We put down our beloved cat Jack this past Monday. His health had deteriorated over the past month, and he was ready to go. He could no longer pull himself up onto the couch, chairs, or coffee table, would sit in the same place for hours (instead of following me around like a puppy), wasn’t eating much, and was no longer going to the bathroom in the litter box. It was difficult, but we knew he was ready to die and, thanks to our wonderful vet, he spent his last moments purring while we pet him.

Our other cat, Liu, had been doing ok, though she has been a bit more clingy than usual. Liu and Jack were littermates, and have been together for all of their 13.5 years. Jack was a bit of a jerk to Liu, and she was always cautious when he was around. We’re not sure if the increased cuddling is her way of grieving or just how she would have been all along if she hadn’t been so scared to cuddle with us when Jack could see it.

Last night, Liu woke us up by meowing repeatedly in despair. After the first time I opened the door to the bedroom and put her on the bed so that she could be with us. I didn’t spend too much time consoling her, since I didn’t want to reinforce her behavior, but I assumed that having access to us (we’ve never let them in our room at night) would help.

Apparently that wasn’t enough, because she proceeded to wake us up with her meowing three more times during the night (twice when she was in our room, and once when she was in the living room). She had access to her food and water, a clean litter box, and nothing was “wrong” around the house, so we’re assuming she was searching for, or just missing, her bother.

Do you have any advice for how to console our poor little kitty? With any luck, last night was a fluke, but we really don’t want it to continue – both for her sake and ours. If you have any ideas for what to do if she wakes us up again tonight we would love to hear them!

I've attached some pictures of the siblings. Jack is bigger and darker, Liu is smaller and whiter.