# To let surviving cat have contact with deceased cat



## razzle (May 20, 2010)

Razzle has stage 4 kidney failure. Although he is doing well, thank God, I was just wondering when he dies if I should bring him home from the vets, which I'll probably have to bring him to have the vet put him PTS  to let Geets see him and know that Razzle has passed. Don't know if I can do it when the time arrives, but was wondering if it would help Geets. If I don't Geets would be looking all over my apartment for him. I'm worried about him becoming depressed without his special buddy here and for me. I think I'll be more upset than Geet.

Kathy


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

Sorry to hear that Razzle has kidney failure  Unfortunately I cannot offer much advice. I recently had one of two rats put to sleep, they were sisters and had lived together their entire lives. I was really worried about how Pepper would go without her sister. She was funny for the first day but was back to herself after that. I'm assuming it would be a little different with cats though.


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## suwanee (Jan 22, 2011)

I'm so sorry, it's heartbreaking no matter what. I've lost two cats to kidney failure.

If you were already planning to bring Razzle home to bury, then of course it would make lots of sense. But if you had planned cremation or some other means, then maybe you could bring Geets to the vet when you have to take Razzle in. It would be comforting for Razzle to have you both there when the time comes. And Geets could see and say goodbye at the same time.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty...

If you aren't planning to burry him, then leaving him at the vets would likely be best, don't bring him home just for your other cat. While I'm not going to say animals don't understand when another animal is dead, I don't think they deal with that information the same way we as people do. Often within a few days or at most a few weeks they are acting normal again, at least in the case of cats. Geet will still have you, and that will make all the difference.

One of my mother's cats died rather suddenly at home and her kitty sister kept walking up to box she was being temporarily kept in and sniffing and meowing at it... I suppose she knew something wasn't right, and she wasn't happy for a few days after that, looking around the house and such... however, soon she was back to herself. I think this pretty much would have gone the same way whether she had been able to have this experience or not, as cats tend to get over loss much faster than we do.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I brought Squirrely-Jo home wrapped in a towel and placed her in my bathroom until Hubby came home from work so we could bury her. Several of the cats came in and had a sniff around her towel. Louie and Malibu were the only two who stayed and spent time sitting near her. One was on each side of her and it was like they were keeping watch.


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

Zoe was wandering around and sniffing after Gabriel died (at home) and I prepared to take him to be cremated. She sat and watched me wrap him in his fave blankie & put him in his crate. Allowing her to see this was something I regretted. She spent almost 2 months roaming around the apartment looking for him and crying at night for him. 3 moves and 2 provinces later she would still cry every single time she happened to come in contact with his crate and then spend at least that day (often a 2nd day) crying and wandering around looking for him. She did this even in homes where he never was. I brought out one of his toys about a year or so ago that she hadn't seen since the day he passed & she immediately started crying, was distressed, and went to the closet where his crate is and started pawing & crying at the door. Makes me feel teary even now thinking about it. 

I feel like I unnecessarily put her through something that upset her so terribly when sheltering her from it might have been easier for her. However, I have had friends tell me that their kitty seemed comforted to be able to spend a little last moments with their fur-sibling's body. I think it just really depends on the kitty, just the same as it would be individual to a human.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

When Tyler passed, I brought him home to show the others and they just freaked out, hissing at the body then each other. It seemed to cause more trauma than anything. I haven't done it since and my cats have always taken the passing of a housemate in stride without having to see the body.


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## libragrrl (Jan 14, 2011)

Very sorry about Razzle.

When it was time for our little Gabby to go, (she also had CRF) we had a vet come to the apartment so Gabby wouldn't have to be scared and in a strange environment in her last moments. The vet then took care of everything afterward, including taking her for cremation and we had her ashes sent back to us. 
We didn't let Fiona in the room until the vet had left with Gabby. I think Fiona knew that Gabby was gone when we did let her in. She actually went and laid in almost the exact spot where Gabby was laying when she passed. Even though they weren't the best of friends, Fiona was definitely depressed for a while afterward.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

I am so sorry that you are dealing with this now. I had two cats pass away, one at home and one I put to sleep due to advanced CRF. The cat who died at home, Multi, my two remaining cats had witnessed this so they were able to see for themselves what happened. My other cats were not close to Multi and I did not witness too much distress days later. 

