Tears at Cat's Response to Owners Saying Goodbye to Beloved Dog: 'Mourning'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The owner of a semi-feral cat who has spent 16 years being wary around her owners has pleaded for advice after she suddenly decided to be extremely affectionate.
Tyler Shields lives in Wendell, North Carolina, with his wife. Heather, who, he told Newsweek, worked for eight years as a vet technician; she "would bring home random homeless cats that were brought into the office."
At one point, the family, which includes their 8-year-old daughter Amelia, had four cats—and in 2009, welcomed feral barn kitten Katara, who, despite spending her whole life with them, "always remained incredibly skittish around people, even us."
Describing Katara as having an attitude of "admire me from afar and leave me alone," and who would sometimes not be seen at all until feeding time, Shields said his daughter "tried so hard to bond with her because she is such a pretty cat, but she has only had luck when treats are involved."
However, things changed overnight when the family lost their dog, Gibbs, whom they had adopted from a shelter in 2014.
"He was lanky and ungraceful, so the cats gave him a wide berth unless he was standing still," Shields said of their 80-pound dog, whom they believe may have been part-pit bull and part-Great Dane. "They knew he didn't mean them any harm, but he rarely paid attention to where he was going and there was a risk of him stepping on them if they weren't careful."
When Gibbs suddenly fell ill, starting with not eating his breakfast and rapidly progressing to becoming dizzy and disoriented, the family rushed him to the vet—but "there was realistically nothing they could do, so we had to say goodbye that very day."
The family was devastated, as, in the past few years, they had lost three other animals—"the worst part of having so many pets around the same age."
But, that very night, something happened: Katara hopped up on Heather's lap as they watched TV, and "was begging for attention, and nuzzling her."
Katara, left, and, right, Gibbs the dog rest at home.
Katara, left, and, right, Gibbs the dog rest at home.
Reddit u/GWindborn / Tyler Shields
"The next morning, I was making coffee, and she hopped up on a stool next to me and was nuzzling my leg," Shields said. "I reached down to scratch her head and went back to what I was doing, and she started pawing at me to come back and give her more attention.
"After that, she proceeded to follow me to my home office, which she never really ventures into, and laid beside me while I worked," Shields added.
Ever since then, it is as if Katara had a personality change overnight, and has been "practically glued to our side, always sitting with us or nuzzling us or just making her presence known."
Shields described it as "very out of character for a cat who has spent 16 years spending most of her days hiding under the bed between meals."
Katara's change in character was so strange that Shields took to Reddit to share the story, posting to r/cats via his account u/GWindborn on August 10. He wrote that Katara was "oddly affectionate and needy after we lost our dog."
Shields asked: "Does she know we're in mourning or something? Or. is she happy he's gone and was intimidated by him all these years? Or is she just being weird and finding herself at [around] 16?"
Holistic pet health coach Melissa Sherman of Calming Creek told Newsweek that there could be "several possible explanations" to Katara's sudden personality switch.
"She may be feeling and responding to the family's grief, offering comfort in her own way, or she may have felt intimidated by the dog and is now more relaxed and open without that dynamic," Sherman said.
"Sometimes, senior cats also soften with age and seek more connection as their own needs change. From an intuitive perspective, she could also be stepping into a new role in the family's emotional life."
From left: Katara is pictured resting at home.
From left: Katara is pictured resting at home.
Reddit u/GWindborn / Tyler Shields
Reddit users flooded the post with words of encouragement and sympathy, awarding it close to 40,000 upvotes, as one commenter wrote: "Aw man, our furry pals feel loss too, it's tough. Your kitty probably misses the company and needs extra cuddles."
Another added, "She lost her mortal enemy, aka her best friend. Extra love is required," while one said that "cats are a lot more empathetic than they're given credit for."
One shared their own story: "I stayed at a friend's house the day after a difficult breakup once and their cat stayed glued to me, purring, the whole time. Even slept on top of me all night.
"It was a far cry from his normal behavior, I'm still convinced he knew I was sad."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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