Aren't Tuxedo Cats the smartest?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Yes ilovedcollege, a Tuxedo cat has a black back, sides, and top of head, but white on the nose/lower face, and on the chest/tummy.</p>

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That’s a kitty trait known as the Evening Crazies.</p>

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<p>I have a siamese/orange tabby mix and a mackerel tabby right now . . . but this thread is making me want to get another cat–for scientific comparison, of course.</p>

<p>My cats are both very affectionate, in different ways. My half-Siamese boy is a snuggler and lapsitter. (In fact, he perched himself on my knee even as I was typing this!) The other boy, the tabby, isn’t interested in laps, but will poke me gently in the back until I pet him and give tummy rubs. They’re both too smart for their own good. The siamese locked me out with the deadbolt once.</p>

<p>On the whole, I’ve found boy cats to be more goofy and affectionate than girl cats (which I’ve had in the past.) Girls are more dignified and less cuddly.</p>

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<p>I havent had a lot of cats. Never had them when growing up and knew few people who had them although my great aunt had a black and white cat- not a tuxedo, that was affectionate, as is a black & white cate down the street who is very sociable.</p>

<p>Orange cats I have also known to be sociable, although when they are younger they can be aggressive. We had one, which was the son of our momma kitty, but he died when he was not quite three after being hit by a car ( before that he had gotten into a fight for which he needed jaw surgery, perhaps it affected his proprioception)
There was also a neighbor orange tabby when we were in a rental house, that used to come visit quite often</p>

<p>Since we don’t have cats right now, the neighborhood cats have been visiting. ( we also housed a neighbors cat for several years- another orange tabby. He was often on our porch- he lived in a duplex a few doors down and he would wait under the spruce by the front door for my younger daughter to come home from school- then she would take him into her room. He started to come over to our house, when my husband would work in the detached garage during the summer and had the doors open. He was a nice cat- and he miss him since he moved away.)</p>

<p>I had planted cat mint in our yard, and we also have a lot of native plantings and a pond that attracts birds , so the cats want to check it out. Haven’t noticed any of them catching a bird though, the birds are pretty vocal about warnings.</p>

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<p>My experience is that tuxedo cats do appear really smart to humans. The ones I’ve known - have owned, have fed and lived with, etc. - have been better at expressing their wants than other cats. They have been the only cats who are able to convey meaning with glances, as in glance toward object, glance to me, glance to object in very quick time so it’s clear the communication is intended and not merely I’m looking at this thing and now I’m looking at you and now I’m looking at this again. </p>

<p>The one I have now is exceedingly clever in human terms but he also has stupid traits, like refusing to go to the bathroom outside because he is bonded to his litter box. He also can’t open doors well, an ability even siamese have had and they have been, on the whole, the dumbest (and loudest) cats.</p>

<p>He is also the best hunter I’ve ever had. One time, he told me with his eyes to open the door, darted across the yard at 50 mph and seconds later came running back to the house with a live mouse in his mouth. I thought maybe he’d stashed it there but it was unhurt, as I found out when he dropped it on the floor as I yelled at him. I was standing with him in the driveway in the dark with only the driveway light on and he ran into the bushes and a few seconds later brought out a live mouse that he dropped and began to chase around the driveway. I have no idea how he did this. He also one time brought in a live blue jay - which is weird because blue jays are smarter than that. He dropped the bird, it took off, flew between my legs an inch off the floor with the cat two inches behind, streaked across the room, out the door, over the steps and down across 25 feet of lawn, all at nearly light speed, the bird an inch or two in front of the cat, and then right up a tree for 20 feet until the cat became too heavy to climb and stopped. The jay then sat screaming at him, all pumped up on adrenalin.</p>

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<p>The smartest cats are calico cats. Maybe it has something to do with having the most diverse genes</p>

<p>Maybe because all calico cats are female? ;)</p>

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<p>My 4-year old orange tabby, Ziggy, is clearly the smartest cat in the world. Then again, he’s my second child, and he’s Jewish (Ziggy is short for Siegmund) so what else would he be?</p>

