One of the joys of owning a pet is training it to do something cool. Some pets know how to give paw and roll over. Dogs, for example, are the most trained pets, and, according to the City Sun Times, 94% of dog owners do at least some basic training at home. As for cats, about a third of the owners reported training their cats to do tricks, play fetch, and go to the toilet.
But some pets might show their intelligence in ways their owners never even imagined. Recently, in one online thread, owners started sharing the ways in which their critters surprised them in the most wholesome and smart ways.
After one netizen asked, "Pet owners of Reddit, what was the most intelligent thing your pet has done?" the answers proved that our pets are not just derpy cuties, but can sometimes even save our lives!
#41
My dehorned goat picked up a stick and used to scratch his back!
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45points
#42
I have a service dog. So I really shouldn’t be surprised at how smart he is. Since he was literally bred and trained to be a human companion.
He has three different ways of putting his head on your leg depending on what he wants.
Light touch no eye contact means he wants to go outside to sniff some stuff or to enjoy the outdoors. Basically his way of saying it’s time to get up and stretch your legs.
Medium touch with eye contact he wants his water bowl refilled or changed.
Heavy touch means he wants to go out to toilet.
I don’t know if I taught him this or he taught me this but it’s literally as clear as him using words what he wants.
He has three different ways of putting his head on your leg depending on what he wants.
Light touch no eye contact means he wants to go outside to sniff some stuff or to enjoy the outdoors. Basically his way of saying it’s time to get up and stretch your legs.
Medium touch with eye contact he wants his water bowl refilled or changed.
Heavy touch means he wants to go out to toilet.
I don’t know if I taught him this or he taught me this but it’s literally as clear as him using words what he wants.
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44points
#43
My cat figured out how to 'meow' for specific wants. I noticed this when she kept meowing after I fed her, and she stopped only after I figured out she wanted catnip. I've identified that she 'asks' specifically for food, water, catnip, treats, or pats. It's pretty interesting how I can read her mind sometimes now. My dog (RIP) used to point to things she wanted by looking at them and then turning back to me. Her version of pointing. My cat also (sometimes) understands what I'm pointing to, but only if I tap the thing in question.
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43points
#44
One of my cats would cross the street with the crossing guard from the school. He would sit on the corner until he heard her whistle, then he would stand, and after she put out the sign and traffic had stopped, he would cross.
I also had one who was an empath. She would sit with anyone who was upset but otherwise only sit with me. I have depression and severe anxiety disorder, and she almost never left my lap.
Once, when I was hospitalized for it, my husband snuck her in to see me, and she lept to me the moment she saw me. The nurses convientally "didn't see her" when it happened.
There was a girl in one of the isolation/observation rooms who stopped communicating, would not eat or drink, or take care of her hygiene needs, and just sat on the bed. When my cat saw her, she jumped on her bed and gave her the love she so desperately needed. After that visit, she turned around. She was talking to people, eating and drinking, and started taking care of herself. It was absolutely amazing to watch this girl reconnect with life.
ETA; I have changed the cats I currently have into Pavlov's dogs. They're trained to a specific alarm on my phone when it's feeding time.
I also had one who was an empath. She would sit with anyone who was upset but otherwise only sit with me. I have depression and severe anxiety disorder, and she almost never left my lap.
Once, when I was hospitalized for it, my husband snuck her in to see me, and she lept to me the moment she saw me. The nurses convientally "didn't see her" when it happened.
There was a girl in one of the isolation/observation rooms who stopped communicating, would not eat or drink, or take care of her hygiene needs, and just sat on the bed. When my cat saw her, she jumped on her bed and gave her the love she so desperately needed. After that visit, she turned around. She was talking to people, eating and drinking, and started taking care of herself. It was absolutely amazing to watch this girl reconnect with life.
ETA; I have changed the cats I currently have into Pavlov's dogs. They're trained to a specific alarm on my phone when it's feeding time.
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42points
#45
When my senior cat was still with us he had a microchip feeder because he needed 24/7 access to food while my other younger cat would get fat off of little more than air, but was always hungry. The younger cat would bully my older cat into opening the feeder and then push him out of the way and gorge herself on his kibble. I tried so many different things to try and curb her ability to do this and she figured out how to adapt to everything I threw at her. Eventually I just gave up and only brought the feeder out when I was able to guard it (luckily I work remotely so my senior cat could still get near 24/7 access).
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38points
#46
I was carrying something heavy and said to my family’s dog, “Excuse me, [name],” and he walked forward to be flush with the wall. I was really impressed that he knew excuse me.
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37points
#47
My dog would always know when someone in the family was coming down with something. Anytime we were getting sick she'd hop on our lap and wouldn't let us get up so we would have to rest. She was the best girl.
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37points
#48
She started barking and continuously come inside, until my mom followed her and found a baby bird fallen from a nest. She put it again in it and she stopped barking. Mission accomplished.
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35points
#49
My cat hates going to the vet. We always book our vet appointments after work hours, or as close to 5pm as possible (we work from home). Cat sleeps on the bed most of the day. For context, this cat visits the vet at MOST twice a year.
Now, if it's 12 noon for example, and we both descend on him to give him cuddles, that's fine. 2pm, no problem. 3pm, he might get a little wary, just a little more alert.
We literally cannot go into the bedroom and pat him between 4pm and 6pm, because he will IMMEDIATELY run under the bed. He KNOWS.
He also runs under the bed at any time if:
- he hears us zipping up (or unzipping, he can't hear the difference) his travel crate (which is weird, because it stays in the living room all the time, and he likes to sleep in there, so we know he doesn't actually hate the crate itself)
- we put on our shoes and then attempt to pat him
- we pat him, and then put on shoes (we tried this after he learned the shoe thing, so now he knows shoes might mean vet, and if we've just patted him he thinks it's more likely to be vet time?)
- we say his name a few times in the living room, and then we both go into the bedroom. Maybe he thinks we're discussing him going to the vet and then coming to get him? Not sure, but we have to be very careful how and when we say his name if we're about to give him pats.
Now, if it's 12 noon for example, and we both descend on him to give him cuddles, that's fine. 2pm, no problem. 3pm, he might get a little wary, just a little more alert.
We literally cannot go into the bedroom and pat him between 4pm and 6pm, because he will IMMEDIATELY run under the bed. He KNOWS.
He also runs under the bed at any time if:
- he hears us zipping up (or unzipping, he can't hear the difference) his travel crate (which is weird, because it stays in the living room all the time, and he likes to sleep in there, so we know he doesn't actually hate the crate itself)
- we put on our shoes and then attempt to pat him
- we pat him, and then put on shoes (we tried this after he learned the shoe thing, so now he knows shoes might mean vet, and if we've just patted him he thinks it's more likely to be vet time?)
- we say his name a few times in the living room, and then we both go into the bedroom. Maybe he thinks we're discussing him going to the vet and then coming to get him? Not sure, but we have to be very careful how and when we say his name if we're about to give him pats.
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32points
#50
My cat can open doors. Luckily she hasn't figured out how to unlock them yet or we'd never see her again. She also poops in the bathtub when she gets angry. We like to joke that she's about 3 feet from getting it right.
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28points