One cat has died - is it best her sister sees the body or not?

[MGMidget]

We had two twin (litter sister) cats, until a few days ago. Sadly one (the healthier one) got an undiagnosed illness and despite sending her to a specialist and having her undergo a lot of critical care treatment it wasn't working. So we made the decision to have her put to sleep rather than suffer more when it seemed futile. She is now sitting in a morgue at the animal hospital and I am considering cremation. However, I am wondering whether her sister is going to become disturbed at the disappearance of our dead cat. She died in the hospital so she hasn't seen the body but she knew she was sick and then she went away in the cat box. When our cats disappear in the cat box they normally come back the same day or exceptionally after a day or two when they have needed more significant vet care. She has seen the cat box come back home and smelled the blanket that was on her very sick sister when she went away in it. I know she recognised the smell as she took great interest in it and then looked directly at the position her sister had been in before she left.

I am wondering if anyone has been in this position and did you show the remaining cat (s) the dead body? I am unsure if this would just distress her unnecessarily but on the other hand I have read that cats can start to pine and search for the missing cat. On the other hand I am wondering if sick cats just go somewhere quiet to die in the wild so that they just naturally 'disappear' in the wild when they are dying? In which case it may be more normal and better for her not to be shown her sister's dead body!

I have been watching her behaviour and she seems more mobile around the house than normal which I suppose I could interpret as a sign she is looking for her sister. However, I also think she may be revelling in being the only cat in the house...no competition at the food bowls and no territorial jostling. Previously they seemed to have carved up the house 'territory' between them with certain rooms being the domain of one cat and certain rooms monopolised by the other. There would sometimes be a small tussle or at least some 'bothered' body language if one overstepped the mark and entered the other's area! Now our remaining cat can go anywhere in the house so she may be enjoying it.

If I go and get the body from the morgue and take it home before organising a cremation it is going to be a bit macarbre and also very time consuming for me as the hospital is an hour's drive away! Therefore, I only want to do it if I really should and will regret not doing it for the sake of the other cat.

Anyone got a view on this? Has anyone's cat pined after disappearance of another cat from the house?

I would say that from our experience it helps if the cat can see their deceased companion.

At one time I had three cats and one was pts at the vets. The other two were distressed and out of sorts for weeks and the female in particular would spend ages searching round the house, looking behind when they were let in the door to see where the other one was, calling in the night etc.

When one of the remaining two died (suddenly from a fit at home) we put him in his basket and allowed the other one to approach and sniff. She stood there for a while and sniffed the body, and then gave a funny little growl and walked away. You can't attach human emotions to animals, but she clearly understood that her pal was dead, and she didn't pine the way she did before.

I think they are more distressed by a sudden disappearance, but it may be that your cat already realises what has happened as she has examined the empty pet carrier.

My Persian sisters magic and Maia were very reliant on each other when out of their comfort zone. I took both cats to the vet when Maia was PTS. Maia has a nosey round the the room then climbed in on top of magic and stayed there till it was time. It was just perfect for her. I snuggled up them both up on the table while the cannula was put in. Magic sniffed Maia and recoiled. She doesn't seem to have mourned for her. She's a different cat since her death. Much more confident and puts her new sister in her place!

l've never had a cat, but when we had to have one of our dogs put to sleep, we let the other one come in afterwards and see him. lt seemed to do the trick, she never 'looked' for him afterwards, so l think she understood that he was gone.

l hope you're both ok. x

Ps. I had planned exactly what I wanted to happen when the time came. As it was semi expected. It really helped having that plan. It was a beautiful death.

TBH it sounds as if your cat is dealing with her sister's absence well so probably not worth an hour's trip each way. Animals are very practical and she will soon forget. Give her extra love for a while. Maybe some feliway?

If your cat had been PTS at home then I'd have said yes show her the body. Animals do absolutely understand about death and will dismiss a former loved one immediately if they see the body. Anyone who has see pets have a litter with a stillborn - the mother just rolls them out of the nest and focuses on her live young.

I had brothers, one was taken to the vet and subsequently PTS. I didn’t bring him home as he was cremated, but in hindsight it would have been better. The brother at home cried for days and looked for his brother, it was heartbreaking to see him so sad. I should have shown his his brothers body’s.

