Cats Are Very Smart

[SoDesuKa]

Either cats are very smart or they're very good at acting as if they are. My guess is that they've gone through many more generations than we have, and natural selection has bred the dumbness out of them. Don't judge them as though they were people, because they're not. They're cats. They're very graceful, and there's no language barrier between cats. Every cat appears to understand every other cat.

I wonder about people who think cats are dumb. It's probably because these people need to believe that. Maybe cats' alleged standoffishness is really about having standards. My cats aren't standoffish at all; in fact they are refreshingly direct. If they like you, they show it. If they don't like you, they don't rub it in. They merely avoid you.

I've been a fan of cats since I was a kid. When I meet a cat on the street I always stop to say hello, and I'm delighted when the cat responds. My motto is: If you're too busy to say hello to a cat, you're too busy, period.

[Kutjara]

1. Cats are very good at being cats.

They're perfectly present in their catness, and fully aware of their capabilities and limitations. That gives them a quality of wholeness that we conflicted, jack-of-all-trades humans envy.

Give them a crossword puzzle or some needlepoint, though, and they're shit. Oh, and don't even try to get them to cook dinner. Hopeless, simply hopeless.

[truedelphi]

11. You might find their cooking skills improve measurably if you suggest that

They whip you up some "catsup!"

[texanwitch]

2. Cats are very smart.

My cats always let me know what they want.

[Skittles]

3. not smart enough to know Miss November is made of paper

when I held Riff Raff up to the calendar, he tried to beat the crap out of her :o

[bridgit]

4. LOL!

:rofl:

[Skittles]

5. I found it hilarious at first too

but he was obsessed and stared at her for HOURS until I made him stop. :o

[bridgit]

7. I think we have a new venture: Play Cat Magazine!

Ooh LaLa :blush:

[unpossibles]

26. I hope you are not suggesting kitty p0rn!

:)

[DS1]

15. heh heh heh

[uppityperson]

23. That is very cute and very funny. Did you try laughing at him and pointing?

Or did he not care? Very funny though. Poor guy.

[TZ]

12. Cute but that reminds me of something

a professor in college once said upon a student laughing at an animal getting "aroused" by a picture of another animal...We do it too ..its called looking at Playboy....:evilgrin:

[unpossibles]

14. I hope you don't mind, but I made a LOLcat from your photo

[Skittles]

18. LOL!!!

I love it! :hi:

[Dangerously Amused]

17. Hey, did RR ever come home again?

[Skittles]

19. yes, the hairy little devil

he was gone for 17 days and I saw him a couple times disappearing down a storm drain. Then one day I came home from work at 05:30 AM and was watching TV and his hairy little face popped up in my patio french door windows - it was raining and miserable outside and I guess he decided it was time to come home. I had been worried sick about him and even took vacation days from work to look for him. :grr:

[Dangerously Amused]

22. Aw good, I love a happy ending!

I was worried about him too. I didn't want to keep bugging you by asking if you ever found him, in case you didn't, because I knew how upset you were... but finally decided to risk it since you were posting about him again. I'm glad I did.

Did he walk right back in like nothing ever happened?

[Skittles]

24. yes, he just waltzed back in and he looked great

I was happy/angry at the same time.....anyways, I took him to the vet, got him checked out and microchipped, then put a collar on him, opened the window and said, "GO". (Keep in mind I trapped him when he was a starving injured stray and he has always treated me like the wicked witch who stole him from the great outdoors). So guess what he did: he did not go outside for three days. Then he tested the waters so to speak, and now he goes out and comes back, although sometimes it takes a bit of coaxing. :D

Want to see a classic pic? My old black cat Clancy, who Riff Raff tends to torment, was non too pleased to see RR back on the bed:

[Dangerously Amused]

27. OMG, that TOTALLY ANNOYED expression on Clancy's face says it ALL!

And RR is all like, "What?"

:rofl:


Funny that RR did not go outside for three days, and now makes only temporary excursions. Looks like he learned a valuable lesson. Heh.


:hi:

[Skittles]

28. I hope so, D A

basically I took a 100% feral adolecent cat and have made him pretty much half feral / half domesticated. I know he likes me though or he would not return at all, right? :hi:

Now check out RR when he escaped at my last apartment - and taunted me for 24 hours by periodically poking his head up through a hole in the deck:

[Dangerously Amused]

36. OMG, what a little stinker!

:rofl:

That pic really makes me laugh (but I can understand your frustration with him!)

At least he's coming back, so he definitely understands where and what "home" is now. You done good.

Hopefully he has sewn most if not all of his wild oats. I bet he will settle down and mature into a real homebody old man.

:)

[truedelphi]

6. One of our two cats can levitate - at least when he's near his red blankie

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13781335@N05

[FlyingSquirrel]

8. I read somewhere that their brain size compared to their body is the largest

of any creature. Or mammal, maybe.

I have a cat that my daughter found starving with half its face torn off. Didn't go outside for a full year after we found her. Now that's smart. She still doesn't venture out very much, but she's pretty happy I think. Meows a lot. That's how she got found (and she let us catch her). Also smart.

[yellowdogintexas]

9. she knows she has a safe place and that is what she needs. nt

[CreekDog]

10. cats are dumb

my cat can't tell any of the tv shows apart except the ones that have cats/dogs in them and the ones that don't. :dunce:

[noonwitch]

13. Most cats are smart, but mine isn't

She's sweet, but not very clever. My dog is smarter, but then Katie is not your average dog. She's figured out how to take food out of a 5 year old child's mouth without biting said child.

