- June 1, 2026
Do pets grieve? Do they know when their companion animals are sick? Do they grieve the passing of another pet like humans do? These are compelling questions that we often wonder about but don’t always know the answer to.
Years ago, I had a 4-year-old cat that was diagnosed with renal failure. I did everything I could for this cat – giving daily fluids, force feeding, and medications. All I was doing was prolonging his ending. He would hide under the bed because he knew I would be coming with all my medical intervention and he was miserable. One day I noticed that my other cat (the sick cat’s companion) wouldn’t come out from under the bed either and had started to lose weight. I could not believe that I now had two sick cats and what is the likelihood that both cats were in renal failure at the same time.
The veterinarian was unable to find anything wrong with this cat. But he continued to lose weight and refused to eat. I then began to force feed and give fluids to this cat as well. This went on for a few weeks before I made the heart wrenching decision to euthanize my first sick cat. We came home with no cat and broken hearts. I went to see my other sick cat and attempted to get him to eat. To my surprise and delight, he dug right into his food. Within weeks he was back to his full weight and eating like a champ. We concluded that he was grieving with our sick cat and as soon as he was gone, he didn’t need to grieve anymore and got better. This taught me a lot about how animals are empathetic to each other.
Animals respond to sick companion animals in different ways. Some offer supportive behavior like my cat did to his buddy. They will stay by them and groom them or guard them. But the opposite can occur as well. They could avoid or have anxiety if their companion animal is ill.
And if the pet were to pass away or grow fatally ill? The pet may have a lack of appetite. They may have listlessness and sleep more. There could be a period of withdrawal where they want to be alone and hide. They may roam and look for the deceased pet, or they may cling to their human companions.
What can we do as dedicated pet owners to help ease our existing pets through an emotionally challenging time? Best practice is to stick to our routines and stay consistent. We can give extra attention if the pet accepts it. We can also give the pet the chance to say goodbye to the sick or deceased pet. This seems unconventional but to allow them to smell and see the deceased pet will help with the need for them to search for them later as they will understand that the other pet has passed on.
Each pet and situation is different. I know that from now on, I will remind myself that the other pets in the house are grieving just like I am and I need to make sure that I am conscious of their needs as well as my own. We will go through the grieving process as a family – me and my furry companions.
Katie Share is the lead animal services officer for Flagler Animal Services and has been with the Flagler Humane Society for 25 years.
