Mustachioed pets often amaze with their intelligence and independence. After a long separation, some of them become demonstratively offended, pretending that they do not recognize their owners. But such behavior is difficult to attribute to forgetfulness, since many witnesses tell amazing stories of how their pets successfully covered gigantic distances in search of a home.
All these facts make us think seriously about what kind of memory cats actually have, how long it lasts and whether it is suitable for training. According to the findings, the cat family is much more amazing than you imagine.
Cat brain structure
A cat's brain weighs only 0.9% of the animal's total body weight. For greater clarity, it is worth mentioning that the human brain weighs 2% of body weight, and the canine brain weighs 1.2%. But as you know, size doesn't matter. The cerebral cortex is primarily responsible for analyzing information coming from the auditory organs. In a cat it consists of 300 million nerve cells, while in a dog there are half as many.
The structure of a cat's brain is 90% the same as a human's
The interaction of the organs of smell, touch and vision with the pet’s brain also occurs through the cortex. The gray matter of a cat's brain is designed to carry out vital actions (heart contractions, yawning, blinking). The cerebellum acts as a kind of “motor” for the pet. It is responsible for walking, running, jumping and the ability to maintain balance.
Hormones produced by the cat's brain regulate most of the pet's body functions. For example, oxytocin (stimulates the process of labor) and antidiuretic hormone (regulates urine concentration) are produced by the hypothalamus, and growth hormones and melatonin (involved in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness) are produced by the pituitary gland.
The cat's brain consumes 20% of the blood pumped by the heart
The connection between the brain and the central nervous system determines the cat’s ability to acquire and apply new knowledge, experience a wide range of emotions and demonstrate certain behaviors.
Details
Mechanics of cat memory
Human memory differs in mechanics from cat memory in one more aspect.
A person quite easily assimilates a large amount of information, and this information does not necessarily relate to ensuring his life. Often a person remembers something that may never be useful to him in practice. It's not like that with cats. The animal remembers only those facts that will later be used to satisfy its primary needs. Please note that the cat remembers where the food is and when it is hungry, it pulls you to this place. The cat remembers where the treats are put away, where the tray is and whether it is clean. She doesn’t remember the TV series that she may have watched while sitting next to the owner. This is simply of no use to her and is not applicable to her life support.
An interesting confirmation of the short-term nature and selectivity of memory is the moment a cat raises kittens. As a female cat, it is important to remember the algorithm for feeding and training kittens. She improves it with every litter. But after the cat grows up, it forgets about its offspring. She has already let him go into adulthood and no longer experiences any tender feelings.
INTERESTING: the most active period of development of the memory array occurs in kittens from 2 to 7 months. During this period, the baby responds well to training and is able to remember a maximum of behavioral patterns and requirements from a person.
Also, a cat, having learned to open cabinets in the kitchen in one apartment, does not immediately begin to do this in a new one. Yes, she is familiar with the subject, yes, the algorithm of actions does not immediately disappear from her brain, but nevertheless, before repeating the skill in a new room, she will study it again in order to compare the experience accumulated in memory and apply it.
Memory capacity in cats
The cat's brain stores just the right amount of memory that is important for survival. Yard cats remember how to behave with people, what to expect from dogs and how to behave in a concrete urban in order to survive.
A domestic cat does not need to remember the survival algorithm, but is very good at filtering information into its brain, for example, about guests and strangers in the house. You've probably noticed that a cat remembers regular visitors, even if it's a caregiver. And he may not perceive people close to you at all, who are rarely in your home.
Also, the cat will always remember the one who offended her. Be sure that the cat will remember an attempt on the tail, squeezing or an unpleasant voice. The cat also remembers the pranks of children, so if it is ever offended by a child of a particular age group, the cat will treat all other children with distrust and sometimes with aggression.
But we can’t talk about specific gigabytes of cat memory. Many skills become reflexes and are associated with instincts, thereby not specifically loading the areas of the brain responsible for memory.
INTERESTING: a cat always remembers its owners. Even when lost, a cat remembers its person by smell, even if a lot of time has passed. But forgetting how he got lost last time is not uncommon. This is evidenced by the facts of domestic cats repeatedly escaping through the entrance.
Can a cat remember?
