Maybe "dumb" animals aren't so dumb?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
My cat has a little ritual. I give him his pill and change the water in his dish. He thinks that's a treat. But he starts meowing for the pill and later "treat" at 7:50 PM every night. He didn't let Day-Light-Savings mess up his schedule. It took me a couple of days. He's a cat, how does he know it's 7:50 PM? Day light is getting longer, but he's rock solid at 7:50 PM. Seriously, do we underestimate the intelligence of animals?
 

My old dog Emily (RIP) did not like closed doors, so she figured out how to open them. Some in my house have those lever-type things, and those were easy for her. She just stood up, put both front paws on the lever and dropped down. Easy-peasy open door. For ones with the doorknobs, she somehow learned to put both paws on them and turn. Sometimes it took her a couple of attempts, but she'd open those doors. She especially liked to open the bathroom door when I was in the shower and come in and stick her big black head in the shower curtain to say hello, then track water all over the place. She was a labrador retriever/flat coat retriever cross, and she was smart as a whip.
 
Hi Butterfly, I am a new member from Australia. I had a cat (Sammy) who woke me up at night when the house was full of smoke. I ignored him a few times but he was persistent. Then, later in the year we had floods and I saved his life. I could hear him screaming and in the dark I found him underneath the neighbour's house hanging onto a post. He has been gone now for 20 years and I have always had cats that are very human-like. When I lived in Canada I also had a cat that loved to chase the snowflakes. They are a joy and I wouldn't be without animals.
 

Fuzzybuddy, my cat knows exactly what time it is for him to eat, he comes into the computer room or wherever I am and sits there and stares at me. If I ignore him he'll walk in front of me and make sure he's noticed. The second I even look like I'm going to get up, he darts into the kitchen for his supper. Daylight savings time didn't trouble him either.

Sheryl, so glad your cat was wise enough to wake you about the fire, glad you're both okay. Nice that you got to return the favor. I agree, animals are a joy to be around, I have a dog and a cat and I wouldn't be without a pet in my home. Butterfly and Sheryl, so sorry for your loss. I know no matter how many years it's been, our fur babies who have passed on always hold a warm place in our hearts.
 
We had a Lab and a cat many years ago. Even though they slept with each other and shared toys, the Lab loved to aggravate the cat. We have a ranch house with a very long hallway. At the end of the hallway is our mud room which also has a large chest freezer. The Lab would start running at full speed with the cat after him down the hall toward the mud room.. The dog would wait until she was right in front of the freezer and sidestep, but the cat kept coming and every time the cat would smash into the side of the freezer. The cat never got hurt. At first I thought it was a fluke but the dog did it several times. The dog actually looked like she had a look of satisfaction on her face every time she did this.You would have thought the cat would have gotten the message but I guess this was one time the dog outsmarted the cat.
 
I had 2 Savannah cats and one day, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dominant sister walk by with a dish rag in her mouth. I followed her and watched her drop it next to a little mound of vomit her sister dropped on the rug. She just looked up at me and meowed in that special Savannah cat version of "meow". After oversleeping, I woke up to both of them sitting on my pillow. When I pulled back the covers, I found that both of their 4' long flannel "flick" toys were dragged up under the blankets and were laying next to me, ready for play..... If these cats are legal where you live (look at hybrid animal laws) every cat lover should be owned and trained by this breed.
Golden Girl 2011 0123 02.jpgThe dominant sister Black_Girl_2011_0123_003.jpgThe comic
 
hauntedtexan said:
I had 2 Savannah cats and one day, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dominant sister walk by with a dish rag in her mouth. I followed her and watched her drop it next to a little mound of vomit her sister dropped on the rug. She just looked up at me and meowed in that special Savannah cat version of "meow". After oversleeping, I woke up to both of them sitting on my pillow. When I pulled back the covers, I found that both of their 4' long flannel "flick" toys were dragged up under the blankets and were laying next to me, ready for play..... If these cats are legal where you live (look at hybrid animal laws) every cat lover should be owned and trained by this breed.
View attachment 36450The dominant sister View attachment 36451The comic
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What excactly is a Savannah cat? I've never heard of them before.
 
WheatenLover said:
I think "dumb" refers to not being able to speak like people do ... as in deaf, dumb, and blind.
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My Bonnie (American Staffordshire terrier/pit bull) is very good at communicating. For instance, when she thinks I've been on the internet too long, she gets right up beside me and makes a big WOOF. When she wants food or water, she knocks her dishes around.
 
Incredible breed, sign up to rescue

Butterfly said:
What excactly is a Savannah cat? I've never heard of them before.
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Savannah cats are bred from African Servals so they fall under hybrid laws. They are incredibly intelligent, love the water and playing fetch. They also love to be walked on a harness and ride in vehicles. Basically a dog that craps in a box, the perfect pet. Freaked me out when they joined me in the shower the 1st time. Once a month, I put goldfish in the bathtub and they spent hours "fishing:, not catch and release, mind you. The breeder warned me to never be surprised at their intelligence and she was right. Included a youtube link and a pic of when "we" were cleaning their water fountain and Suri's head is under the faucet.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRCREUqGHmI

Cleaning Help 2.jpg
 
I don't think animals are people in fury suits, but I believe animals are much more aware than we give them credit. I remember when Fuzzy first understood that my speech had a meaning, and was not an expression of my mood. One of the things that he started was when he uses the litter box, he looks at me and meows-once. That's my cue to do my thing. He'll keep looking at me and meowing once, until I get it.
 
My dogs can tell time, and they don't even have to look at the clock! They know when it's D-I-N-N-E-R time, and when it's time to go O-U-T before B-E-D-T-I-M-E.

...there are some words that they can spell too. ;)
 
The chihuahua that we had for 13 years knew that if he got cold he could go lie under the skylight and get warm.
 

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