In my experiance that is completely and totally not true. I did a semester at sea in high school that lasted 4 months, with a brief break halfway through. After two solid months away, my cat definately recognized me when I came back for spring break. Similarly, she recognized me when I came back at the end of the semester. On both these homecomings she was very happy to see me (I must also point out that this particular cat was never friendly with strangers).

On shorter trips, anywhere from a weekend to a few weeks, the cat in question (her name was Lassie) would get mad at me, and completely pretend I didn't exist for a day or two. Some people might interpret this as the cat "forgetting" them while away, but I never had any doubt that Lassie was simply mad at me for my prolonged abscence.

My Devon Rex, Lea, stayed with my mom when I did study abroad. She is very skitish and any stranger in the house is unlikely to see her at all. When I came back from studing abroad, she was very happy to snuggle with me on the couch my first night home. Did she forget me? Obviously not!

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