The Slice: The cat will show you out

Lots of Slice readers claim that their cats are smart.

“She knows that when I put my shoes on in the morning that it is time to go get the paper,” wrote Barbara Huber. “She ‘merows’ loudly and heads for the front door.”

Foxie Evans shared this. “I had a gray tabby named Nicholas who could open any lever-handled door by reaching up and pulling down on the handle and holding it down while backing up.”

Ro Lisk said her cat can tell time. “She nips me at 4:00 every morning because it’s her breakfast time.”

North Idaho’s Charlene Luzynski told about a gone-but-not-forgotten feline named Ned. Twenty years ago, on the day before Thanksgiving, Ned woke her from a sound sleep. “My house was on fire. That smart cat saved five human and three animal lives that morning.”

Salli Sledge had a furry friend named Lucy that always recognized the yoga music and would come help with the stretching by getting in the way, licking toes, et cetera.

Pattie Felland had a gray, long-haired cat that would turn the water on in an old claw-foot tub. “It was the only place he’d get a drink. He learned if he wanted me to get out of bed he’d turn the water on full-blast and wait. I had to hide the plug once he figured out it would fill the tub and get me up that much faster. He passed away last August and I miss that critter something terrible.”

Then there was this from Mead’s Emily McConnell. “My sister trained our cat Whitney to sign ‘please’ when she wants something and to jump up and hug us when we say ‘Do you love me?’ ”

Pat Cadagan said all cats are smart. Just look at what they teach their human companions, he said.

But Bruce Werner isn’t so sure. “I know one of our cats isn’t as smart as other cats because she moves her lips when reading.”

(Find more Slice readers’ cat stories today on The Slice Blog at www.spokesman.com.)

Today’s Slice question: How irrelevant to those in their 20s are older people’s perspectives on Spokane’s potential?