Do Cats Have Good Memories?

By Brad Hodges, Editor

It is said that elephants have great memories. I have never been able to test this myself mainly because I could not fit one into my house to observe it. I can, however attest to the fact that at least my cat Rusty has one of the best memories I have ever witnessed, feline or human for that matter.

It all started with one of my other loves; mocha coffee drinks. At least 5 years ago I got tired of spending over $4.00 for my favorite beverage at the local Starbucks, where I was up to at least two a day. I calculated if I purchased my own Espresso & Cappuccino maker I could pay for itself in oh…about a couple weeks! So with the kids in tow we headed to the nearby Macy’s department store and I purchased a small Krups Espresso & Cappuccino maker.

I wanted to duplicate as closely as possible the beverage I paid a kings ransom for on a daily bases so I purchased some Starbucks espresso coffee then went to the grocery store and bought chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles and of course the obligatory whip cream and this is where the memory implant began on our beloved Rusty who was about two years old at the time.

The next morning I was all excited to try my new Starbucks cost reduction machine, so I assembled all the makings, carefully read all the instructions on how to use the contraption and promptly whipped up my first cup of fresh hot coffee mocha. As I put a generous crowning touch of whip cream on top of the steaming beverage I noticed Rusty at my feet staring up at the goings on. Knowing most cats love milk or milk products I sprayed a small dollop of whip cream on my finger and bent down to let Rusty inspect it. Of course he promptly proceeded to greedily lick up every bit of it off my finger and I had a whip cream addicted cat for life! Rusty looked forward and thoroughly enjoyed his daily “fix” of whip cream.

Fast forward five years later. A move to another house and surroundings then back to the original house, the loss and discontinuance of use all this time of the original espresso & cappuccino maker with no replacement and the complete remodeling of the house while we were out of it. Oh and my return to my Starbucks induced addiction, now up to three a day (I was a true Starak addict). Rusty had not been exposed to any other espresso & cappuccino makers and to my knowledge had lost all memory of the daily whip cream ritual.

So now I again begin to feel the pinch of my daily addiction, missed having the ability to make my own speciality coffee drinks on demand and lusted for a new machine which I hinted about for Christmas this past December.  Lo and behold I get a new Mr. Coffee Espresso & Cappuccino maker as a prized Christmas gift and on the Friday morning after Christmas, having assembled once again all the fix-ins, I proceeded to make my first home brew in over five years! Now mind you Rusty was in another room undoubtedly sound asleep, as usual, when I reached the point of the whip cream maneuver. No sooner had I popped off the top and began to shake the can did I see a bolt of orange streak around the corner and there was Rusty right at my feet staring up at the whipped cream can in my hand and the surprised look on my face!

After all this time Rusty had remembered the sound of the whip cream can having the top removed and being shaken! Needless to say he was promptly and amply rewarded for being so completely brilliant and now we are back to our daily routine of licking his dollop off my finger. Let it never be said that not only are cats one of the smartest creatures on earth but their memory has got to be right up there with us humans.

If you have any similar anecdotes about your cats memory please be sure to share it in the comments section of this post. I would love to hear them!