Meowing tons after loss of brother and won't stay still...

by Tiffany
(Santa Clarita, CA)

Hi,

I have two questions. My indoor male cat is almost 6 years old and recently I had to put his brother to sleep due to an illness. They were together since birth and now my cat won't stop mewoing, ALL THE TIME. Day or night. It's been almost 4 months and he deosn't stop. Do you think I should get a kitten to keep him company? I think he might be territorial though so I'm not sure. Also, ever since I've had him, when he gets pet he stands up as if he doesn't know what to do with himself. It's like he's nervous, if he's laying down and I pet him he stands right up. He wants to be pet but I don't understand why he won't stay still. Thank you for your help!

Answer by Kate
To answer your first question.
It is not uncommon for cats to grieve for a lost animal friend. the meowing is their way of calling for the other cat, i.e they can't understand where they have gone.
Now the solution is rarely getting another cat as you quite rightly stated cats are very territorial and are not like dogs (ie pack animals) so getting another cat can cause more problems than it solves, especially so soon after the loss of your other cat.
The best way to try and help your cat is to try and make his world more stimulating and interesting so that it distracts him from looking for the other cat. Think like a cat and make his living area a place where he can hunt, jump, climb, scratch, play etc. Here are a couple of my pages that may be of interest regarding this.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/indoor-cats.html
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-toys-play.html

i also have a page about cat grief which may also be of interest to you
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-grief.html

As for second question. Well i am not sure if this a problem or not. It may just be his way, some cats react in different ways to being petted. Some sit and take it while others get excited and move around. Perhaps your cat is just a mover.

I hope I have been of help.and have answered your questions.

Best wishes Kate

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