Oh, how cute! 😍

We keep the laser and container of catnip in the buffet drawer (our TV stand) ... it’s a big, old noisy drawer when being opened, so they come running. We’ll have to name ours.

Catnip + laser — good times for all. 😄

I believe it! We take our boy out on a leash, and to get him to come to the door, we ask him in an excited voice if he wants to go outside . DH and I now have to ask the other "Has he been o-u-t?" because if we said "outside" in a normal voice, he'd perk up and run to the door, and we can't ever disappoint the kitty.

Our neighbor's cat Zora would come on our deck and he learned her name too. After they moved I'd test him and say her name and he'd turn and look at the door.

Our old cat knew the word "snacks" meant wet food. That's handy in case they ever get out, but the neighbors might wonder why you're walking around yelling "Snacks!".

He is such a character - that is pretty amazing. Aside from knowing their names, I think the only other words ours recognize the meaning of are “who’s hungry“. That has the dinner bell effect - they all come running.

Our cats go in the car a lot and the youngest two still make a weak attempt to hide when they sense it’s time to go. The youngest one takes off downstairs to go into hiding. However all I have to do is call her name, Maggie, and she starts crying like a kitten and promptly comes out and reveals herself. We were just saying yesterday she’s the oddest cat of all that we’ve had.

Your cat is waaaaayyyy smarter than either of mine.

So cute. Cats are smart, they just don't always perform on command. My Bessie loves the blue rings that come off when you open some 1/2 gallons of milk. I don't get that kind anymore. But she chases them, fetches, drops at my feet so I'll throw it again. It's so darn adorable. I have a small stash of them in the kitchen junk drawer. All I have to say is, "where's the blue ring?" and she's chirping under the drawer.

Ours have a whole treat routine, twice a day. It involves leading us (me in the morning, DH in the afternoon) to the drawer where the treats are stored then leading us to the food dish. George throws in lots of sad-eyed looks and meows because he's going to starve any minute. Sami gets in one of the dining room chairs (always the same one) and does a pirouette.

Sami also loves to "help" change the sheets and will come running from wherever she is to help. Last night we were changing sheets on the day bed in the spare bedroom and she showed up like a shot and got under the fitted sheet before we got all four corners down.

Donna

Msmeow - one of my cats also loves to “help” me make the beds.

Our cats do not crave petting, except: when someone sits in ”the green chair”, our low-slung Danish modern recliner, one comes winding around to be petted. He never asks to be petted anywhere else, and it doesn’t matter who is sitting in the chair.

At least Tonto doesn't respond when you type Redbug. Yet.

Yeah, when he learns to read, I'm trading him in. He already learned to open closed doors, the little turd.

All of these stories gave me a much needed laugh this morning.

Bpath, years ago we bought a sofa and loveseat from a neighbor, and they insisted we take the matching mamasan chair. We brought that chair in the house and the minute it hit the floor BOTH cats we had at the time hopped in it, and it was theirs for evermore. Usually one was sleeping on the seat cushion and one on the back cushion.

Ida, is Tonto his real name? Or is that a nickname?

Donna

That's his real name. His foster mom had called him Diddy, and there was no way I could continue to inflict that on him. 😁

You may have to resort to what parents can get away with for a short while with their kids and learn to say redbug in pig latin. Or new names...scarlet insect...

Scarlet insect! LOL!

Tonto is adorable and I think cats do ‘train’ to do things or understand words.

We had a cat years ago that loved to play with the laser pointer. This was in the early 90’s and I guess I had never really thought about using one for play. They were relatively new at that time. The cat really didn’t show much long term interest in most of the cat toys we bought. Anyway, I was sitting on the couch one night admiring my new laser pointer and decided to shine it toward the cat. Game on! That darn cat could play with it and chase it for hours.

Cat allergies here, but I have a dog story in re "listening comprehension." Our dog's name is Clementine, which is of course also a fruit. They are pretty much a staple in our house. Anytime she hears the word, in any tone from anyone doing anything, she lifts her head.

It all makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Ida, when I first started reading, I thought you were talking about a child....sooo confused, & then I finally got it!! I love our cat who has funny little routined quirks, too, She keeps us laughing!

Oh, I just love cats but we have too many dogs now. But cats are or can be VERY smart. This is a fun video about a smart cat, and I love the music, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6-uuEgQZhM

I think a lot of cats just pretend like they don't hear you.

I can't believe that cat doing the agility thing! wow.

We’ve had the same experience with one of our dogs. Many moons ago we had a German Shorthaired Pointer, Chester, a fantastic dog. We also had a parakeet, but couldn’t allow him total free flying access because Chester, after all, was a bird dog. So we developed a system where we would say, “Chester go down (we lived in a split level) the bird wants to come out.” And Chester would go downstairs so that we could allow the bird some outside the cage flying time.

Our brother in law observed us doing this and was skeptical. He said Chester didn’t understand what we were saying, but rather it was how we said it. So we told our brother in law to say it any way he wanted. He proceeded to have a conversation with us and somewhere in the middle of it, without changing his speech pattern or directly addressing the dog, he slipped in the “Chester go down the bird wants to come out.” His jaw dropped when Chester picked himself up and went downstairs.

Great story blubird.

It always amazes me that some people still think humans are so special that only we can communicate and understand things.

Anyone who has ever loved a dog or a cat knows they know, they hear, and they understand. And not just dogs or cats - African Grey Parrots (Alex was amazing), Koko the gorilla and her sign language...etc

I think the problem comes for a lot of people that if they accept non-human animals know, they understand - then we have to face the fact that they have awareness, can feel pain....and then the really hard question becomes do they have rights.

I've honestly never understood why some people think humans are all that special, in the grand scheme of things. But I do understand that's a controversial topic too.

PSA on lasers - Please don't use laser pointers with your dogs. Cats are fine with them, but they are not good for dogs. It can lead to OCD behavior in many dogs. Here is an article that explains it:

https://www.rauanimalhospital.com/resources/blog/cats-dogs/laser-pointers-good-idea-your-cat-not-your-dog

My sister had 2 dogs, one named Prancer. Shortly after Prancer died, the kids were watching the movie Prancer. When the other dog heard the name called out in the movie, he got up and walked around the house, as if her was looking for her. It broke their hearts so they turned off the movie and gave the other dog extra loving.

Once I was house sitting/dog watching the older, surviving dog, a very big lab/retriever mix. I came downstairs and he wouldn’t or couldn’t get up from the tile floor. There was no way I could pick him up and carry him outside. He didn’t seem hurt or sick, but maybe depressed? I called my Dad and asked what should I do. He said put the phone to the dog’s ear, and he talked to the dog. 😆 But it worked, the dog got up and we went on with our day.

My friend's cat also figured out how to open those levered doors. She had all of the levers turned over so that you have to lift them to open. He would open a door and then close it behind himself. Then he would be stuck in the closet until someone noticed that he was missing.🙄

aok, that is hysterical. I am always amazed by what my cat manages to do. I also had a beagle and he was so smart. He could manuever his way to get to anything. However, he was a bit a jerk. He had no interest in me... just food. lol