Conference misery::feline

    I forgot to mention that Charlie was in good condition when I got him.
    His paws were clean, he had no visible fleas, no ticks, he didn't even 
    have ear-mites and someone cared enough at some point to have him 
    neutered, although I doubt he'd see it that way :-).

    Very interesting note and I'm sitting here trying to figure out
    which one of my cats would or would not recognize me if I didn't
    see them for a few months.   I have come to the conclusion that it
    probably depends on the cat as well as what had happened to them
    during there time of freedom. (lost faith in humans!)
    
    I believe out of all my cats Dewey, JC, Abby and Van Gogh would know me
    or my voice immediately.  Poco would probably snub me and pretend she
    didn't know me, and Barkley would probably be "peed" at me for letting
    him run away so he'd ignore me as well.  
    
    I do believe cats can travel VERY far in a short time and the situation 
    where he could have got in the car, is very beleivable.  The only way 
    I think you could positively identify the cat is if it had any "special" 
    marks such as a few white hair, crooked teeth, nick out of ear etc!!  
    It's real tough when the cat is black.  Or if the original owner ever 
    had X-rays done of the teeth...I would assume another set of X-rays 
    could be compared.  
    
    Since these people seem like very responsible pet owners because they
    have been doing everything possible to try and find their cat, why
    don't you let them take the cat home on a trial basis.  Maybe after
    spending some time with the cat, as well as the cat being back in
    his old environment (maybe??) will either prove it is their cat or
    NOT!!
    
    Keep us posted...
    
    Sandy
                            

    It would not be beyond reason for Charlie to have fogotten them, he has
    been through a lot lately.  It's been 3 1/2 months.  Officially, a
    cat's memory does not go beyond two weeks...yea! right!  Still, when
    something as traumatic as being lost in a strange place comes in
    between, he could have forgotten their smell.  
    
    I have seriously thought of having an identifying mark tattoed on my
    cats.  Not that I would be in any doubt who they were.  They are all
    very distinctly different, but, if they were to be run over identifying
    them may not be that easy.  
                                                                      

    
    
     It is not that the cat doesn't recognize the owner sometimes but 
     that he might he is just sulking.
     We have a neighbor, a single lady that has two cats, she baby sits
     our cats, and our cats just love her. They come running from where
     ever they are the minute she comes to visit and they hear her voice. 
     Anyways she has two cats (1male, 1female) she'd had the female for
     2 years and the male for 4 years. She had never ever left the male 
     for longer than a weekend. Last month she finaly went on a weeks 
     vacation with her boyfriend. Now mind you she adores her cats
     especially the boy. So we were baby sitting the cats. After a couple
     of days the male cat was visibly depressed. Then by the end of the
     week he would come running and rubbing against us the minute we
     entered the house. When his owner came back, the female cat had no
     problems. But the male cat for days was running away from her and 
     hidding under the bed. He was realy mad at her for leaving him. 
     But he came around and he's back to loving mama. 
    
     So if everything else matches. But quite seriously I think those 
     poeple should have recognized their own cat even if he has gained 
     a bit more weight. 
    
     Shaw
    

    FWIW, I like Sandy's idea (note .2) of letting the people take the
    kitty to their house.  If the kitty *is* Bramley and remembers his
    prior home, he might start exhibiting familiar behavior, rediscovering
    old haunts, associate his humans with it, etc.
    
    Please let us know how this turns out.
    
    Carl

    I believe that cats forget, or at least hold grudges.
    
    When we divorced, Dana kept TK and Nikki, since they are indoor/outdoor
    cats and would not adapt to 3rd floor apt. living.  Whenever I went
    back to the house for a visit, Nikki refused to come near me.  He
    didn't act as though he hated me for leaving; it felt like he'd
    forgotten me altogether.  Or maybe he sensed that I took Kelsey, Taja
    and Herbie away and thought I was coming back for him.  Whatever the
    case, Nikki never let me back into his life.  TK was much more laid
    back about the whole ordeal.  If I went back today, he'd accept me.
    
