Our kitten witnessed his sibling get mauled to death

MultiMatt · New member Joined: 10 Oct 2007 Posts: 1

The most horrific thing happened Monday to one of our twin 9 month old kittens.
We were watching a neighbor's dog and it mauled one of the twins to death.
The survivor (Jamie) witnessed the mauling but survived it - physically. Mentally, the boy is a wreck and we can tell.
We have repeatedly cleaned the area(s) where the mauling occurred, using ammonia and other cleaners, but Jamie continues to hover around that area of the dining room and sniff very cautiously.
He is lathargic and keeps looking for his brother, then lies down somewhere else, with no energy.
Previous to this incident, both were VERY active wild boys.

I am open to suggestions for how to help Jamie deal with the trauma he witnessed. We are planning on getting another kitten to become a playmate (we're planning on doing the introduction in stages, as directed by several cat professionals).
But aside from the potential new playmate, it still seems like something needs to be done to address the shock that Jamie went through...

I am open to suggestions.

Thank you,
matt

halaroo · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:10 pm Post subject:

I have no advice, but I couldn't read and not post. I'm so sorry this happened to you! I can't even imagine what your whole household is going through.

Vene, a member here, had a cat (also named Vene) that was hit by a car. I recall her saying that one of her other cats had a hard time dealing with the loss. Hopefully she'll chime in soon with some advice. I do think a playmate is a good idea though.

nern · Moderator Joined: 14 Mar 2004 Posts: 5042 Location: NY

I'm so sorry that this happened. I think getting another kitten is a great idea.

In the meantime, if your kitten will play with interactive toys (such as a fishing pole toy), you may be able to use this to get him active again and to help him get over his cautious behavior in the area where the incident took place. Play with him and give him his favorite treats near the area and gradually work your way closer to the actual area. This will help build a positive association there.

sunset05 · Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:59 pm Post subject:

I have no advice but am so sorry to hear what happened to your kitty and it is awful that you and Jamie had to witness it. Crying or Very sad

vene · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 4267

Matt, I'm so sorry to hear that. Give your Jamie time, he will adjust and get over it. Getting another kitten will help him get over his grief. His attention will be diverted.

I remember the day my Vene got killed. My mom was visiting and she opened up the front door real wide and Vene escaped and got killed on the main road by a hit and run. We picked up her body and buried her in our backyard right after the fact. The other cats knew something was wrong. Monty boy, our chicken cat who is a purely indoors cat snuck out for 3 hours the first day retracing her steps. He would sneak out the next 2 days looking for her again. Milo, Vene's sibling took it the hardest. He slept continuously for 3 days and was not interested in anything. Then he decided to get back to normal self and carried on. Pumpkin was thrilled that Vene was gone. The girls never got along in life. They are both gone now. Pumpkin just died and I believe they are playing together but that's another story.

How are you and Jamie doing? Big hugs. I'm sorry I wasn't able to post sooner. I was unable to enter Auspet for a few days. There was some sort of computer error.

Chezza · Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:17 am Post subject:

OMG That is just sooo horrible Sad

, I'm so sorry, I would get another Kitty too, but maybe give it a bit of time, being young is a good thing on your kittys side..