Registered Veterinary Nurse, Gary Rutland reports on Portia, a 12 year old cat suffering from bereavement after her two cat family members died and the introduction of two kittens.

Pet's Name: Portia; Breed: Domestic Short-hair; Age: 12 yrs; Gender: Female

Portia first came to the practice to see Robin Creighton for her usual check up appointment. Portia has hyperthyroidism so regularly sees the vet for blood testing and medication checks. On her visit in January, Portia’s owner expressed concerns about a change in behaviour. Portia had become more attached to her owner in particular at night. Her owner reported that as soon as she went to bed Portia would appear on her bed wanting fuss and would not leave her alone until she got it. This behaviour would happen all night, initially it was accepted but as time went on her owner was getting less and less sleep.

Robin refereed Portia to me to see if there was anything more that could be done.

It is important with all behavioural issues that we ensure that there isn’t a medical cause. I spoke to Robin regarding her hyperthyroidism condition. He confirmed that she was stable and that all blood tests were normal and that Portia was in good health.

I then called Portia's owner for a telephone consultation to gather information about Portia's environment and behaviours. Portia has originally been one of 3 cats in the house; these were a socially cohesive group sharing the same environment and resources. In the last 12 months the other 2 cats had passed away, leaving Portia as a lone cat. Cats are solitary animals and prefer to hunt and eat alone so in some cases cats are unaffected by the death of another cat, if the cats are not socially bonded. There is however anecdotal evidence that cats will go through a grieving process. Moreover they are susceptible to changes in our behaviours. (For further information on cat bereavement click here.) Some cats will become more friendly and attentive to their owners, as in the case of Portia.

Cats are a very clever species and are exceptionally good at getting what they want from their owners. In this case Portia sees the client going to bed as an opportunity to get comfy and have some one on one time and probably a nice warm body to lie on. It’s quite common for cat owners (I am as guilty as the any) to give into the demands of our cats, often sleeping on the edge of the bed whilst our cats spread out in luxury. We are all entitled to our sleep and one of the reasons Portia was continuing to pester her owner was because unfortunately the behaviour had been allowed, as the owner believed this would help her grieving.

On further investigation Portia’s owner had recently aquired two new kittens. This added a whole new element to Portia’s change in behaviour. It is common to think that we need to help our cats by providing new feline companionship. However replacing a long term bond between two cats with a boisterous kitten can sometimes do more harm than good. Portia’s owner had been considerate of this by keeping the new kitten’s downstairs allowing Portia free reign to the upstairs; however she would have been able to smell their scent on her owner’s clothes so her nose would have most certainly been put out of place as her environment would have been disturbed.

I’m glad to say that Portia is a very happy cat now and sleeps in her own bed every night. Moreover, her owner is now able to sleep at night. She is getting used to the new kittens slowly but is making progress.