When you lost your bestie..

[antonsuperstar]

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone has been safe and sound over the last couple of months. It's been a while since I posted here, mainly because we've been busy with, well, covid-life and everything surrounding that.

Two weeks ago, our beloved F5 Savannah named Chilli lost her best friend - our domestic house cat Caesar. Caesar was twelve years old and passed away after a cancer illness.

Initially our Savannah was quite fine, playing as usual and cuddling alot with us, maybe showing a bit more affection towards us, but she was mainly being like she's always been, now - around 2 weeks after her friend passed away, she's started miaowing alot, and showing that she is quite restless. Obviously we play with her - alot - and right now I think we're playing with her around 3 hours every evening.

I'm wondering if you guys think that this new found behaviour of miaowing alot more all of the sudden could have to do with her loss of the best friend? Could this be showing after two weeks or do you think she could just be more "bored", or perhaps a bit of both?

We have decided to get a new friend for her as I think that it will be great for her every day life so in 20 days we'll be getting a 12 week old male Savannah F6, which feels super weird after a bunch of years with our old cat, but I'm super sure that it will be so much fun for our cat, and for the family as well.

So, my question is above, I just want to check if any of you guys have experienced the same thing after one of the cats friends have passed away, or if this is something we should do more check up on.

Thanks alot guys, you're all the best!

 

[Vito]

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone has been safe and sound over the last couple of months. It's been a while since I posted here, mainly because we've been busy with, well, covid-life and everything surrounding that.

Two weeks ago, our beloved F5 Savannah named Chilli lost her best friend - our domestic house cat Caesar. Caesar was twelve years old and passed away after a cancer illness.

Initially our Savannah was quite fine, playing as usual and cuddling alot with us, maybe showing a bit more affection towards us, but she was mainly being like she's always been, now - around 2 weeks after her friend passed away, she's started miaowing alot, and showing that she is quite restless. Obviously we play with her - alot - and right now I think we're playing with her around 3 hours every evening.

I'm wondering if you guys think that this new found behaviour of miaowing alot more all of the sudden could have to do with her loss of the best friend? Could this be showing after two weeks or do you think she could just be more "bored", or perhaps a bit of both?

We have decided to get a new friend for her as I think that it will be great for her every day life so in 20 days we'll be getting a 12 week old male Savannah F6, which feels super weird after a bunch of years with our old cat, but I'm super sure that it will be so much fun for our cat, and for the family as well.

So, my question is above, I just want to check if any of you guys have experienced the same thing after one of the cats friends have passed away, or if this is something we should do more check up on.

Thanks alot guys, you're all the best!

Hi there
So sorry to hear of your loss, it's an awful thing to go through but as fur parents we unfortunately at some point have to go through it.
This is purely based on my personal experience , last December we lost Ravi at 8months old due to FIP, it was truly devastating.
The house just wasn't the same, along with all the upset our Ragdoll Tuco was heartbroken, he cried and cried for ages and was restless, constantly wanting affection from us(which we were only to happy to give) however some may say it was too soon but we decided to get another baby in the form of Vito f4 about a week after losing Ravi. From the moment we brought him home, (you really had to be there to witness) Tuco perked up almost immediately and played with him constantly, they have been pretty much inseparable ever since.
I think getting another Savannah is the right thing to do and I'm sure you will have no regrets.
Cats show their grief in many ways, from craving attention, loss of appetite, being more vocal or just generally looking and feeling down. We just have to be there for them and all try to get through it as best we can.
Good luck with your new baby, I sincerely hope all goes well. I shall look forward to you introducing the new arrival.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

It's possible that it took some time for your Chilli to realize that Caesar wasn't coming home...and for the grief to arrive. She also probably IS lonely...if she enjoyed his companionship. How old is Chilli? If she is a similar age to Caesar, then I would probably schedule a wellness check with your vet. There's an older cat bloodwork panel it's a good idea to do at this kind of age, to check in on some organ functions and to get a baseline as the older your cat gets the more things might pop up. If she's still young, then I might not be too concerned... it might simply be the lack of a feline best friend.

Congratulations on your new addition! Remember to be good and quarantine the new baby and make sure Chilli is okay with the newbie before releasing. She might be lonely, but she might also specifically miss Caesar...some take to the new kitten as their new BFF and some are outraged that you would "replace" their best friend...so be prepared to take her reactions into consideration with the introductions