How Smart Is Your Cat?

1. Does your cat watch television? Some cat people swear that their cat has a favourite show and even comes running when she hears the theme music. Most cats don’t really care what’s on TV - they just like looking at the flickering movement of the picture. Cats are attracted to any sort of fast movements - it’s part of their hunting instinct. The flickering might remind her of small, scurrying animals.

2. Have you ever caught your cat admiring himself in the mirror? For the same reason your cat may watch TV, he likes to look in the mirror. He’s attracted to the movement. It doesn’t matter that the cat is the one making the movement.

3. Does your cat wash her paws under the faucet? Even though most cats don’t like getting wet, they are often attracted to a dripping faucet because of their fascination with any quick movement. In fact, some cats become so engrossed that they even try to catch the drips of water with their paws.

4. Can your cat open doors, cupboards and windows? When your cat tries to open doors or windows, he is showing his independence. In the wild most cats are solitary animals compared with dogs, which hunt and live in packs. In fact, cats have been domesticated for only 3,500 years while dogs have been our best friend for close to 10,000 years.

5. Does your cat read newspapers or magazines? If your cat jumps on your lap or shoulder while you’re reading, she’s probably more interested in the sound the pages are making than what’s written on them. Cats are attracted to rustling and scratching noises which sound like small animals running about in dry leaves and grass.

6. Does your cat know when to wake you up in the morning? Cats have an uncanny sense of time. Wild cats, for instance, will learn the movements of the animals around them and the best time to hunt them. House cats easily learn the daily home routine, especially when to expect food.

7. Does your cat know that you’ve come home before anyone else in the house knows? Cats can hear about six times better than you can. So it’s not surprising that your cat can hear you coming before anyone else can. Some cats can distinguish their guardian’s footsteps from anybody else’s - some can even recognize the sound of the car engine.

8. Does your cat “talk” in its sleep? Your cat may not only talk, but his face may twitch and his legs “run” while he is asleep. Although scientists can’t say for sure, they believe that many animals - including cats - dream at a certain stage of sleep. That stage is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Look closely at your cat after he’s been sleeping for a while. You can see his eyes flicker back and forth under his eyelids. That’s REM sleep which means there’s a good chance that your cat is dreaming.

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