Can cats commit suicide?

I think my cat committed suicide. My friend moved to a new home and couldn’t take his cat with him so he gave her to me. She hid in the basement for a week and refused to come up until she was forced. Then she sat behind the couch for two months and didn’t move once. My other cat Max would often times get into fights with her and she’d growl in irritation anytime he got near her she didn’t eat at all the first 7 days she was in the basement and even when she came up still refused to eat. She wouldn’t take anything we offered not wet food, solid kibbles, snacks, or water. Everything she refused. She was a very, very, very, overweight cat so we weren’t too alarmed at first it took her a month before she agreeded to drink water but she was still on a hunger strike. The way I got her to drink was by pouring water on her back and she licked it off so then I gave her the bowl and she drunk the whole thing over the next month she continued to refuse food with the exception of once licking some of the juice off the top of a can of cat food. Our last resort was trying to pull the couch out so she wouldn’t have it to hide behind anymore she lost a ton of weight and she was alarmingly tiny. My friend and I were going to take her to the vet but before we could she starved herself to death and died under the couch. I think she was depressed and died of a broken heart, because she thinks my friend abandoned her.

Answers

Maxi

So the reality is you starved the cat to death over several months and she was placed in a home where she was scared and bullied by another cat............. and you didn;t take the cat to the vet within ONE week of it not eating as clearly it had a medical issue on top of being beaten up

Ocimom

The cat did not die of a broken heart or commit suicide. The cat was VERY sick and you didn't bother to take her to a vet. Likely she either died from a severe UTI or kidney problem or diabetes complications. Shame on you for not taking her to the vet early when she was hiding and refusing to eat or drink.

Laura

No, a cat cannot commit suicide. That requires a higher level of thinking that cats are not capable of. Elephants, dolphins, and some monkeys and apes can commit suicide. They have a higher level of intelligence than normal house pets. A cat cannot commit suicide. Your cat was so stressed and clearly showed this, and you ignored it. You refused to get the cat to the vet when she was in trouble. She didn't die of starvation, she died of organ failure. You should not have a cat, or any other pet in general, until you can learn how to properly care for them.

amy lynn

No. But humans can fail to see how stressed out a cat is and fail to get them the medical attention that they needed. You failed to make the right attempts to calm the cat into it's new living situation. You didn't know enough about how to make a scared cat comfortable in it's new home. You didn't reach out for help from a professional (a vet) in time to save the cat. Don't take in any other cats while you have the bully cat you currently have. Don't take in any other cats until you learn a little more about how to help the cat adjust to a new home. I think you failed to realize how much effort it might take to help a cat adjust to a new home.

heart o' gold

I cat will not starve itself to death. This cat was probably sick and you didn’t properly care for it or provide for it’s physical or emtotional needs or even protect it from your own cat.

I can still remember the day my cat ran straight into the path of my riding lawnmower... so yes, cats can commit suicide

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