To all cat owners - Do you have an average smart cat?

Nody

This is light hearted and mainly aimed at cat owners but is/was your cat an average smart cat? Before I move further lets start with some basic statistic:


Using IQ as a base we have a normalized distrubtion of any given population (it's a fancy way of saying that most people are average in their IQ score and there are fewer lower/higher IQ scores then the average).

How ever having speaking with cat owners and cat people for quite a few years now it struck me a while back that everyone either claims their cat is stupid, or smart. I've yet to remember anyone claiming their cat is simply "average smart". Of course the owners will admitt that sometimes their smart cat does something stupid or vice versa but that those occasions are exceptions to the rule.

This then would fly against the basic normalised curve as this (ignore the stuff in the middle):


Now there is (to my knowledge) no real cat IQ test to test such a theory in practice and by definition it's unlikely the above would be true (as this would indicate there two distinct versions with smart and stupid cats only and no mixing which by definition should lead to either two races or more likely someone has screwed up their sampling).

Anyway, enough pseudo statistics; back to the original question; do you have an averagely smart cat or are you cats either stupid or smart? :pac:

Pumpkinseeds

2 of my cats are incredibly clever. I put it down to them having had to be very resourceful to survive alone for a long time. The other chap, well lets just say if he were human he'd be very blonde(no offence intended), it's just as well he's very handsome and can get by on his good looks. Toby we don't know well yet but he seems very smart and like Jazzy understands hand gestures and responds to them.

A typical example would be when Felix chases Jazzy behind the sofa. Jazzy will dash out the other side, out the living room door and be upstairs having a nap while Felix is still sitting at the side of the sofa waiting for him to come out from behind it.

We love them all dearly, especially our dizzy Felix monster

bluecherry74

After 8 months, despite numerous attempts at training them, my two still haven't figured out how to use the cat flap unless it's taped open. They do understand a few basic commands and are very quick to learn what certain noises mean, so I'm going to go with average smart.

Nody

bluecherry74 wrote: »

After 8 months, despite numerous attempts at training them, my two still haven't figured out how to use the cat flap unless it's taped open. They do understand a few basic commands and are very quick to learn what certain noises mean, so I'm going to go with average smart.

Cats on one side; very smelly treat (tuna usually works) seen to be placed on the other side; took our cats 5 min to figure out how to push it open (funnily enough the stupid but food motivated cat got it first; our smart one took another 10 min to learn it and all other cats have learned by seeing the initial two walk through it).

kaimera

hmm, i think her kitten (~8 months, maybe 9) is pretty smart.

the 6-8 week old kitten of a feral cat we're minding at the minute...well...hmmm....definitely the runt of the 3 but in the week we've had her so far, she catches on quick - climbing, being able to jump on the couch at last.....but the flip side is the tail chasing prolly just being a kitten tho.

she does follow me around and kid behind doors so she can attack me when i pass by so i think she's a bit smart!

thegreatiam

how's this. ive taught our cat to use the toilet.
which he does now on his own. but only number 1.
he will jump up, do a pee, then hop off and poop on my freshly cleaned toilet floor. hard to praise and punish that kind of stupidity.

he is getting better tho, he poops only 50% of the time on the floor now the rest goes where it should.
now to teach him to flush.

ABajaninCork

Ha ha. I've had three cats. Two were very smart. The youngest? He'd make a bucket of rocks look smart!

anniehoo

Ah i will have to put Beanie in the "not the sharpest pencil in the box" category.He's not the brightest god love him. He does cracks me up though as he's such a sweetheart and gives the best head bop smooches

bluecherry74

Nody wrote: »

Cats on one side; very smelly treat (tuna usually works) seen to be placed on the other side; took our cats 5 min to figure out how to push it open (funnily enough the stupid but food motivated cat got it first; our smart one took another 10 min to learn it and all other cats have learned by seeing the initial two walk through it).

Thanks, I haven't tried the tuna trick. Funnily enough, even thought my own cats won't use the flap my neighbour's cat, who visits occasionally, figured it out almost instantly. :rolleyes:

honerbright

I'd say Cinnamon is average smart. She knows all about door handles and opening doors, and I've even seen her trying to wriggle the key in the back door before... and the window locks. She's pretty determined!

She's be known to turn on the tap as well when she was thirsty, but sadly our new place has turn-taps

Never had any problems with her toileting in the right place either, when we first got her or when we've moved house... or even when we got one of those box-litter yokes with the flap door.

biko

Average I'd say.

Thorndike was studying cats, pretty interesting stuff.

SillyMangoX

Cream is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, a lovable idiot but can be smart when he wants to be, peach is very smart in a manipulative way, and poor dude doesn't have a brain between his fuzzy brown ears!!

metaoblivia

Our orange cat is definitely the least smart of our three cats. I wouldn't say she's stupid, but just rather average.
Our calico is probably the smartest of the three. She responds to voice commands, including her own name and in her younger years was very mischievous. She can open windows, blinds and doors, and even though she's old now and has arthritis and is a small cat, the other cats defer to her. I would say she's above average but not super smart.
The kitten, we still don't know. He seems like he could be smart - he's definitely caught on to who will let him eat off their plate at supper time, and he watches the other two cats with great interest. He achieved domination over the orange cat when he was 7 weeks old, but minds his Ps and Qs around the calico.

Just the other night I was playing with the kitten, and the calico came over watching and wanting to play with the toy too. They're not quite at the stage where they can play with each other, but they stood about an arms length apart taking turns with the toy, and when the one would play, the other would watch and then try to copy when it came to be their turn. The calico likes to sit up on her hind legs and swat, and the kitten would try and would keep falling over because he doesn't have the balance. And the kitten likes to jump for the toy, and the calico tried, but I don't think her arthritis agreed with that. It was kind of cute, the way they tried to mimic each other.

mymo

We often say Jake is a bit dim, but, he gives high fives, jumps though the hula hoop, over things (not to high as he's getting on a bit), and tries to copy the dogs tricks for cuddles. He also understands what we say mush of the time, for instance if he hears me telling the dogs to go out and do their business he comes trotting to the door, if I say "you want some food?" He leaps up on windowsill I feed them on, if you say bedtime, he heads upstairs, etc. all this but he walks into stuff, does very silly things and sometimes falls from the back of the sofa, onto the seats when asleep.

Toby is an evil genius. That is all.

Mouse seems very smart, paws the tap and waits under the spout for a drink, sits on command when I'm telling the dogs to wait for food, figured out after two tries what off the work top means, she now jumps directly onto the windowsill in kitchen and runs up and down it meowing for food/water/attention.

Cats can also open cupboards, the Tupperware food box, get into the washing, become invisible when cat carriers come out, and all three know the handle opens the door or window, Mouse even tries grabbing it to open it.

I think I'll vote genius, but then I'm biased!

Oh yes, Toby also comes to the living room window and waves and knows hand gestures for go round the back to be let in the back door.

ElleEm

Our girl is a bit slow on the uptake. She doesn't really get that she can squeeze into small spaces, or open doors with her paw, and its funny watching her "chase" water from a tap only to look surprised when it wets her!

Horizon in BBC2 at 9pm tonight is showing The Secret Life of Cats, 50 cats in Surrey were tagged so we will get an insight into what they do when we're not looking!