Posted on 08/18/2008 11:47:46 AM PDT by yankeedame
By Rebecca Sweat
Cats are unquestionably smart creatures. Their intelligence, however, is not a matter of understanding complex human ideas, but how to get the food, attention, play and care they so need and desire. In other words, cats know how to “work the system” and use their natural survival skills, even in a domestic environment.
Of course, some cats are bound to be better problem solvers than others. How do you know if you’ve got a brainy feline? There are no scientific tests to measure feline IQ. You can, however, get a pretty good idea of how smart your cat is just by observing him. Here are some questions to help you assess your cat’s intelligence:
1. When you open a can of cat food with an electric can opener, what does your cat do?
a) Runs and hides under the bed
b) Looks up briefly, then gets back to napping
c) Immediately races into the kitchen
2. When you get out the pet carrier, what does your cat do?
a) Gives it a quick glance
b) Runs away, but will come back if offered a treat
c) Hides and won’t come out
3. How often does your cat persuade you to get out of bed early to fix her breakfast?
a) Never
b) Once in a while
c) Every day
4. Has your cat ever learned to do something just by watching you do it, such as how to open a cupboard door or turn off a light switch?
a) No
b) Yes, one or two easy procedures like how to open the box of cat treats
c) Yes. There are many things my cat has learned to do just by observing me.
5. If you come home at the same time every day, does your cat wait for your arrival, apparently aware that you have a regular return time?
a) No
b) Yes. He’s usually waiting for me by the door.
c) Yes. As soon as I walk in, he escorts me to the kitchen so I can get him dinner.
6. If a piece of food or a cat toy is out of your cat’s reach or trapped behind an object, what does your cat do?
a) Paws at it once or twice, but gives up if that doesn’t work
b) Tries to retrieve the item with her mouth and one of her paws and gives up after several failed attempts
c) Uses both of her paws and her mouth to grasp the item and won’t quit until she’s successful
7. Does your cat enjoy playing games with you?
a) Not at all
b) Occasionally
c) Very much so — especially challenging games like hide-and-go-seek
8. If your cat sees a bird outside the window, what does he do?
a) Bangs his head against the glass, trying to reach the bird
b) Paws madly at the window and yowls until I shut the blinds
c) Races to the door and meows until I let him outside
9. If you’ve ever moved your cat’s feeding dishes or litterbox from one part of the house to another, how long did it take her to get used to the new location?
a) Several weeks
b) A few days
c) One day or less
10. When you call your cat’s name, what does he do?
a) Nothing
b) Looks my way for a second or turns his ears in my direction
c) Immediately runs toward me
11. Does your cat ever get bored with her toys and create her own amusements using your socks, the goldfish bowl, the tassels on your drapes, etc.?
a) My cat’s not very interested in toys.
b) Sometimes
c) Almost daily
12. If a guest teased or pestered your cat in the past, does your cat single out that person as trouble — for example, by avoiding that person but allowing other guests to handle him?
a) No. My cat acts the same toward everyone.
b) He does prefer some people over others, but there’s no clear reason for his preferences.
c) Most definitely! My cat remembers who gave him grief and does not forget.
13. How often do you come home from work to discover that your cat has gotten into mischief while you were away?
a) Never
b) Now and then
c) All the time
14. While petting your cat, does she let you know where she most wants to be stroked and for how long?
a) No. She becomes extremely relaxed and doesn’t care where or how long she’s being stroked.
b) She purrs if she likes what I’m doing and growls or hisses if I pet her where she doesn’t want to be touched.
c) She moves around to make it easier for me to pet certain parts of her body.
15. What happens when you try to teach your cat a trick?
a) My cat never figures out what I’m trying to teach him.
b) After several training sessions, my cat is pretty good at it.
c) My cat masters the trick after one short training session.
16. After you’ve taught your cat a trick, will she still remember how to do it a month from now if you haven’t done any refresher sessions?
a) Not likely
b) Probably
c) Definitely
17. When your cat wants something from you, what does he do?
a) Purrs
b) Meows a little more loudly than usual
c) Makes a variety of vocalizations, depending on what he wants
18. How often does your cat coax you into playtime?
a) Rarely
b) Sometimes
c) Frequently
19. How does your cat react when the litterbox needs cleaning?
a) Goes in the same spot until I notice the mountain inside the litterbox
b) Starts using the planters for a litterbox or goes outside the litter pan
c) Goes outside the litterbox and meows loudly to get the point across
20. When your cat’s food bowl is empty, what does he do to remedy the situation?
a) Sits quietly in the cat tree and waits for me to feed him
b) Leaps onto my lap and meows until I realize he’s hungry
c) Opens the cupboard where the bag of cat food is stored and rips it open
Give your cat one point for every "c" answer. Deduct one point for every “a” answer. A “b” answer is a neutral response and doesn’t affect the score.
Tally up the total number of points, and grade your cat according to the scale below.
' ' ' ' ' ' Less than 5 points: Smarts aren’t your kitty’s strongest suit, but chances are that your cat is a wonderful companion, even if he doesn’t know how to open up the pantry to get out a treat!
6 – 15 points: When it comes to bell curves, your feline’s where most cats are: right in the middle. Your cat has average intelligence and can learn a few tricks, but has no desire to take apart the cat water fountain and reassemble it.
