Grieving Cat

[24petlegs]

A month ago we had 4 cats but sadly we lost 2 in 2 weeks…cat#1 to old age (expected) and cat#2 to an illness/procedure gone wrong (not expected).
Cat#3 hasn’t batted an eyelid at the change
Cat#4 seems distraught; he’s constantly meowing, crying and looking for his best friend (cat#2). He’s sleeping in my arms at night when previously he’d be curled up with #2. He just seems so lost and unsettled.
We’ve lost cats before but never experienced any form of grieving from the others.
I’ve started to replace anything that might smell of cat1 and cat2 (litter trays, bowls), washed all bedding, blankets etc. I’ve added extra feliway diffusers but (and it may still be too early) #4 is still crying. He and #3 get on but it’s not anything close to the relationship he had with #2.
Any tips or suggestions please…

We had 2 dcats. Brothers. 1 died. Surviving dcat was distraught for months. After 8 months I caved and got a dkitten. Cured him..

Recent pic..

Awww! What beautiful cats!

Both cat#1 and #2 had a lot of health issues, needed special diets, lots of special care so it’s been a huge change for me having two without any health issues…I didn’t realise how much stress/worry the two ‘unhealthy’ ones gave me. Having two healthy ones makes me not want to rock the boat for a while.
But, I am open to another one if cat#4 continues like this. We do have two dogs as well that look after him but he’s missing his feline buddy.

Usually 2 dkittens is best but in our cases we can be excused for looking for 1!! I found a local dcat rescue fosterer who had 1 tiny 1. 2kg queen! Cost of neutering was included and I paid for jabs!

Mine cried for about a year, and kept looking everywhere for her. He then went through a succession of soft toys which he would carry around and wash until they fell apart (including a Fur Real kitten that he stole from DD and a snowman from the Christmas tree). We eventually got a kitten. He hates her. We’ve had her nearly three years now and there is an uneasy truce. She likes to wash his paws, which he seems to enjoy, then opens his eyes and realises who it is and hisses. They will sit on the sofa or bed next to each other but there’s no lovely cuddling.

It's a grieving process. People often underestimate how animals feel loss. I'd just give him time and love and hopefully his pain will ease in time (and yours)

I lost one of mine last year and his "brothers" are still a bit traumatised.

I'm really sorry you've lost two cats in succession.

My cat was with her sister when she was PTS. So she completely understood. She didn't look back and blossomed. However I saw her visibly relax when I bought Cheddar home, so she obviously missed feline company. Maybe a kitten might help.

My BSH cat grieved for a year when my other moggy cat died. She wasn't his mum but became like his mum when he came to live with us. They cuddled up together all the time and she stopped going out and stayed in the house with him - he is a house cat - when prior to that she had loved being out and about. Anyway, I genuinely think he was depressed after she died, his personality changed and he was very grumpy and withdrawn. We eventually got another kitten and he was nice and patient with her but they didn't cuddle up like he had with our moggy - she was quite boisterous, as kittens are, so it was a different dynamic. Now that she is older though they are really good pals and play together and keep each other company. It took him about a year to get back to his old self and it was very noticeable.