However, prior to putting my Pumpkin Patch to sleep, I brought her to my other cat Oreo to say their goodbyes. Of course, I don't think Oreo understood at the time, that this was a "goodbye". After I came back from the vet without Pumpkin Patch, Oreo was roaming around the house looking for her and acting confused for about a week. Then after awhile I would see Oreo do strange things like jump on top of a wall unit and look right up at the ceiling. She just kept looking up maybe hoping to find her kitty sister??

All cats deal with this type of situation differently. I have read that it is better for the remaining cat to actually see the other cat leave the house. Otherwise they will continue to search for their beloved fur sibling. I guess they need closure.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Heidi n Q said:


> I brought Squirrely-Jo home wrapped in a towel and placed her in my bathroom until Hubby came home from work so we could bury her. Several of the cats came in and had a sniff around her towel. Louie and Malibu were the only two who stayed and spent time sitting near her. One was on each side of her and it was like they were keeping watch.


Heidi that is so sweet. they do know what is happening.

This has been a very unfortunate last couple years with very special cats to me passing.

My vet came to my sisters house to help her cat pass to the other side. It was a very peaceful event. All the cats came and said good bye after she passed.

Our beloved Otis we had to rush to the vet and had to put him down. We brought him home but he was so pumped full of meds from trying to evaluate what was going on and then euthanize him. The cats reacted to the smell of the vet office and meds on him and reacted differently when going up to him. Its like they didnt know him.

Otis's best friend Toby grieved for a year over Otis.. They had such a tight bond. It was heartbreaking to watch his sadness.

I always like to recommend the book Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends' Journey Beyond Death by Kim Sheridan.


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## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

Mitts & Tess said:


> I always like to recommend the book Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends' Journey Beyond Death by Kim Sheridan.


I plan to get this book and another written by Biblical scholar (can't remember his name or the title) who set out to prove that our pets DO go to heaven after experiencing the loss of his own beloved pet.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

It sounds like different pets react differently to death, which makes sense, as it's the same with people. I know people who consider it very important to see the remains of their loved ones and wish them goodbye, while others (such as myself) prefer not to, and prefer to keep their last memory of them as they were alive.

Unfortunately I don't have any good advice on what the best thing to do in this situation is. That's a tough call.



Mitts & Tess said:


> I always like to recommend the book Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends' Journey Beyond Death by Kim Sheridan.


There's a book in the same vein that my mother gave to both me and my grandmother when my grandfather passed away two years ago called Do Dead People Walk Their Dogs?
My grandparents were both avid animal lovers and professional dachshund breeders for their whole marriage, so obviously cared for and saw many generations of dogs through their lives. So it was a doubly sweet book to read in that light.

It was a comforting book to read both from the perspective of loss of a human family member and loss of animal family members.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

my4kitties said:


> I plan to get this book and another written by Biblical scholar (can't remember his name or the title) who set out to prove that our pets DO go to heaven after experiencing the loss of his own beloved pet.



I think the book you are thinking of is "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" by Gary Kurz. An excellent read for any Christian pet lover.


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## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

Kobster said:


> I think the book you are thinking of is "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" by Gary Kurz. An excellent read for any Christian pet lover.


Yeah, I think so too. That name looks very familiar.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

saitenyo said:


> It sounds like different pets react differently to death...


 In my case, I think our multi-cat home and the fact that I have fosters who come/go back and forth to the vet fairly often, it has helped our cats become accustomed to 'vet smell' and they don't react negatively to simple vet visits though I have observed some hissing if a cat had a prolonged stay at the vet, like an over-nighter. Typically that is a s/n appointment and I try to keep them isolated/separated anyways during initial recovery and by the time they're okay'd to go back into the group, the vet-smell has worn off.


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

we've handled this in both ways over the years, and it all comes down to differant cats respond differantly , when silvie our alpa female passed we let jolene have some time with her(silvie adopted jolene as her kitten and cared for her from the moment jolene arrived ) but even after this jolene would run through the house in panic looking for silvie, 13 years can't be forgotten. when our tinker cat left we did the same thing, tammi who had been tinker cat best bud just took-over tinkers bed..


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