You think you know your pet—until they outsmart you again. From sneaky snack heists to pulling off Oscar-worthy performances just to get belly rubs, our furry companions are often far more cunning than we expect. And honestly? It’s both impressive and mildly terrifying.
So, I asked the Bored Panda community to spill the beans: what’s the smartest, sneakiest, or downright evil thing your pet has ever done? From cats who plot like Bond villains to dogs who game the system for extra treats, these stories might just make you rethink who’s really in charge at home.
#21

When my cat wants wet food, but it's not time for wet food she will wait for me to pass by again, sometimes meow until she gets my attention, then run to her food bowl. She'll then make a show of eating the dry food and spitting it out on the floor like 'I'm trying human to eat the dry food, but it's simply not edible!' She'll try this for like 10 minutes before giving up and eating the food in her bowl and what she spit out onto the floor.
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34points
#22

I’m lucky my birds can’t get up to too much mischief! 😆 Aside from constantly trashing my floor by dropping stuff on it, the main thing I need to deal with is my conure mocking me. Eg: I’ll cough (I have asthma, so it happens a lot) and then a few seconds later I’ll hear this *cough… cough…* from down the hallway. Or I get “go to sleep!” parroted (pun intended) back at me.
I didn’t even try to teach him to talk, and conures aren’t known for their talking ability. I just have an annoying one.❤️
I didn’t even try to teach him to talk, and conures aren’t known for their talking ability. I just have an annoying one.❤️
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32points
#23

Chicco 🐕 leaves toys and bones EXACTLY where I'm going to tread on them. It's uncanny. He's got my movements in the house honed down to a science.
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31points
#24

Well, it doesn't seem 'Evil', and I'm not sure it's 'Clever'. Does 'Weird' count? We have a rescue tabby named Apollo who plays Fetch. He was lonely (we had three cats total, all rescues, and no two of them could stand each other) and kept wailing about no one loving him or playing with him or paying attention to him (he *LIES*). So we got a kitten for him. Another rescue tabby, a four month old neutered male. Very curious, *very* hyperactive, VERY hard to contain, so we named him 'Pixel', after Robert Heinlein's 'The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'. Within a week, Apollo had taught Pixel to Fetch. And, I have to say, the kid has Brought Balance To The Furs. Our cats all seem to get along OK now.
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31points
#25

I store my baseball caps in an antique picnic basket on top of an armoire at least six feet tall. My orange tabby, Jerry, has figured out how to jump up on top of the armoire (I have no idea how) and how to get the VERY heavy lid open and crawl inside. He won't come out unless I shake the treat canister, and now my hats are covered with hair.
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30points
#26

My tabby is such a sweet cat. He knows when I am sick or having migranes. He comforts me by lying the whole day next to me on the bed.
Normally he is very actif and loves to go outside, but when I am feeling sick he decides to stay with me. Love him ❤️
Normally he is very actif and loves to go outside, but when I am feeling sick he decides to stay with me. Love him ❤️
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29points
#27

I keep a treat container on my nightstand for "bedtime cookies." It's the kind with a button on the lid to keep the lid on. My cat has learned that if staring intently at the container doesn't yield the desired results of cookies, then knocking off the nightstand on the off chance it pops open is the next step. It's happened at least 2x, so now we keep the cookie container on the floor.
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28points
#28

Orangie. He ate every rubber band and yards of string. What did not make sense is that it was never found in the litter box and he never exhibited signs of distress. He also ate the nerf darts we would use for chase play if I didn't find them all and put them in an Orangie-proof place. I would find the little blue nubs a few days later. He must have had a very odd digestive system. He definitely earned his nickname P00P.
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26points
#29

Through the summer short nights my dog Jasper has decided 3:30 in the morning is getting up time. This, of course, ensures the other 2 get up too and want breakfast. Very annoying. Luckily, I'm retired, so I go back to bed after lunch. Even so, I'd much rather he didn't.
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26points
#30

I have an orange FEMALE tabby [1 in 5 or 10, can't remember which are females but orange tabbys are usually male]. Unique lives up to her name. She can open my apartment doors whether they are push-open like the bedroom or pull-open like my outside doors. To wake me up she is 😈 evil. She grabs my foot and bites my toes. She then runs put of the room. When I go to make my coffee, she runs up and grabs the back of my leg trying to bite me. Evil cat that hates me lol. Yet she has to have access to me or sits at the door crying. If I don't open it she keeps jumping and hitting the door handle until she opens it, then just struts in. Unique also walks on a leash. Funny little girl.
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23points
#31

Q-Tip will hide in the bathtub or in the shadows around the corner to get the jump on his brother. If he sees me first he will lay down and roll over like the most innocent kitty ever.
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23points
#32

I have a little Calico cat and I love her dearly. But she has her own personality. She has little, slender paws, all feminine and cute. But they're less cute when they dig into my shoulder blades while I'm sleeping! They look like chopsticks! It's her way of waking me up early in the morning to give her food (even if her bowl is still full).
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22points
#33

My daughter's cat, Dune (a Devon Rex), bites her in her sleep and wakes her up! Even though, she has tried playing with him A LOT before bedtime to tire him out. And he will bite anywhere. During the day he will randomly bite people without warning, and he is not doing it for attention, as he casually walks away afterwards. My daughter asks if cats can feel remorse and I tell her this one doesn't! We love him anyways.
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21points
#34

My dog, Olivia, likes to sneak up on her blind sister (lula) and scare her. We scold her but she dosent listen
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21points
#35

At the end of the day around dinner time, our cat would walk on the piano keys, because he knew that it would upset me…
I would yell at him, our dog would play cat cop, barking at the cat to get off the piano.
Once the house was in an uproar, I would realize what time it was and feed them both dinner.
Smart little SOB (cat) had me trained really well!
I would yell at him, our dog would play cat cop, barking at the cat to get off the piano.
Once the house was in an uproar, I would realize what time it was and feed them both dinner.
Smart little SOB (cat) had me trained really well!
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21points
#36

Wakes me up at 5/6 in the morning but not on the days I have early shift. And if I don not open the door he bites me when at the toilet. The little *ss is however very cute but he needs to sh*t up in the morning.
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20points
#37

Samson Stimpson recognizes the numeral 6. That means kibble time. Commence with cat noises.
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18points
#38

Minnie cat, when she dastardly cuddles up to me and keeps me from moving for quite some time. I'm knot, just going to keep taking that.
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17points
#39

Every morning, both of my cats come in to the bathroom, while I am sitting there doing my business, and sit and stare at me in unison. They want their morning brushing.
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15points
#40

Max the Black , Cat of New Jersey, knows what he said . . . and so does everyone at church that day. He knew. He knew not everyone could pet him at once. That one, little mew.. That joy entropied, . . and all the bells were ringing . . ..or .. - the truth - It's when he wakes me up to sneeze on my face.
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12points


