We might not realize it, but cats pretend all the time. And pretending is a faculty of highly developed brains.
Research shows that we use the highest levels of intelligence when our imaginations are fully engaged, to quote no less an authority as Dr. Joseph Chilton Pierce, who has written many books on intelligence. Cats can pretend in small ways, such as when they imagine their inanimate mouse is alive.
But they also can exhibit higher levels of pretending, as when RJ, after doing everything to wake me up except drag the mattress off the bed, cutely greeted my emergence from under the covers with simulated surprise.
Those who believe cats have no sense of guilt have been fooled by the cat’s refusal to show culpability in the objects knocked off the table. But cats know they weren’t supposed to do that. Or they wouldn’t work so hard to not betray their guilty knowledge. There’s also the common reaction to a gymnastic trick gone bad, the famous I meant to do that.
In both cases, the cat is pretending. Which requires some serious brain processing; to understand how it happened, and to put up a front that they have a different attitude towards it.
I’ve had cats knock down cans of food; Gee, as long as it’s in your hand. I’ve had cats pretend they don’t know what it is I’m warning them away from; You mean this? This thing here? I’ve had cats who will play hide and seek; Were you looking for me?
These are clear signs of intelligence. By encouraging our cat to think, and acknowledging their efforts, we can make them smarter. Then we get smarter, too.
It’s a noble endeavor, staying ahead of the cats.
But an enjoyable one.
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Anyone who has ever had a cat pretend that she cannot hear them can’t deny that cats can pretend. My eldest pretended so flawlessly yesterday that I was almost too busy laughing to shoo her away from the fresh chicken.
She got her revenge later. I know it was her who got the chicken leg out of the trash and ate the last of the chicken off it, because she is the only cat who understands the new trash can, and yet she GLARED at her youngest sister (the usually-naughty one) when I came out and exclaimed over finding the greasy chicken bone . . . in the culprit’s favorite spot.
(I know chicken bones are a no-no. Now that I know she not only understands how the new trash bin works, but can operate it and get to trash inside, I won’t make that mistake again. Cat-proof my behind.)
That’s a riot! Framing her sister. Quite the kitty. (And yes, cat-proofing engineers often underestimate a determined cat.)
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Humphrey loves to play hide and seek. It’s a game he plays late in the evening. He goes behind the closed curtains in the living room, leaving just the tip of his tail showing. I pretend I can’t see him and go through a very over dramatic routine: “Where’s my Humphrey gone? I can’t see my Humphrey anywhere! Have you seen Humphrey, Daddy? Oh no, where can he be?” As I repeat these phrases, over and over, first the tip of his tail and then the whole of his body behind the curtain starts to quiver. You can actually see the curtain shaking. The tension builds up and up until he can’t bear it any longer and explodes out at high speed, racing to the other end of the room.
I should have said that I play exactly the same game with toddlers.
Oh yes! They pretend! My cat brings her ball onto the bed for me to throw. She drops it, walks a step away, turns herself away from me and pretends she doesnt know I “might” throw the ball. I must then poke her, say her name, tell her I have the ball while she repeatedly pretends to ignore me! You know it’s all a game as everytime I poke her, the purring gets louder and louder..yet she absolutely refuses to turn around until the ball is in the air. This is a game she plays often, and it’s very deliberate. xoxox the kitties!