Animals deal with loss too.

Lord High Commander Ashington Fluffybottom in his keep.

 http://www.npr.org/2013/05/27/185815445/questions-for-barbara-j-king-author-of-how-animals-grieve

     Recently my family lost a treasured and much loved member when one of the two oldest cats passed away after 11 long years filling our life with humor and love.  Needless to say it was a difficult experience and I am still coming to grips with him not being around any more.  So today, right after I had spent an hour speaking to my wife about Ash and how all the other cats missed him, I find a friend had posted an article on FB that had people questioning an animal expert on whether or not animals grieve.  My Brother Benjamin made the point that anyone who has actually spent any real time with animals knows the answer to that question, but I will say that the Scientist questioned does an excellent job of explaining it as well.

     For me, the question of animals grieving is a no-brainer.  I have been around animals all my life and have seen so many instances of animals grieving over the loss of a friend or family member.  Classic examples are the dog that refused to leave the side of his fallen Master's coffin or another dog who slept on his Master's grave for weeks.  Animals grieve, not all animals of course because animals are as individualistic as humans.  

     We have five other cats including his biological sister.  Two of our cats were never very close to Ash, so I cannot say they have grieved all that much,  After I allowed them to say their goodbyes by smelling him and seeing him after he passed, they seemed to deal with it okay and moved on with their lives.  His sister, who we always joked would have been happier as an only child, barely moved and barely ate for days after he passed and sometimes late at night she still hops down from the bed and wanders the halls.  She meows and moves through each room.  Like me, sometimes I think that she feels that he is still going to leap out from behind something and surprise her.  I know she misses him.

     One of our five cats was a tiny little Orange kitten we rescued from outside and from the very first day she was out of quarantine, Ash decided that she was his baby sister.  For two years, he romped with her, bathed her and adored her.  She has never known life without him around.  She is only just now starting to act like her old self.  She would search every room in the house every day trying to find him.  She refused to even try to play for the first week or so after he passed.  

     Animals grieve.  Hell in my opinion, they probably grieve more deeply than humans.  Humans try to internalize their grief or even try to deny it.  Many are ashamed of what they are feeling and try to pretend that they are okay.  Animals don't have those limitations.  I remember watching a Nation Geographic show many years ago that showed a Mother Elephant who's calf had been shot by poachers the day before.  She stood over her baby for days standing guard.  The sounds that she made were so filled with sorry and loss that it broke your heart and anyone who claims she wasn't grieving is touched in the head

     So if people want to study this, the question shouldn't be "Do animals grieve" but should be "How do Animals grieve?  Because anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together knows the answer to the first one.

Brew long and prosper