My reason for writing is partly sharing and a question.  Until yesterday, I had two brother littermate cats, Oreo and Smokey, approximately 10 years old.  6 weeks ago it became apparent that Oreo was ill as he started to isolate and he was jaundiced.  He had developed liver disease and I euthanized him yesterday as he had advanced stage liver disease.  As siblings they were close, groomed each other but also were somewhat independent in that Oreo was more aloof and Smokey more people oriented.  But they shared the same nice personalities.

During Oreo’s brief illness, at least what I had finally observed, because different things happen as a cat declines, I noticed that Smokey’s appetite suddenly changed completely.  So after euthanizing Oreo yesterday, I noticed upon my return that Smokey’s affection was even more intense as if he sort of sensed his brother was gone and wanted to feel loved.  And this morning, it seemed his appetite was normalizing.  Although that represents a quick turnaround, it might very well be that the burden of watching a loved littermate suffer had been lifted.

As this was the first time I had littermates as opposed to two unrelated rescue cats, I was wondering if this type of reaction and how things took place is typical under these circumstances.