# What's the most intelligent breed of cats? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215 "2006-04-18T21:05:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/21 "2006-04-19T19:31:37Z")
Tabbies. Hands-down. I’ve got two, and they are constantly amazing me with their intelligence. Of course that makes them more work to care for, having to keep ahead of their wits and all. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/22 "2006-04-19T19:56:37Z")
> [@brightpenny](#): > > Tabbies. Hands-down. I’ve got two, and they are constantly amazing me with their intelligence. Of course that makes them more work to care for, having to keep ahead of their wits and all. 😛 Sorry - my tabby’s dumber than Paris Hilton on pot. I think she’s brain-damaged, though, so it might not count. My long-haired black cat, however…damn, that cat is smart. We think he’s part Turkish Angora - he has the bone structure. He’s one of those cats where you would swear he knows exactly what you’re saying to him. He is smart, smart, smart. I love him dearly, but I’m almost afraid he’s going to outwit us one day. I keep thinking I’m going to come home and find ElzaHub tied up in the kitchen while the cat’s ordering pizza. (His nickname is Bucky, from Get Fuzzy…). E. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/23 "2006-04-19T19:57:29Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > > [@astro](#): > > > > So no one has ever bred for a “smart cat” trait? Interesting. > > Why would anyone want to? Our Feline Overlords are scary enough as it is, without adding more intelligence into the mix. Some people insist on playing with fire: > [@](#): > > Leslie Fish: > One of Fish’s more unusual personal projects is an on-going attempt to breed domestic cats for intelligence and other traits, including polydactyly. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/24 "2006-04-19T20:05:26Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > Some people insist on playing with fire: Funny that you should mention Leslie Fish. She wrote a great [filksong](http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/pages/tiCATSOVER.html) about this very topic. 🙂 (Link goes to lyrics, not a sound file) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/25 "2006-04-19T20:58:20Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > My long-haired black cat, however…damn, that cat is smart. We think he’s part Turkish Angora - he has the bone structure. He’s one of those cats where you would swear he knows exactly what you’re saying to him. He is smart, smart, smart. I love him dearly, but I’m almost afraid he’s going to outwit us one day. I keep thinking I’m going to come home and find ElzaHub tied up in the kitchen while the cat’s ordering pizza. > > (His nickname is Bucky, from Get Fuzzy…). > > E. [http://www.twolumps.net/d/20040820.html](http://www.twolumps.net/d/20040820.html) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/26 "2006-04-19T23:19:56Z")
I once trained a red tabby to ring the doorbell when he wanted in. However, the smartest ones are hep cats, man, hep cats. Can you dig it? ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215/27 "2006-04-20T03:34:30Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > Some people insist on playing with fire: Dude, I was SO going to mention Leslie Fish. ;\> I love her music. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-intelligent-breed-of-cats/353215.md?page=1)