Elderly Cat Missing Their Owner

[fur angels of love]

Good Morning Everyone~

Marty I have a question I just needed to understand better. I was very attached to the last cat born in the

litter of my sis-in-law's. JoJo died Sept. 24th of this year and he was such a loving unconditional fur

Angel in every sense of the word~

Well, you see my sis-in-law had major surgery end of August and since her husband smoked she had to stay at her

mother's home to heal. She had to be put in ICU with lung problems and almost died herself. JoJo started to

get sick he was in and out of the vet during the summer as it was.

Did her absence put him over the edge to die? I saw him 2 days before she had him euthanized and when he heard my voice (which people think my sis-in-law and I sound somewhat alike) turned around to see if it was her and then back, I felt then and there in my heart he was hoping it was her and had missed her, I could be wrong. JoJo had just about quit eating at that point and started to hid behind furniture which I sensed he was ready to go. I felt so sad for him and would pet and speak to him as he knew me..doing the best of explaining to JoJo why Diane couldn't come home just yet..Do you feel they understand us sometimes too? My heart was so heavy for this beautiful animal and of course Diane felt worse do to her health issues. Her mother had 6 cats already at her house so being that JoJo was over 14 years, it wasn't a good idea to move him.

Can you please explain all of this to me more clearly please, thank you kindly~

[MartyT]

Dear friend,

I'm so sorry to learn of the death of this precious fur angel, JoJo. Obviously he was very loved, and it sounds as if you did all you could to help him, but his health and his body failed him nonetheless. You ask whether your sister-in-law's absence over the summer due to her own illness "put him over the edge" and somehow hastened his death. That is a question I cannot answer for sure, but even if it were true, I don't see how you could have prevented whatever happened to JoJo. It seems to me you did the best you could to "fill in" for your sister-in-law, and I have to believe that JoJo felt the very real love you have for him.

Common sense tells us that, just as we form attachments to our companion animals, they form attachments to us as well, so it's certainly possible that JoJo was aware of his person's absence, but it also sounds as if he was displaying symptoms of serious physical illness as well. You might consider having a talk with the veterinarian who took care of JoJo, to reassure yourself that you did do everything possible that could have been done. In addition, you may find this article helpful:

(The article refers to dogs, but the information is applicable to cats as well. You'll need to register on the site first, but it's free): Do Dogs Grieve Their Owner's Passing?