helping my bonded sphynx after our loss
hello 💗 my almost 8 year old girl, athena, and i lost my boy apollo in the first week of 2026 (i posted about it on here before) so she lost the only other cat she lived with peacefully. what i mean by this, her and apollo would bicker a bit often, but they would also sleep together and lived in the same space with ease. meanwhile, every other cat i have tried to slowly introduce to her (roommates cats and my mom’s sphynx) has been unsuccessful on athena’s part. she just seems to be generally against other animals (unless around a calm dog that doesn’t chase) which is why i have only ever had my two kitties, i never want her to feel uncomfortable in her home.
Since apollo died, athena’s personality went through changes, as expected. she became a lot more clingy to me, especially before i leave for work and after i come home, she sleeps in a new position closer to me (she used to sleep at my feet, and apollo would sleep up beside my head and cuddle in my chest now she sleeps up close to me either in my side or nestled against my back.) She also has had asthmatic symptoms for years which i normally could remedy with running a steam shower with her in the bathroom, but in the months since he passed, her attacks have grown more frequent and the vet saw a new progression in her lung irritation, so she is now on prescriptions that are helping greatly now. (i have had her tested for FIP, cancer, everything i can test her for, it is asthma thank god)
do you think she just misses him and there’s nothing i can do about that in the same way i can’t fix the way i miss him, or could she need a companion?
i do not really want to get another pet any time soon mostly because everything still feels fresh with apollo, but i would do anything to make athena happy. i know sphynx usually like to be in 2s so they’re not lonely, i just worry given how uncomfortable she has been around other animals that it would just make her more stressed out than she is now.
does anyone have experience with their bonded cat going through grieving? what was your experience?
and here are some of my favorite pictures in the world (athena is the smaller tuxedo, apollo is the pointed blue boy)