How much do cats remember?

scarediecat · 2022-09-20T13:05:41+00:00

So, for example, do they know when they are in the cattery that I will be bringing them back home at some point?

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/09/2022 14:55

When our Bengal was under a year a hard bouncy ball we were playing with rolled down the stairs and clonked him on the forehead with a thud.

When he died at 10 he still braced before balls bounced down the stairs despite ping pong balls being used.

But it’s a cat so they are going to crack on they were horribly abused and thought you’d left them forever so they definitely need a tonne of dreamies.

Original poster

scarediecat · 20/09/2022 15:06

I can never work out what to think is best!

Option1; they go to the cattery for two weeks and hopefully remember I will be getting them when we get back.

Option 2; leave them at home with a familiar face coming in morning and evening.

2 is cheaper but I always panic about them not coming in etc. at least I know where they are in the cattery!

OP posts:

Original poster

scarediecat · 20/09/2022 15:07

@Fluffycloudland77 it always comes down to Dreamies

OP posts:

sunshinesupermum · 20/09/2022 15:10

I suspect DC thinks I am never coming back even when I've just gone out for a short time 🥲 she's an indoor cat and we are home most of the day so she is used to company.

Sparklingbrook · 20/09/2022 15:11

Sparkling cat loves the cattery lady. So when we get there she's wanting cuddles so she must remember her. I have to prise her from cattery lady on my return, so I am not sure she's waiting to be collected TBH. She goes once or twice a year and seems to enjoy herself (we get sent pictures).

I couldn't leave her at home with anyone coming in and out, and she has quite the routine involving us all so that couldn't be recreated. She's safer in the cattery.

jessieminto · 20/09/2022 15:13

All our cats are rescue cats so we always use a sitter. I couldn't live with the thought that we had sent them back! Plus we pay the same price for a sitter, actually he's a local dog walker who pops in, for all 4 cats as we would for just 1. A cattery x 4 would be v expensive.

BatteryPoweredMammy · 20/09/2022 15:16

Dogs don’t seem to bother much but cats definitely hold a grudge! 😂

We put the dog into kennels when we went away but left a friend’s older teen son to pop round to feed the cats and look after the chickens and paid him 150 for the week. (The chickens have an electrified netted fence so they’re pretty safe.)

The friend even came round and cut the grass for us whilst we were away , all 2 acres of it!!

We live rurally and have cat flaps so the cats can get into the house when they want to. I decided that the risk of them wandering off or getting hurt was probably no greater than when we’re at home normally.

I think the dog probably enjoyed the experience for the most part as he got to run around the field with other dogs every day. He’s an only dog at home and really enjoys company.

loislovesstewie · 20/09/2022 15:40

Mine has remembered that she doesn't like a particular brand of cat food. She is sulking.

Cervinia · 20/09/2022 15:48

Mine go to be the cattery and have for years. I’m pretty sure the intelligent one knows we are coming back and as soon as she comes home she is straight off outside to catch up with the sights and smells. The stupid one I don’t think does remember, he always sulks when he gets home and it takes a good 5-6 hours to come round. He should be used to it by now, he’s been about ten times.

Toddlerteaplease · 20/09/2022 16:01

Mine are the same as @Sparklingbrook. They love their Cattery. Unfortunately the staff who adored them
Left, but they are still happy with the new ones. They are difficult to extract chemo their 'chalet' and are never pleased to see me! I don't have ducks and chickens to look at!

Sparklingbrook · 20/09/2022 16:06

Toddlerteaplease · 20/09/2022 16:01

Mine are the same as @Sparklingbrook. They love their Cattery. Unfortunately the staff who adored them
Left, but they are still happy with the new ones. They are difficult to extract chemo their 'chalet' and are never pleased to see me! I don't have ducks and chickens to look at!

Oh yes, Sparkling cat has free range hens to look at from her ensuite room at the cattery with garden view. I can't compete!

ItsOnlyWordsInnit · 20/09/2022 16:10

DD told me the following, which she had read somewhere but can’t remember where. So this comes pretty low down on the reliability index.

When you go away cats think you’re off on a hunt and expect you to return. But once you’ve been gone longer than a week they think you’ve died on the hunt, so they need to look for a new can opener.

Yes, I think it‘s bollocks too - but amusing bollocks.

I wouldn’t use a cattery BTW. DCat gets a catsitter at home via TrustedHousesitters. He always falls in love with them offensively quickly; he clearly decides that we‘ve died hunting much earlier than a week.

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/09/2022 16:10

Our first one had horses to watch being groomed and peacocks. Gun dogs to look down on. I haven’t got the room for all that.

The one dn uses has actual rooms with flatscreen tv, fireplaces, human beds. Balconies ffs.

Tdcp · 20/09/2022 16:24

Cats have very good memories and will hold a grudge for years...

I'd go with option 2 personally, it's far less stressful for the cat that way.

DuckInAPuddle · 21/09/2022 20:35

Definitely option 2, cats are generally creatures of habit and far prefer to stay in their usual environment.

I recently read that cats forget their own siblings after being separated from them for a while (not just kittens, even adult cats after living together for years). If they meet again, they apparently won't recognise each other. So not particularly good memories, apparently, although I'm not sure what to believe, really.
When DH and I moved in together we had one cat each and sadly, they absolutely hated each other. We persevered for months, tried everything from feliway to a cat behaviourist, but DH's cat just kept going for mine. In the end my cat ended up living with my mum (who loves cats and has a much bigger and nicer garden, so probably an improvement for the cat). Even though I only visited every few months, I'm pretty sure kitty remembered me and would only ever accept cuddles from mum or me, never anyone else.

DH once accidentally sneezed into his cats face when he was still a kitten. The old boy sadly died at age 15 a few weeks ago, but until the very end would always miaow / say bless you whenever anyone in hearing distance had to sneeze. So he definitely remembered that particular incident from kittenhood (was probably traumatised by it).

DontKeepTheFaith · 22/09/2022 19:30

I worry that Dcat will be traumatized by a cattery. She is a rescue and was not happy in the rescue center! Before rescue she was used as a breeding cat and did not have a proper family home life so she has had it tough.

She needs company though so a cat sitter popping in would not work. Currently we holiday around our dses being home but with DS2 going to University our holiday options are getting more limited so I might have to try a little trip to a cattery for a couple of nights and see how she gets on. The thought of it breaks my heart😢 She will definitely hold a grudge!

TuttiFrutti · 22/09/2022 20:48

I've been told cats' memory is about 2 years. So they won't remember another cat, or a previous owner, longer ago than that.

When we took our 2 cats to a cattery recently, the older cat definitely knew what it was (she'd been in catteries before) and was initially furious with us - lots of hissing and spitting when she got out of the cat basket - but she then settled down and just got on with it. The younger cat had never been in a cattery before and, heartbreakingly, cried for the first 3 days. The cattery owner told me when we went to pick them up that next time, the younger cat would understand that we would be coming back and would accept it better. This turned out to be true and when we took them the second time, both cats reacted the same and settled in well.