I know this sounds strange, but do you think animal's can die from a broken heart?

Question

I had two cats. My first one, Dixie, had difficulties when we had her spayed . She never walked the same after the surgery and she was diagnosed with neurological damage. Dixie slowly seemed to give up on life, even though she otherwise appeared healthy. We decided to get a kitten to maybe cheer her up. It took a little while, but they became the best of friends and Dixie was happy again. They spent two years together when Trixie (the kitten) tragically died this fall. I don't think Dixie ever recovered from the loss or her friend and she also just passed. She seemed to still be in good health but I surprisingly found her dead one afternoon. Does anyone else believe that she may have died from a broken heart?

Answer 1

Domestic animals express more emotions, mainly happiness, than wild animals. All because of us. They feel like we need them and vice versa. They begin to depend on us for food, exercise, and even love. I say yes.

Answer 2

Yes, I believe it's possible. If humans can why not animals? You ever notice how couples who have had long marriages, happy or not often die within the first year of the other's passing? Some advice for humans who lost pets. You will probably never find another pet as special as Dixie but you can find another pet to love. Way, way too many cats are put to sleep simply because the animal shelters don't have the funds for food. Most of the shelters nowadays take extensive profiles on the animals they take in. You should go soon and take two. I would if I could afford two more, but I am already feeding my two and an old neighbors cat that just left behind when they moved. He used to walk right in my house, have a snack and walk back out. Now he has kinda reverted to the wild thing and won't come in. But my other neighbor and I both feed him now and keep tabs on how often we see him. He just may be the best fed cat in town.

Answer 3

Sorry to hear about Dixie. Tragic to lose two so quickly.

Dixie may not have been in the best of health. Only a vet could tell for certain.

One of our kitties died and the other's personality changed quite a bit. He became more "needy" emotionally and dislikes being on his own.

I don't think it is a broken heart as much as a sense of loss - something is missing.

Good luck.

Answer 4

I do believe that is possible. I am a vet tech and we have had a few cases like this over the years. The one that stands out most in my mind was this one couple that had 2 dogs that came from the same litter. When the dogs were about 7, one of them came down with cancer. When it came time to euthanize him the couple brought both dogs in. The one that wasn't sick witnessed the euthansia of his friend, and was never the same again. He quit eating, playing, etc. He just wanted to be left alone, which was not normal for him. About a month after their first dog was euthanized, we euthanized their other one because he was just so miserable. They did everything they could think of but the second dog just never recovered. It was a very sad case, one that I'll never ever forget.

Answer 5

I do believe that animals can die over a broken heart. here is why- it depends on what the situation is, such as your situation, a loss of a friend could be dreadful to an animal. Animals are like humans in a way, if we lost someone we loved very much, it could harm us in a way. Such as not eating, not talking to a lot of people and not enjoying life. Same with animals, they deal with it in thier own way. Did dixie ever stop eating?? Or a change in behavior??

Answer 6

There are animals that die of what we might call a "broken heart". There is a bird in South America called a "guacharo". It is known for its faithfulness to it's mate. When it's mate dies, it only lives a short time and just dies itself. This is a known fact, not a myth.
That being said, your cat very possibly could have died because of the same...

Answer 7

i know a girl who had an iguana for seven years, her parents split up and she had to give away the iguana. She brought it to the pet store, crying and handed it over. Two days later it died. I think that animals like dogs, cats and in this case, iguanas can die from a broken heart. My grandparents dog was very unhappy and cried for a long time after its puppy died. The dog searched everywhere for it. It was really sad.

Answer 8

Yes. I have seen it happen. It happens mostly when the pet is bonded more closely with another pet than the owners. If the pet is closely bonded with the owner, then there is a time of grief, then moving on to a happy life again.
Though, I have also seen a dog pass away shortly after the owner (they were very close).

Answer 9

Absolutely. Animals become attached, just like humans. If you have never seen it, watch the movie, "Where the Red Fern Grows." It shows you how two animals love each other so much and when one dies, the other one grieves itself to death. Animals become very dependant on each other. This is very possible that one died because it missed the other one so much.

Answer 10

Animals develop attachments just as humans do. Dying from a broken heart isn't hard to believe at all. So yes I think it's possible.