15 – 20 points: You may just be living with a feline Einstein! Your cat is extremely intelligent and continually amazes you with new tricks. Your cat also knows how to get you
My kitty doesn’t get up right away when I open a tin of cat food. He prefers his food to breathe first and assume room temperature.
Well, it would seem a couple of my cats are freakin’ geniuses, and the rest are dumb as rocks lol
Well my kitty does none of the choices on #2...he gets in his carrier on his own and he’s ready to go.
Mine too. Much smarter than the average lib. When I moved in my current home, I had flat, paddle type, knobs on the doors — as opposed to round knobs. It took about two openings of the back door before one of my cats figured it out. He now waits for me to unlock the door, and he instantly reaches up and grabs the handle, and out to the patio he and his brother goes.
ping
Remember: dogs have owners and cats have staff!
17. When your cat wants something from you, what does he do?
a) Purrs
b) Meows a little more loudly than usual
c) Makes a variety of vocalizations, depending on what he wants
My Little Killer attacks until I toss her across the room a few times before I give in to her demands.
I’m living with geniuses,
Cats are grazers if given the opportunity. They don’t eat much at one time. They’re definitely not like dogs, who will eat everything in sight.
I open a tin at night and give my two about two thirds of it between them and then the rest in the morning. I also always leave biscuits out for them to nibble on at any time. And lots of water, of course.
Thanks; I’ll try feeding her half in the morning, then.
She always wolfs down her food and I assumed it was so the dog wouldn’t get it, but maybe she just needs more meals.
Willie the Wonder Cat scored a 17 but I already knew he was a freaking genius. He would have scored higher except now that he’s getting up in years, he’s slowed down on the game playing a bit so I had to score b’s for 11, 13 and 18. I also scored him a b for #2 but that was hard because he really doesn’t do any of those things. When I first bring the kennel out, he’s very curious about it but won’t go in on his own so I have to shove him in. Now days he cries a lot in the car because he’s usually going to the vets, but when he was younger and I was traveling a good bit, I used to take him to my parents house and when I’d bring out the kennel, he’d willingly and eagerly go in on his own and would often fall asleep during the ride. I think he liked going to visit “Granny and Grandpa”.
As for #1, I don’t have an electric can opener and don’t generally feed him canned food but I do occasionally give him some tuna water with a few tuna chunks. He can actually detect the sound of the can opener in my hand as opposed to any other kitchen tool from the same drawer, even before I start using it and even if he is sound asleep in another room on another floor.
This is the cat who figured out how to press the right button on my radio alarm clock to turn the radio back on after I hit the snooze button.
This is the cat who learned to open the cabinet where I kept the cat food and would tear the bag open. Then I put a wooden spoon through the door handles and on his very first attempt used his paw to push the spoon back out. So I bought a big plastic tub for the food and he figured out if he head butted the lid in the right spot he could pop the lid off.
This is the cat who if his water bowl gets too low or isn’t fresh enough, will jump in the kitchen sink and paw at the faucet and meow loudly until I turn the faucet on for him to take a fresh drink and fill up his bowl. He even once turned on the faucet on his own.
This is the cat who if I’m on the computer and ignoring him, will jump up on the corner of the desk and start pushing papers, pens or whatever objects he can off the desk until I stop what I’m doing and play with him or pet him.
This is the cat who one day when I was making a tuna sandwich, was sitting on counter begging for some tuna which I wasn’t going to let him have. After saying “no” and pushing him away several times he suddenly turned his head toward a spot in an opposite corner of the kitchen near the ceiling and swished his tail and looked at me then back in the corner and back and forth several times until I, thinking he had spotted a moth or a fly, I turned my head toward where he was looking and out of the corner of my eye, saw that he was looking at me while slowly leaning over and putting his paw in the bowl of tuna and grabbing a piece.
This is the cat who loves playing fetch with balled up aluminum foil (yes I throw the ball, he chases and yes he brings it back) and he learned to give high fives and shake paws. He loves people, even kids and loves to show off his tricks for company.
He once had an eye infection and I would give him treats to entice him to take his medicine. Long after his eye got better, he would sometimes sit in front of my and squint one eye closed and rub it vigorously with his paw and meow like he was in pain until I gave him a treat at which point he made a “miraculous recovery”. Even now if I have a treat in my hand and say “Cry Willie”, he will squint and rub his eye with his paw like he’s crying until I give him his treat.
This is also the cat who a few years back when I was laid up in bed with a very bad flu and conjunctivitis and was also going through a painful and emotional breakup, never left my side.
Willie would lay in the bed unusually close to me and every once and a while would take his paw and gently pat my arm and sort squeeze it and would make a little chirping sounds and then gently lick my cheek or shoulder as if to say, “I’m here and I love you.”
Willie is not only smarter than your average liberal, his is genuinely more caring and compassionate.
Willie’s sister on the other hand, while very sweet and with good intentions is dumber than a box of hair. She sees imaginary things, she watches a lot of TV, she’s OCD and has plucked out big patches of her belly fur and she will sit in front of the sliding glass door pawing at her own reflection for hours. I think if she could vote, she’d be an Obama supporter.
Two of my cats were geniuses.
I have a name like Kitkat and nobody ever invites me to a cat thread??????????
Think I’ll go throw up a hairball.
Those are some stupid cats!
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