# Is my cat a super genius, or is it just me?



## navigator9 (May 22, 2014)

One of my two rescue cats loves to sit on the entertainment cabinet in the picture window and watch what goes on in the neighborhood. There's this one big tomcat who drives her crazy. She yodels and her fur stands on end, she tries to get through the window to get to him! So here is the part that makes me think that she's a super genius. She watches him as he walks across the front yard, and when he gets out of her line of sight, she jumps down and runs to the next room, bedroom or dining room, depending on which way he's gone, so that she can continue watching him from the next window. Is it just me, or is that kind of super smart for a cat to be able to figure that out, that once he's gone from sight, he's not actually gone, that she can go to the next room and continue to follow his progress. It's OK, you can tell me if all of your cats do that too. LOL  Is her picture in there twice, I'm still trying to get the hang of this picture thing.


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## warmhandswarmheart (May 23, 2014)

I don't know if my cat is dumb to do that or if she is too lazy.  She is pretty lazy.


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## Tienne (May 23, 2014)

This post is super cute.  

What a sweet cat, Navigator. Her temper makes her sound like she's a bit of a tiger! Or a good watchdog. LOL  Her eyes have such a beautiful colour. Green-eyed cats are simply gorgeous. 

My cats do the same thing with birds. They'll hide in the bushes and wait for birds to land on the patio so they can pounce them and when they try to attack, the birds flutter up and fly away, up and over the garage, (and out of sight) long before the cats get anywhere near them. The cats will then run all the way around the garage to the other side in an attempt to catch them there. They never catch any though, the birds are way too fast for them, thank heavens. It's only my younger cats that do that, though. My older cats can't be bothered. They're either too lazy or wise enough to know that that particular "hunting spot"  is less than perfect and experience has taught them that any attempt to catch birds on the patio is simply futile, so they don't even try. LOL


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## AnnaO (May 23, 2014)

Yes your cat is a super genius, you can see it in her face ... she's thinking at you _'post the picture twice... I'm pretty... so post the picture twice...'_

Our own genius cats, Mulligan and O'Hare were born in our wardrobe on Shrove Tuesday after their mum, a stray, chose to move in with us. Sadly O'Hare passed over late last year after a brief illness, but I'm glad to say that Mulligan is still with us. He's 17 now. One evening a couple of years ago Mulligan was busy resting upstairs on our bed, while O'Hare was plotting in the kitchen, eyeing up the waste bin. It was a tall plastic bin, the kind with a suspended lid piece that can swing and open from either side, and after scrutinising it carefully for a short while, O'Hare reached up the side of the bin, latched his front paws onto the edge of the lid opening, and pulled downwards with all his might, in an apparent attempt to topple the bin. But the bin was chock full of rubbish, with a heavy bag of old kitty litter inside, and it stayed well and truly put. So he lifted his back paws off the floor, and dangled there for a short while for maximum leverage, but even so it was not enough to topple the bin.

So next O'Hare dashed up the stairs to our bedroom, to reappear moments later with Mulligan close behind. Without hesitation, both boys marched up to the bin and together stretched up its side, latched their front paws on to the edge of the lid opening, and pulled downwards. O'Hare dangled, Mulligan pulled, and with this combined effort the bin started to tip. The boys let go and darted off just in time. The bin toppled over, the lid became detached, and tempting morsels of kitchen waste tumbled on to the floor. We were amazed... such planning, such communication, and such teamwork! It solved a mystery though, as over the years we had several times got up in the morning to a toppled over and ransacked kitchen bin, and up until that point had blamed our dog 

Another genius cat lives in our street. She lost a front leg after an injury, but she still catches pigeons. We think she lulls them into a false sense of security. And a friend of ours had a genius cat who used to position himself carefully on the toilet seat to use the loo. He never learned to flush though


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## grayceworks (May 23, 2014)

Cats are smart that way.  They have more reasoning ability than some other creatures, and can think things through like that, and plan ahead and stuff.


