Cat behavior and memory

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

Does anyone know about how much cats remember? Like, I moved with my cat out of the house we'd lived in for 9 years. Does she remember it? Does she wonder why we're living in this new place instead of the old? Is there any chance she could remember the apartment we lived in before the house? I often wonder what she thinks of the whole thing.

Comments

[banee-noel.livejournal.com]

I'm sure cats are different then dogs, I know my dog Zeus hasn't noticed the moving around I've done on him...I don't think. He's pretty neurotic to start with so who would know. I do wonder if pets remember things that happened in the past though.

I do notice when I've been gone for a long time Zeus is extra affectionate, as if trying to convince me not to leave him again.

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

I know nothing about cats, but with animals it's usually a case of getting used to different smells. That's what constitutes "home" to them. *shrug*

[jade-lightning.livejournal.com]

Totally unrelated comment!
http://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/content/74913comic_storystory_full-3855698..jpg

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Ahhh! Awesome - thank you so much!

[jade-lightning.livejournal.com]

Thought you'd like that. I doubt the actual issue will have a lot of them together since it's an event (and I actually don't know where Gambit is right now) but if it does I'll let you know.

[denisia.livejournal.com]

I think they do. When I was in high school and college, Chewie went back and forth between my Mum's apartment and Aunt Evil's house in Maine several times over a period of years. Every time he went into one of the homes, even if he hadn't been there for a year, it was obvious that he knew where he was and he would immediately go to the spot where his food dish had been in the past.

Same thing when my Mum "cat-sat" him a few times when I went traveling. He hadn't been in her apartment in years, but when he got there he knew just where he was and walked around to all his favorite spots, knew where his food would be, etc.

I don't think that cats think about it all in a linear way, but I definitely do think they have an awareness and recall of the places they live.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I don't know. My cat seems to remember people - like, he's really fond of my mom, who cat-sat him for a while (and spoiled him absolutely rotten while she was at it) and has always hated my ex-girlfriend, even when she's tried to bribe him with treats, or when she came back to visit after being gone for about a year. (The reason he hated her was that she had a dog when we lived together, and he hated the dog. She smelled of the dog, so he hated her by extension. Also, she's the one who helped me give him a flea-bath once.)

Places, though, I've never really had an opportunity to test. I'd second what the previous person said about cats thinking more in terms of smells than anything else - my cat always seems upset when we move, because his stuff is leaving the house and the people are all in an uproar, but when we get to the new place he goes around sniffing everything and confirming that yes, it's his stuff, and then he seems to be pretty much satisfied after that. So I would guess that it's more about the stuff and the smells for cats than it is about the box that goes around the stuff, if that makes any sense. Plus, it seems like as long as you are there, they're more or less okay. :)

Fixed a bad tag. :)

[nytshd3.livejournal.com]

she thinks:

is it time for FOOD yet?

is it time to PLAY?

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

ROTFL!

(does anyone use that phrase anymore?)

[nytshd3.livejournal.com]

i do!