There is an opinion that for cats it doesn’t matter who is next to them, only comfort matters. Perhaps they don't remember the owner?
Due to their nature, cats do not show much affection, but, in fact, they know their owner. It would be more correct to say that they feel: it is unlikely that appearance plays a significant role in how cats recognize their owners. Rather, their developed sense of smell, touch and hearing allows them to do this.
Mustachioed stunt performers are the best proof of their ability to remember
Vision for felines is not the main organ of perception. They paid for their ability to see in the dark with the inability to distinguish most colors familiar to people. They only distinguish yellow-green, blue and gray shades well. Fluffy pets have difficulty distinguishing between objects closer than half a meter and static objects, although they can detect the slightest movement from 900 meters away.
Do cats love their owners?
Any owner should understand that each cat is individual and has a unique character. Therefore, there are animals that openly show their emotions, while others are very restrained in expressing their feelings. However, this does not mean that pets are not capable of worrying, yearning and being able to forget the owner. A cat does not think like a person, so it does not understand what love or affection is. She’s just very comfortable in this family, whose members don’t offend her, caress her, and forgive her pranks. The cat reciprocates and shows love by the following actions:
If a pet rubs its muzzle against its owner, leaving its scent on it, then this indicates trust and love.
- The cat meets its owner, rubs against him, purrs, and raises its butt.
- Feels when a person is upset and comes to console.
- Often lies on the owner, “kneads” him, licks him.
- Brings back the prey it finds.
- He looks for a long time, making eye contact. Since such a look in nature means aggression, by looking at a person, the animal thus shows that it trusts.
- It rubs its muzzle against its owner, leaving its scent on it.
- He comes and lies for a long time on his lap or next to him.
- Marks the owner's shoes or belongings if he has been away for too long.
Long-term and short-term memory
What are these features of the memorization process associated with? This is primarily due to the presence of 2 completely different types of memory:
- short-term - a process of relatively short duration (a few seconds or minutes), but sufficient for accurate reproduction of the events that just occurred;
- long-term is characterized by the relative duration and durability of the preservation of the perceived material, a kind of “storehouse” of knowledge.
Which one is most developed, how long does a cat’s memory last, is it good?
Learning ability
A caring owner is concerned not only with the question of what kind of memory cats have, but also whether it can be trained in order to increase the mental abilities of the pet. As zoologists assure, this is not necessary, since the kitten is taught all the necessary skills by its mother. When living together with an adult in the same house, he will observe and learn from her. If the kitten was weaned from its mother early, it will still learn the skills necessary for life, but at the level of its own instincts. If a person still needs to influence this natural process, then this can be done in several ways.
- Add more vitamins to your pet's diet.
- In addition to food, give natural products, in particular fish and meat.
- Carry out training on your own, for example, moving a bowl or bed to a new place, and then check how quickly the individual gets used to the new conditions.
- You can let the kitten out for a walk and see if he finds his way home on his own, but at this time you need to carefully monitor him so that he does not get lost.
According to zoologists, the optimal age of an animal for memory development is 2–5 years.
Duration of information storage
During the experiments, it was revealed that cats remember the location of hidden goodies for 16 hours. Dogs can forget about it after just 5 minutes. Scientists have not yet established much about the long-term memory of cats. For events to be transferred into the long-term, they must have some vital significance for the animal so that they can make a choice and save this event for the future.
Cats have selective memory: they remember especially well everything related to food, since this topic is vital in the wild.
Cats have well-developed visual memory, but... only if no one interferes with them in the process of memorizing. This means that cats are able to remember any obstacle in their path for only about 10 minutes. If you distract your pet at this time, the cat forgets that it must “step over” the obstacle not only with its front paws, but also with its hind paws.
Scientists discovered this when they conducted several simple tests in which they gave the cat a task and solution, and then quickly distracted it. They recorded the amount of time it took to completely distract the cat from the primary task. They found, surprisingly, that the kitten retained its short-term memory 10-20 times longer than most other animals. By comparison, humans' short-term memory lasts only 30 seconds or so.
A cat's short-term memory is 20 times better than yours.
Do cats have a good memory for learning?
