And then there was one!

Scientists have spent a lot of money and time proving what true-blue animal lovers already know... That all mammals feel emotionally. They dream, they hurt, they feel sadness, loneliness, anger and grief.

My cat Sammy, passed away the day after Christmas this past year (2009). I am fairly convinced he died from loneliness and grief. He was 15 years old and had come to me as a foster kitten, having been born in a shelter.  At that time, I had a neutered male Tuxedo cat named Pounce who was quite an unusual fellow. Pounce loved to lay with the young foster kittens and let them "nurse" on him (they literally suckled his belly fur while he bathed each of them, just as a mother cat would). Sammy thought Pounce was his mother, and the two bonded very closely. Sammy's brother Shadow also bonded to Pounce as a mother figure, all the kittens did, but none so much as Sammy.

Out of the foster kittens, I kept Sammy and Shadow. The three of them were inseparable. They were my three Muskateers, my triangle boys! We owned many cats, but those were the special trio. They spent the most time together, bathing one another, playing and sleeping together.

On August 29, 2006, Pounce became ill. He was rushed to the vet, but never came home again. He passed away Aug. 30th from FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). It had for some reason hit his brain and he was gone in less than 24 hours. Nothing could prevent it, nothing could have saved him!

Sammy cried for him each night, searching the house almost continuously and waiting for him in that special spot where the two of them always slept. He ate poorly for days after and seemed down; lethargic. Slowly, he and his brother drew even closer, taking comfort in each other after the loss of their "mother."

However, in June of 2008, tragedy struck once again in Sammy's life. Shadow developed terminal cancer and passed away only a week after diagnosis. Sammy found himself alone for the first time in his life. The other cats that had lived in the house had all passed away through the years, no other cats were brought in, and Sammy was now a single cat. Everything in his life had changed, his feline friends were gone, and though he still had me and sought me out more than ever, I could tell he just wasn't the same. He cried a lot and searched the house. He didn't eat the same and he slept more. Sammy was feeling not only the change, but grief as well.

I tried to bring in other cats, but he wanted no part of it. He had been raised with his surrogate "mother," Pounce and his sibling, Shadow. He was not a cat that took well to any others. He also was not a "people" cat; he liked me and only me. But during the day when I was at work, he was alone. And very slowly, he started to "age."  Where before he was always the perpetual kitten, age seemed to find him quickly once he lost his feline family. He hung on well for over a year, staying close to me, always with me no matter where I went in the house, no matter what I did. I did all I could, giving him extra attention and treats. I made sure he had regular blood tests and check ups to be sure everything was okay physically. Yet, still, he started to lose weight. His blood tests were normal. Nothing really "stood out" as a danger sign to the vet. He shouldn't have been going downhill as he did.

Christmas day 2009 he seemed a bit perkier, eating a bit better than he had been, like he wanted me to be happy on this special day with my family. The next day he passed away at home, in my arms.

So, what really happened we will never know. Was it a physical malady that simply did not present itself in all the tests we had done? Or did his lonely heart simply give up? Perhaps he just needed to be with Pounce and Shadow again.

For more information on indoor cats, see my site, house cat.