Grief doesn’t just belong to humans. Cats grieve too—deeply, silently, and often in ways that their humans don’t immediately recognize.
When a cat loses a beloved companion—another cat, a dog, or even their favorite human—the impact can be profound. Their world shifts. Their safe rhythms vanish. And they look to us—sometimes with confusion, sometimes with quiet despair—for help in making sense of what’s happened.
This is where our role as guardians, companions, and intuitive partners truly deepens. Supporting a grieving cat isn’t about “fixing” what’s broken. It’s about holding space for their loss, honoring their sensitivity, and guiding them gently back toward balance.
Recognizing Grief in Cats
Cats don’t cry with tears or write poetry about heartbreak. But their grief shows up in the spaces between.
A grieving cat might:
- Withdraw and hide for long stretches.
- Refuse food or eat very little.
- Vocalize more—or go unnaturally silent.
- Search the house for their missing companion.
- Sleep in unusual spots, often where the departed one once rested.
I first learned this lesson from Amadeus, my Zen-master boy. When his sister Artemis—who had actually chosen me—crossed over, Amadeus fell apart. He cried out, wandering the house, ransacking Artemis’ favorite spots. It was raw, relentless grief. At the time, I didn’t know about energy healing. I just watched helplessly as his heart broke open. And through him, I learned something fundamental: cats grieve with a depth we rarely give them credit for.
Why Cats Grieve So Deeply
Cats are exquisitely sensitive beings. Science is finally catching up to what animal intuitives have always known: cats not only experience emotions, they often absorb and mirror the emotions in their environment.
There’s evidence that companion animals show signs of separation anxiety, stress, and even depression when bonded partners die. But beyond studies, I’ve seen firsthand how cats carry both their own grief and ours. They are tuned to subtle energy shifts, picking up on absence, tension, and the emotional weight we bring into a room.
When we lose someone, our cats lose them too—and then, layered on top of that, they feel us grieving. It’s like being caught in two waves at once. No wonder some cats seem crushed under grief.
5 Ways to Support a Grieving Cat
Every cat’s grieving process is unique, but there are gentle, reliable ways we can help. Here are five that I’ve seen work, time and again:
1. Bach Flower Remedies
Rescue Remedy is one of my go-to tools. It’s safe, gentle, and effective for emotional distress in cats. A few drops in water or rubbed gently into their fur can ease the sharp edges of grief.
2. Acknowledge the Grief
Don’t brush it under the carpet. Speak the loss out loud, to yourself and to your cat. When I said, “I miss Artemis too, Amadeus,” it was like a little bit of pressure lifted for both of us. Grief shared is grief softened.
3. Keep Routines Steady
Cats feel safe in rhythm. Mealtimes, play rituals, and sleeping spots provide anchors in stormy seas. A consistent routine reminds them that while one beloved is gone, the rest of life still has reliable shape.
4. EFT Tapping and Energy Healing
Cats are deeply affected by the emotional weather of the home. When you process your grief through tapping or Reiki, the energy in the house lightens—and your cat feels it. Sometimes I even tap with my cats, letting them rest nearby as the energy shifts. They relax when I do.
5. Reach Out for Support
You don’t have to do it alone. Sometimes a healer, a mentor, or even a supportive friend makes all the difference. When we’re stuck in grief, we often need someone else to hold space for us—so we can, in turn, hold space for our cats.
Amadeus and His Grief: My First Awakening
After Artemis died, Amadeus stopped eating and drinking. The vets warned me he might not make it. I was devastated—and desperate. That search for help led me to a healer who later became my teacher.
One Reiki session—just 30 minutes—and Amadeus came back. His eyes cleared. He started eating again. His spark returned.
That moment changed everything for me. Not only did I witness my boy’s recovery, but I also realized energy healing was the missing piece I had been searching for. This was the pivotal point when I knew that the path of energy healing was calling out to me. Amadeus had become my teacher, showing me both the depth of feline grief and the profound power of energy healing.
Later Lessons in Grief and Healing
Years later, when we lost Duchess, the cycle of grief returned. But this time, I was ready.
My cat hid himself away, eyes dull with sorrow. I sat at a distance, surrogate tapping gently through the EFT points, voicing both of our grief. He liked that his space was not being intruded upon, and I could work from a distance, without needing to touch him. After one round, something shifted. He came out from hiding, shook himself as if releasing a heavy cloak, and walked straight to his food bowl.
Another time, I worked with a client’s cat who developed sudden breathing issues after the senior cat in their home passed. Vets could find no physical cause. The grief had literally lodged in his chest. After a few rounds of tapping, his breathing eased, and within days, he was back to normal.
In my years of helping grieving cats, every experience has reinforced the same truth: grief is energy. And when we bring compassion and presence to that energy, it transforms.
EFT Tapping and How It Helps a Grieving Cat
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), or “tapping,” is often described as the meeting point of ancient wisdom and modern psychology. It combines the meridian-based principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine with the insights of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, making it both grounded and practical. Think of it as an energy healing tool that helps release emotional blocks, calm the nervous system, and create powerful shifts.
For cats, EFT is especially supportive during grief. When you tap, you not only process your own emotions (which they immediately sense and benefit from), but you also open a field of healing that they can attune to. Grief that was heavy and stuck begins to move. I’ve watched cats emerge from hiding, relax into their bodies, and even return to eating after a few rounds of tapping. It’s gentle, non-invasive, and a deeply respectful way of helping them heal.
If you’d like to explore this more, I share details and ways to work with me on EFT Tapping for Cats And Dogs.
Why Energy Healing Tools like EFT Tapping and Reiki are Perfect for Grieving Cats
Energy healing meets cats exactly where they are. It’s:
- Gentle and non-intrusive. There’s no forcing, no prodding.
- Respectful of their sensitivities. Cats are highly attuned to subtle shifts in energy, so healing meets them at their level.
- Distance-friendly. They don’t have to endure a stressful car ride or clinic visit. Healing can reach them wherever they feel safest.
- Balancing without diagnosis. You don’t need to “figure out” every detail of their grief. Healing simply brings the system back into perfect balance, physically and emotionally.
This is why I lean on energy healing as my primary tool. It honors the mystery of grief while still offering comfort and relief.
Walking Through Grief Together
One thing I’ve learned over and over: helping a grieving cat is not just about healing them. It’s about healing the relationship, the household, and the shared field of energy you both inhabit.
When we try to “stay strong” and suppress our own grief, our cats feel the heaviness anyway—and carry it with us. But when we allow ourselves to grieve openly, to breathe through the sadness, to process our energy, our cats are freed to do the same.
As you grieve, they grieve. As you heal, they find balance too.
Closing Reflection
Supporting a grieving cat takes patience, compassion, and a willingness to honor their unseen world. It’s not about rushing them out of grief—it’s about walking gently alongside them until their spark returns.
And when it does, it feels like the sun rising again in your home.
