Dexterous cat

[lDIOTIC]

I fed my cat some tuna in a little rectangular bowl. There was some trapped in the edge, and she kept adjusting her head to eat it. In the end she gave up trying to lick it out, so just put her hand in, quite deliberately, and moved the tuna over to the middle of the bowl and then finished it. Obviously my eyeballs popped out of their sockets. I'm figuring she maybe saw me doing something similar, but I know that cats do not use 'prehensive' motions, and do not imitate in this way. Do I just have a clever cat?

[FastBarry]

Sometimes I think that cats are too damn intelligent and surprise us when they do something unexpected.

What is funny, when I give my cat a tit bit she will chase it round the kitchen to make sure it is dead before she will eat it.

[ursula62]

Remember Arthur on the catfood ads? He used his paws to get the food out of the tin.

[woofgang]

Cats use their paws to catch fish in this way, and will also use a paw to pin down a kitten for washing and move it into different positions as as the bath proceeds.

My weimaraner still has her dew claws (all of ours have had) and she and her predecessors have always used them to assist in holding bones or chews when eating and also to climb. She will also fish under furniture with a paw if a treat goes underneath

[Noweia]

Have you ever seen a cat using its paws to reach something it's head can't quite get to? Eg down watering cans, the bottom of tins of cat food, into boxes of dried cat food... :)

[Dark Angel]

yes, you have a very clever pussy.

[natalie_1982]

When my cat eats 'human food' he uses his paw to put it in his mouth, when he eats his cat food he just gobbles it out of the bowl.  He also, like FastBarry, chases it round the kitchen first to make sure it's dead, this goes for frozen carrots/ that have dropped out of the bag and most recently a grape and a piece of melon.

[Andy008]

My cat quite often used to sit on the edge of the toilet and wee into it. I think I've got a photo somewhere.

[peanut]

my cat uses his paws to pull his food out of his bowl that he is perfectly capable of eating from, bats his food around for a minute then gobbles it up and goes back for more. he never leaves food on the floor uneaten. he also uses his paws to get ice out of our drinking glasses when its too far down to get his head into

[ann_h]

My burmese used to eat out of the tin, like Arthur. He also became adept at slicing open yoghurt and cheese packaging, with his razor claws.

[Mynx]

My cats often use their paws to reach something their mouths cannot. Usually toys under the couch that they've pushed under there.

Both of my cats sit on command and one of them can sit, give her paw, roll over for a belly tickle and leave the room when I ask. People are amazed when they see this as she's less than a year old BUT she is the most stupid animal I know. Such a cutie.

There is a great book called The Cat Whisperer. If you think your cat is amazing now, wait until you read that!

[Grunty]

There are some humans who could learn from Andy008's pussy

[LordyGeordie]

To be quite honest it's not all that special. nearly all animals use their limbs to manouever food into more readily accessible positions.

in the wild food isn't presented for them neatly on a plate often its had to be brought down somewhere - not always where they want it - or fished out or dug up. your cat is just doing what it would do naturally.

I also am not sure I agree with you about cats not imitating humans. I'm pretty sure they do otherwise they would never learn stuff. we had a cat that could open windows by lifting up the latch. the same cat used go up on his back paws and lean against doors to open them. his party trick was him and his sister (who wasn't as clever) could open the back door when it was closed right to.

he would stand on the garden wall and lean down on the handle, while she would lean against the door and push it open.

[woofgang]

we had a dog who could open doors by pushing down on the handle. Our current dog can open doors inwards provided that they are not tight shut - we have also had to go to a tall pedal bin beacause she learned to open the previous flip top bin, even when it wes turned sideways. Intelligence is not always a good thing!!

[natalie_1982]

My cat tries his hardest to slide the patio doors open but they're too heavy for him, I pull them from the opposite end and he thinks he did it himself!  He also opens the kitchen cupboard where his food is kept when it's dinner time.  I'd agree with woofgang, not always such a great thing when they can get hold of an open box of biscuits and scoff/ spread them round the kitchen floor.

[littleoldme]

We have a dog (2 year old labrador) who will 'wash' our 19 year old cat's face for her with his tongue. Far from objecting, she'll sit there and let him do it, even to the point of rubbing her head against his nose if he stops.

In return, she'll stroke him if he walks past when she's lying on the floor. She'll lazily lift a paw, claws still retracted, and gently move it down his back leg.

By the way, it's nice to see the spirit of Mrs Slocombe alive and well in this thread :O)