Hi, I have a 1 year old male cat, who is the sweetest boy, he is neutered and was well socialized when he was kitten (stayed 4 months with his mother and sisters). He gets along well with everyone in the house, including strangers and visitors. Do cats have momories of their past relationships and social behavior with other cats? What I mean is if we get another cat, he will get along just fine or it will be stressful to him regardless?
This is a great question!
So, as for memories, we can’t be sure. We know that cats can grow accustomed to things that they used to be afraid of, and it’s a combination of training and using a shorter long-term memory against their fear. Certain stimuli seem to hold onto cats more than memories. So smelling a scent they associate with something negative versus where us humans just kind of remember that one time we said something really embarrassing in first grade (and I’ll never forget that...)
HOWEVER, how kittens are raised has an IMMENSE influence on how they behave as adults. If the cat is friendly, it’s a good assumption that they were well socialized with multiple humans. There are theories about parts of a cat’s personality being somewhat genetic, typically offered by the father, but that’s a theory, and something that, while interesting, isn’t something I put full stock in (not without further study). It’s not so much memories but conditioning, though.
With all that being said, regardless of a cat’s ability to integrate with other cats, you want to set them up for success. Their upbringing should make the introduction process MUCH easier and MUCH more streamlined, and less stressful for everyone involved, though. Giving cats that time apart to keep their stress levels down will help the cats accept each other more, and learn how to interact with the other. Not all cats are going to be like your cat’s siblings. Some may have liked to play rough, and a new cat may not. Granted, growing up with siblings gave the cat an idea of what social cues are normal when he DOES play too rough, and it should help.
Basically, even with a well socialized cat, new stimuli or situations, especially a new cat, can be stressful. They could be totally fine with it, but you want to err on the side of caution and just sort of assume that it will be stressful anyway. That way there’s a better chance for success in introductions. It’s easier to carefully go through the introduction process rather than speeding through it, or skipping it all together, and trying to overcome the fallout that might occur from that.
