My Cat is Smarter Than Your Child

My house, when I bought it, had all new Thermo-awesome windows.  You know – the super-insulated wonderful windows.  However, they were installed by an amateur, or maybe a gorilla, because the gaps around them are so big I can feel the wind blowing from inside my house.  My computer sits by double windows, and since it’s a chilly spot in winter, I have a heating pad plugged into a power strip where my monitor is plugged in.   I often turn it on while at the computer.  My cats love this, and frequently join me on the heating pad.   Sometimes I’ll turn it on just for them, when I’m not even at the computer.  At least, I used to.


The other day I was going through my emails and my super-smart, beautiful, ruler of the world kitty Lily (pictured above) started trying to burrow through the cords by the computer.  I clucked at her to knock it off – I don’t want her messing with plugs and electricity.  She listened for a half a second, and went back to pawing them.  With a pop, my monitor suddenly turned off and back on.  Irritated, I said, “hey now, NO” to Lily.  This time, she listened (so I thought), and came up and sat next to me.  That should have been my clue – that she didn’t get right in my lap.  About a minute later, I realized my rear end was getting warm – when the monitor flicked – Lily must have hit the reset on the power strip, and it caused the heating pad to kick on.  I didn’t really think much of it, until a few days later.

Again, I had just sat down at the computer, and Lily started pawing the cords.  Almost immediately, the monitor flicked off and back on, and she came to sit by me.   When the heating pad came on, I still wasn’t convinced that she was doing this on purpose (showing that my cat may be smarter than me).  I talked with my fiancé about it and we agreed – she may be smart enough to have figured it out, but it could be just coincidence.  However, the other day when I came home from work, Lily didn’t greet me at the door like usual. I was a little concerned, until I saw her on the bench by the computer.  I checked, and sure enough, the heating pad was on.  It’s the kind of heating pad with a timer, and it automatically shuts off after 30 minutes, unless you reset it.  By resetting the power strip, Lily is turning it back on.  She now does this regularly - I can’t wait to see my next electric bill.