Miranda may not be smart, but she was my old dog's leader when Rosie went blind in her old age. She just doesn't understand to let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to Katie (who does like her, except when she sneaks up on her during naptime). Miranda gets smacked around whenever she does that-it makes me wonder if she likes getting smacked around by the dog.

[DarkTirade]

16. Cats were revered as gods by the ancient egyptians.

And they haven't forgotten it.

[Arugula Latte]

30. Kitties are still worshipped as gods in our house.

And we wait on them hand and foot. :loveya:

[DarkTirade]

31. I seem to recall seing something online (possibly even here)

about the difference between how cats and dogs see the world around them.

A dog thinks, "Wow, these people give me food and shelter and they pet me and do all the things that I could ever want... they must be gods!", whereas a cat thinks, "Wow, these people give me food and shelter and they pet me and do all the things that I could ever want... I must be a god!" :P

[Arugula Latte]

32. So true, so true.

:)

[LoveMyCali]

20. I had to laugh when I saw this

because I was telling a co-worker today that my cat is all looks, not brains. He sat there and watched me close a window today and then tried to jump up on the ledge, hit the glass and bounced off onto the floor. Other than a bruised ego, he was fine and it gave me a laugh too.

[fizzgig]

21. my little goofy kittie did the same thing last week

:rofl:

she is so sweet, but definitely not the brightest bulb in the box

[stuntcat]

25. I think so too

combining the cute furriness with the tidiness. I think it's cool how they agree to use litter boxes so they can live inside with us. Usually they can't guard us or protect us or bring us our slippers, they just sit around washing themselves. It's a great deal for them, the smarties.

[Lorien]

29. My cat Puck met her first toddler today during her walk

she gave the little girl headbutts and rolled back and for her. She even stood on her hind legs to headbutt her tiny hands-until the toddler got too excited and grabbed Puck's tail and whack her with one tiny fist on the head. Puck just looked at her with an expression that said "well I never"! and walked away. Cats aren't stupid at all!



Puck with Oberon:

[TK421]

33. I've been scratched and bitten by too many of them to be so close.....

dogs on the other hand, I have never had a negative experience with them...... I have two cats in my apartment ( both of them belong to two roommates, not me ) and every time I come come they scurry away, like they don't know who the fuck you are...until you actually FEED them, then, they are over you like white on rice..........

[Arugula Latte]

37. My son got off the school bus recently, and the stupid neighbor's dog,

who was on a leash held by the grandma, just walked over and chomped his leg, drawing blood. It was a bad bite. My son wasn't even looking at the dog.

My son sort of hates most dogs now, although we're trying to help him work through it.

I was bitten by a dog when I was a kid. I was just trying to pet her.

I'll take cats, any day ... Plus, they're softer and cuter and don't bark and don't have that dog fur/dog breath greasy stink.

[jumptheshadow]

34. Cats have different personalities and different capabilities

One of my cats was a very ethical soul. Not once in her 18 years did she ever take the wrong "side" in a situation. Once, when I did something that stepped over the line (hollered or something like that), she punctured me with one nail, drawing a single drop of blood. Once, when my partner and I had a rare argument, she took sides, and it was the right side. She really stuck up for "fairness."

I sure love a good cat thread.

[Godhumor]

35. On a human scale cats, are...(fun intelligence test inside!)

All right, assuming you are OK with making comparisons between species, there is a pretty easy test you can give them.

Cats, in human terms, tend to be as intelligent as a 6 month old human baby (on the low end of the intelligence stick) to around a 2 year old toddler (smart, smart cat).

The test is similar to ones doctors give small children. It is also extremely simplistic, so please understand that going in.

Place an object in front of your cat and make sure you have its undivided attention. Quickly place a screen of some sort in front of the object, so it is no longer seen by the cat. If it:

-Acts like it disappeared and is gone for good then you have a "6 month old".

-Realizes something is wrong but does not know to look behind the screen you got a normally developed cat.

-Knows to walk around the screen to find the object you have an intelligent cat.

Bonus test for the smart ones:

Roll a ball behind a long object such as a couch, and watch what the cat does (You may have to do this a few times to get an idea of its most common response.). If it consistently runs to the other side of the couch, without seeing the ball roll, and waits for it to come out; well, you have an incredibly smart cat.


Cocoa, my tuxedo, is a "6 monther". Pretty, incredibly loving, and dumb as a rock.

Mocha, my younger cat, is incredibly smart and passes the behind the couch test pretty much all the time (I tried a feather toy under the carpet version, but she looked at the bump and followed it back to where my hand was holding the toy. She then attacked my hand.). She also learns by watching, which I love. She saw Cocoa wake my wife and I up by doing the kitty equivalent of "nails on a chalkboard" and has begun doing it herself when she wants something. She's also figured out that turning the shower faucet makes water come out, but she doesn't have the strength/dexterity to turn it herself.

Such great animals.

[crispini]

38. Some are, some aren't.

I have a cat that is VERY smart -- opens doors, knows her name, taps on your hand with her paw when she wants petting, etc. This cat KNOWS that the laser light on the cat toy is NOT an insect -- she figured it out by looking at my hand and knows that I'm directing it. So now she won't play with it, because it's fake.

I have another cat who is totally dumb. She can't figure out when you're pointing at a treat on the floor. Took EIGHT YEARS to learn her name. Not inquisitive -- still doesn't know how to open doors even after seeing the other cats do it. Taken in by the 'bug' laser every time. She's a sweetie, and SO affectionate, but bless her, dumb as a brick.