URBANANIMAL: It's never to late to teach a cat new tricks

Dear readers,

Can we measure intelligence in a cat? That question often comes to mind when I watch my two cats play with a catnip mouse toy. Ernie, my six-year-old tabby, sizes up the toy quickly when I scoot it across the floor toward him. He pounces instantly, tosses it into the air then shoots it toward my other cat, nine-year-old Mona who, more often than not, stares at it with disinterest. Then she begins washing.

Ernie waits for Mona to join the game, notes she's not a contender and proceeds to approach the toy with tail swishing and pupils dilating. He stalks it, grabs it, then rolls onto his back and tears at it with claws and teeth as if he were the star in a horror movie. If Mona were human, this would be the point where she'd sit back and thumb through a magazine.

Intelligence in animals is often defined as "The ability to comprehend and learn from experience." If my cats' simple game were to determine their level of intelligence, it would seem that Mona is a few bricks short of a load. But she obviously comprehends the game and has learned it's easier to sit back and let Ernie waste his energy chasing a fake rodent.

People can't help but try to assign a level of intelligence to animals so researchers have been using a series of markers that look at a cat's speed of learning and recall.

Before asking your cat to jump through a hoop or fetch Dad's slippers, take a look at his levels of curiosity and sociability. Both of these attributes are used in clinical studies to decipher how a cat would fare in commonly used feline intelligence tests. And both are inspired by genetics and environment, just like people and other animals.

A cat originates from a line that includes a good infusion of curious and sociable cats and lives in a happy and stimulating home will be most likely to score high trainability points. It's trainability that leads the cat to excel at those intelligence tests.

Even the brightest kitten from the best gene pool can't be expected to excel in the smarts department if his home life doesn't provide an encouraging environment.

The only way to judge a cat's trainability is to spend time with it. Watch how it relates to people, other animals and items in its environment. A curious and outgoing cat who can focus on one person, one animal, or one toy or game for an extended period of time will probably be the best candidate. It also helps if it's an affectionate cat who feels secure and bonded with his human.

Cats, dogs and people all need motivation if they are to learn. My dog, Bonnie, can be trained to retrieve a tennis ball with food treats and praise. If I were to ask my cats to do the same thing for the same reward, Ernie would chase the ball for a few feet, but not return it to me. Mona would most likely watch it with casual interest as it rolled past her feet. Is this a smart dog and not-so-smart cats? Dogs and cats see their world in different ways. While some people might think the cats are no-brainers, others see them as intelligent for reserving their energy for something more valuable than treats and praise.

Each cat needs to be observed carefully to discover its unique motivators required to accomplish a certain task. Some may need a special food treat while others require additional rewards. Generally speaking, a dog's motivator is a satisfied human. A cat's motivator is a satisfied cat. You'll need to discover your own cat's rendition of the proverbial dangling carrot.

Almost all kittens automatically know what to do when introduced to the concept of a litter box and they use it for the rest of their lives. Housetraining a puppy can take days, weeks or months, and a few never really get with the program. If a kitten learns litter box etiquette so easily, it's safe to say they're capable of learning many things.

Don't be tempted to judge your cat's intelligence in comparison with other cats. While rating a dog's intelligence is accomplished by measuring its abilities against those of other dogs when given the same tests, a cat's intelligence is best accomplished by noting its individual progress.

Regardless of a cat's age, gene pool or past environment, each retains "smart" brain cells that can be revived at any point in its life, even if it's a dedicated couch potato. With the right environment, the right motivators and an encouraging owner, just about any cat can prove its trainability.