Some pets do more than beg for treats or nap in sunbeams, they notice, react, and sometimes pull off things that feel almost human. That is what makes these stories so fun, because each one starts with an ordinary animal moment and then takes a sharp turn into something surprisingly clever.
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Across cats, dogs, birds, fish, and even chickens, the people in these stories describe pets that seemed to understand routines, emotions, danger, and even a little bit of mischief. Some of the moments are sweet, some are funny, and a few are downright life-saving.
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Read on for the most impressive pet stories people still cannot stop talking about.
1. Dear Hooman, something is wrong. Sincerely, Catto.
This cat did not just get attention, he delivered a full medical alert.
This is a completely true story. Weird, but true, and shows a really impressive level of intelligence in my cat. It happened when I was a teenager.I’m sitting on the couch, and my cat walks into the room and starts meowing loudly, but not coming to me. So I stand up and go toward him, and he starts walking away, so I follow. He leads me, meowing the whole way and looking back to make sure I’m following, to the bathroom. Weird, right? Just wait. So we’re in the bathroom, and he hops up on the toilet and, get this, he PEES IN IT. I was floored. One, he peed in the toilet. Like a person. He’d never done that before. It’s impressive that he knew what a toilet was for. But two, he brought me there to show me. Why? This is where the real intelligence comes into it. Well, he stops peeing and turns to look into the toilet and then looks at me. So I look in the toilet. It’s full of blood. He had a terrible kidney infection (as the vet later confirmed), and this is how he told me. Think of all the things he had to understand to do this!! He had to know he was sick and in which part of his body the infection was. He had to know that the bathroom was the place where I deal with the part of my body that matches up with his sick part. He had to know what a toilet was for and how to use it. And he knew that if I understood the problem, I’d be able to fix it. Seriously, that cat was incredi...[truncated]
2. Cockatoo, King of the Doggos
We used to have a cockatoo, as well as some cats and dogs.
We were teaching the dogs some tricks, and the cockatoo was just doing his bird thing. Every day, the same routine: get some treats, call the dogs, sit, stay, lay down, roll over, get a treat, etc. One night we were watching TV and hear the cockatoo call the dog by name. "Sit. Stay. Lay down. Roll over. Good Boy". We heard something hit the floor, and then he called out the next dog's name. Walked into the kitchen to find the cockatoo in the spot we always stand, giving orders to the dogs (who were obeying!), and then pulling treats out of the cup and dropping them on the floor. This went on for some time. Dogs now liked the cockatoo, and would let him ride on their backs. Cockatoo would call them, tell them to lay down, would climb on, and ride around like a king. The dogs knew what's up, would walk to the kitchen, and stand by the counter. Cockatoo would hop up and drop them a treat, say "good boy", and hop back on. Funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.
I am diabetic and one night I fell on my carpet from weakness and disorientation. My beloved dog, who now rests in Heaven, brought my emergency kit from my bathroom counter so I could take my medication. Just writing this post brought tears to my eyes. I will always remember you Bumper.
5. When a dog loves a cat.
When I was young my family moved a long distance with two pets, a cat and a dog. My mom said that cats can try to run off to find home after a move so we had a cat collar with a long leash to hold her while we were unloading the trailers. I heard my Australian Shepherd bark twice on the back porch. Abby NEVER barked unless something was serious. I ran back there and my cat had run around a chair many times and then jumped off the chair with not enough room on leash to be on ground and was hanging there choking. When I rounded the corner Abby was trying to chew through the leash. Best dog ever. Both cat and dog lived long happy lives.
6. Farting your way to the top.
I witnessed this with my uncle's dog. My uncle was lying on the couch and she was lying on his feet and legs. He let out a huge fart which was aimed directly at her face. She lifted her head and glared at him and he started laughing. She got up and walked away in disgust. A few minutes later she came back, jumped up on his chest, stuck her butt in his face and farted on...[truncated]
That rescue story hits hard, and the next one is pure revenge energy.
First Christmas we had our cat she saw us handing out presents and opening them and abruptly ran off. About twenty minutes later she comes back with a dead bird and dropped it in the present pile. It's uh definitely the thought that counts?
