Study Confirms Cats Grieve the Loss of Family Members but the Signs Aren't as Obvious

A new study finds that cats form attachments strong enough to grieve family members, including other pets, but the signs aren't as obvious.

A team of researchers from Oakland University in Michigan wanted to find out if or how cats grieve, and their findings are really interesting. Here's what they discovered.

A new study published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science explains the findings from the Oakland University research team.

Related: Dog Mom Shares Comforting Words for Anyone Grieving the Loss of a Pet

The team surveyed over 400 cat owners who had lost another pet in the past and asked them questions about any changes in their cat's short-term and long-term behavior after the loss.

According to ZME Science , "About two-thirds of these deceased pets were other cats, while the remainder were dogs."

The research team wanted to find out if cats have a similar grief response to other animals like dogs, especially since cats tend to be understood as antisocial animals.

“Unlike dogs, we tend to think that cats are aloof and not social,” Professor Jennifer Vonk, a comparative/cognitive psychologist at Oakland University and a co-author of the work, told The Sunday Times . “I think we’ve been mischaracterizing them,” Vonk added.

According to the study findings report, house cats showed similar behaviors that we typically associate with grief. They played and ate less, and some wanted to be around humans more, or they pulled away from doing things they typically love to do.

Cats Grief Might Not be as Noticable as When a Dog Is Grieving

While the study points out that cats do mourn the loss of a pet sibling, their signs of grief may not be as noticeable as those of other animals like dogs .

However, the Oakland University research said that a cat's grieving may be less obvious to some people, especially when compared to dogs.

“Whereas dogs, descended from pack animals, might reasonably respond more strongly to the death of a conspecific, cats under human care have adapted to live among conspecifics, and their capacity to respond to the loss of a companion warrants further study,” the authors wrote.

Cats are generally tired during the day and can sleep a lot, so it's not unusual for them to sleep out of view. This can make it more challenging to see their grief, whereas a dog who has high energy and seeks people out more, their grief may be more noticeable.

The study also noted that a cat's grief might be more noticeable the longer they were with their pet companion.

“Time that companion animals spent together engaged in daily activities predicted greater grief-like behaviors and fearfulness," the study said, "while more positive relationships between the surviving and deceased animals predicted decreases in sleeping, eating, and playing."

The study authors note that it's important to remember that this research was done by humans responding to a survey who also lost a pet. The grieving people might be projecting their grief onto their surviving cat.

“Consistent with this hypothesis, caregivers who experienced greater grief were more likely to report increases in their surviving cats’ sleep, spending time alone and hiding following the death,” the study wrote.