<p>Competing for the first position of smartest and cute cats are lergnon’s tuxedo and colmomto2:</p>
<p>Lergnon’s tuxedo: A super smart cute thing…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>colmomto2 tuxedo: He is really smart being cute and demanding attention…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is better than a full day of shopping!</p>
<p>*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>Wow…how do you teach a cat to “sit” on command?</p>
<p>Naturally I think our orange tabby is extremely smart; she certainly trained DH to her commands when he retired and started consulting from home. </p>
<p>On the other hand…
-after 7 years she discovered that she could scramble up the chairs at the kitchen counter
-after 8 years she discovered that she could get from the dining room chairs up onto the dining room table
-after 10 years she discovered that water came out of the bathtub tap and demanded drips (she already knew about sinks but couldn’t get up on those counters anymore)
-after 11 years she discovered that she could fit between the slats on the fence in the back yard (she had lost some weight; I think she probably always could fit and even if not, she certainly could always have gone over the fence)</p>
<p>Not sure if she didn’t know about all of these or just wasn’t interested!</p>
<p>She does shake hands -when she feels like it!</p>
<p>To be clear, I don’t think one kind of cat is smarter, just that some seem to have genes for better communication with humans. That can vary from cat to cat but tuxedos seem to have this reputation for a reason because they are remarkably good - for a cat - at communicating desires. I’ve had my tuxedo walk up to me, hit me in the shoulder and then look at his food bowl. That’s pretty complicated communication. His brother, a tabby, will arch his back and act like a baby to get fed, which isn’t complicated, but as a cat doing cat things I have no way of comparing them. </p>
<p>I think the difference is important. We aren’t cats. We have no idea what goes through their minds. A cat that is bad at communicating with people may be very good at other parts of being a cat, in ways that matter to that cat and to other cats. </p>
<p>I’ve had an alpha male Maine Coon and he showed many traits of intelligence but most of those came from his being a dominant leader, something that we could relate to because it seems human. I’ve had a siamese who clung to me like velcro and who sometimes seemed baffled by simple things and yet she could open doors, could play real games of fetch, was an astounding athlete, etc. I can’t tell how much was genetics and how much was “intelligence” and how much was stuff we relate to versus what she was as a cat in cat world.</p>
<p>*Naturally I think our orange tabby is extremely smart; **she certainly trained DH to her commands when he retired **and started consulting from home. *</p>
<p>Dogs have masters; cats have staff. ;)</p>
<p>I have had many cats in my day and I have to say me now deceased Tuxedo cat really was smart. He loved to play fetch and he would bring a rolled up ball of foil when he wanted you to play with him. He would drop it at our feet and repeatedly chase it and bring it back. When he was done, he would hide it so the other cats ( who had zero interest in his “toy” ) couldn’t have them…he passed last October and I am still finding foil balls in funny places , like my crystal Orrefors bowls 
But he was also VERY shy</p>
<p>This article <a href=“http://www.ceru.up.ac.za/downloads/The_feral_cat_population.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ceru.up.ac.za/downloads/The_feral_cat_population.pdf</a> talks about cat coat color in the population of feral cats; apparently, darker is better. Possibly tuxedo cats really are smarter.</p>
<p>Competing for the first position of smartest and cute cats are “lergnon’s tuxedo”; “colmomto2 tuxedo” & new contender-Requiescat in pace “lje62 tuxedo”!</p>
<p>Lergnon’s tuxedo: A super smart cute thing…and athletic!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>colmomto2 tuxedo: He is really smart being cute and demanding attention…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>New cute contender “lje62’ RIP tuxedo”, who was playful and with a great deal of strategies:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is better than a full day of shopping!</p>