We had to get our cat Sarabi put down a week ago. It was very sudden. I've already done a blog post about grieving pets but this ones a lot less general. So here's a practical example of how to deal with problem behaviours brought on by grief
Sarabi has 5 "daughters" who lived with her. Yep 5. It's not bad they're all generally well behaved and get on etc. After Sarabi died though they've all started grieving. Some are a bit clingier, others are acting out. You can't blame them for grieving, but whichever one has taken to peeing on my mums bed is ticking us off a bit.
We don't know for sure who but I have my suspicions. We can do something about it though.
Firstly; we're cleaning up well. Everything's going through the machine with soap and pet disinfectant.
Second; we can't keep them out the room so next best thing we're taking the quilt. blanket and pillows off during the day, stopping her getting the chance to pee on the hardest bits to clean and since it's different she's less likely to pee there. This also has the added bonus of giving me less work. The unfortunate thing is with this kind of behaviour you can't be angry because it's a natural reaction. Getting angry or upset could actually make it worse, and we're only human, we're upset too, emotions are high, so minimizing stress for us as well as the cats can really help everyone move forward. Keeping calm and persevering is a key part of any training or behaviour modification IMO. As important as treating the root of the problem rather than the symptoms.
Third; we are using a feliway plug in, specifically the one for stress. it is worth pointing out that we know the cause is emotional here, this kind of behaviour can also be caused by medical problems including UTIs and arthritis so if you don't know the problem check in with your vet.
Clean. Remove opportunity. Treat the cause of the problem.
So far this is working really well and hopefully we'll be able to get back to some sense of normal soon.
until next time x