A survey of roughly 450 cat owners whose household had recently lost another pet found the surviving cats ate less, slept more and searched the rooms where the animal used to be, and the grief-like behaviour was just as strong when the companion the cat lost was the family dog

A survey of roughly 450 cat owners whose household had recently lost another pet found the surviving cats ate less, slept more and searched the rooms where the animal used to be, and the grief-like behaviour was just as strong when the companion the cat lost was the family dog

The cat has a reputation to maintain. Aloof, self-contained, attached to the house rather than its inhabitants, tolerating the other animals rather than caring for them. Of all the household’s members, the cat is the one we assume would take a death in stride. Two psychologists at Oakland University in Michigan decided to check, and the cats did not cooperate with their reputation. Asking the people who would know Brittany Greene and Jennifer Vo…