Do cats remember old friends?

slowblink

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We have to go out of town briefly in May, and our two cats (11 mo and 5.5 mo) are going to stay at a house with two male 10 year old siamese cats. Our 11 mo old blue point stayed at this house with them for a month before when she was around 6 mo and loved the older cats - she really bonded with the older blue point and would wrestle and follow him around. ... Since we came back home, she will sometimes stare into the mirror for periods of time, and I often wonder if she remembers that older cat when she does this. But, just wondering -- has your cat ever instantly remembered old friends? or is a reintroduction period always needed?

and just side note -- this house has plenty of room for adequate cat housing (if needed, our cats will have a whole floor of the house (furnished attic) to themselves and there are plenty of people to visit and give pets during that time too to make this as cat-stress-free as possible) - so, just wondering about cat memory of friends
 

Maurey

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Short reintroduction periods are always needed ime, but they don’t necessarily need to be slow intros. Jumanji, my resident cat, lived with her dad, Chips, between 4 and 8 months of age (he was around 2 at the time). Jum is now 2, and Chips will be 4 at the end of June. I took Chips home nearing 2 months ago now, and they only took a few days to fully remember each other and “re-socialise”. they stopped being wary of each other by day 3 or so. Given your cats have interacted more recently, I wouldnt worry, but definitely take care when reintroducing, on the off chance something does go wrong.
 

Dragonfly21

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I read on a document that Cats possess excellent long-term memories. They can recall their animal companions and the people who feed them as well as those who irritate them.
 
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