I had to put my Hobbes to sleep yesterday, and I'm dealing with that. But now, Pugsley, his little brother who has been with him for 16 years, is walking around the house looking for him. He doesn't want to play or have anything to do with me.

Should I get another cat to keep him company? Or is there some way I can help him grieve?

Sorry you had to do that.
Pugsley needs to grieve too, I'd wait a bit before getting another cat.

It's just his way of grieving.


One time, when I had to put a kitty down, I brought her home for the others to see/smell, and their grief was real, but more brief, because they could see her passed away, knew what happened. Although the surviving kitty may know Hobbes was sick, he is looking for a brother who simply disappeared.

It will pass, but don't be surprised if the surviving brother becomes depressed, ill, wants to go soon, too.

Your best bet is to talk to a vet, see what he has to say about the age of the next cat. He just might need another cat around. You need to pick the right age though. I am so sorry for your loss

Seriously? I appreciate your honesty and the cold hard truth, but Pugsley going soon, too???

Thank you to everyone who's been helping me through all of this. I may not WANT to hear it, but I need to.

Don't worry about the surviving one - he just needs to grieve too - he'll snap out of it after a few days - he may need more attention from you during that time. I know this too well I had two cats that were sisters - one had to put to sleep at 18 years old (kidney failure) at the time her sister wondered the house looking for her crying (meowing loudly) it took a few days but she was fine.....since they were so close in age the other one had to be put to sleep about a year later due to the same problem. 18-19 years is an extremely long life for a cat and one that lives to 15 years is considered a long life. Sorry to hear of your loss, I know when you have them for years they become like your kids. Give it time for both you and the other cat.

a new cat might just make an old cat jealous!!!

Cats are territorial to begin with- bringing in a new cat will only open yourself up to cat fights and more travels to the vet's office.

Give it a couple of weeks, and see where you stand as far as getting another cat is concerned. You'll either want another one, or you'll sorta throw your hands up and say "never again".

The latter is sort of what happened to me- a cat I had owned for the better part of twenty years had gone MIA while I was out of town on business (it was taken to my dad's place where he'd pet sit) and never came back, which pretty much signaled to me that he had gone bye-bye.

Since then, various friends and members of my family have offered to get me a replacement cat, as they thought it would get me out of my depression that had taken place soon after.

Try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to get another pet.

let him grieve for a couple weeks then you can think about introducing a new cat.

A new cat will be a good distraction for him. Make sure it's a female kitten and has claws.