When Your Senior Cat Loses a Friend: Should You Get Another Cat?

When a senior cat loses a longtime feline companion, it's natural for us to think, "They're lonely. They need another cat." But is that really what your cat needs?

In this episode of Cat Talk Radio, Molly DeVoss explores what happens when an older cat loses a bonded companion—and why bringing home a kitten or young cat can sometimes make things much worse. Cats can form meaningful social bonds and show behavioral changes following the loss of a companion, but that doesn't mean they automatically want another cat.

Molly explains why cats rely so heavily on predictability and routine, how grief and environmental change can affect a senior cat, why a 15-year-old cat and a one-year-old cat may have very different ideas about what constitutes a good time, and why liking one cat does not mean liking all cats.

She also tackles what to do if you've already brought home a new cat and the introduction has gone badly—including why repeated chasing and fighting can create lasting negative associations and why sometimes the best solution is to go all the way back to the beginning.

Before you decide to "replace" your senior cat's companion, listen to this episode. Your cat may need another feline friend—or they may need something completely different.