Monday, January 14, 2008

Feline Intelligence: How do we Define it?

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I have sung the praises of my super-genius cat Hush Puppy.  But since I seem to have a highly analytical mind, I started to give a lot of thought relating to the different qualities of intelligence in which each of my cats excel.

Hush Puppy is a whiz at figuring out how to break into or out of areas in our house which my other two cats, Lucyfur and Trouble could care less about. They let him do the work and reap the benefits.

Trouble's talent lies in his ability to do "cute" to such a high degree that it is always difficult for us to become angry with any of his mischievous  antics.

Lucyfur on the other hand scores high on the hunting skills achievement table and thrills us with her "revert to the wild" behavior when she is in pursuit of a toy or other object which has caught her fancy.

The "Rosie the Rat" toy, which I found at a cat show several years ago, seems to be "her" favorite possession, and when she gets into the mood to show off her hunting prowess, woe betide either of my other cats if they get in her way.

I think this little video demonstrates how focused Lucyfur can be when she chooses Rosie for the target for her pleasure, don't you agree?

Have any of your cats claimed a toy or object as theirs, also? Leave a comment and let us know.



 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I swear, Lucyfur looks SO much like my Wheezel...save the few extra lbs Wheez has around her middle. My cats don't seem to have a 'favorite' toy...except that Mouse loves the days I tear from the calendars daily, and ball up...then throw. (Of course, then Shredder (chester) "saves" us from the paper ball monster by killing the paper ball and leaving it's remains proudly all over the room where it met its demise. Ches, Mouse and Wheez love the fishing pole toy, and Mouse will scream at me every morning (and I mean SCREAM) until I unwind it and play with them. :) What a group!

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHA...this was sooooo funny...what a hoot!

You made my day!

Skybird said...

My Gracie (gray dsh, 6 yrs. old) has a red fuzzy ball that she reacts to as if it is her "baby." It's the only toy she will actually play with. Sometimes we hear her "talking" to this ball in her mommy voice, usually she has the ball in her mouth while she's talking to it. But if she sees anyone actually looking at her when this happens, she immediately drops the ball and acts as if she's never seen it before. Where did THAT baby come from?

The thing is that she actually was spayed while pregnant just before we adopted her. Is she calling for her babies? We don't know, but it's heartbreaking to hear her meowing around this red ball in her mouth.

kneadstoknow said...

Skybird, thanks for your question. I have had several cats who will carry an object in their mouth as they walk around the house, making that characteristic "mewing" sound that mama kitties make.

It may be a protective expression, or what I am thinking may be a "possessive" communication.

It is really interesting that when she is "caught in the act", so to speak, she drops it and feigns ignorance about the whole thing.

Jo