I have often wondered if my cat has the capacity to learn and remember. Sitting at my desk while I type away on my computer, I have noticed my cat staring intently at what I am doing memorizing every key stroke. In the dark of night, will I catch him ordering a bag of catnip from Amazon? While I don’t realistically think that my cat can track my passwords, I have often asking myself whether he has the capacity to learn.
Evidence suggests that cats do learn, but in a different way than do humans or dogs; they have a special kind of intelligence. Once attained, most knowledge is retained for life, thanks to the cat’s excellent memory. Even hunting techniques buried under years of neglect in the well-fed house cat’s brain will be recalled with ease should the feline, for some reason, ever have to fend for itself.
Easily frightened, a cat will retain very strong memories of any incident that it considers threatening. All it takes is one face-to-face encounter with a growling dog to convince a feline that the entire canine species is best avoided forever. However, positive experiences are just as easily stored and recalled, particularly if they have to do with food or play.
My cat may not be interested in stealing my passwords but no doubt, there will be hell to pay for forgetting to feed him yesterday morning.