I had a dog that got hit by a car. He ended up losing his front leg. This dog was a big pupper. Easily 80 pounds. Once he came home, I could not carry him, but my husband could. The dog HATED going potty in the house, so he quickly learned to walk outside with me. Three weeks in, he was walking and jumping down the steps UNLESS his daddy was home. Then he couldn't move. Just sit and whine and cry pathetically until daddy carried him.
He got busted one day when he didn't hear his dad's car pull up. Launched himself down the 3 porch steps, realized his dad was right there and fell over hard, crying. But it was too late, the gig was up. However, he continued this type of 'I'm too weak' behavior - but only with my husband - for the next 10 years until he died ...[truncated]
When I was an infant, I was in my crib next to my parents bed. I somehow got twisted up and started suffocating in my blanket. This cat jumped on my mom's face until she woke up, then jumped into my crib. Had it not been for her, I would have died.
My golden retriever leaves a shoe on the bed, without fail, for my wife or I to find if we are both gone at the same time. My theory is that she did it once, and we came home, so now she does it every time we leave to ensure that we come back. Like a doggy superstition.
After doing this for years, my wife had to leave the state for a week. My first day back from work, there was a shoe on the bed. Normal. After my second day back (wife is still gone), there were three shoes on the bed. After my third day returning from work alone, every shoe and boot in the house was laid out on the bed and couches, and all of my wife's dirty socks were in a bowl. It may not be the smartest thing she's ever done, but it really made me think about how she thinks.
That dog was not taking any chances.
Dogs will walk each other while cats are just like:Buzzfeed
13. Bubble Guppy
I have a blood parrot, the smartest fish I've ever had. His tank contains half sand and half white pebbles. However, he's very particular about how the floor of his environment looks. For example, he'll move plants to certain places if he doesn't like how the ground looks beneath them. He'll place pebbles on the sand part and make a sand pile in the pebbles area. But it isn't random; if you remove a pebble from a little pile, he'll notice it and place another one. If you disturb a little sand pile, he'll build more on top of the remains. He'll spend about three days carving out a small hole just to see his reflection at the bottom of the tank. If you lightly dust the empty space with sand, he'll come swimming out of his 'house,' collect the misplaced sand in his mouth, and literally throw it at you against the aquarium glass. He's a very grumpy fish, but his personality is amazing!
My cat (about 4 months old at the time) hadn't come back for at least 2 days and I looked for her everywhere. I was getting worried since she never really left for more than a couple of hours. I guess my Labrador sensed how worried I was and realized it was because of the cat. So he decided to run out the door, while I wasn't paying attention. (He also knows how to open doors.) I didn't realize till later and I thought I had lost both of them. When around 8pm I heard meowing coming from outside. When I looked outside I saw my lab holding my kitten by the head.
17. When your dog is too smart:
We had a dog that liked to roam the neighborhood too much so we installed one of those wireless fences that give a shock from a collar when you cross it. The law requires it to beep and give a warning before the shock to train the dog to stop, which is good. But she figured out that if she got near it then it would start beeping. So she went to where the beeping started and laid down. Then just lay there until the beeping stopped and she knew the battery was drained and too weak to shock her so she would just walk across.
18. Can't argue with this logic...
Not current pet but a dog I had as a teenager. Dog jumps up on the couch. "No, you're not allowed on the couch, go lie in your bed" Dog leaves the room. A moment l...[truncated]
In our flock of maybe ten bantams, there was one elderly, respected hen. Even the brash rooster, who would spend most of his time chasing other chickens away from 'his' feed, meekly made space for Grey Girl when she slowly made her way over to the chicken feed. She was mother and grandmother to many of them, and you could tell how much they esteemed her. One morning, I open the chicken coop as usual, but not a chook was to be seen. Normally they'd be all running out to find the night's bounty of bugs, but not this morning. I walk inside the pen to see what's up. There is a circle of chickens. An actual circle, with Grey Girl's body right in the middle. All the chooks are making this weird wailing sound, which I had never heard before. I am in no doubt they were mourning the passing of their elder mother. What's more, the body was lying outside the shed where she would have been roosting. There is a good chance that she was actually pulled out of the claustrophobic, poo-filled shed and placed in the open space by the chickens, so they could pay their respects. After about half an hour the chooks all wandered off and I buried the body. And I never saw that behaviour again.
