don' t really know what to do.