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## grayceworks (May 23, 2014)

Funny: Our older cat likes to watch TV, but she learned a while ago that it was just TV, not a window to somewhere else, when watching Frankenweenie. She was fascinated with the cartoon cat, and when it went off-screen, she went behind the TV looking for it. Then back around the front, then around back again. Finally came back and sat down by us with a huff, but watched the whole rest of the movie. And still watches the whole movie in fascination whenever it comes on. 

Also funny: We've always talked to both of our cats as though they were children rather than pets. Thus, they've learned quite a lot more phrases than a lot of people's cats. So you can tell them what you're going to do, or what you want them to do, in plain English, and usually they figure it out and will do it. The younger one tries to talk about it though, for example, if you tell her "That's not yours" when she's getting in to something she's curious about, she will stop, but she'll tilt her head sideways and question you, with a meow that sounds like "No??" So I'll shake my head and say "No. Go find something else to do" So she goes and finds her favorite toy and puts it on my feet instead with a quick, chirping "Mrowmrow?" (her word for "something to do?" -- she uses that exact sound every single time)


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## navigator9 (May 23, 2014)

Thanks so much for all of your stories. You see, people think it's only dogs who are so smart...these stories prove otherwise.

Tienne, Mimi *is* very sweet, the sweetest cat I've ever had. I found her in the parking lot of the hospital where I work, one winter night almost ten years ago. She was yowling, so I picked her up, and she climbed onto my shoulder and started rubbing her face against my cheek. Well, that was it! After calls to the local animal shelters, and ads in the paper determined that no one was looking for her, she was mine, and I can't imagine life without her. She really isn't much of a tiger.....except when she sees that one tomcat. He really ruffles her fur! lol

AnnaO, sounds like a team of super geniuses to me! I bet they had quite a laugh when you suspected the dog of being the culprit. lol That's too funny. And you know, I had a cat that used the toilet, too! I was home alone one day when I heard someone peeing in the toilet. I froze, thinking maybe it was a burglar with a weak bladder. I waited. Nothing. So I finally went and looked in the bathroom. Sure enough, yellow in the bowl. The next time it happened, I quickly ran to the bathroom and threw open the door. Well, if a cat can have an embarrassed expression, this one did, as he teetered, legs splayed on the toilet seat, peeing away. I still crack up when I think of it!

Grayceworks, I know what you mean about a cats vocabulary, and I love that you've been able to figure out some of your cats "words." I've always wondered what it would be like if we could understand animal language. And isn't it funny about cats TV watching preferences? I love that yours likes Frankenweenie! Mimi's favorite is a commercial with polar bears.

As I'm typing this, I have a "helper." Another rescue cat, named Basco, short for chubasco, a squally, destructive little wind along the coast of South America, and that describes his personality to a T. Basco would never forgive me if I didn't post his picture too, with his little pink nose. He may not be the genius that Mimi is but he's an extremely sweet and affectionate boy. But not with Mimi.....they can't stand each other, but manage to co-exist. Here is Mr. B.
pink nose.jpg


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## dixiedragon (May 23, 2014)

Compared to my cat, yes. However, my cat has set her tail on fire at least 3 times, so my standards are pretty low.


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## jules92207 (May 23, 2014)

The person who claimed dogs are smarter than cats clearly never owned one. Your cats are all brilliantly clever and makes me want to go love on my girl. Sadly she was ferile when we found her at about 6 months old and she rarely lets me cuddle with her. She was better till I had kids, now she pretty much resigns herself to the outdoor life. Occasionally she decides to come rub on my leg and let me pet her when I am outside with the kids playing.

I personally believe cats are more "human" than other animals, they have as diverse of personalities as people do. I also own a dog and he is smart, but no where near the intelligence of my feline friends.

