Cats can be called perfect pets because they are beautiful, smart, clean, affectionate, and pleasant to touch. However, despite all our love for cats, we know little about how their brain works. For example, how developed and organized is a cat’s memory.
Features of memory in cats
The brain of a cat is much smaller than that of a human – its weight is only 1% of the body weight (roughly 0.22% of body weight in pounds), while in humans it is 2%. But at the same time, it is similar to our brain: it also consists of neurons that form gray and white matter, divided into frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, and the cortex is covered with convolutions, albeit more primitive than in humans.
Scientists have long been interested in the peculiarities of feline memory. Back in the 70s of the last century, experiments on this topic were conducted. Hungry cats were shown food, then bowls were hidden from them under different boxes, and the subjects were removed from the room. After half an hour, the cats were returned and their behavior was observed. Almost all cats immediately ran to the right boxes and found bowls with food under them. However, when the experiment was extended to a day, the situation changed. After a day, the cats clearly forgot the details of the situation. Some of them showed no interest in the boxes at all, while others sniffed all the boxes in a row. That is, some cats remembered, but their memories were vague.
A more modern experiment is reported in the Behavioral Processes journal. Japanese scientists studied episodic memory in cats. This is the memory that is associated with certain events and situations. In the first part of the experiment, cats were offered to examine four bowls of food, but they were only allowed to try from two bowls. Then the cats were taken out of the room for a quarter of an hour, after which they were returned, with all the bowls replaced with the same empty ones, but preserving their arrangement. The animals were more attracted to those bowls from which they had not yet eaten. And they clearly remembered their location. In the second part of the experiment, the conditions were complicated. Only two of the four bowls had tasty food, one had an inedible thing, and the fourth bowl was empty. Cats were allowed to inspect all bowls and eat food from one, then they were removed from the room and returned after a while. The subjects were most interested in the second remaining bowl with food, meaning they remembered the circumstances of the situation. As a result, the scientists concluded that cats have episodic memory, and in the first part of the experiment, the cats remembered where the food was, and in the second – what exactly was in different places.
Thus, the development of short-term and episodic memory in cats has been confirmed experimentally. Indeed, how would cats learn and acquire new forms of behavior without a good memory? Cats can even be trained. Proof of this can be found in performances by the famous Kuklachev Theater. And at home, one can teach a cat to understand some words and execute commands; many cat owners often share such experiences on the internet.
However, the cat’s memory has its peculiarities. Cats remember best what is important to them or is marked by bright emotions. This property of memory can be called selectivity. Only information necessary for the cat’s well-being is remembered. In the wild, memory helps cats to change their behavior in time, adjusting to the situation, and to survive. Therefore, they remember well places where there is food or water, a warm shelter, enemies or dangerous objects, and they forget insignificant information right away. Memories arise spontaneously, by association with a certain image, sounds, smells, tactile sensations, but they cannot extract information from memory at will, like humans.
Most of the information a cat receives comes from observation. Kittens learn everything by watching their mother. Domestic pets remember human actions (such as how people open the door) and try to repeat them. Cats also learn easily by imitating each other. In some studies, the most resourceful cat succeeded in getting food, and then the other cats imitated her actions.
Duration: How long do cats remember specific events and their owner
As a result of conducted experiments, scientists have roughly determined the time during which cats retain memories — about 16 hours. This is a characteristic of their short-term memory. But cats remember well only the information that is important to them. For example, a cat will remember well a guest who accidentally stepped on its tail or fed the cat a tasty treat. But guests who had no direct contact with it will be forgotten within a few minutes.
Long-term memory is a bit more complicated. The thing is, it is closely intertwined with instincts, which, in essence, are an animal’s innate memory. Certain hunting rituals, interactions with kin, and caring for offspring are dictated by these instincts. But, for example, a cat gets better at caring for kittens with each new litter. That is, she accumulates useful experience, and this information is preserved in her forever.
But in nature, animals don’t have owners, which means that cats demonstrate excellent long-term memory, not instincts, towards their beloved humans. There are numerous cases where cats found their home and their owners after several months or years after they got lost.
Memory speed: How to train your pet to remember everything
Cats can remember information the first time if it is interesting or vitally important. Moreover, feline memory exhibits a pronounced edge effect: animals remember the first impression that a person or situation made on them the best. This should be taken into account when first meeting a future pet. Interestingly, the first time they see themselves in the mirror, any kitten gets scared and bristles up. But, after interacting with the reflection for a couple of days, it realizes that it is harmless, and for the rest of its life, pays no attention to it.
