How intelligent is your cat?

[violetbunny]

I know "intelligent" is a subjective description, but between my two cats Boycat is definitely more intelligent than his sister! So many examples, but a few are:

He has cracked any puzzle feeder I've tried in minutes. Girlcat stares at them blankly and walks off.

Unlike Girlcat who is surprised whenever I put her in the carrier to go to the vet, Boycat knows it's coming. He will also learn from the previous times and try different strategies to evade capture.

Boycat is also much better at communicating his needs, for example if he wants to be played with he will walk to his toy box and get your attention. Once when I couldn't feed him breakfast due to a vet procedure, he went and got his treat toy from another room and batted it around in front of me while yelling and making a huge racket (never done this before so he was definitely trying to tell me to feed him!).

How intelligent (or not so intelligent) are your cats?

Mine are both bright. Tolkien can get the pantry door open and help himself to food. Tolstoy once got the lid off the slow cooker and purloined a defrosting bag of stewing lamb as well as once managing to open the oven door and get hold of a tray of fish fingers . Both can leap from the stair rail and open the top door of the airing cupboard to get at Dreamies then open the plastic tub. After a bout of this over indulgence Tolstoy considerately threw up in the bathroom sink.

They both know their names, as well as "Right" "Dreamies" "Teatime" "Bedtime" and "Come along you murdering little sods".
They both seem to have an internal clock and present themselves for tea tea at their regular times.

I used to think that my cat was stupid, but then she trained me to get up from my desk and go to open the back door for her when she sits next to it and miaows, only to then run to her empty food bowl. Gets me every time!

Simba (ginger moggy) is frighteningly intelligent. He can open doors by the handle to get in an out of rooms or into the back door. He goes and switches the tap on if he wants a drink. He has a body clock that knew his dinner was 6pm on the dot and would come and pace at that time and would always take a week or two to adapt to the clocks going backwards and forward. He also used to pace the floor at DDs bedroom till she went to bed and he could cuddle into her.

If you were late feeding him he would meow louder and louder and then go into the cupboard and drag the food out but didn't know how to shred the packagine. We used to have to make elaborate puzzles, think three layers or more of puzzles to get a dreamie and he loved that.

He was also a complete areshole. He would knock over drinks just because he could and open cupboard doors just for the sake of it. We had a cat fountain for a while until he worked out how to remove the charcoal filter just for fun and would do it daily.

He's 12 now and still clever but prefers sleeping to doing tricks.

Boudi (female ragdoll) is spectacularly stupid but very cute and loving.

Mine is a cunning animal. She has learned just how much of a nuisance to make of herself to get an early feeding.

There's a small kitchen cupboard with a springy hinge that she opens slightly with a paw and lets it bang shut repeatedly. Failing that, leaping onto the window a/c unit and jumping at the roller blind above it alternating with batting at the plants and trying to climb onto the mantelpiece.

For no apparent reason at all apart from annoying DD4 she darts into her room and scuttles under the bed every time the bedroom door is opened.

Also has a collection of little treasures - bottle caps, shiny coins, catnip toys - which she keeps near her main water bowl. These are separate from things she bats around - ping pong balls, straws, etc

Not much of a mouser.
More of a guard dog - hates plumbers, electricians, several but not all visitors.

I would rate her intelligence at 8/10. I deduct 2 points for stalking birds and insects on the TV when there's a nature programme on and never learning from experience that they're not really there.

Our cat could open a door if she had the strength to press down the handle! The handles. In our house are fairly stiff so whilst she tries,the door handles barely move! She is also intelligent in many other ways.

I like to think our moggy is pretty smart. When hungry she seeks you out and pours affection on to you. Sits on laptops if necessary. Says thanks while you're prepping the food by enthusiastically rubbing your legs. Asks out by sitting at the door looking at the handle. If that isn't noticed, makes intense eye contact with you. If still not acted upon will miaow loudly. If she wants out during the night, although perfectly capable of butting her way in to our room, knows that by simply scrabbling on the outside of the door, I will wake up and get up to let her out. While outside, has perfect perch on top of railing that allows her to peruse action at the front and back of the house, and be within earshot of either door opening. Also great at finding new hiding spots in the house where kids can see but not reach her.

Has also read the room - that we do not value dead wildlife as gifts. Now stores them under a nearby bush and does not attempt to bring them indoors.

Good kitty!!
My Boycat still brings his prey in, but knows that if I see him with it I will try to get it off him. Cue the two of us running around the house, him with the mouse/bird/critter in his mouth, and me chasing after him!