Anecdote on why cats are smarter than we think they are:

Pixel waits for us to get up in the morning to feed her. Whenever I get up first she will sit and wait on the bed. She will sit there until she hears one particular sound from the bathroom -

The sound of the toilet seat hitting the bowl when I get up.

Once she hears that sound is when she gets up and proceeds to pester me for food.

She'll hide to the right, which is where my den and the kitchen are in relation to the bathroom. She knows that if she blocks this passage that she'll be able to let me know that she needs to be fed.

So through this whole process she's conserving energy (no use begging while I'm on the toilet) and cutting off my resources (my technology and food) in order to ensure she gets fed in the morning.

Cats: smarter than we think.