Can cats learn from other cats?

Originally Posted by cleosmum

I've had Cleo for her whole life, with a short absence (but that's a long story.) In her life she's been an only kitty, then she had a kitten sister that lived with her for a little while, then she lived with a bunch of cats (the long story) and when I moved to NC with her I adopted another cat to keep her company. He has since found a new home because he was very "alpha" kitty and contributed heavily to her anxiety and peeing problems. Long story short, he was a very vocal cat and Cleo has never made any noise except for "hunting" noises. She's never meowed except for an occasional weird noise since she was kitten. Now that other kitty is gone, Cleo meows! When I come home she greets me with a "MEOW!!" and then she also meows when she enters a room as if she is announcing her presence.

Could she have learned this from the other kitty?????

Click to expand...

Yes, she could have!

When my husband and I moved in together, I had a 8 year old cat, Petunia (RIP), and my husband had a 3 year old cat, Much. Neither meowed much until that time. After they started living together, both became more vocal. Much is still with us and is still vocal though it is more towards us than toward the other two cats.

Fergus takes the occassional slurp from the toilet...he actually learned this from my husband's dog. Now, Ripley, a few weeks later, is also sampling toilet water. Ugh. Kind of icky, but it happens.

They definitely pick up each other's habits.

Monkey see, monkey do!

Yes, cats can learn from other cats, similarly to the way kittens are taught certain behaviors by their Momcat. Of course in this case, though, Cleo may just have more to say!

Yes cats learn from each other and I'd guess they learn a lot more from each other than they do from us humans.

Here's a story of one of mine: I found Bob when he was about 6 weeks old in back of my house (couldn't find mom and he was alone). After a trip to the vets, he comes inside the house and is sitting on my lap in the living room. Another cat comes into the room, walks up to the closet door, puts his paw under the base of the door and pulls it towards him to open it. Bob watched him the entire time.

A few hours later after a nap, Bob hops off my lap, walks over to the closet door and puts his paw under it and tries to pull. Door is solid wood and Bob is 6 weeks old so the door didn't budge. Didn't stop Bob from pulling and pulling on it for a long while. Amazing - I didn't think that a kitten that young would retain a one time lesson that long, particularly in a new environment after his world had turned upside down.

Bob later used the technique to open up kitchen cabinets and since then, all the cats do that neat little trick.

Cats in the wild will die without the lessons from others. They pick up far more than we ever suspect. That's why I believe that we need to keep their environments rich with stimulating activities or they just get stale.

Yup cats can learn from other cats only one of mine used to meow now they all do.

Possible. I had one very smart rex that taught non-rex cats how to play the fetch game.

Sold Tommy to a show home who has several other cats she showed too (pedigree and household pet). Tommy was a natural fetcher from a kitten and really was into bringing you toys to be thrown for him (like a retriever dog).

The owner had fun with Tommy fetching all the time and related this story. Tommy was playing fetch and the other cats were sitting around watching. One or two decided to join the game. Owner threw the ball, Tommy sat and waited for the other cats to catch on. Finally with a disgusted look at them he "complained" and went and showed the other cats how to retrieve and bring it back.

A few times of this and the other cats caught on and then it was a race to see who would bring it back first.

So yes some cats can learn from others.

Cats definitely learn from each other, from people, and from other animals. I suppose that's where the expression "copy cat" comes from. Also, older cats tend to be more vocal than younger ones, because they realize that humans react better to vocal cues than to body language or scents.

lol - "older cats talk more then younger"??????

Tell that to my rexes and most siamese/oriental cats..... Ling was vocal from the time she came in the house at 5 weeks old - and has never shut up since

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

lol - "older cats talk more then younger"??????

Tell that to my rexes and most siamese/oriental cats.....

Ling was vocal from the time she came in the house at 5 weeks old - and has never shut up since

Click to expand...

They must have had a very wise mother who taught them well!

Haha, Oliver's picked up things from my black lab and vice versa, especially since Ollie and I have been living with my parents since March (only a temporary thing)... they've picked up each others sleeping positions, favorite spots in the house, etc... Oliver even learned how to put his paw up on one particular window sill to catch the best view of the front yard from watching the dog go to that window when something rustled outside.... now if my big black labbie could stop bein a big chicken when the cat comes around, haha, they'd be the best of napping/snuggling buddies!

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Tell that to my rexes and most siamese/oriental cats.....

Click to expand...

That's self-explanatory!