Cats Are VERY Intelligent IMO
by Beth
(Ontario, Canada)
Simon (left/grey), Frost (middle/orange), Jack (right/tabby+white)
I have three boys. Simon, Jack, and Frost. All of which are rescues. Simon and Jack are blood brothers who were dumped outside of my step-fathers work and now I have them. Frost was taken away from his mother far too early, and was in a disgusting house. We got him when he was approx. 4-5 weeks old and he was completely covered in fleas. A friend told us someone was giving away kittens so we decided to get one.
I do not know much about Simon and Jack's background. We got them when they were approx. 10-12 weeks old.
I get very irritated when people say cats cannot be trained and/or are stupid. I know for a fact that cats are very intelligent. They are more well trained than our three dogs, and were also trained faster.
They all know how to sit on command, wait, beg for food (meaning they stand up on command), what 'down' means (if they are on something they shouldn't be on), they know what 'come' means, and politely ask to be let out of a room. They are currently learning how to walk on a leash. Which they are doing very well with but still learning.
They also know where not to scratch. I do not believe in declawing and know from personal experience that cats can be trained. No matter the cat. Frost has some psychological issues as a result of being taken away from his mother too soon, and I trained him with ease.
Though I do consider myself as a bit of a cat-whisperer, so I understand why training may be difficult for others who do not understand the psychology as well.
They also accept me as the 'dominant' kitty. They are respectful of me and they know I will not let them get away with things. They will not come near me while I'm eating, and if they are looking at me while I eat it's from across the room. My father however, let's them get away with whatever they want because he refuses to discipline them, and thinks they are dumb and can not learn. They do things around him that they would never even dare to do when I'm home. They try and take his food and climb all over him and beg and meow at him while he eats.
I know they understand how to open doors as well. Hence how they tell me they want to be let out of a room. They sit and stare at me until I notice them, then once I do they stand up and touch the doorknob, then sit back down again and wait. I told them to sit and wait when I was training them to ask politely. The doorknob touch was all on their own. They also try to open doors when I go outside, but can't because they are either turning knobs or heavy sliding doors.
Also, they are still young cats. And I have not been working with them since they were young kittens. Frost is approx. 7 months old, and Jack and Simon are approx. 9 months old.
Rather off topic, but from the pictures provided could anyone possibly take a guess to what possible 'breeds' Simon has in him. Yes Jack and Simon are blood brothers but Simon is rather different physically from Jack. He is very large and muscular with medium/short hair. Jack is tall, long, and rather slender. Simon weighs 12 pounds at 9 months and is not fat at all. He also has VERY large feet. Larger than a table spoon. Simon also has an almost perfectly straight profile.
Beth
