How long will cat remember?

[JessK]

I'm wondering what happens to your relationship with your cat if you go on vacation for a few weeks. I've been worrying about the idea of traumatizing him by having him move to someone else's house while we're away on vacation, but now I'm also worrying about whether our cat will remember us, or even our home, when we get back.

My boyfriend just returned from a two-week trip and I'm pretty sure my little ~5-month old Neo did not remember him, because he treated him like a stranger. Not unfriendly, just sort of questioning and cautious. It made me sad. Apparently by the end of two weeks little Neo thought it was just me and him in our household!

Therefore, I'm now really worried that if we go on vacation for two-three weeks, and send Neo to stay at someone else's house, when we get back he will have forgotten us and it will be like being adopted all over again for him. Will this be the case? Will he forget his house?? I can't imagine introducing it to him as though new, again...

What have been your exeriences with going away and boarding your cats? How long do they remember their humans and homes? Is an adult cat's memory better than a kitten's? Any thoughts appreciated--I'm kinda stressing about the idea of leaving him, but on the other hand don't want to pass up seeing new places...

[jason]

I'm now really worried that if we go on vacation for two-three weeks, and send Neo to stay at someone else's house, when we get back he will have forgotten us and it will be like being adopted all over again for him. Will this be the case? Will he forget his house?? I can't imagine introducing it to him as though new, again...

2-3 weeks is quite a while away from your little one, but if its a definite, then i would suggest wearing some clothes perhaps to bed for a *few* nights and leaving them around for him to smell your scent while your gone.

the stronger the connection is the easier this all will be (to an extent). Neo will not *forget* you. i think the questioning/cautious behavior was more of an emotion to the "hey, you left me" more so than a stranger...just an opinion.

just keep the bond strong and make efforts to leave "parts of you" (scents, etc) in the house....perhaps even have your sitter play some tapes of your voice, make similar sounds in the kitcken, etc.

[LisaLisa]

Hi Jess,

I completely agree with the info Jason gave you. Great advise Jason. The only other option I can think of is if it be possible to have someone stay at your place with your kitty while you were gone so the environment is the same?


My Smokey lived with my parents for 6 months (when I was relocating to CT) when he was a little more than 2 years old..He was happy there and he never forgot about me. He was spoiled rotten during that time but did give me the attitude that hey, why did you go and not take me. He was absolutely fine when he came home with me.

Lots of luck to you and let us know how it goes..

[Yzma]

Before we left on a two week holiday we collected sweaty gym socks and some clothes we'd been sleeping in etc... and put them in three plastic bags and left in structions for the house sitter to open a bag every four or five days and strew the contents in the cuboard that our cats always nap through the after noon in....

Kind a gross but your cats won't mind:D

[JessK]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think the stinky clothes idea is brilliant, but I don't think I'll be able to find someone to house-sit, so I'll likely send the cat to someone else's house, in which case I'm still worried he will forget his own house. There's also the option of hiring a sitter to come and feed him and clean his litter box daily, but I hate the thought of him being by himself day and night. I even worry that such prolonged loneliness could change his personality. What if we came back and he wasn't sweet anymore. That would kill me.

[LisaLisa]

Jess,

Just my opinion, but I think Neo is a little too young to stay at home alone and just having someone come in once a day... If it were me and no one could house-sit..I'd go with the stinky clothes and the familiar routine at someone else's house...that's me though


Good luck and enjoy your holiday...

[Yzma]

Oh I didn't realise he was so young...! I think you're better off leaving him in someone else's house while you are away. It's unlikely that he will forget about you, once you take him home he'll probably start to remember things more and it won't be like re-adopting him at all... As soon as he starts to remember he'll get right back into the swing of how things use to be... You'll probably do more damage to him leaving him alone at home, for three weeks, than leaving him with someone else...

Therefore, I'm now really worried that if we go on vacation for two-three weeks, and send Neo to stay at someone else's house, when we get back he will have forgotten us and it will be like being adopted all over again for him. Will this be the case? Will he forget his house?? I can't imagine introducing it to him as though new, again...

You may not be able to imagine it now, but i really don't think it'll be as bad as what you may find when you get back after leaving him alone for three weeks... I mean from a kittens point of view, he'll feel totally abandoned. Even if you do leave t-shirts and stuff, our cats were okay because we had a house sitter and she lived there while we were gone, and also we have two fully grown cats.

Just my two cents worth... But i think you would be being much fairer to Neo if you left him with a family while you were gone.