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acf0703's avatar

I am leaving my cats for 30 days while I'm out of town. Will they remember me when I come home?

Asked by acf0703 (34points) July 31st, 2010

I am slightly obsessed with my kitties- we are VERY, VERY close and affectionate. I wonder what they will think being dropped off at a stranger’s house for the first time. Will they, and are they capable of, wondering where I am? At some point will they forget all about me?? What will go through their cute little minds? And, how will they act after 30 days when I come home?! We have never been apart this long….And, yes, I know I must sound slightly insane, but, I really do have the coolest and cutest kitties ever!! ;)

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11 Answers

kevbo's avatar

I think this pretty much says it all.

skip ahead to 3:00 if you can’t sit through the whole thing

Hawaii_Jake's avatar

Cats and other animals as well are certainly capable of memory. They are also probably quite used to their surroundings and will be defensive and maybe frightened when they are first left in new surroundings. I would venture a guess that they will remember you.

Will they miss you? I have no idea. From what I know about cats, they only think as far as their food bowl.

Your_Majesty's avatar

Cats are more adaptable and independent than dogs,so it would be fine if you leave them there as long as you provide/you know they’ll provide enough necessities for you cats wealthiness. You cats will still remember you when you’re at home again,many cats wander outside their houses to their neighbor’s house/other places,some for days before they finally came back and they still appreciate their ‘owners’ affection. They’re opportunistic,and maybe a bit disloyal if you compare them with dogs.

tinyfaery's avatar

I think cats are capable of missing someone. And they will certainly remember you.

CherrySempai's avatar

When my mom leaves the house, my dog won’t eat until she returns. I’m not sure how cats react, but I think they’ll definitely be happy when you’re back! :)

gailcalled's avatar

I have been fostering my daughter’s cat for slightly over two years. When my daughter came back for her first visit since the changing of the guard, it was slightly over a year. Milo slept in her bed the first night. Was my nose out of joint!

Then the second night he spent with me. Of course, we knew he was a Lothario.

Periodically during the day, if I am home, he will check on my location. And when I am out, he greets me as I open the car door. (He also assures himself that not only am I in bed but awake at 3:00 or 4:00 AM.)

Buttonstc's avatar

I adopted a two year old cat from a girl on Craigslist who had to give her up due to house sharing with an allergic roommate. She cried when she dropped off Baby at my house.

So for all intents and purposes Baby was now mine. Erin and I stayed in touch by email over the next two years but she never stopped by cuz it would have been too emotionally difficult for her. It was very hard for her to give her up.

When I knew I would be moving to Michigan, I emailed her to give her a chance to say goodbye to Baby if she wanted to so we set up a day.

I put Baby into the small bathroom as I didn’t want to have to crawl under the bed to get her since that’s what she always did whenever anybody came over.

But when Erin was there it took all of two seconds for Baby to recognize her and soon they were playing mousie fetch just like old times.

Then as we sat there chatting, she curled up comfortably by Erins feet and dozed off.

Long story short, Erin had bought her own house in the intervening years since the house share didn’t work out.

I had been concerned about how I would manage to travel cross country with Baby since she was such a skittish hider and I had visions of trying to fish her out from under the bed in strange motel rooms.

After asking Erin if she would like to have Baby back and making her swear a lifetime commitment, she went back to her original “Mommy” who was always first in her heart.

Thirty days is nothing. In that YouTube clip, Christian the lion remembered them after a full year apart and a different continent.

Baby was apart from Erin for two years and in two minutes it was just like they’d never been apart. She had the same quality of life as far as food, treats, clean litterbox with me as she did with Erin. But her first Mommy who had spent two days off work to pick all the fleas off her by hand cuz she was too young a kitten to be able to tolerate topical insecticide treatments was still first in her heart. So it isn’t JUST about food and comfort.

Love matters and they will remember you. They may get their noses out of joint a little at your absence but they won’t forget you.

One or both may decide to “punish” you a little by being snooty or offish but that won’t last long if it happens at all. They will just be glad to see you.

My older cat Velvet in the times I’ve had to leave her with trusted friends or have someone come over to care for her when I couldn’t take her with me would stick to me like glue when I returned.

She wasn’t normally a lap cat but every time i’d sit down, she would wedge herself in next to me in the recliner. That usually lasted about a week or so.

I used to call her my Velcro cat. She wasn’t taking any chances on me disappearing again :)

anartist's avatar

If they love you, they will always love you. I had to leave my Jillita for 4½ months. During that period she was cared for by my ex for most of the time, whom she loved very much, but saw him packing and moving out. Her last week before I returned, she was cared for by a neighbor. When I returned she was frightened and hid under the blankets or under the bed, but within a few days she was sleeping on my chest and purring.

If they love you they will not forget you.

Scarlett's avatar

I agree with anarist. If they love you they won’t forget you :) Animals are capable of memory.

chamelopotamus's avatar

Cats are always in the moment, they always find a way to entertain themselves. If you have a pattern where theyre used to seeing you or being near you, theyll probably notice youre gone, but otherwise theyll be chilling just off the fact that theyre alive most of the time. And when you get back youll just resume where you left off.

15acrabm's avatar

if youve been with them long enough, and taken good enough care of them, why shouldn’t they remember you? Your their mother. Don’t worry. Your babies arn’t gonna forget about you.

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