Having figured out whether cats have memory, it remains to understand how good it is. We all know that dogs are usually trained, but Yuri Kuklachev’s circus proves that mustachioed favorites are no less talented.
Perception of a person's words and actions
Unlike humans, cats' memory is very selective. First of all, any information related to their survival is important to cats. For this reason, street animals never forget the places where they are fed.
Cats remember everything else based on their own interest. Many pets respond to the words “eat” or “yummy” and also easily learn their own name. This is due to the fact that after pronouncing these words, a positive stimulus follows: delicious food or strokes from a beloved owner.
It is much more difficult to wean a furry offender from scratching the sofa or relieving himself in the wrong place. After all, most often we simply scold the animal for its actions, and this is not the best way to remember.
Lack of interest is also something to consider. Apart from praise for good behavior, the cat will not receive any benefit from this, so it is very difficult to teach him correct manners.
Despite this fact, with sufficient persistence and good individual abilities, a mustachioed pet can be taught some tricks. To do this you need:
- Avoid punishment
. Any negativity is fraught with a final loss of interest.
- Use rewards even for the smallest successes
. By benefiting from cooperation, the animal will try much harder.
- Be patient
. Information that is not of particular interest is stored in the head only for the 5th time.
- Stick to the game format
. Focus on hunting skills. Many pets love to fetch a wand or a toy mouse.
Cats are good at going through mazes, but they don't know how to count at all. This trick is beyond their control. Despite this, a lambing cat will easily notice the disappearance of one of the babies. Changed smells and sounds that do not correspond to the usual picture will tell her about this.
Ability to remember at different ages
In the first 2 months after birth, the kitten copies and remembers all actions performed by the mother. After separation, he focuses on his owner:
- remembers his daily routine;
- understands the meaning of a refrigerator and easily distinguishes it from other large boxes;
- learns to open door handles;
- gets used to trimming nails, cleaning ears and teeth.
The most active memory work is observed in the first 3 years. Over time it weakens. Some important memories are also lost, including the location of the tray and bowl of food.
Similar disorders are observed after 12 years. They occur against the background of senile dementia - Alzheimer's disease. Because of it, a pet can get lost in its own home, since the functionality of its senses is dulled.
How much information does a cat have in his head?
It is believed that in the brain of a cat (or any carnivores) there are two types of memory: instinctive and acquired. The latter accumulates during training, that is, the kitten will not be able to catch prey until the mother cat teaches him to do this. First, the information is sent to the so-called short-term memory center, and if the training is not repeated, it ceases to be important and is simply erased as unnecessary.
Cats store only significant events in their memory, and those that carry negative emotions can be remembered for several months, or even longer.
A cat can remember the person who offended him for the rest of his life.
Previously, it was believed that only humans had episodic memory (the kind in which life events are stored in conjunction with context), but recently more and more evidence has emerged in favor of the existence of this type of memory in animals. In the course of various experiments, experts have found that cats can actually remember the event as a whole, that is, for example, not just the fact of tasty food, but also some of the details that accompanied it (in particular, the dishes in which the food was located).
It has not yet been possible to establish how many memories, events and people cats can remember. The difficulty is that it is impossible to understand whether animals act instinctively or from memory.
Do cats have memory - and what is it like?
Cat memory, like human memory, is divided into short-term (operative) and long-term. The presence of both species has been proven by numerous studies by felinologists.
The most interesting experiment was carried out by the Japanese. They confirmed that cats have the ability to remember information related to certain events and situations. The experiment consisted of 2 stages:
- Mustachioed subjects were given the opportunity to sniff 4 bowls of food and taste 2 options. After that, they were taken out of the room and returned back only 20 minutes later. At this point, the bowls were replaced with empty ones, which eliminated the presence of odor. Despite this, the cats hurried to explore those options from which they were unable to eat the first time.
- The second part turned out to be much more difficult. The food was placed in only 2 bowls, the third was left empty, and the fourth was filled with an inedible item. The subjects again examined the offered bowls, tried one of the left treats, and were removed from the room for a while. Upon their return, they all purposefully went to the bowl where the untasted piece of food remained. They were again not bothered by the fact that the bowls were empty.
The storage of the received data is not infinite. For this reason, incoming information is filtered into important and insignificant.
