How Animals Deal With the Loss of a Pet

It̵7;s inevitable. A furry member of your family dies after illness or an accident. You and your family grieve your loss. If you have other pets in your home, they, too will grieve. You̵7;ll notice different behaviors and moods from your living pets that might make you wonder what they are feeling. Some actions might help both you and your furry family members accept the loss and ̵1; eventually ̵1; move on.

  1. Losing One of Your Pets

    • You get used to a routine with all of your pets. These routines involve their care, grooming, medical care, feeding and exercise. When even one of these pets leaves your family, you feel a void even though you have other pets who still need your love, care and attention, according to the Pets Best website.

      Scientists and animal behaviorists are still working to learn just how pets perceive your emotions and their own. Because they don̵7;t know how much your cat or dog might understand about the concept of death, you have to watch your pet and try to figure out what he̵7;s telling you.

    What Your Pet Senses

    • While your pets all operate on thousands of years of instinct, they also pick up on any new changes, including the loss of one of their own. Whether one of your animals died after a long illness or as the result of an accident, the result for your other pets will be the same. They will all sense something is wrong when they don̵7;t see the departed pet coming and going.

      As you go through the grieving process, missing your deceased pet, your remaining pets will sense your sadness and anger. They will respond to this, states the SelfGrowth.com website.

    Your Pet̵7;s Grieving Process

    • You may know about the five steps of the grief process as outlined by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. These include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. You may not experience these stages in this order, according to the Grief.com website. If you try to deny your grief to yourself, your surviving pets will pick up on this and it will affect their ability to grieve, states the Pet Angel website.

      If you do experience any of these grief stages, you may notice your pets doing the same thing in their own ways. Their grief may mimic misbehavior or regression in learned skills ̵1; or you may see your pets experiencing mood changes.

    Behavioral Signs of Grief

    • Look for a change in social interaction. A previously outgoing dog or cat may choose to segregate himself and hide away. Regular grooming habits can change. You may see one or more of your pets pacing restlessly, seeming to look for the missing furry friend. Your pets̵7; appetites might change, growing larger or smaller. If you see this, be careful to keep feeding them the same amount of food so they don̵7;t gain or lose too much weight. Your dogs may howl, as if calling for the departed pet. Regressive behaviors can include accidents inside the house or ̶0;missing̶1; the litter box.

    Help Your Pet

    • You miss your departed pet. Your remaining pets miss him as well. Give them additional love, attention, petting and play time. If you regularly take them for walks, add an additional walk to their day. If you can̵7;t do this, ask one of your children or your partner to do so. If you have cats, add some sessions with their toys ̵1; you may need to work to coax them to play.