I just had to split the cats in my divorce. Mine has been yowling in empty rooms and he’s clearly showing signs of depression (not eating as much, sleeping more, etc). My ex’s has apparently been searching the new house for days and gets sad when he can’t find me or my cat. They definitely have a sense of loss and vary in how they cope with it
I don’t know how bitter the divorce has been, but is there any way the cats could move from house to house together? Or would you risk losing them both entirely.
I had a cat named Gizmo. My wife adopted a cat named Tiny Dinosaur. When Gizmo died, T.D. wasn’t too upset about it. Then I got a new cat named Elmira. When T.D. died, Elmira was pretty sad. She cried and sulked. Then my wife got a new cat named Fluffy. When Elmira died, Fluffy didn’t care.
Hmm maybe my wife just raises cold indifferent cats.
Same for dogs. When my cat was killed, his dog-sister was in despairing grief for weeks. I’d hear her howling throughout the day, she stopped eating, and barely did anything all day. For the next few months, whenever she would hear/see a cat on tv or smell anything that belonged to the cat, she would get lively and attentive, as if her missing sibling was coming back. It was terrible to witness.
“They [cats] engaged less in sleeping, eating and playing but more in seeking attention from humans and other pets, hiding, spending time alone and appearing to look for their lost companions,”
My old cat and dog used to fight constantly. One day we had to put down our dog and the cat howled for days cause his sparring partner was suddenly gone. Whether the cat was lonely or legitimately grieving, I couldn’t say, but the experience certainly was eye-opening.