they know I'm coming back, right?

I have two cats- brothers that are 12 months old. I'm going out of town for a couple weeks and have to leave them behind. I have a friend coming to stay with them so they'll be on their own only for about a day. When I went away for Christmas I had a professional cat sitter visit once every other day. I could tell by watching them interact with her when I got back that they liked her and she was kind to them while I was gone. How do cats judge time? Do they know I'm coming back? When I got back from Christmas they were so happy I was back that I started crying. One of them meowed at me for over an hour. I started wondering if they thought I was gone for good. When I'm away I call and leave messages for them on my answering machine. I've seen them run to the answering machine when someone's leaving a message, so I know they like it. And, despite the looks I get from strangers, leaving the messages makes me feel better. If I didn't have two cats that keep each other company and play together I'd be a basketcase going away. Anybody have any stories or advice for me?

I don't know how they judge time, but certainly my cats have always behaved very differently towards me after I have been gone for morte than two or three days. In the past I have had cats who ignored me for a couple days, very deliberately, sitting swishing their tails with their backs turned, and cats who could not let me alone on my return. My three girls always fight when I get back to be the closest to me - they all get on my lap -that is after I have fed them of course - the first ritual is them leading me to their feeding station!

Originally Posted by jennyranson

I don't know how they judge time, but certainly my cats have always behaved very differently towards me after I have been gone for morte than two or three days. In the past I have had cats who ignored me for a couple days, very deliberately, sitting swishing their tails with their backs turned, and cats who could not let me alone on my return. My three girls always fight when I get back to be the closest to me - they all get on my lap -that is after I have fed them of course - the first ritual is them leading me to their feeding station!

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Your cats are beautiful. My cat Gipper is a black cat and looks like your cat Ellie. Landry is a tuxedo. Yes, the feeding station is of primary importance.

The first time we left our cats for more than 2 or 3 days they cried all the time. But now I think they understand that we will always come back. When we leave now they act like it's no big deal. And when we come back they are excited to see us but I can also tell that they had fun because the toilet paper rolls are shredded, dirty paw prints on the counters, every trash can is turned over even though they were empty to begin with, our bed looks like a wild pack of hyenas were on it and our kitchen floor looks like a kitty food bowl exploded.

So I really think that they have much more fun when we are gone then us humans realize.

One important thing is not to make a big fuss. Act very normal before you leave. You'll want to squeeze them extra hard and give them hundreds of kisses but then they will associate extra affection with you leaving and you don't want that.

I don't think cats judge time, at least not as a measurable quantity like we do, they judge routine, i.e. things happening in a predictable sequence throughout the day.

And no, they won't know you're coming back. They don't have a sense of the future. Cats live in the moment. When you're gone, they'll know you're gone. And when you come back, they'll know you're back.

Now, to tie the two together, if every day you leave and then come back at they same time, they incorporate that into their routine for the day and don't suffer separation anxiety when you're gone. Because you always come back. Right?

In my estimation, you are probably more worried about it than they will be. The reaction when you return will be anything from aloofness for a day or two to a couple hours of frenzied attention seeking. If you are really concerned, another poster shared a method of preparing for a lengthy separation. Basically you save up different articles of clothing and/or reminders that are stored in the freezer. Their temporary caretaker will take out one item per day and put it under their feedbowl so they can sort of stay connected with your presence. (Well, I explained it really poorly...but you get the idea. Besides the phone messages for voice, you provide aromatic reminders to keep in touch.)