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I love this thread. My wife and I have 7 cats, and they range the gamut of smarts and emotional intelligence. But all know their names, and 4/7 will come when c

• interfixus 8y ago
  Strangely, I can confirm those numbers exactly, except exchanging 'wife' for 'labrador retriever'. Top of the range is a guy with a history much like Carl in the article (whom he even looks like): Rescued as a small, scrawny, lost kitten. Now ten years old, still small and scrawny, but wickedly smart. There's all the basic stuff like opening doors, if necessary climbing nearby furniture to reach the handle, and then there's all the less easily quantifiable behaviour - foreseeing my actions, picking up the gist of relevant conversation, integrating smoothly into domestic life, balancing resources (food and litter) between upstairs and downstairs, and undoubtedly lots that I no longer notice, because I've come to take it for granted.