Do cats remember each other after being separated for some time?
Like Smokey and Samantha.
Let’s see, and learn more about cats.
Cats are in tuned to their environment. You can say they are hardwired as predators. Their keen senses for smell, sight, and sound are on the highest alert for prey or other predators.
You may interpret this as a cat not paying attention to you but it is actually designed for being ready for anything. If your cat does not jump to your immediate attention when you call her it is because she is focused on everything around her.
Some people say that you cannot train a cat, but from personal experience I can tell you that is false. Cats are trainable but you have to put the time and effort into the learning behavior.
Some say that cats are not as affectionate as dogs but that is not true. Your cat does not have to sit in your lap to be affectionate. How about the many times your cat rubbed alongside of you, purred while near you or gave you one of those cat licks. And when she rubbed her head against you (called head bunting) or gave you one of those slow eye blinks. They are all signs of affection.
Remember, a cat is not a dog. A dog would love a belly rub, but to a cat it will trigger her defensive response. You have to learn about your cat. Some cats enjoy a good massage and others prefer a drive-by type of stroke. Your cat takes a good amount of time learning about you, so you should do the same with him or her.
Now, are cats pack animals? Good question.
Cats do not run in packs and are more territorial. Cats are solitary for the most part, but they will live in colonies where there is a local food source they can depend upon, like here at Kitty Village.
Cats are essentially solitary hunters and it is important for cats to establish a territory that is defined in such a way as to generally avoid conflict with other cats. Cats, therefore, mark their territories using scents derived from facial glands, urine, feces, and anal glands. This territorial marking, together with the extremely sensitive sense of smell they have, helps cats to communicate effectively and to minimize direct conflict between other cats.
A cat’s territory consists of a core area, or den, where they feel secure enough to sleep, eat, play and potentially enjoy social interaction. Here at Kitty Village this is our rear porch. This forms the hub of the territory and the area beyond that core is actively defended against invasion from others. We have seen this behavior with Bandit here at the Village. Beyond this lies the home or hunting range that constitutes the extent of the area over which the cat will roam.
In the wild, territories may overlap with neutral areas where cats may greet and interact with each other. If a strange cat encroaches into another cat’s territory, this will normally provoke an aggressive interaction to chase off the cat, firstly through staring, hissing, and growling, If that is not effective, then a short, noisy violent attack will occur.
Do Cats remember each other?
If cats are separated from each other for a long period of time, will they remember each other? There is some controversy on this topic but most agree it depends on the individual cat. For example, here at Kitty Village Smokey has been separated from her kittens for some time now, but has been re-introduced to Teddy and Samantha recently.
Teddy greeted Smokey with a head rub, which is a cat’s hand shake and shows affection. Now, when our Dogs Kiki and Khaki meet their parents and siblings, there is a great amount of interaction with wagging tails and running about. Remember, dogs are very different from cats.
Now, when Smokey and Samantha greeted each other it looked like Smokey was going in for a head rub but… Samantha backed up and gave a quiet Hissss. Did Samantha not recognize her mother Smokey or were there some underlying mother-daughter issues we did not know about?
The second time they were together, Samantha was very intently exploring the interior of our home like if I was inside an alien spacecraft for the first time using caution with every step taken.
Samantha basically ignored Smokey while Smokey followed her around and kept an eye on her (forgive the pun). If we can get Pete or Bandit into the house we would love to see their reactions to Smokey.
Well, that’s all we have for now.
Thank you for reading Kitty Village News.
S&B