Research: Cats Grieve the Death of Other Pets

A common perception is that cats are solitary, aloof, independent, and even disloyal animals. However, a new study shows that cats grieve the death of other pets they live with, including family dogs. Cat owners report that during such times, their cats experience insomnia, lose their appetite, and even make sounds resembling mournful howls. Others abandon their favorite games and show a need for more attention and closeness to their owners. The researchers of this study say the new findings challenge the common belief that cats are 'antisocial' and suggest that distress over the loss of loved ones may be a universal emotional response. According to the Guardian newspaper, researchers from Oakland University in Michigan, USA, whose findings were published in the journal 'Animal Behavior Science,' write in their article: 'Cats participate less in sleeping, eating, and playing, but spend more time seeking attention from humans and other pets, hiding, spending time alone, and searching for lost companions.' The grief caused by the death of family members and companions, which we humans call mourning, also exists in animal societies, and it has been proven for years that, for example, elephants, dolphins, and chimpanzees exhibit complex behaviors, such as protecting the bodies of deceased relatives, during such moments. Other recent research conducted by Italian researchers has shown that dogs also change their behavior when another pet dog dies. The researchers from Oakland University state that the grieving feelings of domestic cats are less pronounced. They write in part of their research: 'Dogs, which lived in packs before being domesticated and accompanying humans, show a stronger emotional reaction to the death of an animal of their kind. However, cats, due to living with humans, have become accustomed to living with other cats, and their capacity to react to the death of other pets they have lived with in an environment requires further research.' Professor Jennifer Vonk, one of the authors of the new research and a professor of comparative psychology at Oakland University, said: 'The common perception is that cats, unlike dogs, are antisocial and solitary animals. However, wild cats live in groups and within a hierarchy. It seems we have made a mistake in explaining the traits and personality of cats.' Although the results of this new research reinforce the view that domestic cats experience feelings of mourning, another possibility is that owners project their own feelings of grief over the death of one of their pets onto their cats. The researchers from Oakland University write in another part of their article: 'If we assume this hypothesis, we can say that those pet owners who themselves have experienced more intense grief are likely to report more significant behavioral changes in their cats, such as insomnia, indifference to others, and increased withdrawal.'