Cats have long carried a reputation for indifference, as animals more attached to a house than to the creatures living in it. A new study out of Oakland University in Michigan suggests that reputation may not hold up, and that many cats respond to losing a companion animal with behavior that looks a lot like mourning.
Psychologists Brittany Greene and Jennifer Vonk surveyed 412 caregivers who currently live with a cat and had recently lost another pet from the same household, covering 452 surviving cats in total. About two-thirds of the pets that died were cats, and the rest were dogs. Owners answered detailed questions about the bond between the two animals and how the surviving cat behaved in the weeks and months that followed.
Eating Less, Searching the Empty Rooms
According to the results, published in August 2026 in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, surviving cats commonly ate less, played less, and slept more restlessly in the period after losing a companion. Many spent more time alone or hiding, sought extra attention from their owners, vocalized more than usual, and appeared to search the specific spots the missing animal used to occupy, sniffing around and lingering in those areas.
Perhaps the most striking part of the findings was who the cats were mourning. The behavioral changes showed up just as strongly whether the animal that died was another cat or the family dog. What mattered more than species was the relationship itself, cats that had lived longer with the deceased pet, and those with a friendlier bond, showed the biggest shifts in eating, sleep, and play.
An Important Caveat
The researchers are upfront about a key limitation: every observation in the study passed through a grieving human first. Owners who reported deeper grief of their own also tended to report more grief-like behavior in their cats, particularly quieter signs like sleeping more and withdrawing. That could mean the most bonded households really do have the saddest cats, or it could mean that grieving owners are more likely to interpret an animal’s reaction to a disrupted routine as sorrow. It’s also possible the cat is responding less to the missing pet and more to changes in its owner’s own mood and schedule.
Even accounting for that, the researchers note this is only the second study to ever examine how cats respond to a companion’s death, and they’re calling for follow-up research using more objective measures, such as activity trackers and feeding logs, rather than relying on owner memory alone.
What Owners Can Do
For anyone currently living with a cat that recently lost a companion, the practical advice from behaviorists is fairly simple. Keep daily routines as steady as possible, since the cat’s environment has already changed once. Let the cat set its own pace with food, but check in with a vet if it goes without eating for more than a day or two, since appetite loss can quickly become a medical concern in cats. Offer attention when the cat seeks it out rather than forcing interaction, and resist the urge to bring home a new pet right away, since introducing a new animal to an already stressed cat tends to add pressure rather than ease it.
