My cat is grieving her companion. Will a new kitten help her?

Hello, It does sound like Sophie is be grieving the loss of her friend. In this case, getting her a new companion may be helpful. I would recommend fostering an adult to senior age cat. The benefits of getting an older cat over a kitten is that they already have an established personality and there's no risk of them growing up to become a bully of their senior friend. Fostering works really well because if it takes a few tries to find the perfect friend fit, you can be really sure that Sophie is happy with the new addition before committing to adoption. Feliway sprays and collars are a natural calming pheromone that can be helpful both during her current grieving process and will help when introducing cats to each other at first as well. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I am sorry to hear about your cat passing away. It is very normal for pets in the same household to grieve the loss of a sibling/house mate. What Tommy is going through is completely normal. I would first recommend taking her to be checked out by your vet just to ensure there is no underlying illness that is causing her change in behavior. If she receives a clean bill of health then you can assume her behavior is due to the loss of her sister. It is hard to say whether or not getting another cat would help. She may love the company of another female or she may feel stressed at having a new housemate. In the meantime, while you are deciding on whether or not to add another cat to your home, try spending some extra time and giving extra attention to Tommy, this may be all she needs. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

If you are looking at getting another kitten this should be fine. I would make sure you are getting Knopa checked on a regular basis. A test that may help stage her level of kidney disease would be the SDMA test. This test checks for a kidney biomarker that will help in staging the kidney disease and also detect early changes related to the kidneys. If she is not doing well, now may not be the time to get a new kitten as introducing another cat to the environment may stress Knopa out.

I do think our pets grieve, and this can last various lengths of time. All you can do is provide lots of love and affection and with time the grief will improve. New [toys](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/cat/cat-toys) and [treats](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/cat/cat-treats) can help. You can also try a [pheromone product]() that can help cats during periods of adjustment. It is available in a room diffuser or a spray.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry for the loss of your cat, and it sounds like Brostom is taking it pretty hard. Our pets experience grief and loss, and just like people, it takes them a variable amount of time to deal with that loss. If Brostom was very close with the other cat, he might benefit from having another cat in the home to keep him company. If you decide to pursue this, I recommend a slow introduction and keeping the new cat in a separate room for a few days where they can smell each other under the door. If this increases Brostom's agitation, then it might not work, but I think it would be worth trying. I hope this helps.

I'm so sorry for your loss. In general, cats tend to get along better with members of the opposite sex so you may want to consider adopting a male. Kittens can be quite annoying to older cats, but with an older cat it may be difficult to determine what their personality is like prior to adoption and older cats are not quite as adaptable as kittens are. If there is a rescue group or shelter in your area you may want to ask about young adult cats with easygoing personalities - there may even be a rescue that would allow you to take a cat home for a trial period. If you do end up adopting a new cat be sure to introduce them to each other very slowly, make sure they have separate resources at first (food, water, resting areas and litter pans) and consider a pheromone spray like Feliway to reduce stress.

Hello Grant! I'm so sorry that you suddenly lost your kitten, what a terrible loss for you and your wife. Yes, I think Luna would like having a companion in the home, and when you are ready, I would recommend getting another kitten for the home.