[MHGinTN]

I'm convinced that there is a range of intelligence in any species. I've known cats that were lovable dummies and others that were standoffish smart. But Rarely, I come across a cat that is an Einstein of the species. I saw this with the cattle on the farm, too. I even named one little black calf ‘Albert’ because he was so precocious and so attuned to language commands. You see it in horses and dogs, too, so I suspect it is common to the animal kingdom.

BTW, I lost my little Einstein, Crookedtail, last year. He was nearly twenty and probably the smartest cat I have ever known. He understood the English language and even tried to mimick speech. He was quite capable of saying MILK when the fridge opened. And yes, he made that word/sound very differently from the other sounds he used. If he was trying to get my undivided attention, he would have an almost stuttering, random emphasis sounds cadence to his meowings, as if he was trying to make human sentence structures. ... Oh how I miss that little guy!

[rockinqsranch]

“....He understood the English language and even tried to mimick speech....”.

Yes. We too have had a couple such mimes over the years, but dogs. We’ve had as many dogs (rescues again) as cats in our lives. Comical, and interesting to watch. Smart as a whip animals. I don’t recall any cat mimes amongst those that we have had, but that doesn’t mean a thing. We have had cats that literally talk to us with their facial expressions.