<p>and Ziggy had one crazy bris… ;)</p>

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<p>*On the whole, I’ve found boy cats to be more goofy and affectionate than girl cats (which I’ve had in the past.) Girls are more dignified and less cuddly. *</p>

<p>Very true! What’s that silly sideway hopping thing that they do? </p>

<p>Right now, I have 3 cats…one older female…2 kittens (one male, one female). The male is the cuddler, but he’s also the crazy one with the funny personality. The female is very dainty…even folds her paws under like a little lady while sitting. LOL</p>

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<p>I’ve often wondered what that’s supposed to convey. Sometimes Ziggy arches his back before he does it, like a Halloween cat.</p>

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<p>We had a tuxedo cat for 6 or 7 years. He was a good cat, but not the smartest. The smartest we’ve had was a Maine Coon mix. Smart and empathetic to his humans.</p>

<p>We recently adopted another tuxedo cat (the Maine Coon recently passed), and she is extremely affectionate, but not the brightest bulb on the tree.</p>

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<p>That sideways hopping and usually flared tail mean they are surprised. I think. </p>

<p>Do your cats make a funny little chirping sound when there are birds outside? It’s the weirdest sound.</p>

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<p>yes! He sits at the window and makes chirping noises when he sees birds – as if he’s trying to do a bird call.</p>

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<p>I always enjoy when the cat gets in an awkward position - like the top of an open door or on the top of the fridge with a narrow ledge - and realizes that it’s a bad idea. </p>

<p>One of the funniest thing that my kitty does is run full speed from one part of the house to the other, and back again…for no apparent reason. She runs like a freaking leopard.</p>

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<p>No chirping…but…</p>

<p>My orange tabby kitten actually buzzes like a bee when playing with a favorite toy. It really sounds like a bee is buzzing in the house. It’s nothing like a purring sound. She holds it in her mouth and goes Bzzzzzzzz Bzzzzzzz…weird! We’ve never heard a cat do that before.</p>

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<p>When a cat sees a bird and makes sounds, the cat is showing hunting urges. Some cats have a strong need to hunt birds and they’ll chirp and gurgle if they can’t get at the prey. Other cats are more mousers.</p>

<p>I have a cat that when younger would catch bees and beetles and bring them inside, drop them and then chase them around after they revived. My wife was stung once when she stepped on a bee he’d left on the bathroom rug. He has a very strong killing instinct. I think his motto is: need to hurt something every day.</p>

<p>Often when a cat makes noises while holding a toy, it’s also following hunting instincts that crank up adrenaline when a kill is made. The noise can sound almost celebratory but it can be territorial, as in “this kill is mine first.” </p>

<p>Cats are predators. That’s what they are. Their toys are for hunting practice and killing practice. Unless catnip or catmint is involved. Then it can seem like they’re just getting stoned.</p>

<p>This is why I can’t understand people who keep their cats from fighting. That’s how they get along. Unless one cat is elderly and runs all the time or one is actually injured enough to show it, they work it out. Our cats continuously develop their moves, with new take downs and different levels of aggression. This is who they are as creatures and the training is important. Our cats go out in the daytime and if they’re ever in a fight then they’ll be able to fight well. If a cat ever escapes or runs off, then it should be enough of a cat to fend for itself in the violent social world of cats. One of our cats took years to build up the courage to fight well with our other cats. He was never hurt but he was a pretty constant loser. He finally learned to use his size and strength and now he’s an equal and you can tell that he knows that if he sustains his aggression his sheer size will win. Our cats get along great. They blow off steam and stay alert and in good condition by sparring. And then they eat next to each other and hang out.</p>

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<p>One of my mother’s cats regularly got into fights with the neighborhood cats. One day his eye got scratched. The eye filled with blood and despite many vet visits, he was blind in that eye for the rest of his life. </p>

