Do Animals Grieve?

Image by Quang Nguyen vinh from Pixabay

Please see the bottom of this post for any websites I have used in my research.

When we think about grief, we think of it as something only humans do. Some pet owners grieve for their pets, so does it not stand to reason that other pets may be grieving too? Just as we do, they may grieve for the loss of an owner or human member of the household.

From personal experience, I have witnessed animals exhibit behaviours that suggest that they grieve in their own way.

In my case, we’d had two cats, Jasper and Blue, for a good few years before Jasper died. Blue wandered around for days looking for Jasper. He was restless, had a poor appetite and did not engage in activities he usually enjoyed, such as chasing silver balls. This behaviour carried on for about a month after Jasper’s death.

The Blue Cross also believe that animals grieve. They provide some information and advice on how to help your pet during this time, such as not rushing into replacing the pet that has died, giving plenty of affection to the remaining pets and keeping their routine as normal as possible.

We shouldn’t be surprised that animals feel the loss of a companion. Animals often pick up and respond to our feelings. That, of course, does raise the question of whether the animal is grieving independently or is responding to our feelings of grief. That is not an easy one to answer, but I suspect that pets are grieving a loss that no one else in the household is.

Grief in animals presents itself differently, just as it does in humans, so it is not always easy to identify. Hills provide a list of some of the ways that grief may show in pets.

“
• Changes in appetite
• Acting withdrawn or despondent
• Whining or howling in dogs, or yowling and crying in cats
• Changes in personality; your aloof cat suddenly wants lots of attention, or vice versa
• Pacing or searching the house for the lost pet
• Hiding from or avoiding other family members
• Changes in grooming or bathroom habits, especially in cats”

In conclusion, there’s no solid proof that animals feel the loss and grieve as we do. However, it is evident that for some pets, the loss of a furry or human companion alters their behaviour. Whatever the cause of this change, we owe it to them to provide whatever comfort or support they may need as they often do for us.

The opinions expressed in this post are mine and do not reflect those of Kelp Social.

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/pets/how-pets-cope-with-loss
https://www.hillspet.com/pet-care/behavior-appearance/pet-loss-affects-other-pets
https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/looking-after-your-pet/all-pets/pets-and-loss-can-pets-feel-grief