    -Roberta
     

    I've responded to an email from Julie and have answered some questions
    of when I found Charlie/Bramley.  It sure sounds like the same cat.
    
    I've been wondering if cats remember. When I returned from the UK after
    nine months, I greeted my cat, Molly.  She literally turned her back on
    me!  I thought she was saying, "Don't think you can just stroll back 
    into my life!"  The first night she completely ignored me and I thought
    maybe she had forgotten me.  The next day, though, we played 'paper
    toss' (a game she only plays with me for some reason) and she got right
    back into it.  After that, we were pals again, so I think all is
    forgiven.
    
    I suspect Molly forgot about me while I was away, but gradually
    remembered me when I returned.
    
    Back to Charlie/Bramley.  I'm puzzled that the owners can't make a
    positive id of their cat.  However, I like the fact that they've
    continued the search-they do sound responsible and caring.
    
    Whatever happens, I'm grateful to Julie and her sister for giving
    Charlie/Bramley a home and security in these past few weeks.
      
    
    
                                  

    I went on vacation for 2 weeks, and had our downstairs neighbor look
    after Spike and Brutus.  When I returned home, Spike was pleased as
    could be to see me.  Brutus looked at me. That's it.  He usually runs
    to the door, twirling around my legs, and takes the first opportunity
    to hop into my lap.  But all he did was look. It took 3 days before he
    suddenly turned into his old affectionate self again. I don't think he
    remembered who I was!  He wasn't displaying any sort of attitude,
    wasn't ignoring me, just looking. Sort of like he was trying to decide
    who this other human might be, and where the one who was feeding him
    went.  If that can happen in two weeks, imagine if I'd been gone for 3
    months!!!  But Spike? He'd know me anywhere, no matter how long the
    separation. Depends on the cat, I guess...
    Sarah

    Regarding not being able to positively identify your cat???  Quite
    a few years ago my sister lost her brown tabby, Cam.  After putting
    an ad in the paper and following up on about 20 Tabby cats...as well
    as visiting local shelters looking at all the Tabby cats...I can
    honestly say that I started to wonder if some of them were really
    Cam.
    
    Unless a kitty has something unique about them...it is very difficult
    to identify them after looking at multiple cats; as well as I think
    your "hopes" also get your mind to wander!!  Now...I make sure I
    have recent pictures and I also try to find that unique "thing"
    that will make my cat different.  ie...such as Moses is a Tabby
    with white...but he has a small tiny white racing stripe up his
    front left leg!!
    
    Sandy

    I think it depends on the breed of cats, on their grow-up circumstances
    and of course on their individuums, too, if and how they recognize
    people again. I have read that orientals (especially Siamese and mostly
    Korats) *do* remember 'their' chosen humans, even after years.  My
    Smokey (vet told, halfbreed Korat) *definitely* did recognize me as I
    picked her up again (It's a long story. I found her in my mother's
    street, she was abandoned a few days ago from a flat of an old lady who
    died and the inheritors throw the cat on the street. I picked her up
    and brought her to a friend 40 miles away who had a house with garden and
    wanted a cat. I never had cats before, lived in a very small flat and
    thought I cannot afford a cat in such circumstances. I also thought
    that the cat would be much more happy with an own big garden. But after
    I was gone then away from my friend's, the same evening the cat bolted,
    and showed up after some two weeks again at the same spot (my mother's
    street) where I found her. Mom picked her up (the cat was badly injured
    after the two-week cruising) and bathed and cared her, and called me by
    phone. As I entered mom's flat, the cat, who was hardly able to move,
    jumped (fell) down the armchair where she was put in, crawled to me on
    the floor and purred like a diesel-engine. I know she did know who I
    was, I was the one who rescued her from the street and she wanted
    definitely *me* for her human. Needless to say I wept like a child, and
    of course I took her home with me. We live most happy ever after! I am
    very thankful that Someone up there gave me Smokey - such a loving
    creature, and I learned such a lot from her.
    
    So, in short, some cats *do* recognise people exactly.
    
    Sorry for the long story - it just 'came out'...
    
    Nat

    He IS Bramley! 
    
