Saturday, April 04, 2009

Do Cats Remember?

Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," shamelessly devoted to felines since birth! I wish I had stuck to them always, instead of buying a macaw. You can't hear a cat meowing three blocks away through heavy traffic.

A year and a half ago, I fostered a baby kitten for the good folks at Woodstock Trading Company. I happened to walk into the store when they had just rescued the little guy from the crawlspace and were trying fruitlessly to get him to eat. He was about 10 days old.

I took care of "Monstro" for five weeks, or until he was old enough to give up bottle feeding. He was an "only kitten."

It's been 18 months, and when I go to the store, that cat seems to know me. The staff tell me that he doesn't make over anyone the way he makes over me. He always sniffs me all over very curiously and will often climb into my lap and sniff my face.

"Monstro" is the only kitten I've ever fostered that I've seen grow up into an adult cat. And yes, he has grown ... and grown ... and grown. He's got the posh life, indoor cat in a hippie store, surrounded by Grateful Dead merchandise and acres of tie-dye.

Could it be that "Monstro" remembers me? How long are cats' memories? Could he recognize my scent? My voice? Even though I only go to Woodstock about once a month?

Please advise.

12 comments:

Celestite said...

Of course he remembers you. You have been part of his life since he was a few days old. You were the source of food and safety and you still come and go.

Unknown said...

every living thing remembers kindness and love
there is a maternal bond there too
how blessed you are and so is he xx

Lavanah said...

Of course he remembers you. You were his mama.

Dancing With Fey said...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he remembers you.

It sounds like he has a fantastic home now. :)

Pom said...

My cat doesn't remember where her litter box is (consistently) but she remembers the pain we had to cause her whilst treating a wound. Perhaps they have selective memories - what they really love or what they really hate sticks with them. What they don't care about just leaves them. I'm guessing you're a good memory for "Monstro". Sounds positive anyway.

Pat Burns said...

Yes, he remembers! I love cats (6 at present) and never tire of cat tales. I'd love to have a picture of Monstro with a backdrop of all that tie-dye as a reference to paint from. Could you post one here or email me from my cataday.blogspot.com?

Erik said...

My cats have ve-e-e-e-ry long memories... :)

yellowdoggranny said...

your his mommie..of course he remembers you..plus you are pretty unforgettable..

Hecate said...

Course he remembers. You've seen the YouTube of the big cat released to the wild who sees "his" humans again and runs over to hug them, right?

Anne Johnson said...

Oh true! I forgot about those lion-cub-re-release videos! My baby KNOWS me!!!!! Thanks, my friend.

Pat, I'll call the folks at Woodstock tomorrow and ask them to take a special photo of "Monstro" with an appropriate backdrop. I actually don't have any pictures of him on my computer, although the Woodstock Trading Company Home Page has some. Do you work in reproducible media?

Anonymous said...

Our cats remember my other half, and they see him once or twice after an eleven week interval, due to University.

Goat Yoda said...

We have a tie dye store like this down here where I live- cosmicties.com - except that this store is inhabited by a pit bull named Zeus and an ancient poodle named Angel. Great fair trade coffee, but try to avoid the Zeus humps.....:-)