<p>With my pair of cats, the siamese mix used to attack the tabby too long/with too much vigor (he seemed to have the equivalent of kitty road rage, where he’d start out playful but then get progressively more ticked off.) The tabby he was attacking has claws like SCYTHES. I was always coming home to find the Siamese with a new scratch on his face. Not good, especially since cat claws are rife with bacteria.</p>

<p>Eventually, with training and treats, I was able to get to the point where I only had to say the Siamese’s name in a warning voice and he would back off. Then I’d call him over, praise him for coming, and give him a treat. His spars with the tabby are much more friendly and controlled now.</p>

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<p>When my cat sees a bird out the window she makes a specific sound - I’ve learned to immediately know, “Oh, there must be a yummy bird on the back deck” without even looking, based on the sound. Its a sort of rattle-y meow, not really a chirp, but she only makes that noise when she sees a bird and she’s on the wrong side of the window to get it.</p>

<p>I’d love to have a birdfeeder, but that would just be cruel to the birds. Seed inevitably falls to the ground, the birds fly down to get it, and hunter kitty would just be sitting there waiting.</p>

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<p>Many birds are ground feeders. Doves, for example. A feeder can attract cardinals, jays (who are also ground feeders), who aren’t really ground feeders, if you put the right seeds in. You’ll also feed the squirrels a lot. We’ve had all out wars with squirrels because they will dive bomb a feeder from a tree, a roof, the tiniest ledge, to dislodge food.</p>

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<p>Tell me all the things the Tuxedo cat does for we should call it the smartes of all.</p>

<p>My favorite statement was posted by lergnom: “he told me with his eyes to open the door”</p>

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<p>That’s what I call a super smart Tuxedo! Congratulations lergnom!</p>

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<p>Look a tuxedo cat and a tabbie cat: cute little friend!</p>

<p>[Google</a> Image Result for <a href=“http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Tuxedo_Cat_Ra.png[/url]”>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Tuxedo_Cat_Ra.png](<a href=“http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Tuxedo_Cat_Ra.png&imgrefurl=http://picsdigger.com/keyword/tuxedo%2520cat/&h=752&w=1595&sz=1829&tbnid=zz7u6U12RisriM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtuxedo%2Bcat&usg=__-ZvlmSJzsj6JVru8E3MmLyu09AM=&ei=lmAETPuuDMWclgew5JSBDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=2&ct=image&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAQ]Google”>http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Tuxedo_Cat_Ra.png&imgrefurl=http://picsdigger.com/keyword/tuxedo%2520cat/&h=752&w=1595&sz=1829&tbnid=zz7u6U12RisriM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtuxedo%2Bcat&usg=__-ZvlmSJzsj6JVru8E3MmLyu09AM=&ei=lmAETPuuDMWclgew5JSBDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=2&ct=image&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAQ)</a></p>

<p><a href=“http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/cats-dogs/kitten-grey-fluffy.jpg[/url]”>http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/cats-dogs/kitten-grey-fluffy.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Our tuxedo kitty is the most unaffectionate cat I’ve ever had. On the other hand, she can’t stand to be alone. If we are all gathered in one room, she wanders in to join us. When she wakes up in the morning, she has to wake me up, too. (What’s with that?!) According to my kids, when I leave, the cat sits in the middle of the family room and cries for me. I guess affection isn’t always the cuddly version.</p>

<p>As far as smart goes: DD taught our tuxedo kitty to sit on command. The only problem is that DD forgot to teach the cat to “unsit”. The poor thing will sit there forever if you don’t give her a little push on the rump to get her moving. </p>

<p>She’s learned to sit at the back door and “meow” to let us know she want’s outside. She paws the back door to come in and "meow"s at the front door to come in that door. The best trick she knows is to “meow” at the front door until she is let in then she strolls straight to the back door to be let out again. I guess it saves her from having to jump over the fence from the front to the back yard. And, of course, we are so well trained we let her in the front door and walk straight to the back door to let her back out. How smart is that kitty to train her humans so well?!!!</p>