    When I got Susan's return mail, I telephoned Karen. She was kicking
    herself all Monday night for not taking him then because she was sure
    he was Bramley. It was just the lack of recognition on Bramley's part
    that made her hesitate. I showed her the replies to this note and she
    was convinced. Either that or Charlie is an exact replica of Bramley
    and he IS an unusual cat, so that's unlikely. His teeth, eyes and build
    are unusual and also, I forgot to mention, Bramley had an accident
    about 6 months ago and his tail was singed. Charlie has the undercoat
    fur missing in exactly the same spot on his tail. 
    
    Karen says that she got Bramley when he was six weeks old. This helps
    to explain why he kneeds with his paws when anyone makes a fuss of him. 
    
    Isn't it strange how these things work out? Karen's advert was her
    final attempt to find Bramley. Susan found a home for him just two
    weeks ago and it just so happened that I noticed the advert on Monday.
    I nearly didn't ring Karen because it seemed so far for a cat to
    travel. I didn't know then about the hitch-hiking. In fact, I was
    feeling really guilty until she saw him that I might have got her hopes
    up and that it wouldn't be Bramley.
    
    Karen promised to let me know how he gets on. If anyone ever deserved
    to get her cat back, it's her - she's missed him so much and taken such
    trouble to find him.
    
    By the way, my boyfriend was feeding his friend's cat for a month while
    John was in Australia. When John returned, the cat completely ignored
    him and fussed all over Huw - he still pays more attention to Huw even
    now!

    By the way, Karen and Kevin took Bramley home with them last night. I
    had a last cuddle and purr with him before they came (and a little cry
    into his fur - you get attached, don't you? :-)). 
    I AM very happy that they've got their cat back. Karen is absolutely
    delighted - she can hardly believe it's true. She obviously adores him.

    Hugs to Julie and Susan for giving Bramley the loving care he
    needed before his true home could be found. What a GREAT ending
    to a story.
    
    Sandy

    Lucky kitty Bramley!!  Lucky to have found his way back home, and
    lucky to have so many loving and caring humans in his life.  Don't
    you just love happy endings?
    
    Carl

    That really is a great story!  My cat, Stinky, always used to ignore
    me after my trips to the Cape to visit my grandmother.  When I came
    home he would run to me for a second, give me a whiff, then pretend 
    like I didn't exist for a day or two!!  He just wanted to make sure it
    was really me returned and then snub me for a while.  He eventually 
    got used to the whole business and now forgives me instantly when I
    return.  I don't think they forget you.  They might get angry tho!
    Karen

    Andromeda (Andie) adopted my son and me when she was 10 months old.
    Andie absolutely adores my son, Charlie.  When she was about 1-1/2,
    Charlie left for boot camp and was gone approximately 3 months.  
    He came home for a visit at Thanksgiving.  When he walked in the 
    door, she bolted up the stairs to the bedroom to hide.  He tried
    talking to her, calling her, etc., but she completely ignored him.
    The funny thing is about 5 minutes later, he and I were in the 
    living room talking and all of a sudden Andie came running down
    the stairs, screaming at the top of her lungs, ran right over to 
    Charlie and wouldn't leave him alone for the next 4 days!
    
    I do believe that just like us, they forget.  No doubt in this
    case, Andie remembered and when she did, let us know it.  What
    a chip off the old block I always say.  Mom's getting forgetful
    too (did I say that? ;-)
    

    Update on Bramley:
    
    He's happily settled in. Karen still can't believe she's got him back.
    All her friends and neighbours are convinced that it's Bramley.
    He's been rather spoilt since he went home. Lots of ham and chicken.
    Karen hasn't yet let him out - I think she's worried he might disappear
    again, so she's keeping him in for another week just to be safe. As
    Bramley is a night cat, this has meant that she and Kevin have had
    little sleep since last week (you know - the "purr purr: play with me"
    routine!)

    Bramley was in the Evening paper tonight - the headline story of the
    pet page. It was a brief description of how he'd gone missing, the
    chain of events that brought him back home and how happily he's now
    settled in. No picture, but Karen thanked everyone involved in taking
    care of him until his home was found.