Need to know what to do. My 16 yr. old Smokey died in April, Schmoo my 9 yr. old female is not taking it well. She is becoming withdrawn and is just not behaving like she used to. For example, she is sleeping under the bed or on the floor instead of on my bed, she wanders around and her tail is twitching most of the time. I find her sitting in the middle of a room just staring off into space. She doesn't do that. She doesn't appear to be happy at all. She's eating, using the litter box and everything that part is ok. She is spending a lot more time outside than she used to.

I was thinking about getting her a new buddy, cause I think she misses having another kitty around, should I do that or should I wait and see what happens with her first, because I don't want to cause more stress bringing a rescue adult female into the picture.

Plus do you know anything about Feliway, it's supposed to be a cat pheromone and my vet recommended it for when I get a new cat apparently you plug them into the wall in the room where the cats are the most. It supposedly keeps them calm? Has anyone tried it and should I try it right now before getting a kitty to see if it snaps her out of her funk first?

Thanks guys, I hope I can get some answers, because I miss my Schmoo and she's just a completely different kitty now and I'm really sad. It's like I lost 2 kitties instead of just 1.

Could she be picking up your sadness?

That's exactly my thought.

Past that, have you been to the vet to rule out physical causes for the new behavior?

Animals grieve, give her some time and extra attention. Has she been checked by the vet?

How about getting a kitten. She might become maternal and that will help her adjust to the loss of her friend.

She needs to be checked by a vet. Are there any new cats outside that are causing her to be nervous? Besides missing Smokey, are there any other changes in the house? New furniture, new people, new carpet? Have you changed the type of kitty litter you are using or new kind of food?
Does she have any fur mats or perhaps it is internal furballs? Be prepared, if you bring another adult cat into the house, it may not work out. Make sure the Cat Rescue folks will take the cat back if your cat wont accept a new one. Bringing a younger cat into the house might work better than another adult cat.
Good luck and hope she comes out of her funk soon.

Agree!

I go along with these thoughts also. Make sure there is nothing physically wrong with her, and if she is okay there, help her through her grieving. Check with the vet to see what he/she has to say about adding a new kitten, while you are there. They may have some helpful ideas.

My friend uses the Feliway plug ins and swears by them. Repeating myself, but she started using them when she had to introduce a half wild barn cat into her family, which included three (I think) well established and situated cats. The new cat was an altered male, the three house kitties altered females. She loves Feliway, and always has a supply on hand. It is cheaper at valleyvet.com. It may be a bit easier/less threatening to introduce a male rather than a female. Just a thought...

Sorry for your loss of Smokey. It sounds like Schmoo is grieving the loss of Smokey too. Last year we had three cats. The eldest, Motley, had to be put down as he had stomach cancer. The middle cat was grieving really bad. He would actually walk thru the house crying and searching for his buddy. Cats all grieve differently just as their personalities are different. The youngest at the time was grieving some but not as bad as the middle cat. We got a new kitten about 6 weeks later and he has added so much to our family and helped the other kitties from their grieving too. We had planned on a new kitty just not that soon, but it worked out great. We keep three cats because of the interactions daily. We have 2 boys and 1 girl. They get along better than having 2 girls and 1 boy. I would be leery of getting an older cat to try to blend in. It is harder on all of them. Kittens tend to be more active and spunky and playful. Making the older ones at home more playful as well.