Birds are really smart too - my husband is always telling me a story about his parakeet plotting with the parrot in the apartment below to escape together one day. They kept talking to each other from their apartments and one day both houses had the cages and windows open and they flew off together. Amazing!


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## navigator9 (May 23, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> Compared to my cat, yes. However, my cat has set her tail on fire at least 3 times, so my standards are pretty low.



ROTFL!!! P.S. I hope she's OK.


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## navigator9 (May 23, 2014)

jules92207 said:


> The person who claimed dogs are smarter than cats clearly never owned one. Your cats are all brilliantly clever and makes me want to go love on my girl. Sadly she was ferile when we found her at about 6 months old and she rarely lets me cuddle with her. She was better till I had kids, now she pretty much resigns herself to the outdoor life. Occasionally she decides to come rub on my leg and let me pet her when I am outside with the kids playing.
> 
> I personally believe cats are more "human" than other animals, they have as diverse of personalities as people do. I also own a dog and he is smart, but no where near the intelligence of my feline friends.
> 
> Birds are really smart too - my husband is always telling me a story about his parakeet plotting with the parrot in the apartment below to escape together one day. They kept talking to each other from their apartments and one day both houses had the cages and windows open and they flew off together. Amazing!




I had a cat like yours, not feral, but he wanted to be an outdoor cat. I could only convinced him to sleep indoors on the coldest of nights. Even though they may not be lap cats, they know where to come when they are hungry, and when they're sick. They know who loves them. You know that when cats rub up against you, they're marking you with the oil glands on their faces as belonging to them. Your girl knows the two of you belong to each other.

The story about the two birds is too funny....love it!


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## dixiedragon (May 23, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> ROTFL!!! P.S. I hope she's OK.


 
Yes, she's fine. Cat hair is self-extinguishing, apparently. I like to burn scented candles. I get the ones in jars to prevent this very thing, yet she stands there and manages to somehow dip her tail in the jar and set it on fire. And she doesn't even notice she is ON FIRE. She just wanders around until the fire puts itself out, while we're going, "What is that smell? Is something burning? It's the cat! The cat is ON FIRE!"


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## OliveOil2 (May 23, 2014)

Both of your cats are adorable! Just last week my cat was watching another cat in the backyard, he was very interested this cat being in his favorite garden spot. When the cat moved my cat raced to the bedroom to watch from that window. I was
really surprised when I saw this. I thought this guy is too smart for his own good, he surprises me all of the time.


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## DeeAnna (May 23, 2014)

Not my cat, but this feline gets my vote for a hero's award. A dog attacked a toddler riding his tricycle and did nothing to provoke the attack. The cat jumped on the dog as the dog was dragging the toddle rand chased the dog off the property. The boy had to get stitches in his leg, but is otherwise fine. 

Here's a PG-rated short video of the attack caught by the homeowner's security cameras: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPccqkSjy8M[/ame]


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## dixiedragon (May 23, 2014)

I saw that video! Holy cow that was SCARY!


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## Dahila (May 23, 2014)

Beatufil thread and awesome cats, smart cats.  Cats are a bit smarter when it comes to complex actions.  Must be the survival skills .   I love cats and dogs and whole bunch of other animals.   
I was breeding and judging dogs on dog's shows for years.  I also always owned a cat.  It is not really logical to compare the two different species.  You guys would not compare horse to cat, would you? They all are very smart and lovely animals just different.  Most of time i feel like a cat:roll:
Love them all


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## Twiggy (May 23, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> One of my two rescue cats loves to sit on the entertainment cabinet in the picture window and watch what goes on in the neighborhood. There's this one big tomcat who drives her crazy. She yodels and her fur stands on end, she tries to get through the window to get to him! So here is the part that makes me think that she's a super genius. She watches him as he walks across the front yard, and when he gets out of her line of sight, she jumps down and runs to the next room, bedroom or dining room, depending on which way he's gone, so that she can continue watching him from the next window. Is it just me, or is that kind of super smart for a cat to be able to figure that out, that once he's gone from sight, he's not actually gone, that she can go to the next room and continue to follow his progress. It's OK, you can tell me if all of your cats do that too. LOL  Is her picture in there twice, I'm still trying to get the hang of this picture thing.