If it is necessary to teach a cat something that is not of particular interest to her, then you will have to repeat the lessons five or more times. The main rules of successful training are to pique the pet’s interest, if possible, engage its hunting instincts, and be sure to reward for the slightest success (with praise or a treat). Punishments in cat training are ineffective and only destroy the cat’s trust and love for the person. Daily repetition of lessons will improve the quality of training.
My Bengal cat memorizes information significant to him approximately after three repetitions. We sometimes take him out for walks, first putting on a harness and placing him in a plastic carrier with a door. The first two times, the cat refused to walk in the harness and would lay on the floor, and we had to stuff him into the carrier quite literally. But he enjoyed the walks very much and didn’t pay attention to the harness while outdoors. The walk became his desired dream. By the fourth time, he no longer resisted the harness and willingly went into the carrier. And from the fifth time to this day, he patiently lies down while we put on the harness, then runs to the corridor and gets into the carrier himself. He even closes the door behind him with his paw. If there is no walk planned, but the carrier is in the hallway, he sits sadly in it, waiting for his walk. Also, in just three times, he learned that the boxes that couriers bring to our house can contain cat food and other interesting and tasty things for cats. Before that, he was scared of couriers and hid under the sofa. But at that time, we had pet shop couriers visiting us, and the boxes always contained treats for him. By the fourth courier, the cat came out and sniffed both the courier and the box. Since then, he greets all couriers and has a very positive attitude towards them, even though the boxes often don’t contain anything tasty for him.
Volume: how much information a cat can remember
Unfortunately, researchers have not yet been able to measure the volume of a cat’s memory. A lot depends on the level of intelligence of each animal. But in general, it is believed that cats can remember a limited amount of information, especially compared to humans. However, a powerful filter of a cat’s memory eliminates all the excess, leaving only the most important things. Therefore, they easily remember where the bowl and litter box are, and where the food is stored, what time the owner returns home, etc. Humans remember many secondary facts and details. But cats simply don’t need them.
Cats’ abilities to learn and solve spatial puzzles indicate that many of them have well-developed memory. For instance, cats are excellent at finding their way out of intricate mazes, and when preparing for a hunt, they even plan their actions!
Interestingly, cats cannot count at all. Trainers have never been able to perform a trick with a cat-mathematician, while dogs have been doing this for a long time. But a mother cat will immediately notice the loss of one of her kittens, because the overall picture in her mind will become incorrect: it will lack the presence and smell of a particular kitten. In the same way, a cat will feel the loss of a family member or a rearrangement of furniture in the apartment.
Other characteristics
Kittens should be introduced to people between the age of 2 to 8 weeks (0.5 to 2 months), then they will be sociable and tame. They need to be held, petted, played with, and accustomed to unpleasant procedures such as nail trimming or ear cleaning. If a cat’s childhood passed without humans, it will be wild and skittish. That’s why wild relatives of cats (ocelot, cougar, lynx) are only taken into the home for taming at a young age.
Training a kitten to use the litter box and scratch post is also best from the earliest years, then they will perceive these rules as irrefutable.
Can a cat’s memory be developed
You can develop a cat’s memory, but, first, the result will depend on the individual capabilities of the animal, and second, the emphasis will need to be not on special techniques and exercises, but on increasing the cat’s interest in the activities. The pet will easily remember what is of interest to it: this is usually related to hunting, playing, or food. Any success should be positively reinforced with praise or treats. This is how Yuri Kuklachev trains his performers.
Does a cat’s memory deteriorate with age
As a cat ages, its memory can deteriorate. Brain aging leads to disturbances similar to symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in humans: poor spatial orientation, forgetting familiar and habitual things, reluctance to play and socialize, excessive appetite or lack of it. The pet may even forget where its toilet and feeding bowl are located. This is often accompanied by hearing and vision impairments as well.
You should not scold an old cat for a puddle in the corner or scattered food — it will experience stress and this will even further shorten its lifespan. There are no guaranteed ways to prevent such disorders in cats, as humans have not yet learned how to combat the problems of aging. But proper nutrition, maintaining a healthy weight, and timely consultation with a veterinarian for the treatment of chronic diseases can serve as preventive measures.
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