When you think about your cat and its memory, do the strains of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals fill your mind?
That would be weird. But the question of whether cats have a good memory is an intriguing one, whether or not they’re on stage.
Let’s take a look at how long is a cats memory, and along the way, learn a little bit about how memory works in general.
A cat is considered an animal of a higher order, and presumably experiences considerably more mental activity than a fish.
In many respects, a cat’s kitten stage is critical for developing specific crucial skills. In most cases, these are acquired through observing adults or other cats or experiencing things like play fighting or engaging with a stimulating toy.
Much of this has to do with the loss of brain cells. While there are very few in-depth studies on the subject, it seems that short-term memory is affected more than long-term memory in aging cats.
In practical terms, if a cat encounters something or someone for the first time and shares some interaction, it’s likely to remember it for at least 16 hours.
Studies suggest that some cats can recall particular types of information after ten years or more! In some cases, recall seems to have been life-long.
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