My new cat is in mourning - what should we do?

Question

Last week my cat Reeky died, it was all very sudden, he was off his food for a few days before and kept laying in the same place by my house. on wednesday i found him dead.
Reeky only came to live with us last year when my cat (Cindy) of 21 years went blind and got abcesses and had to be put down, he'd been wandering about outside for 6 months or so but he moved in the day Cindy was put to sleep. i think he knew that Cindy was ill and going to die so he just walked right in and made himself at home!
Another cat (Sizzla) turned up and has been hanging about outside for the last few months and again, he moved in the day Reeky died he went round claiming everything that was Reeky's but the really weird thing is that Sizzla is always sitting in front of or just to the side of Reekys grave just looking. he's been there for on and off for 6 days now and we don't know why. has anyone else had anything similar? i hope Sizzla's not going to dig up Reeky's grave. Reeky & Sizzla were enemys!

Answer 1

It is not so unusual. Cats are really sensitive. And they have a reliable network which informs them when there is a vacancy in an elite household. They never miss a chance to fill that vacancy. I have had homeless cats moving on me after a death has occurred.
You say that Sizzla and Reeky were enemies? Is Sizzla younger than Reeky was? In which case, Reeky would have been training Sizzla and giving him some violent martial arts lessons in preparation of being Boss.
Maybe Sizzla feels he isn't ready, so hopes Reeky will come back ... or else he is just paying his respects.
Sad, but you have to let them get over things in their own ways.
Sizzla will not dig Reeky up! Cats don't bury their food or favourite things in order to reclaim them later (you'd be surprised at how many people confuse them with dogs!).
What is to be buried is something nasty (their poo, foul tasting cat-food etc.) and never dug up again.
Rather, Sizzla is being philosophical right now and chewing on the lessons of life and their meanings.
Or else, he might be attracted to the smell of freshly dug earth ....
Whatever, now you have Sizzla so I hope you will also get over your grieving faster. Am very sorry to hear about Cindy and Reeky's demise. Hope Sizzla has a long and happy life!
P.S. Are you aware that a name influences a life? Cindy makes me think of ashes and cinders; Reeky speaks and smells for itself, and now Sizzla? A Barbecue cat??? If you are for real, you might like to think of more inspiring names? If this is just a joke, then oh well, I fell.

Answer 2

Are you sure they were enemies? They weren't related or did they just have respect for each other in the neighbourhood?
Sizzla can smell Reeky and the fact that he is dead. This could be upsetting him - no animal likes the smell of death near them.
Did you bury Reeky very deep? I may be worthwhile moving or burying him deeper - plant a pungent smelling shrub on top of him - Rosemary or something. It will give you a loving memorial (whilst he fertilizes the plant for years to come) and should stop Sizzla fussing so much.
Good luck, cats seem to like you so you may have to get used to this problem!

Answer 3

She wont dig up the grave, she just waiting that you take her in and show her the same affection than Reeky had before

Answer 4

he probablay just knows that reeky is mising and as Reeky's grave probably smells like Reeky he is sitting there waiting for him.

He wont dig up the grave because that would be dirty and cats are clean.

let him mourn and be supportive, my cats went through he same thing when my cat Rosie died but it was all fine after a while.

Answer 5

1st sorry on your loss. I had 2 cats with reference to the comparable age do the comparable situation. At that age they have been quite often interior cats. i might called, yet they never got here. One have been hit via a motor vehicle and lay under the window. the different brother stored attempting to climb into the residing house via way of the window the place I slept. i attempted beginning the door to enable him interior yet he does no longer do it. He persisted the meowing all night. the following day i got here upon the ineffective brother. I felt horrific. The surviving brother cried that desparate meow for weeks. basically shop on loving her. communicate on your vet. possibly there is something he can prescribe to assist. Grief is own in animals, too. no person is familiar with how long it takes. i understand, i'm a widow of 10 years.

Answer 6

Your cat is just going through the grieving process the same as a human would. Like a human your cat needs time to adjust.

Answer 7

has the cat seen the dead cat??? they need to see the dead cat first... this will tell them that the cat has died.. after the cat has seen the dead cat, it will go through a grieving process... comfort the cat, and dont change anything else with the cats routine..
the cat will soon realize the death of the other cat is finite.... i have had many cats, and this is what they do... i hope this helps you...

Answer 8

I think that is sweet:) Give him more time.. they were probly good friends (secretly).. but dosent stop you might want to move the grave.. espically if starts to dig!
probly can still smell him.. and is waitng...

Answer 9

my dog did something similar. her brother died and she when was outside she would go lie in the spot he used to lie in. i felt sad for her but we let her mourn since we didn't know what else to do for her...

Answer 10

arrrrrrrrrrr, meks me cry, my cat missed her brother for a while but we got through it. it was sad watching her look up every time the house creaked, she had no idea because he was run over and the person that found him dealt with the removal.