Short term
The short-term view focuses on short-term retention of no more than 16 hours. After this time, the received information is overwritten with new information so as not to overload the brain with excess data.
Here the mustachioed pets are superior to our four-legged friends. Dogs forget such information within 5 hours. Because of this, they often cannot find a buried bone.
Long-term
A cat's long-term memory records the most important events that cannot be rewritten. They can be stored throughout the animal's life.
The problem is that it is very difficult to distinguish acquired skills from innate instincts. Most hunting skills and the ability to raise offspring are established from birth.
Despite this, after several births, the pet is much more confident in caring for kittens, that is, she definitely accumulates useful experience and retains it for the rest of her life.
This species is less developed than the short-term one. Studies with food have shown that subjects remember the location of treats only on the first day. The next day, most animals forget the previously received information, considering it irrelevant.
Aging and memory
As with all living things, aging can manifest as memory deterioration. In old age, cats experience loss of space (they may forget where the bowl or tray is), lack of interest in previously favorite things, reluctance to communicate, depression, excessive appetite or its complete absence. Fortunately, not all cats suffer from such ailments.
Age, unfortunately, does not spare anyone
To reduce the risk of such disorders, do not forget about proper nutrition, monitor your pet’s weight and promptly contact a veterinarian for treatment of chronic diseases.
What do scientific studies say?
Skeptics claim that cats are not capable of loving their owner and quickly forget about him. An experiment was conducted where several animals were left in an unfamiliar environment with their owners, and the other part of the pets were left with strangers. Having compared the behavior of cats from one and another group, scientists came to the conclusion that the behavior did not change, just cats without owners meowed more, which supposedly proves independence and lack of attachment to the owner.
If you place a cat in an unfamiliar room, it will explore and become stressed.
However, such scientific studies do not fully prove that cats do not miss or yearn for their owner. Domestic cats are shy and easily stressed. In an unfamiliar environment, the cat is busy exploring the room, smells, sounds. Meowing can mean confusion or fear. Stress suppresses positive emotions, so the experimental pet forgets about everything and is very worried.
Memorization speed: how to train your pet so that he remembers everything
By their nature, cats are independent and willful; they do not have the desire to please their owner, like dogs. Therefore, they are most amenable to learning actions for which they are initially inclined.
- The most optimal age for starting training is considered to be 6-9 months, when the nervous system is formed, but habits and character are not yet there.
- You should not teach an animal several commands at once in a short time.
- Don't forget to reward them with something tasty.
- Enter commands during play, when the cat is in the best mood.
- Try not to yell at your pet so as not to lose his trust.
- There is no need to overtire your cat; five minutes a day is enough for the first “lesson”.
Interesting Facts
The memory of cats can be called a unique and completely unstudied phenomenon, if we list at least some of the cases of pets returning home.
A family that traveled from the Rostov region to Lugansk to visit relatives lost their cat Barsik, who was afraid of the dog in the new house.
A little more than a month passed, and the fugitive returned to his home, having covered a distance of more than 200 km.
A similar story happened in 1963 with the French cat Mumusu. They also took him with them to stay and lost him. The pet returned home almost a year later, having traveled 750 km.
The English cat Mack, although he did not find his home on his own, did not forget his owner even after 6 years of his ordeal. He disappeared while traveling through the canals. Volunteers identified the pet after a long time using its chip and returned it to its home. Mac happily rushed to his beloved owner.
But the most unique case happened with the cat Semyon, to whom a monument was erected even in 2013 in Murmansk. He walked from Moscow to his hometown for 6 years, covering more than 2 thousand km. And he arrived safe and sound, but very thin. And even though bronze Semyon does not look like a slender Siamese, it is not even a monument to a pet, but to his love, devotion and memory.
Is it possible to develop a cat's memory?
Cats can very quickly lose acquired skills, especially if they say commands in situations inappropriate for their execution. In such cases, the pet will become confused and will soon stop responding to your words.
A cat does not remember an event or object until it encounters it again or until such a need arises, since dreams, fantasies and ephemeral images have nothing to do with the skills necessary for survival.
Success in training depends on the individual characteristics of the pet
Any success must be reinforced with praise or a treat. Don't make mistakes in your actions. For example, if a cat follows the command “sit” and at the moment of reward she stands up, then she will develop a connection between raising her hind legs and the treat. Thus, she will simply misunderstand you.