That’s easy – she is genius!


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## brandnew (May 23, 2014)

Oh dixiedragon your cat gave me such a giggle! But I bet she does it with flare! ;-)
Can't help but love 'em!!


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## fuzz-juzz (May 23, 2014)

OK I'll brag, but my cat does the exact same thing. We have living room and our bedroom windows looking at the front yard and that's where the cats come to annoy our kitty. He will run from the living room window to the bedrooom window if the nemesis disappears from the sight.
Front door is sometimes open during the day so he uses it as well.
This story happened few years ago and we thought we lost him. Since he is a house cat and never goes out. We live in a busy suburb and him being an older rescue cat I just can't let him get hurt. Anyway, it was dark and we kept the door open as it was hot outside, but there is a security door with the net. Two neighbour's cats came to annoy him and as he jumped, he opened the security net, somehow pushing the handle down. We think he's done it on purpose as he often pretends to stretch and tries to touch the door handle. He knows what it does! 
So, he chased those two cats into the dark, children started to cry, and me of course, we got scared we will never see him again, but when we got outside he was at the edge of our front yard looking at other two cats across the road, looking all proud as he just proved he can protect his territory. He has dumb moments,  the other day he almost killed himself by getting tangled in my legs, sheesh, an it's not the first time.
I love him so much and I love cats in general, they are such a great pets.
All of your kitties and stories are great!


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## navigator9 (May 23, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> Yes, she's fine. Cat hair is self-extinguishing, apparently. I like to burn scented candles. I get the ones in jars to prevent this very thing, yet she stands there and manages to somehow dip her tail in the jar and set it on fire. And she doesn't even notice she is ON FIRE. She just wanders around until the fire puts itself out, while we're going, "What is that smell? Is something burning? It's the cat! The cat is ON FIRE!"



dixiedragon, this sounds like something that would happen at my girlfriend's house. She has a houseful of cats, and there's always some feline drama going on! :grin:



OliveOil2 said:


> Both of your cats are adorable! Just last week my cat was watching another cat in the backyard, he was very interested this cat being in his favorite garden spot. When the cat moved my cat raced to the bedroom to watch from that window. I was
> really surprised when I saw this. I thought this guy is too smart for his own good, he surprises me all of the time.



I love hearing that other people's cats do this too. It just goes to show you how intelligent they really are. 



DeeAnna said:


> Not my cat, but this feline gets my vote for a hero's award. A dog attacked a toddler riding his tricycle and did nothing to provoke the attack. The cat jumped on the dog as the dog was dragging the toddle rand chased the dog off the property. The boy had to get stitches in his leg, but is otherwise fine.
> 
> I saw it too, I love that cat!!!!





Twiggy said:


> That’s easy – she is genius!



Twiggy, Mimi says "Thank you!"



fuzz-juzz said:


> OK I'll brag, but my cat does the exact same thing. We have living room and our bedroom windows looking at the front yard and that's where the cats come to annoy our kitty. He will run from the living room window to the bedrooom window if the nemesis disappears from the sight.
> Front door is sometimes open during the day so he uses it as well.
> This story happened few years ago and we thought we lost him. Since he is a house cat and never goes out. We live in a busy suburb and him being an older rescue cat I just can't let him get hurt. Anyway, it was dark and we kept the door open as it was hot outside, but there is a security door with the net. Two neighbour's cats came to annoy him and as he jumped, he opened the security net, somehow pushing the handle down. We think he's done it on purpose as he often pretends to stretch and tries to touch the door handle. He knows what it does!
> So, he chased those two cats into the dark, children started to cry, and me of course, we got scared we will never see him again, but when we got outside he was at the edge of our front yard looking at other two cats across the road, looking all proud as he just proved he can protect his territory. He has dumb moments,  the other day he almost killed himself by getting tangled in my legs, sheesh, an it's not the first time.
> ...



