Do Cats Remember Their Mothers? (For How Long?)

Cats remember their mothers for a short amount of time. It also depends on how long they have been together. If you take them away from her as very young, they will forget her quickly. Cats use a unique scent that allows them to recognize each other, but the kitten will get a new one in his new home.

Kittens may depend on their mothers as newborns. Still, as soon as they can forage and live on their own, they grow as independent cats.

Since they won’t likely remember who gave birth to them, do cats miss their mom?

Let’s find out!

Do cats miss their mom?

Cats do miss their mom, but not for long. Kittens that have been away during their early weeks forget their moms.

Still, when kittens get taken away, they would often miss their mom and siblings. These baby cats would often show signs of separation anxiety as they live in a new home.

Still, such a feeling of anxiety is quite familiar for kittens, and all cats. It’s like transferring to a strange place without their scent.

If you have adopted a cute newborn kitten, you may be thinking the kitten may suffer from that anxiety.

While it may do, it’s not for long, so don’t worry about that. A few days and weeks later, the kitten will start adapting to the home you brought her.

The separation anxiety has a lot of differences between kittens and adult cats.

If it’s an already grown feline, it will take longer to adjust, mostly if it lived for quite a long time with her mom.

For a newborn, it would be less aware of the sudden change. Still, it’s best to let a kitten grow with its mom for some time before separating it.

After all, a newborn needs the milk and the care coming from her mother.

The best thing you can do is to make your pet comfortable. Let it roam around for a while to make itself familiar.

Now, do these felines remember their childhood once they have grown?

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Do cats remember their childhood?

kitten playing with ball

Cats may forget people and their fellow kitties after moving to a new place. Even so, they keep such ideas in their long term memories.

According to a study, a feline can remember certain places and even people. The degree of such a memory depends on how long they see it.

Thus, if a feline suddenly moves after living in one place for a few years, it can remember the area and the people in it.

A cat’s impression comes at its peak within two to seven weeks of age. During these times, felines actively engage their mind and remember people and places.

On the contrary, their wild counterparts do the same. Thus, if these feral felines didn’t interact with humans, they would less likely trust them.

If you adopted a cat and took it to a new home, it will likely get disturbed by a sudden change in the environment.

Don’t worry, though. If your pet roams around and sniffs all the time, let it be.

Allow your feline pet to make herself familiar with your new home. Once it does, it’ll grow more closely to you.

Now, you may also be wondering if our feline pets keep a memory of their siblings.

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Do cats remember their siblings?

Kittens usually grow up with their siblings. Thus, you may think they have some connection to each other.

However, cats don’t remember their siblings, not unless they grew up and live together.

Once a kitten gets separated from its siblings, it will forget them after some time. It will only take some time before a kitten completely fails her siblings.

If a kitten gets reunited with its siblings after a few years, they’ll be strangers in each other’s eyes.

Cats do enjoy the company of other cats. They learn a lot from their fellow kitties, especially if they’re new to a particular place.

Still, unlike dogs and other pets, felines aren’t animals that come in packs. Thus, any kitty would likely go on their own rather than with their siblings or their fellow kitties.

Thus, if you try to reunite a feline with its siblings, they may get along, but it will take some time. Further, they won’t remember each other as siblings.

But then, do these felines recognize their ancestors as their grandparents?

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Can cats recognize their grandparents?

If a cat encounters its grandparents, or even its mother later in life, it may recognize a familiar scent.

Still, this familiarity only comes from being in the same kind, and not as a family.

Cats are fond of other felines, and they can be quite playful with their kind.

As a result, they tend to show interest in other felines every time they see one, especially if it’s their first time.

If your pet has seen its grandparents or even its mother after a long time, it’s interaction doesn’t mean she remembers them.

What’s likely to happen is that your cat has forgotten and has no idea about its grandparents or parents. Thus, seeing them after some time is like seeing them for the first time.

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Summary

Felines don’t have a retentive memory. As a result, they will find it hard to remember their mothers and even their siblings if they get separated.

While these felines are quick to forget, they still tend to miss familiar with the things they used to enjoy.

Thus, taking a feline away from its familiar place needs a lot of adjustment and help.

If you’re planning to take your cat away from its former home, do your best to help it adapt to her new home.

And what about you? Does your cat remember you after some time you’re away? Find out more about it in our article.

Resources

AAHA study about cat’s memory

Image credits – Photos by Pranav Kumar Jain and Bruce Kee on Unsplash

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