Cats have a memory for people
Many owners are concerned about whether cats left in the care of children or relatives remember them. It all depends on your importance. If you showed little participation in upbringing and were extremely restrained in your emotions, then there is a high probability that your existence will be quickly forgotten.
Only those who were very kind or, conversely, showed aggression and caused offense, remain in the memories for a long time. Animals remember such people all their lives. For this reason, cats are often afraid of anyone who wears white coats, associating them with doctors.
Feasibility
All animal memory functions are “tailored” to information necessary for survival.
This property helps to promptly change the algorithm of behavior and adapt to the situation. Retrieval of information (memories) arise associatively under the influence of visual pictures, sounds, smells, and tactile sensations. In this regard, cats perfectly remember places where they can find food and quiet shelter, but try to avoid dangerous objects and enemies.
Cats remember valuable information, colored with vivid emotions, for a long time and the first time, for example:
- Hunger allows you to remember the place where the treat is hidden for 16 hours.
- Experienced negativity activates long-term memory, comparable to life expectancy. The owner talks about a mother cat who once rushed to protect her kitten from a running vacuum cleaner. Nine years have passed since then and more than one vacuum cleaner has been replaced in the house, but the vindictive mug continues its constant attacks on the roaring monster (read more about why cats are afraid of the vacuum cleaner).
- A one-time pleasant impression allows the cat to subsequently remember the guest and greet him with a positive attitude.
Are cats bored without you or are they having fun?
They say that cats behave like children in the absence of their owner. They climb into exactly those places where they are forbidden to climb in the presence of an adult. They are primarily interested in those things that are strictly forbidden to touch. Therefore, after returning home, adults often find the same mess both after the cats and after their beloved children spent time on their own.
Returning home, you can find complete chaos and disorder, which consists of things and cereals thrown out of cupboards, broken dishes and tattered books. One can only guess how these furry creatures behaved in our absence.
The kindest and most patient owners regard this mess as fair revenge on the owners from their pets for their long absence. After all, they don’t organize such a pogrom in front of them. But there is a situation when an urgent departure, which seemed not to be part of our plans, is inevitable.
“And I will dream about my friends’ faces...”
An even more incredible story happened with nine-year-old “old man” Karim, who in a year and eight months traveled from Uzbek Gulistan to the city of Liski in the Voronezh region!
A family moving from one country to another did not take their cat with them, because they thought that the venerable animal would not survive three days on the train. And then Karim had to follow the owners himself.
Having walked three thousand kilometers, the mustachioed man found his owner Ravilya at the market, where she got a job. And, having arrived at the new house, as if nothing had happened, he lay down in the chair on which he had slept back in Uzbekistan. And the cat was not looking for a place, as often happens, but for people!
Does memory help learning?
Observation and experience allow cats to learn everything they need to live a comfortable life. With the help of memory, they choose what will be useful and what allows them to react in the most appropriate way the next time the same situation occurs. Memory works both at home and in nature, since from childhood they watch their mother to find out everything they need.
This system allows the cat to remain safe while at the same time identifying familiar people and remembering all the positive things associated with them; such as delicious food, affection, and hours of play! What a cat learns is directly related to the benefits they can derive from that learning.
If they find that it doesn't suit them, it will likely be resolved by their short-term memory. This is why it is so difficult in most homes to prevent them from scratching in certain areas. Although you can train your pet to use a scratching post, it is not always possible to train them.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with Astronotus: maintenance and care - OUR PETS
Features of cat intelligence
It is worth talking separately about other intellectual characteristics of the cat.
- They are able to follow people’s verbal instructions, for example, to approach their call or, on the contrary, to run away when given the command “scurry.”
- They can recognize the mood of the owner.
- Each owner can notice that the pet even has a certain washing procedure, which he always adheres to.
- They easily get used to the daily routine, they know when it is time to play with their beloved owner, eat, sleep or walk.
So, what kind of memory do cats have? As it turned out, in general it ranges from 16 hours. But its volume is still unknown. These are unique creatures that remember only the information that they need for a full-fledged life and filter out all unnecessary details.
