The Gilligan

I have to wonder sometimes just how much animals understand. Gilligan, for the most part, is a wonderful cat. I won't call him a pet, because in every sense of the word his is my companion. He greets me when I come home, and waits patiently (most of the time) for dinner. When the alarm clock goes off he KNOWS it is a work day and the pouting begins. I am barely awake and he climbs on to my lap to get as much loving as he can grab before I get up to get ready. At that point he hangs his head over the edge of the bed and has turned his butt towards me. This is the "I am most unhappy with you" position.

Sometimes he will lay next to me on the bed while I am sitting nearby and pose a feline question..
"Mrrr?"\
So I Mrrr back.
"Mrreeeeww"
and I respond.
We have entire unintelligible conversations (well..to me anyway) that can last for minutes. I have to wonder what we have been talking about, but he never shares that with me later.

Tonight I watched a video about dogs that have been trained to "drive" a car. Yes, they taught the dog through endless hours of treats and praises how to touch a part with their paw and place them on the wheel. It was pretty cool to watch, drew a few chuckles from me, and a short "smart dog!" remark. Well..the Gilligan seemed to have understood that remark. How he can understand me and I cannot translate him is just not fair.

A few minutes later while I was preparing to wash up for bed along comes Gil with his straw. Yes, my cat plays with straws like a dog plays with sticks. If you can make a light weight straw fly he will chase it and retrieve. The same applies for rolled up paper or foil. He will entertain himself playing cat soccer all over the apartment. (sometimes when I come home I will see up to 10 different balls laying on the living room floor.)

Apparently Gil decided (since he can understand me..etc.) that he should show me he was smarter than that damn dog.  He padded over to the cabinet under the sink, using his nose and then his paw, he opened the cabinet and looked inside. It closed and he opened it again. Please understand that I had never seen him do that before, and that there is nothing note worthy to a cat under my sink. This obviously was a new trick that he had learned when I was away at work.

"Look! Smarter than a damn dog Mommy."

  And I guess he is. He understands commands without treats.When we are out in the small porch and yard and I say " back inside now" he goes right to the door I left open and goes in. When I open the door and it is a temptation to him to go out "stay!" is a command he obeys.And I did not have to spend hours training him how to do either of them.

Are cats smarter than dogs? I think it is like comparing apples to oranges. They each have their own gifts.
Cats, in my opinion are easier to train. With their eyes still baby blue they instinctively know how to use a litter box. (No newspaper and puppy pee for months on end ) Shoes and socks are usually safely left alone.
He knows when I am sad and seeks to comfort. He watches when I behave just plain silly with very round eyes. And lately when he feels he is being ignored he strikes a pose that must be considered undignified in the cat world..he lays on the bed, on his back legs all a kimbo and turns his head to watch me, to see if I will react. I usually laugh because he looks quite silly in that position.

I probably attribute him more human characteristics then most cat parents do...but then we only have each other for company and that must account for some of it. All in all he is a good feline friend, who though he is lonely quite often, behaves himself in ways most animals would not. I am very grateful to have The Gilligan in my life.

k