I find it very comforting that we love our animals so much. I think it says something very positive about the human race. But then there are those who say they hate cats. I've never been able to understand that. I'd like to think they have just never known one very well. What's not to love?


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## grayceworks (May 23, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> Grayceworks, I know what you mean about a cats vocabulary, and I love that you've been able to figure out some of your cats "words." I've always wondered what it would be like if we could understand animal language. And isn't it funny about cats TV watching preferences? I love that yours likes Frankenweenie! Mimi's favorite is a commercial with polar bears.
> 
> As I'm typing this, I have a "helper." Another rescue cat, named Basco, short for chubasco, a squally, destructive little wind along the coast of South America, and that describes his personality to a T. Basco would never forgive me if I didn't post his picture too, with his little pink nose. He may not be the genius that Mimi is but he's an extremely sweet and affectionate boy. But not with Mimi.....they can't stand each other, but manage to co-exist.



Yes, Jellybelly is just fascinated with that movie. She watches other stuff too, but that is the one she sits up and watches intently. She also helps me 'read' books, magazines, and stuff on my tablet. She's gotten quite adept at that. She pats the pictures, and then watches my face to see if I'm done YET, and then turns the pages lol. If there's no pictures, you can see her getting very impatient to turn the page. And she just loves anything on my tablet because anything she touches does SOMETHING. lol

 KatieBelle isn't as interested in TV, unless I have the aquarium thing on. She loves the fish. Not interested in reading either, no attention span yet. She does like the 'mouse game' on my tablet though. She also likes to chase the bubbles screensaver on hubby's computer. And her 'red dot' is her favorite thing in the world. She will go find the keychain anytime she's bored and drop it on my feet. JellyBelly is only vaguely interested, if the dot happens to get close enough to a paw to swipe at. 

One day I was trying to get her to join in playing with it with Katie, and said, JellyBelly, get it! So what does she do? Can you guess? 

While KatieBelle madly scampers about chasing the dot on the floor, JellyBelly calmly walks up to me, swipes the laser thingy out of my hand, and then sits looking at me with the MOST smug expression I ever saw on a cat. There! I got it! LOL 

Oh! I used to have a strawberry roan Peruvian Paso horse named Chubasco. Appropriately named! LOL He had a pink nose too!


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## navigator9 (May 25, 2014)

grayceworks said:


> Yes, Jellybelly is just fascinated with that movie. She watches other stuff too, but that is the one she sits up and watches intently. She also helps me 'read' books, magazines, and stuff on my tablet. She's gotten quite adept at that. She pats the pictures, and then watches my face to see if I'm done YET, and then turns the pages lol. If there's no pictures, you can see her getting very impatient to turn the page. And she just loves anything on my tablet because anything she touches does SOMETHING. lol
> 
> KatieBelle isn't as interested in TV, unless I have the aquarium thing on. She loves the fish. Not interested in reading either, no attention span yet. She does like the 'mouse game' on my tablet though. She also likes to chase the bubbles screensaver on hubby's computer. And her 'red dot' is her favorite thing in the world. She will go find the keychain anytime she's bored and drop it on my feet. JellyBelly is only vaguely interested, if the dot happens to get close enough to a paw to swipe at.
> 
> ...



They really do have their own personalities, don't they? Yours sound like quite the characters! lol 

That's quite a coincidence about the name Chubasco! Mimi is such a laid back, relaxed girl. When I got Basco, he was so different. I remember thinking...."He tears around the house like a tornado!" So I googled the names of winds in different parts of the world, and when I saw that squally, destructive little wind called Chubasco, I knew that was it. Funny yours had a pink nose too! :smile:


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