Are cats really this smart

[Heckah]

OK...for those of you who don't know that tales of Manny and Bailey...

http://www.cathelp-online.com/forums/vi ... php?t=8672

OK...so here's the deal, this is so strange. So Bailey is getting better with Manny. She only gets a little upset if Manny gets to close, and especially if Manny whacks at Bailey's tail. We can't get them both to sleep in the same bed with us yet, but I think we're getting there.

Anyway, our apartment has a glass door looking onto our couch, and we came home a few days ago and Bailey was asleep on the couch and Manny was all cuddled up to her asleep as well. We woke Bailey up opening the door and after staring at us for a few seconds started hissing at Manny. This is the second time we caught them like this.

My question is, is Bailey totally cool with Manny being in the house, but hisses and growls and swipes at Manny when we're around because she knows she'll get extra attention? Are cats really smart enough to think like that, or is it more likely that Bailey never realized Manny was there until she woke up?

[Traci]

Congratulations, you are the proud parents of cats-who-love-to-play-mind-games-with-their-owners

Most likely both knew exactly what they were doing, and yes, they will act the opposite as soon as their owner makes notice. (try setting up a hidden camera on them sometime ) Glad to hear things are working out so well...

[jdf]

Cats are the great manipulators... we've got two who do similar things.

When my human children were little squirts, my daughter would pester her older brother till he broke down and smacked her one then she gleefully watched as he got scolded for hitting her. This went on for awhile until I spyed on them one day while they were outside on the porch. I wanted to get to the bottom of this problem and I saw clearly what my sweet little girl was up to as she worked her charms on her brother. Things changed from that day forward.

Ruby does the same with Ringo - they're a lot like human siblings even though they aren't even remotely related to one another. It's the trickster side of love, I think.

[Tambrey]

My mom told me that when my cousins were babies, my aunt would keep the two boys in a playpen together when she was in the kitchen...the playpen was in the living room and she would hear the younger one begin to scream, and cry, so she would go in and give the older one a spanking...well, after many times of this happening, my aunt noticed one day that the glass door between the kitchen and into the living room (not sure how the apartment was set up, this was before I was born!) but she could see the reflection of the playpen in the glass of the door, so she would then keep the door that way to see what the boys were up to...
The older one was in his own corner of the playpen playing with his toys, when suddenly the younger one becan to scream and cry...my aunt went in, and the older one acted afraid of the spanking he was about to get, but instead, she spanked the younger one...he got a look of shock on his face, but it never happened again...

smart cats....my Callie has got to be one of the smartest cats I have ever known...of course, she is also the one that will NOT use the litterbox..

however, she has been caught playing with the answering machine...she will lay on the desk and hit the playuback button over and over again with her paw...we have missed numerous messages due to this one...

...she figured out the water cooler spigots...at first I thought the cooler had a leak because I kept coming into the kitchen to water all over the floor...one day I heard the bubbles and went out to see her standing there holding the spigot down and drinking from the flowing water...the well at the bottom would fill and the other cats learned to prefer drinking this water to what was in their dish, and if it was empty, I could walk into the kitchen to see 3 or 4 cats watching it patiently for Callie to come and give them water...
We have since formed a piece of plexiglass and used velcro strips all the way around the cooler to keep her from that one and they have learned to use water dishes once again..

...her latest antic is the bread box...I kept walking into the kitchen and getting mad at hubby or son because they could not even close the bread box drawer, then a cat would tear into the bread...we have one of those old metal boxes build into a cabinet drawer, and it has a slide top, that sticks, so we never slide it closed, just shut the drawer...
the other day I was doing dishes...Callie walked out to the kitchen, looked around, then proceeded to stand up and carefully hook her paws over the top of that drawer...then she lifted her hind feet and began to swing back and forth until the drawer pulled open far enough for her to climb in and tear open a bread bag
hubby will be WD40-ing the drawer top this weekend!!

I wonder if I could teach her how to use the toilet...maybe she would use that since she has such a litterbox aversion...and knowing Callie, she would be able to flush it as well...

[slvrwhispr]

Geez, you guys and your smart cats. Mine likes to stick her head into paper bags and run head-first into walls. LOL

[Heckah]

Geez, you guys and your smart cats. Mine likes to stick her head into paper bags and run head-first into walls. LOL

Well, if it makes you feel better, Manny still runs full speed through the kitchen, forgetting he has no traction before sliding out of control and hitting the stove...