Cats vs. dogs question

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crissy11

O.G.
Jun 23, 2009
6,412
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Someone posted that amazing and touching website with the videos of the soldiers being greeted by their dogs (that I've watched about 100 times now).

It's gotten me to thinking - do cats have the same kind of long term memory for their owners as dogs? If you were gone away for months - would your cat be as happy to see you - or would they even remember - or care?

I have no idea if cats (a) have the same memory as dogs and (b) have the same level of attachment to their owners.

What do you guys think? I know some of you have had both pets for many, many years whereas I am very new to cat ownership, so I'm not sure. I know my cat is happy to see me at the end of the day - but would he care if it were weeks or months?

Looking forward to your input!
 
We have both cats and dogs and when I go away to school for a couple months at a time, the dogs are always happier to see me.. they clearly recognize me and have missed me.

The cats aren't as obviously happy but they are very purry and like to have a good cuddle once I'm in the door and everything in the house is quiet again and the dogs have calmed down.
 
My cats are living with my parents for the time being. They definitely know that I am different and are happy to see me (and "talk" to me) when I come to their house.

My dog is much more strongly bonded to me, though.
 
Cats & Dogs are very intelligent & have their own ways of expressing themselves, obviously. A cat will not jump up & bark at you, although cats do get excited & will jump up!

You also have to take into concideration that every cat has their own character, some are confident, some are less shy than others...

I think you will get alot of different varied answers due to every cat being different & whether you have a strong bond with your pet.

I would stay at my grandmothers who had two cats & I would go to stay at her house in the summer - one cat was very shy to begin with, so she wouldn't pay that much notice BUT she didn't run away like she would with strangers. The other cat would comfortably approuch me because she recognized me.

My own cat was very friendly. She'd walk me to the end of the street when I went to school & she'd be waiting across the street for my return, there she would walk me back home! I knew she was pleased to see me!
 
i have had dogs and cats.....beauty my GSD is my love....she follows me everywhere and you can feel the affection she has for me and the family...she cries when my hubby comes homw and gives him a better greeting than i do!!! LOL....my cats are cutie pies but are in no way as "loving" as my dog....they will come to me when they want to and kind of do what they want when they want....i love them but there is def a difference in the level of affection that a cat shows over a dog....sometimes it is nice to have beauty all over me and sometimes it is nice that the cats will give me space....i have the best of both worlds...the canine and the feline...lol
 
My parents have an outdoor cat that I played with a lot as a kitten, and every time I visit them, this cat will come up to me and sit on my lap (sometimes after I haven't seen her for over six months). My mom says that she never sits on anyone else's lap, so I'd like to think that she remembers me and is greeting me! I do agree that dogs are way more loving and friendly... but cats can be too!
 
I have a dog and cats. Cats and dogs are totally different and I love both.

A dog shows his affection more/different than a cat does but I'm sure they both remember people even after a long time.
 
I think both do. I was in the hospital for about 2 1/2 months and I would come home on the weekends. My dog Chelsea would look for me and when I came home, she greeted me with a big hello. Her tail was wagging so fast! I have also been having medical problems for the past few months and I am living with my parents 40 minutes away. I go to see my cats every other weekend (my cousin takes care of them 3 times a week- he lives a mile away), they greet me right away (2 of the 3 do). My cats Jude and Maddox want me to pet them and Jude starts talking right when I get in the door. I think that dogs and cats know when their owners are missing even though they do not have an actual sense of time such as what day it is and how long their owner is gone, IMO. I also think both have the same attachment to their owners. I don't think it matters if they are a feline or a canine :smile:
 
I live in Canada. My cats live at my parents' house in Massachusetts.


I come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.


They run up to the door when they hear it opening. I have to "remind" them who I am but once they've figured it out, they're purring and rubbing against me.

Sometimes I'll be on the phone with one of my parents when one of my cats comes into the room. I'll tell them to hold the phone up to the cat's ear. Then I'll start talking, "Hi, Willie/Louis! I miss you! Yes, I do!"

Willie will purr and rub against the phone. Louis will sort of do a rubbing/headbutting thing.
After that we fall back into our old routine. (In the morning, Louis comes to find me so I'll feed him.)
 
My cats always come and see me after I've been gone for a while. My oldest Thomas (12years) is usually the happiest to see me when I come back, he puts his two front feet on my knee and "begs" to be picked up. The other two usually sit at the door like they know you're just about to walk through the door. Then as I unpack the car they meow and run under my feet as soon as I put my stuff down inside.

I've never owned a dog, but my boyfriend has dogs that live with his mom, Ava always goes crazy when we visit. She even gets happy to see me now! Maybe because her and I share blocks of cheese with her...

But looking at them both I think cats remember as well as dogs do. Just cats show it in different ways than dogs do.
 
dogs and cats just express themselves in different ways. its apples and oranges. cats don't always let you know they missed you like dogs do. they are much more aloof. where a dog wants to please you, a cat wants to be pleased. every cat I ever had had a completely unique personality. the common thing they expressed though was displeasure that I was gone. this was exhibited by peeing on my things or meowing in a very whiny complaining way when I did come home. Kinda like, "where the hell have you been???!!!"
 
if i'm gone for a long weekend or more and I come home, most of my cats run in fear until they hear my voice and realize it's me.


however My one cat had to spend 3-4 nights in the hospital last november and the night i brought him home he would not leave my side at all! and he had to be laying in my lap constantly. it would have been the sweetest thing except he smelled because he had cat pee all over him! (he had a blockage and catheter and peed all over himself on the way home)
 
When coming back from a vacation, my cat would be affectionate but not like a dog of course. However, I've been taking care of an outside cat who lives in a shed in my yard (neighbors cat, long story). This cat is so smart. If we pull in the driveway he will run right to you even if he is across the street. He will run to you like a dog,lol