Cat's Touching Visit to Late Sister's Grave Is So Bittersweet

It’s never easy to lose a beloved pet. Though many people think of the bond between a human and a companion animals as something simple or less-than a relationship with a human being, that is not the case. A person’s love for their pets can be profound, and when that pet dies, because their life is so short, the grief can be every bit as powerful as losing a family member.

And the opposite is true as well. Dogs and cats are not mindless automatons who don’t feel love and connection for the other living things in their household. And when dealing with a loss—whether animal or human—it’s important to give the pet an opportunity to grieve, too.

In this video, a woman tells the sadly sweet story of bringing her cat out to see the grave of his sister, who died the previous week. According to her, the cat has been “constantly looking” for his companion—and with good reason. She’s been with him her whole life. He even helped to raise her when she was just a kitten. “They were inseparable for ten years,” she writes. In the video, she is beckoning the cat to the grave and tapping it, letting him know that Timber the cat is inside…and gone.

Related: Video of Dog Loyally Guarding His Fur Sibling’s Grave Brings Us to Tears

Hopefully, this moment will help him understand that she won’t be coming back.

When Cats Bond

Though long thought to be solitary animals, cats are actually extremely social creatures that can create strong bonds with each other, as well as the people and other animals they live with. There are several easy-to-read signs to show that two cats are nicely bonded. These include that they will happily eat at the same time, that they will play at “tag” or “wrestling”, that they will sit near each other or even snuggle together to sleep, and of course, that they will groom one another (known as “allogrooming”).

Note: if your cat does this to you, you will surely know you are bonded.

In the video, you can see the two cats hanging out together and playing with each other over the years.

Animals Grieve, Too

It’s a mistake to believe that cats won’t notice if the people or pets who make up their household suddenly disappear. In many instances, experts advise letting the animal see and smell the other pet’s body, if possible (such as if the pet died at home) so they understand what has happened. Unfortunately, that option is rarely available, either for pets or people, as deaths most often occur in a medical setting.

Barring that, allowing a pet to visit the grave or visit with an item belonging to the deceased (like a collar or item of clothing) may also help.

Signs that your cat is grieving are very similar to human signs of grief. There may be decreased appetite and listlessness, unwillingness to participate in playtime or their other usual activities. They may sleep more than usual, or hide. Grief, it turns out, feels the same across species.

When I adopted my cat and her kitten, her other two kittens were taken in by a different family. For weeks, my cat would roam the halls of my home, doing a special meow we soon realized was calling out for kittens that she’d never see again.

We hope that this cat is working through his own feelings about his loss.

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