Years ago,my cat had kittens and a stray tom managed to kill one of them before my dog chased him away. We removed the body, and set up and away while we dug a grave. She climbed up, took it, cleaned it, nestled with it, lifted it again and left it with my dad before going back to her remaining kitten. All with my dog sitting close to her, not moving, just watching. I was around 10 ish, and it was one of the saddest, most emotional things I've ever seen.

Many years after that when my dog died, she lay with him, licked his face, and walked away.

She never had as strong a relationship with the next dog. She expected him to act a bit like her friend, and while he also protected her, especially as she got older, it wasn't the same.

So yes, it could be very beneficial for her to see her sister.

With a dog, I would say definitely, but if the cats aren't enormously close (ie having carved up the house into territories) then it's probably not necessary.

None of mine have, and they've searched for the deceased one afterwards, though hard to say whether they are actually mourning them or just wondering where they are - none of mine have been related, though.

My sister's cat's older brother died (PTS) and for months afterwards, she said he would sit at the window and if a similar-looking cat passed by, he would start crying .

I had a cat who was run over and killed. We buried him in the garden with my other cat, she sniffed him and watched him be buried. Not sure if it helped her or not but she did seem curious about it all. Sorry for your loss x

We were in a similar position to you a few months ago. One sibling cremated at the vet, the other at home completely unaware. We decided not to show her and she doesn't miss her at all although the vet said to be aware of any behavioural changes as their reactions can vary. In the end I'm glad we didn't, she's perfectly content at home here without her sister and although I miss her dearly, I don't think her sister does!

Personally I think it’s the right thing to do and have had to do something similar recently. The other animal seems to understand and although they still miss the one that’s gone they don’t search for them.

I have always brought our animals home for the others to spend whatever time with afterwards. Then yes, they know they've gone.

We had litter mates from a rescue last summer. Unfortunately, the boycat was chased by a dog in the field, completely misjudged the gap under a neighbour's gate and squashed himself into it. He got stuck and died, quickly I hope.

His sister was asleep in the summer house at the time and we didn't disturb her when we took her brother into the house to wait for DH to come home, then took him to the pet crem.

She did look through the house crying for him for a few days but soon stopped. Be prepared for a change in personality of the surviving cat. Our boycat was ridiculously affectionate to DH in particular, and me. The girlcat instead preferred to go straight past us and up to spend time upstairs with the dds. Since her brother died, she has changed completely and is now a lapcat who loves sitting all over us and who is currently asleep on the sofa next to me having draped herself all over me all evening.

Thank you everyone for giving me your views and experiences of this situation which was very helpful. Just to let you know that I made the decision that her sister should see the body before cremation.

I took her on the hour drive to the animal hospital to see her as it turned out to be complicated and expensive to arrange a pick up for cremation from our house as it was a very long way from the pet cemetary which was further from us than the animal hospital! The animal hospital gave us a room to spend time with her. Her still-alive litter sister was, at first, oblivious to her dead sister in the basket. She was more interested in exploring the room and walked past the basket a few times only sniffing the outside. It took some effort for me to get her to notice her sister. After a few attempts, including tipping the basket sideways a bit so she could see her sister and lifting her up close to her sister she finally seemed to realise what she was seeing. At this point she looked distinctively disturbed and retreated to the back of her cat box. I think that was distressing for her but at least she knew what had happened!

She has been absolutely fine since and seems to be enjoying the extra attention!

Yes, I remember The way Snorg recoiled after sniffing her sister. She knew instantly.

I've only just picked up on your thread, but wanted to say thanks for the feedback. It's such a hard decision to make at a hard time. Our two didn't get on, and we made the decision not to show Lottie her brother. Three days in she started looking out of the window and then every time we opened a cupboard she wanted to see inside. It was quite sad to see, but she didn't show any other signs of missing him.

I left my horses body in the stable next to her mate overnight for her to realise that she had died

I almost lost my dog this week and had already planned to take the other one to see him before cremation
I believe it helps them make sense of the loss, animals are so intuitive

Maxwell I would consider that long-term effects of not knowing where her dbro went change of behaviour (it could be that his presence prevented expression of some of her behaviours, but after a suffering distress like hers its also a likely outcome for her).